County Elections 2026

This is a working list of those who have declared their candidacy for this year's county elections or are presumed to be until proven otherwise. Names will be added or removed as time goes on or primaries are held. Current incumbents are in bold.

Chemung County Executive

Christopher Moss ( R )

Mark Margeson ( R )

1st Legislative District

Lawana Morse (R)

Brent Tarantino ( R )

2nd Legislative District

Michael Saglibene (R)

John Boire (D)

3rd Legislative District

L. Thomas Sweet (R)

Don Ziegler ( R )

4th Legislative District ( Currently Vacant )

Joseph Atkinson ( R )

Justin Rusak (R)

5th Legislative District

Mark Margeson (R)

Ed Bond (D)

Nichole Elston (R)

Ken Miller ( R )

6th Legislative District

Joe Donovan (R)

Kyle Wieder (R)

7th Legislative District

James Palmer (R)

Susan Wilks (D)

8th Legislative District

Steve Pickering (R)

9th Legislative District

John Burnin (R)

Meg Magnusen (D)

10th Legislative District

Martin Chalk (R)

11th Legislative District

Brent Stermer (D)

12th Legislative District

William McCarthy (D)

Kevin Sullivan ( R )

13th Legislative District

Scott Drake (R)

14th Legislative District

Michael Smith (R)

Jharmi Leach (D)

Brenda Watts (R)

15th Legislative District

Rodney J. Strange (R)

This is going to be an interesting election year for sure.

IMHO, if Margeson is running for Exec he, or any other person for that matter, should be allowed to be on ballot for another

its pretty disappointing to see districts with uncontested positions, show of Apathy if ever i saw

According to WENY News, the Chemung County Legislature passed a resolution to approve Joseph Atkinson as the new legislator for the county’s fourth district.

Source

I just saw this on Facebok the other day from a candidate in the 4th Legislative District:

To Chemung County, District 4:

I owe you an apology. I went quiet, and you deserved better than that.

For those who don't know me, my name is Justin Rusak. I am a first-time candidate who spent weeks walking every street in Chemung County District 4, alone, in every kind of weather, with nothing but a clipboard and a belief that this county deserves better representation. No team. No strategy. No political machine behind me. Just a man knocking on doors, most of which never opened.

I started a week late. I juggled a busy life like most of you do. And I earned 92 signatures, enough to qualify for the June 23rd Republican primary ballot with 80 required. I was proud of every single one of them. Every signature represented a neighbor who took a moment to say, I want a choice.

I never imagined what came next.

My competitor, the only other candidate for this seat, a man with a direct financial and political interest in being the only name on that ballot, filed objections to my petition. Not because anything was fraudulent. Not because a single signer came forward to say they were confused or misled. But because of technical arguments designed to do one thing: take your right to choose away from you.

He argued my office header was incomplete. He argued that voters who listed their legal postal address, Horseheads, instead of their municipal township were invalid. He argued that even my own witness statement was defective, using the same Horseheads postal address that appears on my legal ID, my mail, and in the county's own voter registration database. He argued across all six pages of my petition, blanket objections, no specific evidence, no affidavits, no documentation, just a pre-printed checklist submitted in a package that weighed one tenth of a pound.

That is what was used to silence 92 of your voices.

I reached out to the Chemung County Board of Elections immediately. I asked Republican Commissioner Sperry J. Navone and Democratic Commissioner Mary M. Collins what my next steps were. The office told me to keep an eye out and that I

would be informed eventually. No guidance. No next steps. Nothing.

So on April 13th I submitted a 100-plus page response, fighting for every one of those 92 signatures, for every one of you who signed that petition. Commissioner Collins stamped it and accepted it. She told me they were still reviewing the

matter.

On April 16th, a week after I first asked for guidance, I received the preliminary ruling. Both commissioners, unanimously, invalidated all 92 signatures. Every

single one. Not because of fraud. Not because of deception. Because of a clerical error in a petition header that misled absolutely no one. Commissioner Collins made it clear in that conversation that I did not understand the law, that they had their own legal advice, and that my arguments did not align with their

position.

Then Commissioner Collins emailed me on April 17th to inform me that my April 13th filing was untimely, that I had until noon on April 20th to file a response. She was wrong. The law gave me until April 13th. I filed on time.

On April 21st, I showed up in person to the hearing because I believed in the process. We were placed in a side room. The board made clear immediately they

would not participate, would not comment, and would not engage. My competitor, faced with my legal arguments against his objections, did not defend his position. Instead he praised the board for their preliminary determination. He told them he was happy with it and that he appreciated their position, a position that took 92 of your voices away. Then he left. The hearing was adjourned. Hours later the board delivered its final ruling, affirming everything.

All 92 of your signatures, gone.

I refused to accept it.

I filed suit in the Supreme Court of Chemung County against the Board of Elections, both commissioners, and my competitor, as a pro se petitioner, meaning

I represented myself, with no attorney, against the full weight of the Chemung County Law Department. I asked the court for immediate judicial review under

Election Law Section 16-102.

