NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — With just 48 hours until primary election day, the countdown has begun in the Niagara Falls’ mayoral race.
Two challengers’ names are set to appear next to incumbent Robert Restaino on Tuesday’s Democratic ballot.
Restaino is looking to gain the Democratic nomination for the second election in a row.
The incumbent claims after years of empty promises from past mayors, he delivered in his first term, avoiding tax hikes with back-to-back budget surpluses and holding property redevelopers accountable.
He says he plans to do the same in his second term and focus his efforts on job creation.
“I've lived here my whole life, and we have had so many people promise the moon and deliver nothing,” he said. “In this in this term, we want to continue that progress.”
Glen Choolokian is making his third appearance on the ballot and vows to voters he’s the candidate to end what he calls 40 years of destruction in the Falls.
But having switched party affiliation for a second time now after running as a Democrat in 2015 and as a Republican in 2019, some voters questions if the Democratic party can put their faith in him.
“I believe in the values of the American people, Niagara Falls people,” he said. “It’s the same problems. If your sidewalk’s broke, it’s everybody's sidewalks. If crime is bad, it’s bad for everybody.”
Finally, Demetreus Nix is a self-proclaimed underdog and ex-con who served nine years in prison for manslaughter.
Now he is a community activist who originally said his campaign was started as a joke, but since has amassed a following over the past few months.
He says he’s focusing his efforts around Niagara Falls’ residents and its youth, but a recent burglary charge poses a concern to some voters.
“The voters don't got to be worried about my case,” he said. “They got to be worried about my actions. The city is rough and beat up, just like my life was, and I was able to turn it around and turn it into a success. I'm not a government hack coming in here, trying to do the same way that has been done for 40 years and just say I'm better at it because more people are going to vote for me.”
Voting will begin at 6 a.m. Tuesday and run through 9 p.m.
The winner will face Republican Candidate Carl Cain in the general election on November 7.