Published: July 01, 2008 01:31 am      

ROYALTON: Major party chairmen avoid endorsing town candidate

ROYALTON — A candidate for town board may be looking to the county’s major party committees for backing, after the town Republican and Democratic committees both declined to endorse her.

Mary Cedeno of Lincoln Avenue, a registered Democrat, is pursuing both major party lines and two minor party lines in her bid for the seat now occupied by Lee Criswell.

Cedeno is pursuing the GOP line despite she didn’t interview with the town GOP committee, and Republican Dan Bragg already has its endorsement.

In addition, the town Democratic committee declined to recommend Cedeno after chairman John Villella discovered she’s also trying to run as a Republican.

Cedeno, a nine-year town resident who’s never held elective office, said she is trying for both major lines and the Independence and Conservative endorsements “to help me get my foot in the door.”

While Cedeno says she has about twice as many signatures as she needs on her Republican nominating petition, town GOP committee chairman said unequivocally Monday that she does not have the committee’s support.

Bob Johnston said he advised Cedeno previously that the committee would expect her to switch parties after the election if it did endorse her; and also that, if she was awarded the GOP endorsement, she would not be able to also accept the Democratic endorsement.

The committee this past winter adopted a written policy stating it will not endorse, or will cancel a previously awarded endorsement of, any candidate who seeks and wins “other” major party backing. The policy is its response to the intraparty upset that ensued last year after several registered Republicans, including one endorsed by the GOP committee, obtained Democratic backing and ended up beating GOP committee-backed candidates at the polls.

“You’re a Republican or a Democrat, one or the other,” Johnston said. “No double dipping.”

Separately, Villella said the town Democratic committee is “referring” Cedeno’s endorsement request to the Niagara County Democratic committee for a decision and will not recommend her, itself. The action comes after Villella said he found out Cedeno was also passing Republican nominating petitions and questioned which party she’d belong with if she won.

“I’m not sure if she’s remaining a Democrat or going Republican. I didn’t get a definite answer from her when I asked her last week,” Villella said. “How can you not know?”

The town Democratic committee last year backed three registered Republicans, Supervisor Dick Lang, council member Jennifer Bieber and council candidate Harry Nachtrieb. None are known to have switched their party affiliation afterward.

Cedeno on Monday asserted she’s already endorsed by the Democrats and that Villella is assisting her campaign.

Of her ability to land GOP candidacy authorization without the town committee’s backing, Cedeno said she doesn’t know how it works, only that she’s trying.

“I can’t give you an answer to that right now,” she said.

The county GOP committee’s bylaws say it can override a town committee’s recommendation by majority vote. The town committee isn’t on best terms with county Chairman Henry Wojtaszek after members backed Mike Cole over Jane Corwin in the 142nd state Assembly district race and preferred Brian Grear over Ernie Palmer for sheriff in a race that still hasn’t popped yet. Grear last week declared himself a candidate for state Senate, setting in motion a primary race with powerhouse GOP incumbent Sen. George Maziarz.

The county committee has not endorsed or authorized anyone to run in the Royalton town board race. When the committee last met to vote on requests, the Royalton endorsement stayed off the table at Johnston’s request, Wojtaszek said Monday.

Of Cedeno, he said, some “investigation” of her party affiliation would be required before the county committee considered backing her.

If the committee reconvenes before mid-July, candidate filing deadlines the question likely would be taken up, Wojtaszek said, and the county group “probably would leave it up to the local committee” to choose gets its backing.

Criswell, a past elected councilman, is serving in Supervisor Lang’s old board seat through the election. He declined to run in the current race.

Bragg, a Royalton-Hartland School Board member, ran unsuccessfully for a board seat last year.

Cedeno, whom the town board appointed to the planning board this past February, is attempting her first political campaign. She’s a project administrator for URS Corp., an environmental engineering firm, and works on remediation at DuPont in Niagara Falls.

Her candidacy offers “a fresh view on politics,” she said. “I don’t have the (personal) affiliations that so many others have now. ... I’d work for taxpayers solely. That’s it.”

Contact reporter Joyce Miles at 439-9222, ext. 6245