Some hotly contested races are on the ballot today, including elections for Erie County executive and Niagara Falls mayor.
This is what pundits call an off-year election. That is supposed to mean there aren't important races on the machine.
That's not quite true, since residents of Erie County want to know who will sit in the county executive's office and who controls the County Legislature. State Assemblyman Ray Walter has pushed hard against incumbent County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
Republicans control the Legislature 6-5 currently, but that could change based on two races thought close, incumbent Republican Ted Morton in Cheektowaga and Democrat Tom Loughran fighting to hold their seats.
That's also true for mayor of Niagara Falls, with two-termer Paul Dyster going for three, supervisors on the ballot in Lewiston, Wheatfield, Cheektowaga, West Seneca and Amherst.
Sometime tonight, residents will know who sits on the Erie County Family Court bench and whether or not the appointed incumbent will continue to occupy the Delaware District council member's office.
In Cattaraugus County, many bets are off because there are only 17 County Legislature seats on the ballots because the membership is being cut from 21 and there are new district lines.
