Cheektowaga sets public comment meetings in voting rights violation case

Town residents will have two chances to tell their elected officials whether they agree with the claim.

The Town Board will hold two public hearings as part of its response to a complaint from Ken Young that alleges the town’s at-large voting system prevents minority voters from electing the candidates they prefer.

The public hearings are scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 21 and 9 a.m. Feb. 24. Both will be held in the Cheektowaga Town Justice Court, 3223 Union Road, in Courtroom 2.

Residents can also submit written comments to the Town Clerk’s Office instead of speaking in person.

Young, a Black resident who campaigned as a Democrat for a seat on the Town Board in 2023, wants the town to implement a ward system for voting and impose a two-term limit for board members. Young laid out his claims in a notice he filed with the town in December under the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York.

Young’s notice to the town is not a lawsuit. Provisions in the state Voting Rights Act give municipalities the chance to remedy violations without a lengthy and expensive court process.

But if the town does not remedy Young’s complaint within the time period set out in the law, he can sue.

“There’s a very fast timeline in the law that we need to respond to from the date that the letter is submitted,” Daniel Spitzer, an attorney with Hodgson Russ who is acting as special counsel to the town, told the Town Board during a special meeting Monday night.

“We want to have you prepared to know what the public wants to do within the time frame established by the law,” Spitzer said.