Who’ll make the primary ballot?

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Attorney Jessica Kulpit is a lock to be elected to an Erie County Court judgeship this November. There are two county judgeships on the ballot this fall and, as is so often the case around here, exactly the same number of candidates to choose from.

Kulpit and incumbent James Bargnesi — both Democrats — will appear on the Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families party lines. The cross-endorsement deal between parties also ensures the reelection of incumbent Erie County Family Court Judge Brenda Freedman, a Republican who will have the Democratic and Conservative lines, as well as that of her own party.

Before she assumes that judgeship, Kulpit is squeezing in a little election lawyering — a service she has provided her party for years.

Last week she filed court challenges to the validity of nominating petitions from two fellow Democrats: Michael Gainer, a candidate for Buffalo mayor, and Betty Jean Grant, a candidate for the District 2 seat on the Erie County Legislature.

The court challenges are backup measures. The two commissioners of the Erie County Board of Elections — one Republican, one Democrats — will rule on the challenges to Gainer’s and Grant’s petitions on Thursday. If the commissioners decide that Gainer and Grant collected enough good signatures to participate in the Jun Democratic primary, Kulpit can ask a judge to overrule them.

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Attorney Jessica Kulpit filing her nominating petition for Erie County Court judge. Photo courtesy of the Erie County Democratic Committee.

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She has done this work on behalf of the party before. Court records show Kulpit helped get Joel Moore, a candidate for Buffalo City Court, kicked off the ballot in 2021. That same year she and another attorney filed, then withdrew, a challenge to the nominating petitions of Kim Beatty, who went on to win the Democratic primary for Erie County sheriff, then lose the general election to Republican John Garcia.

All told, Kulpit in the last five years has taken part in about a dozen efforts to disqualify candidates, always in the service of the party’s endorsed candidate. County Democrats have endorsed state Sen. Sean Ryan in the mayor’s race and Erie County Legislator Taisha St. Jean Tard for the District 2 seat.

The Erie County election commissioners on Thursday also will rule on challenges to the nominating petitions of all four Republican candidates for Cheektowaga Town Council: incumbents Tony Filipski, Mike Jasinski, and Diane Benczkowski, as well as Mark Wegner.

As of Friday there were no accompanying court challenges.

Benczkowski, a Democrat, is a former town supervisor who in February was appointed to a vacancy caused by the death of Deputy Supervisor Jerry Kaminiski. She’s running as a Republican to retain the seat.

Speaking of Jasinski, it sounds for all the world like the Cheektowaga Town council member has been calling into David Bellavia’s radio show on WBEN and identifying himself as “Joe in Hamburg.” Either that or Jasinski has a doppelgänger who talks just like him.

Have a listen, courtesy of the admitted partisans at WNYMedia:

I emailed Jasinski to ask him why he would do that, but he hasn’t responded.

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What I’m reading:

• New York Focus continued its series on conviction integrity units, which are housed in district attorneys’ offices across the state and are charged with investigating wrongful conviction claims. Last month New York Focus told the story of Renay Lynch, a Buffalo woman who spent nearly 25 years in prison for a 1998 murder. She was exonerated last year.
• City & State reports that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget negotiating tactics indicate she’s every bit as tough as her predecessor.
• A judge ruled in favor of a man who wants Erie County to give him custody of some guns confiscated from his son, pursuant to an order of protection. The son, after the pistols in question were taken from him, re-registered them, adding his father as co-owner.
• Mackenzie Shuman of The Buffalo News reports on PFAS chemicals passing unabated through the city’s wastewater treatment plant and into the Niagara River.
• Politico reports Canadians are boycotting travel and shopping in the United States as a result of Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation. That’s terrible news for the regional and state economy.
• The News’ Steve Watson reports that Kevin Stocker doesn’t want to be called a perennial candidate, but the Kenmore attorney — who has in fact run for office quite few times — is considering a challenge to U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy next year.