West Seneca, New York is a small town outside of Buffalo that is known for its strong sense of community and involvement. An interesting aspect of the politics in West Seneca is the way in which local citizens take part in the governing process. The Town Board consists of six elected officials including a Supervisor, Town Clerk, four Council members and a Highway Superintendent. All of these positions are filled through popular elections where residents can come out to vote for the candidate that best represents their interests. Additionally, there are several committees and boards that have been set up by the Town Board to help make sure all citizens’ voices are heard. These include advisory boards such as the Conservation Advisory Board and Planning Board that give input on important issues facing West Seneca. With such an engaged population, West Seneca is a great example of how local politics can be effective in promoting civic engagement.
The political climate in West Seneca, NY is leaning liberal.
Erie County, NY is somewhat liberal. In Erie County, NY 56.5% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 41.7% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Erie county remained strongly Democratic, 56.5% to 41.7%.
Erie county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
West Seneca, NY is leaning liberal.
Erie County, New York is somewhat liberal.
Buffalo-Cheektowaga Metro Area is somewhat liberal.
New York is moderately liberal.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
West Seneca, New York: D D D D d D
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D if the Democratic Party candidate won and I if the Independent Party candidate won. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in West Seneca, NY
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 1,412 contributions totaling $187,619 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $133 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 361 contributions totaling $118,065 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $327 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)