On Thursday night, Republicans in the Town of Ontario met to choose their candidates for the November election. With a crowd at the Caucus at Wayne Central High School of about 180 people (voters and observers), the race for Town Supervisor was contested.
Opponent Terry Pickett, a former Wayne County Deputy Sheriff, took on current Town Supervisor Frank Robusto. After speeches and balloting, Robusto held the nomination with a vote of 89 to 76. Nominated and accepted for a spot on the ballot for Town Justice, current Judge Bill Benedict held the caucus’s approval. For the two Town Council seats, incumbents Scott Tewinkle and Mark D’Angelo were challenged by former Wayne Central School board member Deb Hibbard. On the first ballot, the highest votes went to Tewinkle and Hibbard, who then ran against each other for the 1st board seat position. Hibbard won that vote 74 to 57. Then Tewinkle and D’Angelo ran for the 2nd seat and D’Angelo came away with the win 67 to 61.
The slate of Republican candidates for Ontario in the Fall will be Robusto, Benedict, Hibbard and D’Angelo.