Election results shake up and surprise local boards

HUDSON VALLEY — The elections held on Tuesday, Nov. 8, contained surprises for several positions in the local races. All results are still unofficial; the county Board of Elections will start counting the write-in ballots Nov. 22.North EastIncumbent town Supervisor Dave Sherman, who ran on the Democratic and Republican lines, was knocked out by past Town Board member John Merwin, who ran on the North East United line.Merwin received 439 votes, roughly 54 percent of the overall votes. Sherman received 374 votes.Merwin said that Sherman has already been incorporating him into the conversations at Town Hall to ensure a smooth transition.Five people were running for the two open council seats.Republican George Kaye received 428 votes, roughly 27.9 percent of the overall vote.“I felt very fortunate to be chosen by so many of the voters,” Kaye said. “I hope I can live up to the voters’ expectations.Kaye said that the first projects he plans on addressing are the Highway Department garage and bringing the zoning codes up to date.Democrat Ralph Fedele received 326 votes, or 21.3 percent of the overall vote. Jon Arnason was close behind with 320 votes. Because of the small difference in the number of votes, it is still uncertain whether Fedele or Arnason will secure the second Town Board seat.Incumbent David McGhee got 257 votes, thereby losing his seat, and Charles “Chip” Barrett got 201 votes.Incumbent Town Clerk Nancy Davis-Vialpando, a Democrat also running on the Independence line, received 524 votes in the unopposed race.Incumbent Town Justice John Crodelle ran unopposed on the Republican and Democratic lines, pulling in 640 votes.AmeniaRepublican Bill Flood came out ahead in the race for town supervisor, securing 436 votes, roughly 48 percent of the overall votes. He beat out past town Supervisor Janet Reagon, who had 247 votes, and current town Councilwoman and Deputy Supervisor Victoria Perotti, who had 224 votes.Flood said he was “cautiously optimistic” before the vote tallies started to come in, but he was surprised by the large margin by which he won. “I’m very pleased and happy to serve the town,” he said.Reagon ran on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Perotti ran on the Conservative and Independence lines.Two Democrats won the open seats on the town council. Cornelius “C.J.” Hoss pulled in 553 votes, approximately 36.4 percent of the overall vote. Incumbent Vicki Doyle was re-elected with 519 votes, roughly 34.1 percent.“I haven’t really had the chance to absorb it yet, but I’m pretty happy,” said Hoss, noting that he has been going to Town Board meetings in order to prepare himself for assuming the position. Hoss is the stepson of Supervisor-elect Bill Flood.Republican incumbent Norman Cayea lost his seat with only 447 votes.Democratic incumbent assessor Ron Gazzoli was re-elected with 402 votes, 44.6 percent. He beat out Lawrence Moore with 341 votes and Brad Rebillard with 158 votes.Republican incumbent Town Clerk Maureen Bonds was re-elected in the unopposed race with 671 votes.Incumbent Town Justice Norman Moore, the unopposed Republican candidate, received 675 votes.Pine PlainsWith 419 votes (approximately 57.1 percent), Democrat Brian Coons defeated Republican incumbent Supervisor Gregg Pulver, who had 315 votes. Pulver has served as supervisor since 2000.Coons said he had been asked to run for the position twice before, but since the elections came so soon after he returned from his military deployments, he decided to wait until he felt the timing was better.Coons said that after speaking with so many members of the community, he was confident in his chance of securing the supervisor position because his ideas — particularly about enhancing the downtown area of Pine Plains — fell in line with the vast majority of the townspeople’s wishes.The race for the two town council positions was very close.Republican incumbent George Keeler, 365 votes (26.4 percent), and James Jackson, 358 votes (25.8 percent), beat out Scott Chase, 344 votes, and incumbent Robert Couse, 318 votes.“I was fortunate enough to get elected by the people of the town, and I will work for them,” Keeler said. “My interest is for the town of Pine Plains.”Incumbent James Mara and newcomer Richard Diaz filled the two open assessor positions. Mara got 530 votes (57.1 percent) and Diaz got 398 votes (42.9 percent).With 586 votes, incumbent Town Clerk Judy Harpp was re-elected in an unopposed race.Barry Hay was re-elected in the unopposed race for superintendent of highways with 568 votes.Incumbent Christi Acker received 612 votes for town justice in an unopposed race.WashingtonRepublican Gary Ciferri beat current Deputy Supervisor Stanley Morse in the race for town supervisor. Ciferri received 706 votes, (roughly 60.4 percent), against the 461 votes for Morse.“The win is very gratifying for me,” Ciferri said. “We’re now looking ahead ... I’ll be ready to go in January. I’m looking forward to it.”Albert Debonis and Robert Audia secured the two open seats on the town council, beating out Jeffry Giardina. Debonis received 799 votes (40.1 percent), Audia received 781 votes (39.2 percent), and Giardina received 411 votes.In an uncontested race for an unexpired term on the town council, Republican Karen Mosca won the seat with 861 votes.Longtime incumbent Mary Alex received 932 votes in an unopposed race for town clerk.Incumbent James Brownell received 904 votes to win the uncontested superintendent of highways position.Incumbent Elizabeth Shequine, who was the only candidate running for town justice, won with 883 votes.MillbrookIn an uncontested race for village mayor, incumbent Laura Hurley won the position with 344 votes.Republican Robert Herzog and Democrat Thomas Whalen beat Peter Doro for the two open village trustee seats.Herzog received 279 votes, roughly 38.1 percent, and Whalen received 268 votes, roughly 36.6 percent. Doro received 185 votes.Dutchess CountyAt the county level, Republican Marcus Molinaro, a state assemblyman, was elected as county executive over Democrat Daniel French, current Beekman town supervisor. Molinaro received 31,822 votes, roughly 61.6 percent of the overall vote. French received 19,816 votes.“What an amazing day and what an amazing opportunity,” Molinaro said in a thank-you video on his website. “I’m humbled and grateful, and now it’s time to get to work.”Incumbent Gary Cooper, a Republican, was elected as a member of the Dutchess County Legislature in District 19. With 1,397 votes (54.7 percent), he defeated Melvyn Eiger, a Democrat, who received 1,152 votes.Republican Bradford Kendall received 36,891 votes in an uncontested race for county clerk.Adrian “Butch” Anderson was re-elected as the county sheriff with 38,128 votes. Anderson was unopposed.

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