LITTLE VALLEY — There are two countywide elections in Cattaraugus County this year for county treasurer and coroner.
County Treasurer Joseph Keller of Olean will not seek re-election to an eighth four-year term this year, but the Keller name will still appear on the ballot.
Keller’s son, Matthew, who has been deputy treasurer for the past 4 ½ years, is planning to run for the county treasurer’s post in the November election.
Democrats are interviewing potential candidates to run for treasurer, said Cattaraugus County Democratic Party Chairman Frank Puglisi. Anyone who is interested but has not previously been contacted should call him, Puglisi said.
The other countywide election involving a county office is that of coroner. Bradley Spink’s four-year term expires at the end of the year. He is expected to seek re-election.
County voters will also be able to cast ballots for Congress, state Senate and state assemblyman.
“It’s my intent to run,” Matthew Keller told the Olean Times Herald last week. “I’ve been deputy treasurer for 4 ½ years. I’m going to ask for all three party lines — Republican, Conservative and Independence.”
The deputy treasurer said he’s helped implement “a lot of innovative things.” He will emphasize his “experience and results” in the campaign for treasurer. “It isn’t something you can readily train for without being there,” he added.
“It puts me at a huge advantage and it puts the county at an advantage” for not having to have someone learn on the job, Matthew Keller said.
The first day to circulate nominating petitions is Feb. 28. They must be filed by April 2.
Joseph Keller, who served as an Olean alderman and county legislator prior to being elected county treasurer in 1992, said the Treasurer’s Office has taken on more duties since he took over 28 years ago.
“The second year I was here the total tax collection system changed,” Joseph Keller said. “We now collect the occupancy tax and our office has taken over the county’s fixed assets. We also took over payroll.” Recently, “the county began foreclosure proceedings after two years of unpaid taxes” instead of three years. He also serves as treasurer of the county Land Bank.
Both cities have elections for aldermen and in Salamanca, the mayor’s office will be on the ballot.
In Olean, there will be elections in Wards 1, 3 and 5. Linda Witte is the Ward 1 alderman, Paul Gonzalez is the alderman in Ward 3 and John Crawford is the Ward 5 alderman.
In Salamanca, elections for mayor and all five aldermen will be on the November ballot. The current aldermen are John Hill, Ward 1; Timothy Flanigan, Ward 2; Michael Lonto, Ward 3; Sandra Magiera, Ward 4; and Janet Koch, Ward 5. Mayor Michael Smith will not run for re-election.
In the town of Allegany, there are two one-year Town Council vacancies, according to the Cattaraugus County Board of Elections.
Four other towns in the county also have councilman vacancies: Ashford, Dayton, Franklinville and Little Valley.
Eleven towns have vacancies for town justice: Ashford, Ellicottville, Farmersville, Franklinville, Freedom, Leon, Little Valley, Perrysburg, Persia, Randolph and Salamanca.
(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)
