Jamestown Ward VI Councilman Aims To Further Growth In Re-Election Bid

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JAMESTOWN – The Democrat incumbent for Jamestown City Council’s Ward VI seat says that there’s more work to be done to improve the Ward and the City as a whole.

Councilman Tom Nelson, who is attempting to fend off a challenge by Republican Andrew Faulkner in the November election, recently spoke with WNY News Now to discuss his re-election campaign. Nelson says that he will continue to learn more about his Ward and the issues it faces.

“I want to listen to them. When I walk around, I want to hear what’s on their mind and what their concerns are,” Nelson said. “It usually has something to do with housing or economic development. We just got this money from the Federal government, the $28 million, how are we going to spend that? And spend that wisely and spend it so it can be something that is long lasting and it really endures.”

The Democrat incumbent says that Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist and others are already introducing ideas that he considers great.

When serving a Ward, it is imperative for the representative to listen to any concerns that residents in that Ward have, says Nelson.

“I get calls from people all the time,” Nelson said. “This is my role. How can I solve this problem for them or at least make it a little bit better for them? The goal is, how can I make Jamestown a little bit better? You just look for potential solutions.”

Nelson explains that the biggest problems that his Ward faces involves the increasing deer population. The Ward VI representative helped spearhead an effort to secure a controlled dear hunt permit, but the Council struck the idea down during its meeting in September.

Nelson, an educator for more than 30 years, says that he’s done his best to encourage his students to become involved in local politics. The Councilman furthers that he was asked by former Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi to run for the Ward VI seat in 2015 when former Councilman and current County Legislator Paul Whitford moved out of the Ward.

In addition, Nelson explained that he ran unsuccessfully for an At-Large seat in 2004.