Control of the Jamestown City Council is still undecided after Brent Sheldon, R-Ward 1, eked out a seven-vote lead over challenger Tim Smeal with 70 absentee ballots still to be counted. Newcomer Grant Olson defeated incumbent Maria Jones in Ward 5 while Jeff Russell was elected to the council as an at-large member. Jamestown will have a new mayor after Eddie Sundquist defeated challengers David Wilfong and Andrew Liuzzo. The village of Fredonia could have a new mayor depending on the upcoming count of absentee ballots.

The action isn’t over yet.

Mayor-elect Sundquist has a transition team to put together and an administrative team to assemble. Sundquist laid out an aggressive plan for the city and has said he plans to hit the ground running. To do so he will have to start working now to put his team together. At the same time, those who will serve on the council for the next two years have to figure out who will lead their efforts and arrive on what we hope will be a more active direction for the city’s policy making body. Chautauqua County has to figure out what happens next year with the County Executive position now that George Borrello has been elected to represent the 57th state Senate District in Albany. The executive’s term still has two years and almost two months remaining, and under the terms of a local law passed earlier this year the Chautauqua County Legislature will appoint someone to replace Borrello until next year’s November general election. County residents will then elect someone to finish out the final year of the term.

County residents have done their job. Starting Oct. 26, they have gone to the polls and cast their votes. Now, the hard work of governing begins for a new slate of elected officials. Good luck.

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