Sheldon, Brackman, Paterniti Are Best Choices For Council In Wards 1, 3, 4 | News, Sports, Jobs

Voters in Jamestown’s Wards 1, 3 and 4 have difficult choices to make when they go to the polls on Election Day.

Ward 1 pits incumbent Republican Brent Sheldon against challenger Travis Knight; Ward 3 is a rematch from the 2021 election between Democratic incumbent Regina Brackman and Republican challenger Robert Reedy; while Ward 4 features incumbent Marie Carruba, a Democrat, and challenger Joe Paterniti, endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties.

Voters, frankly, can’t go wrong with any of the six candidates. All six of these candidates are civic-minded individuals who, in our view, would all make good council representatives. In a perfect world, the three candidates who don’t end up on the City Council find themselves part of boards and commissions where they can put their ideas and energy to use.

That said, we endorse Sheldon, Brackman and Paterniti.

Sheldon has stepped up his game in the past two years, speaking more frequently on housing issues through his position on the council’s Housing Committee. He’s a veteran council member who deserves to continue serving.

Brackman, meanwhile, has proven a capable voice for Ward 3 residents. In addition to her business acumen through her work at Truck-Lite and now at Jamestown Container, Brackman has a wealth of community involvement that we feel helps her best represent the voice of Ward 3 residents. That’s no slight against Reedy, who has turned Elite Kreations into a thriving enterprise and who deserves credit for investing his time and money in the neighborhood where he lives. Brackman, in our view, deserves another two years.

But perhaps the toughest endorsement comes in Ward 4. Paterniti has, in our view, said all the right things during his run for office, and we are particularly struck by the common-sense approach he says he would take with city unions during negotiations. It’s an approach we would like to see on the council. We also get the sense Paterniti would be an independent vote in the same vein as Carruba has been over the years. Voters truly can’t go wrong with this race. Both candidates would well represent the residents of Ward 4. While Carruba is a strong candidate and has been an effective member of the council, we give a slight edge to Paterniti.