Democratic mayoral candidate John Tonello and his Democratic and Republican rivals have filed enough signatures with the Chemung County Board of Elections to officially have their names placed on the ballot.

"This is a great day for the democratic process," Tonello said Monday, when the Board of Elections confirmed his designating petitions. "The more candidates for mayor -- and all public offices -- the better. Elmirans who go to the polls Sept. 13 and Nov. 8 will have unprecedented choice this year. That's what democracy is all about."

Tonello personally met hundreds of voters over the past six weeks and said Elmirans are eager to be involved in positive change. "People have told me from the beginning that they want new energy and new ideas," Tonello said. "The first step toward that goal is a citywide mayoral primary that engages the public. It's the first in at least a generation here."

Tonello commended his opponents' efforts to gather signatures. Altogether, about 1,600 city Democrats and Republicans signed designating petitions for the three candidates. Each candidate needed a minimum of about 300 signatures to get on the ballot.

"I congratulate Dan Royle and Dan Mandell on their efforts to engage voters," Tonello said. "I look forward to a positive and spirited debate of the issues this summer and fall."

By law, the party candidates had about six weeks -- from June 7 to July 14 -- to gather unique signatures from enrolled political party members entitled to vote in the Sept. 13 primary. The law allows three days for the filing of formal objections, but none were forthcoming.

For the Democratic primary, the next step is a lottery to decide which mayoral candidate's name will appear first on the printed Sept. 13 primary ballot. That could happen at the Board of Elections as soon as this week.