“Welcome home to Genesee County. We expect great things – tomorrow.”
With that introduction from Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein, lifelong Geneseean James Wujcik took his seat as the new county attorney.
The legislature’s appointment of Wujcik, who is replacing Kevin Earl, runs through Dec. 31, 2023.
Wujcik, a partner in the Attica firm of Dadd, Nelson, Wilkinson & Wujcik, said is leaving his part-time position as Wyoming County attorney in order to work on a full-time basis and be closer to his Le Roy home.
“I really didn't have any reason to leave Wyoming County,” he said following tonight’s Genesee County Legislature organizational meeting at the Old County Courthouse. “I love that job. And I thank the Board of Supervisors for allowing me to serve.”
He served four terms in Wyoming County.
“And the only reason I would have left is when this opened up. I grew up here and my family's from here. And it just seemed time to make a change,” he said, adding that his contract with Genesee County will result in him “phasing out” his private practice.
Longtime Batavia residents surely remember the Surprise Store and Enterprise Clothing on Ellicott Street in the city, which was owned by the Wujcik family.
“I'm from Le Roy; my mother’s side has been in Le Roy since like the 1850s,” he said. “My father’s side was from Batavia. My family's the Surprise Store and actually my grandmother’s house is where All Babies Cherished is now (down the road on Ellicott Street).”
Wujcik said he owes much of his success as a lawyer to the late Eric Dadd.
“I worked for Eric (Dadd) and he actually hired me as a part-time, first assistant county attorney. He was a mentor and beyond that to me. And he’s still missed to this day after he unexpectedly died in July of 2013,” he said.
“Now, his two associates have both become county attorneys (Wujcik and Jennifer Wilkinson, who is succeeding him in Wyoming County).”
When asked about the challenges facing Genesee County, Wujcik simply said he understands there are many important issues on the table and that he is “just looking forward to working with the legislature.”
“And I'm not going to comment on anything else," he said, ending the brief interview with a hearty laugh.
Photo: James Wujcik, with his son, Joseph, and daughter, Anna, is sworn in as Genesee County attorney by County Clerk Michael Cianfrini. Photo by Mike Pettinella.
