Nowak comes out ahead in recount for Cheektowaga supervisor race

A recount by the Erie County Board of Elections confirmed Democrat Brian Nowak won the seat by a razor-thin margin over Republican Michael Jasinski.

Nowak beat Jasinski by 53 votes.

The final tally was 9,045 votes for Nowak and 8,992 votes for Jasinski, according to the Board of Elections. 

The recount process started Tuesday and finished Wednesday afternoon at the Board of Elections office on West Eagle Street in Buffalo. The process involved elections employees separating the ballots by district, counting them by hand and then running the ballots through a machine to confirm the hand count. 

Nowak was present Wednesday morning to observe the process. 

The election results will be certified next week, within 25 days of the election.

Last week, after all absentee and affidavit ballots were counted, Nowak had a 57-vote lead over Jasinski, or 0.32%. That fell within the 0.5% margin triggering an automatic recount, according to New York State election law. 

The campaign for the supervisor position was heated, with both candidates butting heads. 

Leading up to Election Day, Jasinski and outgoing town Supervisor Diane Benczkowski attempted to oust Nowak from his Town Board seat. 

Jasinski called on Nowak to resign after Nowak publicly called out an applicant to the town Ethics Board for flying a confederate flag at her home. Jasinski also sponsored a resolution to censure Nowak for reportedly offering a bribe to the town’s highway superintendent. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office looked into that accusation and found “no evidence of criminal conduct” by Nowak.

Since Nowak is a Town Board member, his seat will be vacant once he assumes the supervisor role on Jan. 1. His seat can be filled by appointment or during a special election next year.

In an interview leading up to Election Day, Nowak said making Cheektowaga a more affordable place…