June 14 – Village of Lewiston residents will go to the polls Tuesday to vote for two trustee seats, with at least one new trustee assured of election.
Three candidates will run for the seats: incumbent Trustee Nicolas Conde and challengers Leandra Collesano and Jim Fittante. Trustee Dan Gibson is not seeking re-election.
The pageant will take place from noon to 9 p.m. in the Red Brick Building. The two elected trustees will serve four-year terms.
Nicholas Conde
Conde, the only incumbent running for re-election, is seeking his fourth term on the board. He will run in both Democratic and Republican positions.
“I want to lead the village in the right direction,” says Conde, who has been a village resident for almost forty years. He previously served on the zoning board for 11 years, on the recreation board for five years and as a zoning officer for three years.
While Conde is proud of the projects completed along the Niagara River waterfront, Center Street and for the DPW, he would like to focus on more infrastructure work. The red brick building that houses the village offices needs new electrical, toilet and brick reconnection work, a new water main project on Center Street is in the works and some leaks in the sewer lines need to be repaired.
Conde also wants to sign a new contract with the Lewiston Police Department and complete work on a new DPW building.
He is also nearing retirement age from his job at MJ Mechanical in Tonawanda, which would give him more time to devote to the village.
Leandra Collesano
Collesano, a fourth-generation Lewistonian born and raised in the village, has long been preparing to get involved in local government and run as a Democrat in this election.
Her father Terry was mayor of the village for eight years from 2010 to 2018 and was involved for 43 years. She was even involved in his campaigns at the time and helped hand out flyers.
“He told me a lot about it,” Collesano said. “I felt that this would ultimately be the step I had to take.”
Collesano graduated from Lewiston-Porter and went to Fredonia for college. He currently works for Thermo Fisher Scientific in Grand Island. She was one of the owners of the recently closed Lewiston Love store, but it might be difficult to find a group in the community she hasn’t been involved with.
She was past president of the Lewiston Historical Society, current secretary of the Kiwanis Club, chair of the Lewiston Bicentennial Committee, the Lower Niagara Moose Lodge and the Lewiston Council on the Arts. She also volunteers at Artpark, the Lewiston History Museum, Habitat for Humanity, the Kiwanis Club Peach Festival, the Easter egg hunt and fundraising for the village’s fireworks show.
“I was raised to give back to the community,” Collesano said.
If Collesano is elected, he would like to have a transparent village government that maintains an open dialogue with residents and entrepreneurs. She also wants to honor Lewiston’s historic past while bringing in new businesses and highlighting what’s great about the village.
“People who know me know that I love my hometown,” Collesano said. “I can’t stop talking about it. It’s already great and I want to make it even better.”
Jim Fittante
Fittante is a familiar face to those who follow conservation efforts in the village.
Fittante has been head of Fittante Architecture for 15 years and has served on the village’s historic preservation committee for the past 10 years. Through his company, Fittante has performed construction and preservation work throughout Western New York and as far away as Rochester and Syracuse. Some of his work in Lewiston includes work on the renovation of the Frontier House, the Brickyard Pub, the Lewiston Event Center, Brewed and Bottled, the Battle Flag tavern, the Niagara Falls Country Club and many residential homes.
“I love Lewiston, my heart is here,” said Fittante, who was also born and raised in the town. He is also a member of the Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity
Fittante is running as a Republican and wants to be more involved in village government, especially to help with any infrastructure projects and master planning. He also wants to ensure that the village retains its scenic character and that zoning laws are followed, with his thirty-plus years of professional experience and knowledge of village government being exactly what the board needs.
“My two daughters grew up here,” Fittante said. “It’s a great place to live. I just want to keep that character in the village.”
