This year, Pittsford residents will cast their ballots for four town positions, two state Supreme Court judgeships and a Family Court judge.
To help inform your vote, we sent brief questionnaires through the party chairpersons to all candidates in contested races. Those with expanded information and photos below responded to the questionnaire. Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and space.
Early voting is available to all voters in Monroe County from Saturday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, Nov. 2. Polls are open for regular voting between 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4.
You can look up where you can vote on Election Day at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov. Check back with the Democrat and Chronicle for the full election results as they become available.
Pittsford Town Supervisor
Cathy Koshykar, D, WF
Age: 51
Current or prior elected office: Member of the Pittsford Town Board since 2020
Professional experience: Attorney for 25 years with both corporate and courtroom experience.
Top priority: Currently, Pittsford’s two biggest issues are traffic safety and cost of living. The town has done good work towards calm traffic by lowering the speed limit on town roads, installing speed bumps and traffic signs, and utilizing speed reading devices. We need to do more. I will form an ad hoc committee to methodically examine each neighborhood in Pittsford and recommend measures to slow traffic in specific danger areas. In 2020, I stopped the incumbent supervisor’s proposed tax increase for 2021. I will continue to make cost-to-residents a central factor in the town’s decision making process.
William A. Smith Jr., R, C (incumbent)
Age: 70
Current or prior elected office: Current Pittsford Town Supervisor since 2014. Previously held positions as Pittsford Town Justice (2011-2012), Monroe County Legislator for Pittsford (1996-2007) ― including serving as the Legislature Majority Leader between 2001-2007, and a Pittsford Town Board Member (1996).
Professional experience: Attorney-at-law, practicing corporate and securities law from 1984 to retirement in 2013.
Top priority: Affordable Town taxes. I reduced the Town tax rate from $3.44 in 2018 to $3.13 in 2022 and have held it flat ever since. Building more sidewalks and traffic-calming infrastructure for safer walking and biking. Continuing environmental initiatives including our Climate Action Plan; protecting our Greenprint. Continuing excellent fiscal management: the only town of our size in America to have a perfect Triple-A credit rating; a town with a perfect score from the State Comptroller for fiscal stress. Respecting the choices of the overwhelming majority of town residents on key policy matters, such as zoning to protect neighborhood stability and safety.
Pittsford Town Board
Michael E. Arcuri, D, WF
Age: 34
Current or prior elected office: None.
Professional experience: Physician assistant with experience in adjusting policy to help with clinic efficiency and patient outcome optimization in the medical field.
Top priority: A top priority in Pittsford is that we need a more accessible and transparent town hall with greater community involvement. Modernizing our website and communication systems would make that possible. A mobile friendly, user focused site with interactive forms for registration, licensing, permitting, and payments would reduce in person visits, save tax dollars, and improve efficiency. Enhanced online communication would also provide timely updates, emergency alerts, and community surveys. In today’s busy world, increasing engagement means meeting residents where they are and when they are available, and upgrading our digital tools is key to achieving that.
Cha Ron Sattler-Leblanc, D, WF
Age: 55
Current or prior elected office: Chair, Pittsford Democratic Committee 2023-2025
Professional experience: Educator and university director with over 30 years of experience helping people navigate complex systems with transparency, accountability, and care. I lead programs that expand access and advance equity, including support for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. I also serve on regional and statewide boards promoting student success, civic engagement, and leadership development.
Top priority: Pittsford deserves thoughtful, steady leadership that plans for how people actually live — not just how traffic moves. My top priority is calming our roads and making our community safer for people. Too many of our streets have become “shroads” — roads designed for speed, not safety. We need design and enforcement that reminds drivers this is a residential community where people walk dogs, push strollers, and even use rollators. Investing in safer street design, sidewalks, and lighting builds not only connection and safety — but value. The data is clear: more walkable communities are more desirable, resilient, and valuable.
Kim K. Taylor, R, C (incumbent)
Age: 53
Current or prior elected office: Current Pittsford Town Board member
Professional experience: I am an attorney and I manage the assigned counsel program at our regional appellate court, where I assign attorneys to people who cannot afford to hire an attorney, but have a right to counsel for their appeal. Before law school I worked counseling at-risk youth and women in crisis, and I began my legal career working in Family Court.
Top priority: Over the past four years, I’ve taken a practical, common sense approach to maintaining and improving the quality of life in our town. This includes ensuring our roads are well-plowed, providing weekly debris pickup, supporting our library and programs for families and seniors, and expanding and enhancing our sidewalks, parks and green spaces. I remain committed to building on this progress while keeping taxes flat.
Scott E. Wallman, R, C
Age: 57
Current or prior elected office: None
Professional experience: Drafted in 1987 out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles and played another year with the Cleveland Indians. Worked for the Pittsford Highway Department for 36 years ― 13 as the general foreman.
Top priority: Born and raised in Pittsford, I want to ensure that the same opportunities I enjoyed ― and my kids have today ― are here for future generations. I understand how vital quality town services are to our community. From road repairs and snow removal to traffic safety and new sidewalks, I’ve managed the essential work that keeps Pittsford running smoothly. On the town board, I’ll bring that hands-on experience, a commitment to excellence and a promise to keep taxes low while maintaining Pittsford as one of New York’s best places to live.
Pittsford Town Justice
John E. Bernacki Jr., R, C (incumbent)
Age: 59
Current or prior elected offices: Councilman of Pittsford Town Board from 2002-2009. Current Pittsford Town Judge, elected in 2009.
Professional experience: Managing partner of Bernacki Law, with over 30 years of experience.
Top priority: A top issue driving my candidacy, in addition to continuing the competent administration of justice, is to help restore public confidence in our courts and in the criminal justice system in Pittsford. (Bernacki details a case where a judge let a defendant go with an appearance ticket instead of holding them and a victim was killed). Upholding defendants’ rights does not and should not result in ignoring the rights of victims and protecting the public. Being a town justice means freeing yourself from any ideological moorings and fulfilling your duty to the proper administration of justice and to the public.
Rich Murajda, D, WF
Age: 41
Current or prior elected offices: None
Professional experience: Served as a public defender in Monroe County for five years, where I defended the constitutional rights of the most vulnerable members of our community. For the last 10 years, I’ve served as a court attorney, advising judges as they uphold the Constitution in the same types of cases I’ll hear in Pittsford.
Top priority: Our judges matter now more than ever. Our judiciary must be independent, bipartisan, and make every decision based on the facts and the law, and never on fear or favor. I would like to innovate Pittsford Town Court to make it easier for all people to get justice. In my current role, I’ve simplified court forms to help people who want to handle legal matters themselves. I’ve also helped implement virtual proceedings so people don’t have to take off work or find childcare when a case is appropriate for it. I believe in a court system that works for the people and I’ve worked throughout my career to break down barriers to justice.
— Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle with a focus on police accountability, government surveillance and how people are impacted by violence. Follow her on Instagram @bykaylacanne. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who’s on my ballot in Pittsford? Election 2025 candidates
Reporting by Kayla Canne, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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