The county, represented by M. Hyder Hussain, Esq., filed a late boilerplate response claiming I had no right to even be in that courtroom.

On May 5th, the Honorable Justice Oliver N. Blaise III, presiding from Binghamton because both Chemung County justices recused themselves, heard my case. He overturned the Board's decision on every ground but one. He restored 78 of my 92 signatures. He found the Board wrong on the office header, wrong on the postal addresses, wrong on the witness statement, and wrong on the printed signature

ruling.

Four rulings reversed.

He sustained 14 signatures invalidated because those voters had signed both my petition and my competitor's petition, and under New York law the earlier signature controls. I was left with 78 valid signatures. Two short of 80.

Two signatures.

I have thought long and hard about what comes next. I had legal arguments. I had grounds for appeal. I had a deadline of yesterday , May 12th, at the Third Department, and after everything I have been through, after every door that didn't open, every cold morning with that clipboard, every hour spent in law books I had never opened before, every sleepless night preparing arguments for a Supreme Court hearing I walked into alone, I have decided not to appeal.

Not because I gave up. But because I know who I am and I know what I am capable of contributing to this county on the ballot or off it. I will own those two signatures. I should have done better for you. I started late, I worked alone, and in the end I came up short. That is on me and I accept it fully.

But I will not be silent about what happened here.

To the Chemung County Board of Elections, to Commissioners Mary M. Collins and Sperry J. Navone, your job is to protect ballot access. Your job is to be the guardians of democratic participation in this county. Instead you used the full weight of your office to take 92 voices away from District 4 residents, with no evidence of fraud, no confused signers, no wrongdoing of any kind, based on a

clerical error that a sitting Supreme Court Justice ultimately agreed did not mislead a single person. You had a 100-page response printed 3 times, sitting in front of you and you disregarded it. You told me I didn't understand the law. Yet a Supreme Court judge

disagreed with you on four separate rulings.

Do better. The people of this county deserve commissioners who protect their right to choose, not commissioners who make it easier for sitting legislators to coast into another term.

To my competitor, you win today. You spent your time and your resources making sure the only person who challenged you for this seat couldn't get on the ballot.

Not on ideas. Not on a record. Not on what you have done for District 2 and the potential of District 4. On a petition header and a postal address. I am not going to pretend that doesn't say something about how you intend to govern.

You have been in the District 2 seat for 3 1/2 years. During that time, District 2 knows how you've shown up, or haven't. When the truck stop threatened District 2 you were quiet. When constituents needed a voice you were unavailable. You have coasted on the last 4 years, collected a paycheck, and played politics when it suited you, including the county's entanglement with your employer, which the people of this district deserve a full accounting of.

If you are elected in November you will be my representative. And I promise you, I will hold you to account for every resident you chose to silence on the way there.

Every one of those 92 people deserved a choice. You took it from them. Live with that.

To the 92 people who signed that petition, I am sorry. You did everything right.

You answered the door. You signed your name. You asked for a voice. The system failed you and I failed to get you across the finish line by two signatures.

That is a debt I intend to repay.

To District 4, I am not going anywhere. I have been your fire commissioner for two years. I will continue to show up, continue to speak, and continue to fight for the things that matter to this community.

This was a beginning, not an ending.

The people who tried to make sure you had no choice in this race showed you exactly who they are.

Remember that in November.

With humility, gratitude, and resolve,

Justin Rusak

District 4 Resident | Fire Commissioner | Chemung County

So I'm a little confused. Michael Saglibene, currently the legislator for the 2nd District, is running in the 4th District now?!?

12 minutes ago, Chris said:

So I'm a little confused. Michael Saglibene, currently the legislator for the 2nd District, is running in the 4th District now?!?

My eyes glazed a few times while trying to read that diatribe.....but I can't find where mentions the competitor by name.

However, the districts were redrawn since the previous election. So some people living near district lines will find themselves in a different district this time. For instance...former 4th district resident Ed Bond is now a resident (and candidate) in the 5th district.

20 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

My eyes glazed a few times while trying to read that diatribe.....but I can't find where mentions the competitor by name.

I should have posted these as well:

Unfortunately he probably does not have a leg to stand on. I ran petitions for Margeson along with a number of others and we were very well schooled about things like addresses. I had quite a few signatures on mine invalidated due to people using mailing address rather than the actual town or village they lived in. I was super specific too. They also didn't accept abbreviations like Hhds. I was specific about that and still people just wrote whatever.

So many live in one town and pay taxes to another and use yet another for mailing. Confusing AF. Single biggest reason for invalidating them. I also had people print names. That's actually how they sign things to begin with so that one is a little petty but might have lost a few that way too.

Margeson made it on the ballot though. Anyone want a yard sign? lol

Edited May 14May 14 by KarenK

Someone stopped by the house yesterday and asked if they could put a sign in the yard for Margeson. I’m not a fan of them in general and they’re a pain in the ass to move every time I have to mow. But I was also honest and said I wasn’t sure who I’d support. Well, that and I’m not a registered Republican.

