County GOP Committee Throws Support Behind Borrello in Search for State Senate Candidate

George Borrello

MAYVILLE – It appears more and more likely that Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello is getting the support he needs to be a candidate for a recently vacated State Senate seat, whenever an election finally takes place.

According to the Post-Journal, the Chautauqua County Republican Committee is endorsing Borrello as its choice for running for the 57th Senate Seat that was vacated by former Sen. Cathy Young earlier this week.

The endorsement was reportedly confirmed by GOP Committee Chair David Wilfong, who said he will not bring that endorsement to the other county GOP committees that will also have a say in selecting the party’s candidate in a special election.

Under state law, any special election for a state legislature seat requires the committees from the involved counties to choose their candidate, rather than going with a traditional primary. If more than one candidate is being considered then a weighted vote will take place with number of registered Republicans of each county being considered. Counties included in the 57th Senate District include Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties along with a portion of Livingston County. Of those four counties, Chautauqua County holds 47 percent of registered Republicans living within the district.

Borrello’s endorsement by the County Republican Committee comes a day after he was also endorsed by the Chautauqua County Conservative Party, which consulted with the state conservative party before making its choice.

Borrello hasn’t formally indicated an intention to run for Senate but it appears he has talked with party officials and would be willing to step forward if he is selected by party members from across the 57th district.

Meanwhile a date has not been set for when a special election may occur. That decision rests with Governor Andrew Cuomo. If he chooses not to call for a special election, then Young’s replacement will be voted on during the November General election to fill out the remainder of the current term, which ends on December 31, 2020.