Bryan Bigelow appointed to fill rest of year as Ward 2 representative
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The city's Ward 2 once again has a representative, filling out the rest of this year before a special election set for November, following the passing of former representative Tony Dolce a few weeks ago.
Bryan Bigelow was officially appointed into the Ward 2 seat, temporarily, until the November special election where he will face Jason Sample, who is the Democratic candidate for the seat. A special City Council voting session was held Monday night before the regularly scheduled council work session to appoint Bigelow, who will remain in the seat for the rest of this year. Sample, who was also in attendance at the meeting, spoke briefly with the council before the appointment, declaring his support of Bigelow temporarily filling the seat, but expressing some questions on the timeline.
Sample and Bigelow have known each other since they worked together in the Market Cafe when Wegmans first opened, and Sample noted Bigelow to be intelligent and capable.
While Sample said he supports Bigelow as the temporary appointee, he brought forward some questions as to what happens following the special election.
"This upcoming special election is to fill the remainder of the Ward 2 term, which started on January 1 of this year and does not end until December 31 of 2027," Sample said. "According to the city charter, the city council is to appoint a person to serve until the next General Election. This is relatively clear, and is what you are doing this evening. What remains unclear is exactly when does the winner of the special election take office?"
If the winner of the election is Bigelow, that question will not matter, Sample said, but if he were to win, he questioned why he would have to wait until January to begin serving the rest of the unexpired term. He noted that the winner will be known by at least November 28 if not sooner, and that council has two voting sessions between November 28 and January 1, on November 30 and December 28.
"So, if I were to win the special election, does that mean Mr. Bigelow would still be able to represent, attend and participate in work sessions, and vote on behalf of the voters of Ward 2, despite not being their chosen candidate to serve out this term?" Sample said. "The answer to this question is relatively simple to me, regardless of my candidacy. As a voter and resident, I would think that once we know for certain who will fill the unexpired term, that person, if not Mr. Bigelow, should immediately be sworn into office."
Sample asked the council to consider making an amendment to the language in the approval of Bigelow, simply so that it would state rather than just filling the unexpired term, an addition of language that would make it clear that it was until the certification of the Ward 2 special election by the county board of elections.
Sample said Tuesday that he was told Tuesday by the Chautauqua County Board of Elections that his request to take office immediately after the election, should he win, is not allowed at the local level, only for state and federal offices. With local special elections, including the one involving the Ward 2 position for the City Council, the term that is on the ballot is indeed for one full year, starting in January. The council candidate had reached out to the state Board of Elections on Monday but hadn’t heard back before the council meeting, and Elliot Raimondo, city corporation counsel, wasn’t available prior to the special meeting.
Following Sample's comments, a message from the mayor was read, nominating Bigelow, and Bigelow was officially sworn into the Ward 2 seat. Council President, Regina Brackman, D-Ward 3, also welcomed Bigelow to the council.
"Before we adjourn this special meeting, I just wanted to announce that Councilman Bigelow is welcome," Brackman said. "You will be a member of the Public Works committee, and Councilman (Jeremy) Engquist will move to the Public Safety committee as chairman. Those assignments will move forward for the rest of 2026."