For nearly the entire 20th century, Republicans ruled in the Town of Tonawanda.
But beginning in the first decade of the 21st, Democrats overturned the established political order. They snagged every Town Board seat by 2007 and they've held total control ever since.
Republicans confront a Democratic voter registration edge of 45% to 28% this year as they try to oust an incumbent supervisor, defeat a Town Board member appointed two months ago and win a rare open board seat.
Key issues include cleaning up and redeveloping the former Huntley generating station and Tonawanda Coke sites on River Road, debating a controversial overhaul of the town's recreational facilities and encouraging investment in a community that has lost tens of thousands of residents since the 1970s.
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Republican candidates say spending has risen while the tax base has shrunk – requiring taxpayers who remain to pick up a growing burden. Democrats say they've been prudent fiscal stewards and they've kept any tax increases under the state cap.
Candidates for supervisor
In the supervisor's race, incumbent Joe Emminger is seeking a second term against Chuck Sankey.
Emminger, 60, runs a real estate appraisal company. He was elected to the Town Board three times before winning the supervisor's job in 2015.
While supervisor, a period that includes the loss of nearly $2 million in annual revenue from the shuttered Huntley plant, Emminger said property taxes for homeowners have risen less than 2 percent annually and the town has received a strong Aa2 bond rating from Moody's Investors Service.
If he wins, Emminger said, "I will specifically concentrate on our River Road corridor and work on the cleanup and redevelopment along that stretch."
Sankey, 50, is an equipment operator with the Erie County Water Authority who previously spent six years as an editorial publishing specialist with The Buffalo News. He's a former chair and current executive vice chairman of the town's Republican Committee.
Sankey said Tonawanda isn't well served by one-party rule.
"Taxes are too high and there is no development occurring. We need fresh and new ideas. Taxpayers need to have a voice," said Sankey. He also objects to the raises for Emminger and two other elected officials included in the proposed 2020 budget when the town's salaried employees haven't had a raise since 2011.
Sankey told the state Board of Elections he had no campaign-related fundraising or expenditures so far this year. Emminger, for his part, reported just $1,855 on hand with one month to go before the election. However, he said his next filing will reflect the $11,000 or so he raised at an Oct. 3 campaign fundraiser.
Emminger has the Democratic, Conservative, Working Families, Independence and SAM (Serve America Movement) party ballot lines, while Sankey only has the Republican line.
Open Town Board seat
The Town Board races set up as a pair of one-on-one contests.
The first is for the seat now held by Daniel J. Crangle, who is barred by term limits from seeking re-election, pitting Skip Kowal against Carl Szarek.
Kowal, 63, is retired from stints as a laborer with Local 210 and more than 25 years in restaurant management. Szarek, also 63, retired last year after serving as a deputy Erie County Clerk and a supervisor with the county's Board of Elections.
Kowal said he's undecided on building an expanded ice arena, sports field house and splash pad because Democrats haven't provided enough details on how they would pay for the project and how it would benefit the town's growing senior population. "How can anyone make an informed decision with so little information?" Kowal said.
Szarek said reviving the town's Military Road corridor and encouraging people to move into the town are two of his priorities, along with the cleanup and reuse of the Huntley and Tonawanda Coke properties. "I will be committed to providing the safest and most cost effective solution to the successfully re-development of our waterfront," Szarek said.
Kowal has the Republican and Conservative lines and had $5,200 in cash on hand as of his most recent financial disclosure report, which included a $5,000 loan he made to his campaign.
Szarek has the Democratic, Working Families, Independence and SAM party lines and reported just under $5,100 on hand.
Taking Chimera's place
The second race is for the final two years of the term of Lisa Chimera, who resigned this summer to join the Erie County Legislature.
Board Democrats appointed Shannon Patch to fill the vacancy. Patch, 34, director of government affairs for Delaware North, formerly worked for Sen. Charles Schumer and State Sen. Tim Kennedy.
Her challenger is Gigi E. Grizanti, 57, who is president and CEO of the WNY Veterans Housing Coalition. She unsuccessfully ran for a Town Board seat in 2009 and 2013.
Patch said the town has a responsibility to make sure the Huntley and Tonawanda Coke properties are thoroughly cleaned up without allowing them to sit unused for too long. As for the recreational expansion, she said she needs to find out more about the total cost and its financing.
"I want to know how the proposed project will impact our fiscal health, what the community feels we need, and what will keep Tonawanda at the cutting edge of town services in the region," Patch said.
Grizanti raised concerns about looming retirements in the Police Department, the rising price for infrastructure work and the golf dome renovations and whether town officials have produced a realistic cost estimate for the recreational expansion, now pegged at $8.8 million.
"I would not want the town to commit to a 500-seat, state-of-the-art ice arena that some say could reach to almost twice the original costs," Grizanti said.
Patch has the Democratic, Independence and SAM party lines, while Grizanti has the Republican and Conservative lines. Patch reported $9,700 on hand and Grizanti reported $3,400 on hand.
In other races, Town Justice J. Mark Gruber is seeking a fourth term and has every ballot line except for Green Party, which is backing attorney Michelle Maccagnano, and Democratic Town Clerk Marguerite Greco is unopposed.