Wellsville council adopts resolution to cancel uncontested portion of municipal election

The Wellsville City Council voted Oct. 7 to adopt Resolution 2025‑10, canceling the portion of the municipal election for two uncontested city council seats so only mayoral candidates will appear on the ballot.

City staff explained that state code permits a municipality to cancel an uncontested election and that the resolution is the formal step required to remove uncontested races from the ballot. "This resolution is basically saying that, by state code, if you have an uncontested election, you're able to cancel the election," a staff member said during the hearing.

Councilors discussed prior public frustration when elections were canceled but agreed the state process requires the council to take the administrative step. Speaker 4 said residents had sometimes been upset when contests were canceled; staff responded that the decision follows state law and that canceling contests can produce modest savings in cost and manpower.

Speaker 4 made the motion to approve Resolution 2025‑10 and Speaker 6 seconded it; the council approved the motion by voice assent. The resolution applies to the two council seats referenced in the public explanation, and city staff said ballots will instead list only the two mayoral candidates.

The resolution is effective administratively upon adoption; no vote tally was recorded in the transcript beyond the council's verbal assent. The public hearing that preceded the vote provided the council an opportunity for public input before finalizing the action.