Photos from left- Rochelle Stein, Dr. George Vito, Robert Bialkowski, Kathy Briggs
By Mike Pettinella
For Video News Service
Genesee County Republican Committee on Tuesday night did not endorse a candidate for two contested seats on the Genesee County Legislature.
At a meeting at Batavia Downs Gaming, secret voting failed to produce an endorsement for the following legislative seats:
— District No. 5 (Town of Le Roy) with incumbent Rochelle Stein and Dr. George Vito seeking the committee’s support.
— District No. 9 (City of Batavia Wards 4 and 5) with City Council members Robert Bialkowski and Kathy Briggs seeking the committee’s support.
Gary Maha, the current District 9 legislator, previously announced that he will be stepping down after serving since 2018.
GCRC Chair Scott German said he presided over three rounds of balloting – following short speeches by the candidates and a brief question-and-answer period — in an attempt for one or more of the candidates to reach the 60 percent needed for endorsement.
Asked on Wednesday morning if the “no endorsement” outcome was unusual, German said, the committee hasn’t dealt with many contested races in recent years.
“I’ve seen it before where it ended in no endorsements,” he said, adding that he was a bit surprised by the vote.
Going forward, German said all four candidates are “entitled to run on their own as Republicans if they wish.”
“They will have to pass their own petitions, and they don’t get any support from the county committee,” he said.
Video News Service reached out to the four candidates for reaction.
Stein said she is considering running a Republican primary.
“That’s my next decision,” she said. “I’m not sure yet. I need to spend some time on becoming educated on the process.”
When asked for a reaction to not receiving an endorsement, Stein mentioned her role on the county’s $150 million water project.
“I think it’s a really critical time at the county, especially with the water project, to not be there to help guide our progress, which is so critical for our growth and our economic development,” she said. “That is really important to me to be able to continue that work.
“That’s a really big project and somebody doesn’t just come in cold into that. There’s a lot of continuity of the history of the project, where we are and where we need to go. And I serve as the lead on that.”
Vito, a podiatrist who moved to Le Roy in 2018, said the voting shows “that the local people are not happy with the current situation.”
“As I understand, as the votes were tabulated, more and more votes were going against her (Stein) than for her, and I was getting more and more.”
He went on to say that “people don’t like her style of the tail wagging the dog.”
“She’s very directive, very headstrong and she doesn’t listen,” he said, adding “that I’m only repeating what the people have told me.”
Looking ahead, he said, “We’re in unchartered waters where you have an incumbent who is not supported. Whether we continue in this or if a Democrat steps in, I think she’s in a very bad spot right now — one way or another.”
Bialkowski said that he has not decided on whether he will move forward by gathering signatures and forcing a primary.
Briggs said, “We all were disappointed we didn’t get the endorsement, and it was a long evening, too.”
“It looks like I might be forced into a primary,” said Briggs, who has two more years on her City Council term. “If I have to do it, then I’ll do it. I have no choice.”
Briggs did earn the endorsement of the Genesee County Conservative Party.
The GCRC did endorse four candidates in uncontested races for November:
— Legislator Chad Klotzbach (District No. 1, Towns of Alabama and Oakfield).
— Gordon Dibble (District No. 3, Towns of Pembroke and Darien).
— John Deleo (District No. 7, City of Batavia Wards 1 and 6).
— District Attorney Kevin Finnell.