Hamburg NY Election Results: Supervisor, Board, and Stadium Vote

Republicans swept the 2025 Hamburg NY election results, with Beth Farrell Lorentz winning the town supervisor race by 111 votes and Republican candidates taking both open town board seats, giving the party every seat on the five-member Hamburg town board.¹

Who Won the Supervisor Race

Farrell Lorentz, running on the Republican and Conservative lines, received 6,965 votes on November 4, 2025. Democrat Robert “Bob” Reynolds Jr. received 6,854.² A third candidate, retired U.S. Army major Josh Collins, ran as a write-in independent Republican.³

The margin was close enough that early reports raised the prospect of an automatic recount. The Erie County Board of Elections determined the race did not meet the mandatory threshold of 0.5% or 20 votes, and Farrell Lorentz was declared the winner.²

The seat was open because Democrat Randy Hoak, who had won the supervisor race in 2021, resigned in December 2024. Town Clerk Cathy Rybczynski served as acting supervisor but did not run.¹ Farrell Lorentz had served eight years on the town board and was its only Republican member when she entered the race.³

Town Board Seats

Two town board seats were on the ballot: one held by an incumbent Democrat and one vacated when Hoak stepped down. Republicans won both. Lynne Dixon, a former Erie County legislator, was the top vote-getter in a four-person race. Nicholas J. Ortiz, running on the Republican and Conservative lines, won the second seat. Incumbent Democrat Megan A. Comerford and Democratic challenger Jennifer L. Linsley were defeated.¹

As of 2026, the Hamburg town board consists of Supervisor Elizabeth Farrell Lorentz and council members Lynne Dixon, Nicholas Ortiz, Frank Bogulski, and Daniel Kozub.⁴

How Big a Swing This Was

Hamburg is the fourth-largest town in Erie County, with roughly 60,000 residents and more registered Democrats than Republicans, about 17,000 to 12,000 as of a 2021 count.⁵ In 2021, Hoak won the supervisor race with about 53% of the vote, 8,855 to Republican Stefan Mychajliw’s 7,716.⁶ Four years later the town went entirely the other way.

The Republican gains stood out because Democrats performed well elsewhere in Western New York’s suburbs during the same cycle. In neighboring Amherst, Democrat Shawn Lavin won the supervisor race with 53% of the vote.⁷ One local outlet described Hamburg as part of Republican gains in the Southtowns even as a blue wave swept other Erie County communities.⁸

Issues That Shaped the Race

The New Bills Stadium

Construction of the new Highmark Stadium inside Hamburg’s borders made economic development a defining issue. The town held its first public information meeting on land use in the stadium impact area in May 2025, working with a newly formed Project Advisory Committee and the Hamburg Industrial Development Agency. Farrell Lorentz said the goal was to be “proactive in creating the zoning for that area that will encourage the type of growth and reimagination that we envision as a community.”⁹ The Planning Department also launched a broader zoning update alongside the stadium work.¹⁰

The Senior Center Fight

A proposed $9 million senior center on Lakeview Road became one of the most contentious issues of the campaign. The town board approved a bond resolution for the project in September 2025.¹¹ Write-in candidate Josh Collins collected more than 1,700 signatures on a petition to force a public vote.³ A lawsuit challenged the petition, and on November 13, 2025, Erie County State Supreme Court Judge John Licata ruled it invalid, finding it lacked a required statement confirming the addresses listed were the signers’ places of residence. Collins said he would not appeal.¹²

What the New Board Faces

Farrell Lorentz called the incoming Republican members a “terrific team” and said she was committed to collaboration even where members disagree on individual issues. Priorities cited after the election include continued planning for the stadium impact area, the future of the McKinley Mall corridor, and the maintenance of core town services.⁸

1
The Buffalo News. Hamburg Town Board Shifts to 5-0 Republican Majority
2
WIVB. Beth Farrell Lorentz Wins in Tight Race in Hamburg
3
Spectrum News. Hamburg Town Supervisor Candidates 2025
4
Town of Hamburg. Town of Hamburg Official Website
5
WKBW. Hamburg Town Supervisor Race Heats Up in Final Days Before Election
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WIVB. Randy Hoak Declares Victory in Hamburg Town Supervisor Race
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WKBW. Shawn Lavin Wins the Race for Amherst Town Supervisor
8
Audacy/WBEN. Despite Blue Wave Elsewhere, Republicans Make Gains in Southtowns
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WKBW. Hamburg Hosts Inaugural Bills Stadium Impact Meeting
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Town of Hamburg. Town of Hamburg Planning Department
11
WIVB. Judge Disqualifies Public Vote on Potential Hamburg Senior Center
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Spectrum News. Judge to Decide if Public Vote on Proposed Town of Hamburg Senior Center Will Move Forward