By Paul Wisniewski
CHEEKTOWAGA — Democrat Rachel L. Martinez has won the special election for Cheektowaga’s open Town Board seat, defeating Republican and Conservative candidate David J. DeFields Jr. by about 2,700 votes in unofficial results.
Martinez received 16,685 votes, or 54.36%, the Cheektowaga Bee reported on Nov. 4, citing unofficial figures from the Erie County Board of Elections. That included 11,484 votes on Election Day, 4,414 during early voting and 787 absentee ballots. DeFields finished with 13,973 votes, or 45.52%, including 10,690 on Election Day, 2,948 in early voting and 335 absentees. Write-in candidates received 37 votes. In all, 30,695 votes were counted in the race.
The Bee, which updated its totals on Nov. 5, cautioned that the figures were unofficial and that certified results could change as remaining ballots are counted. The margin is large enough that the remaining count is unlikely to change the winner, but it is not the final canvass.
The seat opened after Democrat Stephen Nowicki resigned in mid-July amid questions about his residency. Nowicki had bought a home in Buffalo and, the Cheektowaga Democratic Committee told the Bee, was unable to commit to making his Cheektowaga property his primary residence. The Democratic majority on the Town Board later appointed Parvez Rahman to fill the vacancy on a 4-2 vote in late August. Rahman had said he did not intend to run in the November special election. The winner completes the rest of Nowicki’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2027.
A social worker and a highway crew chief
Martinez, a licensed clinical social worker who has lived in Cheektowaga for 10 years, is a Lancaster native. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in social work at Nazareth College in Rochester. She and her husband, Rob, have a young son, according to a July statement issued when the Cheektowaga Democratic Committee endorsed her.
“As a proud resident of Cheektowaga, working mother, and active, lifelong Democrat, I am grateful for this opportunity, and I look forward to speaking to voters directly about my vision for making our town an even better place to live and raise a family,” Martinez said then.
She described her daily work as the foundation she wanted to bring to the board. “On a daily basis, I see first-hand the challenges families and individuals face, often because of economic and other forces beyond their control,” she said. “Helping them meet those challenges is my job and calling, and I believe that will be a strong foundation for the work I hope to do on the Town Council.”
Cheektowaga Democratic Party Chair Lynn Dearmyer said the committee had interviewed seven potential candidates. “Our committee interviewed seven potential candidates in an open process, and a consensus quickly emerged in support of Rachel,” Dearmyer said. She said members were impressed by Martinez’s professional background “and the clear passion she brings to the table, as well as her commitment to being part of a town government that is open, transparent, and that always puts people ahead of politics.”
DeFields, 46, has lived in Cheektowaga his entire life. He has worked 27 years for the Erie County Highway Department, where he is a crew chief, and 27 years as a volunteer with Doyle Hose Co. No. 2, where he is assistant chief, he told the Bee in September. He is unit chairman for the highway department under AFSCME Local 1095.
Taxes, he said then, were the town’s biggest issue. “Taxes are out of control right now,” DeFields said. “There’s no spending plan. They’re spending money like it’s water, and it’s going to trickle down and hurt the small people, which is seniors and disabled veterans.”
After he built his house in 2019, he said, it was assessed three times and his escrow kept rising. “It’s just getting to the point where you’re going to tax people out of their home,” he said. Asked what he would try to accomplish in office, he said: “I want to fight higher taxes. I want to protect the homeowners, maintain the quality town services that we currently have, and definitely support our police and first responders.”
Neither campaign had issued a post-election statement that the Chronicle could independently confirm by early Sunday.
Term limits pass easily
Cheektowaga voters also approved a proposition establishing term limits for supervisor, town clerk, superintendent of highways and councilmember. The measure passed 23,723 to 2,432, or 90.70% yes, the Bee reported, on a turnout of 26,155 votes on that question. The ballot asked whether the town should limit those offices to 12 years, or three terms, not counting an uncompleted term.
In the Town Justice race, John J. Wanat, who appeared on the Democratic, Republican and Conservative lines, received 28,917 votes, or 99.37%. Write-ins received 182 votes.
Unofficial results are posted by the Erie County Board of Elections. The board’s formal canvass of the Nov. 3 election is still underway.
Leave a Reply