Who is running for Erie County Legislature, District 9 in 2026?

Private citizen

David M. Denz is the Republican candidate for District 9 (South Buffalo, Lackawanna, Hamburg and Blasdell) against incumbent Democrat John J. Gilmour, and appears only on the Republican line¹². A Buffalo radio program listed him as a guest on August 20, 2026 as a candidate for the Legislature³. No campaign website, biography or issue statements were found in the sources reviewed.

No public position found on: Immigration, Policing and crime, Election rules, Judges, Redistricting, Death penalty.

Erie County Legislator, District 9, and Majority Leader

John J. Gilmour represents District 9 (South Buffalo, Lackawanna, Hamburg and Blasdell), has served since January 1, 2020 and is Majority Leader of the Legislature²³⁵. A South Buffalo native with a 2003 law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, he was an assistant district attorney and assistant corporation counsel before private practice, and is general counsel to the Buffalo police and firefighter unions and the Hamburg and Tonawanda police unions⁴. He faces Republican David M. Denz in 2026 and appears on the Democratic and Conservative lines¹.

Where they stand 1 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Policing and crimeNo single answer fitslow

  Official action · low confidence

  • A release on his official page says he cosponsored four resolutions affirming the Legislature's support for local, county and state police forces at a June session (release posted by February 2022). (2022-02) source
  • Cast the only no vote (9 to 1) on March 13, 2025 against creating a committee of the whole to investigate an April 2024 incident in which a Sheriff's Office employee driving a county vehicle collided with several private vehicles, the settlements paid, and the handling by county and Buffalo police offices. (2025-03-13) source

No public position found on: Immigration, Election rules, Judges, Redistricting, Death penalty.