East Aurora Advertiser

Rosati Wins Spot on Village BoardFree Access



Voters have picked two incumbents and one new person to serve on the Village Board of East Aurora.

Anthony Rosati was elected to his first term as a trustee following the Sept. 15 election. The results also showed that current Trustees Ernie Scheer and Paul Porter III were re-elected to another two years on the board.

Mayor Peter Mercurio, left, was re-elected to a second term as mayor and Anthony Rosati was elected to his first term on the Village Board of East Aurora. Photo by Adam Zaremski

There were three open seats on the board this year and four candidates. Challenger Thomas Crowe did not get a spot on the board. 

The final tally was:

-Anthony Rosati: 282 

-Ernie Scheer: 275

-Paul Porter III:  229

-Thomas Crowe: 183

There were 431 ballots cast for this year’s election. It’s more than some years, but far below other years. 

Mayor Peter Mercurio ran unopposed and was re-elected. He received 349 votes.

Rosati has been a regular fixture at both village and town board meetings for several years. He often is prepared to offer feedback and ideas for the boards to consider during a public comment period. It has become a good natured joke when the elected officials will ask Rosati if he has anything to add before a meeting ends and act surprised when he says no. 

Following the election win, Rosati said he was looking forward to a chance to have more input on decisions and to learn more about what takes place behind the scenes for village government. 

“It was one of those things where I started out [attending meetings] to get more information about the community,” he said. “In the process I thought I could help out.”

Anthony Rosati signs the book to officially become a Village of East Aurora Trustee. Photo by Adam Zaremski

He has also served on the Aurora Town Zoning Board of Appeals. At the time of this writing it was not certain if he would remain on that board while also being on the Village Board. The town ZBA is an appointed position, not elected. 

There are about 4,000 registered voters in the village. Last year only 327 people came out to vote, though that election appeared to only feature incumbents running, but Trustee Marcia Kimmel-Hurt was elected in a write-in campaign. 

And in 2018, over 950 ballots were cast. That was a year when three people sought the mayoral seat, which Mercurio won. 

Mayor Peter Mercurio signs the book and takes the oath of office following the election results on Sept. 15, 2020. Photo by Adam Zaremski

The 2020 elections were delayed from March due to the pandemic, and New York State had two other dates proposed until deciding on the September election. It meant Trustee Michelle Schoeneman, who decided to not run for a second term, continued to serve on the board until this election. 

According to the New York State guidelines, those elected will immediately be sworn into office. Both Mercurio and Rosati were at the Village Hall when the announcement was made for who won the election, and both signed the official book to become elected officials. 

The next Village Board meeting is Sept. 21. The board may host it virtually or have a mix of meeting in person and virtual meeting. That decision was not finalized as of Tuesday night.

One response to “Rosati Wins Spot on Village Board”

  1. Carl Schwarz says:

    I see one of the main reasons for such a lousy turnout in these elections is the minimal (almost non existent) notification available to the general public. A few signs along Main Street the week before the election would go a long ways.

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