CITY OF TONAWANDA: Council races split, too close to call

Local News

November 4, 2009

By Daniel Pye<br><a href="mailto:pyed@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a> The Tonawanda News Wed Nov 04, 2009, 01:27 AM EST

Common Council races in the City of Tonawanda on Tuesday resulted in one clear pick up for the Republicans and another race that’s too close to call.

Democratic Chairwoman Gayle Syposs said there’s a lot of counting still to be done before everything is decided.

“The only sure bet I have is the 4th Ward and the only sure bet they have is the 1st Ward,” Syposs said just after midnight.

With exactly 200 absentee ballots filed throughout the city, the 2nd and 3rd ward races remain too close to call.

Democrat Bill Poole will replace Democratic Councilman Rick Davis in the 4th Ward. Poole beat out Republican Steven Sommers 561 votes to 493. Davis opted out of the race to challenge Mayor Ron Pilozzi.

The 1st Ward race, in which Republican Charles Gilbert claimed victory early in the evening before a problem with the numbers was discovered, actually went to Incumbent Democrat Colleen Perkins 388 to 345.

In the three-way race for the 3rd Ward seat, Democrat Richard Slisz won with 294 votes to Republican Dale Peter’s 280 and Independent Jim Kossow’s 225.

Kossow is likely out of the running given he’s 69 votes short of the leader Slisz. Peter, who stands just 14 votes behind, could conceivably catch Slisz once the absentee ballots are counted.

By far the closest race citywide was in the 2nd Ward, where Incumbent Democrat Gary Waterhouse’s 327-vote tally trails Republican Blake Boyle’s 329 — a difference of just two votes.

In the end, Syposs was still optimistic about the Democrats’ situation.

“I still have three Democrats on the council, at least,” Syposs said.

Republican Party Chairwoman Christine Pilozzi said she was encouraged by Republican gains on the council, hoping for more cooperation between councilmembers and her husband, Mayor Ron Pilozzi, who won re-election Tuesday.

“Now we’ll have new ideas and it’s going to be exciting,” she said.

She also looked to the future, particularly in the case of Slisz, who is currently involved in a legal dispute with the city over his property assessments.

“I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do now,” Christine Pilozzi said.

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.

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