The Erie County Legislature will spend another two years in Democratic hands as a result of Tuesday's election, but with one race still too close to call, it is unsettled whether the Republican-supported minority caucus managed to close the gap.
The Legislature has a 7-4 Democratic majority, but in the two most contested races, only one was clearly decided. The race between 9th District Democratic incumbent John Gilmour and Republican challenger Frank Bogulski narrowed considerably over the course of the night. Democratic Legislator Jeanne Vinal won re-election to a second term in the 5th district.
John Gilmour. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
Those were the two actively contested County Legislature races that could have swung the party majority. The 5th District seat, won by Vinal, is in Amherst. The 9th District seat, currently held by Gilmour, covers South Buffalo, Lackawanna and the Town of Hamburg. It is held by a Democratic incumbent.
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The Republican Party devoted the bulk of its resources to trying to unseat Gilmour. Prior to the Democrat taking office two years ago, his seat was held by Lynne Dixon, an Independence Party member who affiliated herself with the Republican-supported minority caucus.
Gilmour faced Bogulski, a fellow Hamburg lawyer who previously ran for Hamburg town justice. With that district encompassing both city and suburban communities, it was this year's battleground seat for both parties.
Only a few dozen votes separate the two contenders, though Gilmour said he's confident of victory because the absentee ballots returned so far represented roughly 2-to-1 Democratic voters.
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"I ran a campaign of honesty and integrity," Gilmour said Tuesday night. "Truth prevailed."
Bogulski said he's still confident.Â
"I’ve worked very hard for the taxpayers and voters of the 9th District," he said. "I'm confident I'm going to win this race."
The Amherst race had incumbent legislator Vinal, a lawyer, campaigning to keep her heavily Democratic Amherst seat after her first term in office. She faced challenger Rich Wilkinson, an auto dealership general manager running for public office for the first time and the only non-lawyer in actively contested Legislature races.
