Tom Carle is taking over the Chautauqua County legislative district previously held by Susan Parker.

A new face is joining the Chautauqua County Legislature.

During the recent legislature meeting, county lawmakers appointed Thomas Carle as legislator for District 4, which was previously held by Susan Parker, D-Fredonia. She resigned after November’s county legislature meeting.

Carle, who lives in Fredonia, was the Democratic endorsed candidate who ran unsuccessfully for the 23rd Congressional District against incumbent Nick Langworthy.

Chautauqua County Legislative District 4 includes portions of Fredonia and Dunkirk.

Carle was selected by the local Democratic committees and unanimously confirmed for the seat. His appointment will last through the end of 2025. He will need to win an election in November if he wants to continue representing the district.

“With the way politics are in this era, it became something where I felt I needed to get involved, even though I’m a retired former plant manager, former director of human resources person,” he said during an interview. “I have some skills that balance budgets and bring people together, whether it’s union or non-union, whether it’s big business or self-employed, I have a lot of experience in those areas.”

Carle ran against Langworthy twice – the first time as an independent and this past year as a Democrat.

Even though he did not win on the federal level, Carle said he still wants to be involved in helping government “balancing budgets and making the right decisions.”

When he was invited by county Democratic Committee Chairperson Marcia Johnson to consider serving on the county level, he felt like it was a good opportunity. “How could I pass up an opportunity to help my own Chautauqua County residents?” he asked.

Carle said he wants to help Chautauqua County have more opportunities, business-wise. He wants to help lure large businesses relocate to the area. “Let’s just say if we could get another Cummins Engine or something like that on that scale … that would be wonderful for the region and all the offshoots of businesses,” he said.

Carle also said he wants to help local governments be successful. “For me, I look at some of the successful villages, like Westfield’s Main Street. They do a great job. It makes businesses more successful and vibrant because they have something like that,” he said.

Another important factor to Carle is the environment. Even though his district doesn’t include Chautauqua Lake, he said he’s very interested in protecting the lake. “I want to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to cut down on invasive species and the chemical contaminations, algal blooms, and keeping our water away from the forever chemicals,” he said.

Carle said he wants to address all forms of environmental protection, but also help the economy grow. “A lot of times you can’t take care of things like the environment and airport restoration unless you have a good vibrant economy. When taxes are right and people are doing well, then you can work on a lot of the periphery (things) that will also bolster the center,” he said.

Carle’s district is unique in that it is the only district that includes both the village of Fredonia and city of Dunkirk.

There has been talk among local leaders about exploring the possibility of combining Dunkirk and Fredonia’s police and/or fire departments.

Carle isn’t sold on the option yet but said it’s worth exploring. “Combining and unifying whenever you can makes sense. That’s great and it can improve the bottom line. But a lot of times you have a potentially knee jerk reaction until you have all of the data,” he said.

Carle said he would like to see a study done on where most of the calls are, how much additional fuel would be needed and how response time could be impacted. “I get that they’re all having financial difficulties but you don’t want to make a move that sounds good on paper and you get rid of a few positions, but then you find you can’t respond how you need to, and then you find out you’re spending more money on vehicles and fuel that you weren’t counting on,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean he’s opposed to it. “I like the concepts. I want to save money. … I would want more information before I say, ‘let’s do that,” Carle said.