<!--Mark Scheer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Mark Scheer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com">mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Youth will be served on the Republican line in the November general election for the Fifth District seat in the Niagara County Legislature.
Twenty-three-old Vincent Sandonato secured a victory in Tuesday’s Republican primary over challenger Vincent Mameli.
The win sets up a general election battle against fellow 20-something and endorsed Democrat Nick Melson in the race to replace departing lawmaker Sean O’Connor.
Unofficial results from the county board of elections show Sandonato earning nearly 76 percent of the Republican vote.
The 91st Street resident entered the race with a promise to bring a stronger and younger voice to LaSalle residents.
“I’m totally thrilled,” Sandonato said. “A lot of hard work went into this. We had a gameplan. We had an approach. We knew what we wanted to do. To see it executed was just awesome.”
A legal assistant with a law firm who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Catholicism, Sandonato said he intends to bring a similar approach to the general election.
“It’s like a whole new election,” he said.
Melson, a registered Democrat, works as a legislative director to state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston. He holds a Bachelor of arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Public Administration from Buffalo State College. His bid for Legislature is his second stint in local politics. At age 18, he ran unsuccessfully for Niagara Falls City Council.
Melson received the endorsement of the Niagara Falls and Niagara County Democratic Party committees as well as the Working Families Party and the Niagara County Building and Construction Trades Council.