But it is important that people know there’s a choice. So I told him he could put one at the corner where we own but it doesn’t imply an endorsement. He was good with that and even suggested if the Moss campaign wanted to, they could put one there too. Which I agree with.

It’s true, I don’t know who I’d vote for right now, but what’s also true is, I’m done endorsing candidates.

On 5/31/2026 at 7:09 PM, Chris said:

Someone stopped by the house yesterday and asked if they could put a sign in the yard for Margeson. I’m not a fan of them in general and they’re a pain in the ass to move every time I have to mow. But I was also honest and said I wasn’t sure who I’d support. Well, that and I’m not a registered Republican.

But it is important that people know there’s a choice. So I told him he could put one at the corner where we own but it doesn’t imply an endorsement. He was good with that and even suggested if the Moss campaign wanted to, they could put one there too. Which I agree with.

It’s true, I don’t know who I’d vote for right now, but what’s also true is, I’m done endorsing candidates.

for me, Moss has proven no better than the shitbags in DC, so disappointed in his time in office.

As for Mr. Margeson; hes just as much as establishment as Moss but at least he isnt Moss; of course that logic on the National level is what got us the current Jerk-off in chief...im really not sure whether to vote or not

Edited June 2Jun 2 by ADAM
specificity

The ballots sit on the counter and where I normally would have opened them by this time , quite frankly I could give a rats ass given what I have seen … or not seen over the last couple years ! Looks like its write in time .

Although Elmira Telegram cannot reprint the following in their entirety, below are two links provied by WETM News containing ten questions for the candidates for Chemung County Executive, incumbent Chris Moss and his challenger, Mark Margeson.

10 Questions: Mark Margeson

10 Questions: Chris Moss

On 6/1/2026 at 10:20 PM, ADAM said:

for me, Moss has proven no better than the shitbags in DC, so disappointed in his time in office.

As for Mr. Margeson; hes just as much as establishment as Moss but at least he isnt Moss; of course that logic on the National level is what got us the current Jerk-off in chief...im really not sure whether to vote or not

I will never not vote even though I don’t like either candidate. I will use the option of writing in the name of a candidate even though I know that individual has no chance. I see voting as a privilege and obligation. No, I don’t wear rose colored glasses, I see the garbage that passes as politics. I have to keep hoping it will get better.

1 hour ago, Elmira Telegram said:

Although Elmira Telegram cannot reprint the following in their entirety, below are two links provied by WETM News containing ten questions for the candidates for Chemung County Executive, incumbent Chris Moss and his challenger, Mark Margeson.

10 Questions: Mark Margeson

10 Questions: Chris Moss

It would have been nice if at least one of them mentioned being interested in transparency.

Also disappointing that both note the high costs of unfunded mandates from Albany and only equate the importance of "economic growth" to increase sales and property taxes.

No one ever talks about any desire to see more county residents gainfully employed with living wages and health benefits that would reduce the social services burdens. (edit to add: this is an issue that projects like the Amazon facility could help....but neither candidate cares enough to talk about it).

Edited June 5Jun 5 by MsKreed

Debates are "political stunts"?

WTF?

Since when are debates political stunts? How is he even a politician?

WETM and WENY attempted to organize debates between the two for months now and he has declined every one. Now Mark throws in the gauntlet and its a stunt. Mark has as much to lose in a debate as he has to win so they can always go either way.

I really think he is hurting himself post things like this.

16 minutes ago, KarenK said:

I really think he is hurting himself post things like this.

Yeah....fighting to limit "challenger's visibility" just seems like what we saw Biden's DNC do to RFK and Dean Phillips in 2024. That didn't work out so well.

I have to say, not only do I strongly disagree that debates are “political theater”, but am disappointed in Chris’s stance on that.

4 hours ago, KarenK said:

How is he even a politician?

by taking such a stance....

Never wanted to believe it, but i was told years ago, Chris Moss is essentially God in his world, he has sadly proven that out over his time in office.

worst part is, given the current climate of how voters align and based on what views, i think his re-election will be a lead-pipe cinch

19 minutes ago, ADAM said:

worst part is, given the current climate of how voters align and based on what views, i think his re-election will be a lead-pipe cinch

Honestly a month ago I would have completely agreed. I'm not so sure anymore.

I'm glad to see Chris changed his mind.

Moss had initially said earlier in the week that he would not attend the event, but said Thursday that after speaking with his campaign committee, he decided it was important to answer voters' questions.

Did the media (or anyone) record it for those who couldn't attend?

I don't see a link in the WETM article or either of the campaign FB pages.

31 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

Did the media (or anyone) record it for those who couldn't attend?

Not that I'm aware of, but if I find that someone did I'll try to get it.

5 hours ago, Chris said:

I'm glad to see Chris changed his mind.

His campaign manager (that I didn't even know he had) probably saw that he was being eviserated on social media. Unfortunately no one knew before the event that he was going. I bet a lot more people would have showed up for it.

Edited June 12Jun 12 by KarenK