Chautauqua County Executive Elect George Borrello today announced the formation of his transition team as he prepares to take office on January 1. Borrello will succeed current County Executive Vince Horrigan who is leaving office for retirement at the end of the year. Borrello, who appeared on WDOE's Viewpoint program, says the eight member team is made up of people from across the county. He says party affiliation was not a factor...
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Borrello says the transition team will help carry out his campaign promise to visit 100 businesses and organizations in the first 100 days in office. He has tasked the transition team with identifying those 100 businesses and organizations and developing a survey to help develop an economic development strategy for the county. The transition team will also help Borrello implement the Countywide Alliance for Enforcement and Rehabilitation or CAER to help address the drug crisis facing the county.
The following community members have agreed to serve on the transition team:
Bob Bankoski- Bankoski is a current Chautauqua County Legislator representing the City of Dunkirk, and also serves as the assistant minority leader of the Legislature.
Helen Baran – Baran is the owner/operator of Baran Vineyards in Westfield where she has lived since 1941. She is President of the Board of Directors for Westfield Memorial Hospital, an affiliate of the Allegheny Health Network.
Vince DeJoy- DeJoy is the current Director of Development for the City of Jamestown. DeJoy is a Jamestown native who graduated from Jamestown High School and went on to SUNY Geneseo where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Biology.
Richard Johnson – Johnson currently serves as a retired partner in the firm of Johnson, Mackowiak & Associates, LLP with offices in Fredonia. Johnson became a certified public accountant in 1979, and has prior work experience with the U.S. General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C.
Richard Ketcham – Ketcham is a retired President and CEO of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Utica, New York. Ketcham was also the President and CEO of Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk, where he completed two $7 million expansion and renovation projects during his tenure.
Robert MacCallum- MacCallum is a retired Principal Utilities Engineer (Chief Engineer) for the New York State Department of Correctional Services who currently resides in the Town of Chautauqua.
Mark Tarbrake – Tarbrake is a lifetime resident of Chautauqua County and graduate of Southwestern Schools. He earned his AA Degree from Jamestown Community College and his BA degree in History and Political Science from SUNY Oneonta.
Tom Tarpley (Chair) – Tarpley is a retired Police Lieutenant from Southern California where he worked for 24 years for the Tustin Police Department, and five years prior to that for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The transition team will be supported by a liaison to the County Executive. Daniel Heitzenrater will serve in that capacity. Heitzenrater is currently the Executive Assistant for County Executive Vince Horrigan.
