By Sean Gallagher
CHEEKTOWAGA — Republican Assemblyman Patrick Chludzinski has conceded the 143rd Assembly District race to Democrat Ryan Taughrin, ending a race that stayed too close to call for a week after Election Day and returning the Cheektowaga seat to Democrats after one Republican term.
Mr. Taughrin, who ran on the Democratic and Working Families lines, received 23,226 votes, or 50.60%, to 22,656, or 49.36%, for Mr. Chludzinski, who ran on the Republican and Conservative lines, according to unofficial results reported by the Cheektowaga Bee. There were 22 write-in votes, for a total of 45,904. Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported the Erie County Board of Elections’ final count at 50.6% to 49.4%, a margin of 570 votes. Mr. Taughrin takes office in January.
The margin barely moved after Election Night. When the Chronicle last reported on the race on Nov. 8, Mr. Taughrin led by 561 votes with about 800 absentee ballots still outstanding. The final 570-vote margin works out to about 1.2% of the votes cast, more than twice the one-half of 1% threshold that triggers an automatic hand count under state law.
The concession
Mr. Chludzinski, a former Cheektowaga police officer and Army veteran, framed his concession around his service. “My entire adult life has been in service to my country and community, with the Army National Guard, the United States Army, the Cheektowaga Police Department, and for the last two years as the State Assemblyman representing the 143rd District,” he said in a statement reported by the Bee. “Representing my family, friends, and neighbors in state government has been a great honor, and I am very proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time.”
He pointed to his record as a member of the Assembly’s Republican minority. “This commitment enabled us to help pass an unprecedented number of bills for a freshman minority legislator, provide valuable constituent services to residents in need, deliver resources for important projects, stand up for what we believed to be right, and stand against what we believed to be wrong,” he said.
“My congratulations to the Democrat party and I wish my successor Ryan Taughrin well,” Mr. Chludzinski said.
The winner
Mr. Taughrin thanked his opponent. “I want to thank Assemblymember Chludzinski for years of service to our community,” he said, according to the Bee. “I look forward to a smooth, cooperative transition for the people of this district.”
He credited volunteers and organized labor. “This campaign was built by people,” Mr. Taughrin said. “Our volunteers knocked doors almost daily, made calls after long shifts, and staffed poll sites from open to close. Union labor stood with us from day one, and I’m proud to have had the backing of working families across Western New York.” He also thanked the Cheektowaga and Lancaster Democratic committees.
On Facebook, Mr. Taughrin wrote, “We did it, y’all,” Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported. “I am looking forward to representing every single person in this district, and to bring your voice with me to Albany.” He has pledged to hold town hall-style listening sessions across the district every year he is in office, the Bee reported, and said his team would share transition plans in the coming weeks.
As the Chronicle reported in October, the campaign turned on Cheektowaga’s use of license plate reader cameras, bail and Raise the Age, and party committee money behind television ads.
What comes next
The concession does not end the count. The Board of Elections still has to complete its recanvass and certify results across the county. Republican Elections Commissioner Ralph Mohr told WBEN last week that the process would take two to three weeks. “We expect to take somewhere about two-to-three weeks, and certification would probably be coming around Thanksgiving,” Mr. Mohr said.
Mr. Mohr also described how the board handles a close race. “We don’t begin every canvas or a count without notifying the candidates, without allowing them or their representatives to be present. The public can also come down and watch the results,” he said. “I’ve been here 33 years, and we’ve had a number of instances in which a single vote makes a difference in a race.”
The new Assembly term begins in January, when the Legislature returns to Albany to take up the governor’s budget.
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