Erie County handles case involving family court candidate

The case involving an arrested current city judge running for countywide office will be transferred elsewhere for prosecution.

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt has announced that his office will not be involved in the prosecution of Sally Jaroszynski for alleged election law violations. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office will be appointed as special prosecutor.

On October 8, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division received a complaint alleging possible election law violations. After investigation, Sally A. Jaroszynski, 57, of Ellicott, was charged with two counts of misconduct under the Election Code regarding petitions.

Jaroszynski is seeking the position of family court judge, which will be dismissed by Judge Jeffrey A. Piazza at the end of this year.

She is a registered Republican and will be part of the Working Families Party in the upcoming Nov. 5 election.

In both 2014 and 2016, Jaroszynski ran for Family Court judge in the Democratic line, but lost both times, in 2014 to Jeff Piazza and in 2016 to Michael Sullivan.

She is a lifelong resident of Chautauqua County and has practiced law in the Chautauqua County Family Court for more than 30 years. She was elected judge of Ellicott Town and has held that position for fifteen years.

On her campaign’s Facebook page, Jaroszynski was critical of the timing of the arrest and questioned the lack of details. “As my counsel, I have NOT been advised of the specific allegations and my requests for copies of the allegations, supporting statements, or a copy of the alleged complaint received on October 8, 2024 have been denied. I do know that the charges involve two alleged violations by notaries of Conservative Party petitions filed in April 2024 and also certified in April 2024 by the Chautauqua County Board of Elections. The legal time to oppose or challenge my petitions has long since passed,” she wrote.

The decision to move the case prevents further conflicts of interest.

Andrew Molitor, the first assistant district attorney in Schmidt’s office, is running for the State Assembly. Molitor is the Republican candidate.

Jaroszynski’s opponent is Peter Johnson, the recommended candidate of the Conservative and Republican Parties.

Both Molitor and Johnson have been photographed together while campaigning.