Eddie Sundquist
JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Attorney who plans to run for Mayor in November on the Democratic ticket will kick off his campaign during a rally Friday afternoon in downtown Jamestown.
Last month Mayor Sam Teresi (D) announced he wasn’t going to seek a sixth term in office and the Jamestown Democratic Committee tapped local attorney Eddie Sundquist as the endorsed candidate for mayor.
WRFA had Sundquist in the studio at the end of February to learn more about his campaign and why he’s seeking the top executive post in the city.
“I grew up in Jamestown. I came back here as an attorney after going off to school. I ended up wanting to come back and practice here and have been doing so. For me Jamestown is my home and I’m excited to not only be back but to bring a positive change to Jamestown. Be able to not only run for mayor but to bring decisive leadership to the table. We’ve got a strong foundation here in the city and we can really grow by bringing young professionals back, by redeveloping what we’ve got here in this area, and really focusing on partnerships and community,” Sundquist said.
Sundquist also said he’s also well aware of the challenges that come with running the city, and at the top of that list is balancing the annual budget.
“Right now we receive a lot of state aid and that’s not something that’s guaranteed. We need to make sure we are checking out what revenue streams we have and what we’re spending to make sure it works. The big challenge is going to be ‘Can it be balanced?’ and I think it can. But until we start to engage the community and the people here in trying to find creative solutions, we’re not going to be much different than we are right now,” Sundquist said.
This isn’t Sundquists first attempt at running for public office. In 2018 he made a bid for the Democratic Nomination for Congress to run against Tom Reed but came up short in the primary. But Sundquist said he learned a lot from that campaign and plans to put that toward his campaign for mayor.
Sundquist will likely be unchallenged for the Democratic nomination, which means he will be able to focus most of his attention on the November Election. The same can’t be said for the Republican party, where two individuals are vying for the party nomination and will likely square off in a June Primary. They are the Jamestown Republican Committee’s endorsed candidate – county legislator David Wilfong, along with first-term city coucilman at large Andrew Liuzzo.
Back to Sundquist, he and other Democrats running for city office are inviting the public to Friday’s rally in downtown Jamestown, which will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton hotel on 4th street starting at 5:30 p.m.
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