Many changes in local elections

By DAVID HULSE

RIVER VALLEY — Doubts remained in some close races with absentee ballots yet to be tallied, but several big changes took place regionally in county governments in last week’s elections. A vacant New York Assembly seat was filled.

Absentee counting is scheduled to begin after the final mail receipt deadline, November 12.

Democrat Aileen Gunther, widow of the late 98th District Assemblyman Jacob Gunther, ran strongly in Sullivan County, Middletown and Port Jervis to defeat former Sullivan County Planning Commissioner, Republican/Conservative Alan Sorensen. It was a first race for elected office for both candidates and state party machines spent heavily for both sides in the off-year election.

Gunther had run to continue the legacy of her husband and her election likely will provide some relief for local officials, who had commitments from the late assemblyman. Eldred Central School Board member Andrew Boyar recalled a discussion with Jake Gunther about the school district’s possible multimillion-dollar tax refund exposure, should the owners of the former Orange and Rockland Mongaup Valley hydroelectric facilities win a tax appeal case. “He said he’d get a member item, [to pay it off] but then he died,” Boyar said.

Boyar said he was relieved that Aileen Gunther, who was privy to the conversation, would be in a position to help.

In county races, the Sullivan County Legislature provided the most dramatic change as the 7-2 Republican majority shifted to an apparent 5-4 Democratic edge, pending the results of the absentee count in the Jim Carnell/Sam Wohl, District 9 race.

Democrats Chris Cunningham and Kathy LaBuda were re-elected in Districts 1 and 2 and Republicans Gregg Goldstein, Rodney Gaebel, Jodi Goodman and Leni Binder were re-elected in Districts 3, 5, 6 and 7 respectively. But challenger Democrat Jonathan Rouis knocked off Republican Don Trotta in District 4, Democrat Ron Hiatt beat Republican Bob Kunis in District 8 and Democrat Wohl has an apparent victory against Republican Carnell in District 9.

Most observers around the government center attributed Hiatt and Wohl’s victories to voter dissatisfaction with the incumbents’ handling of county landfill complaints from Monticello-area neighbors.

Rouis, a Democratic appointee to the District 4 seat, was initially defeated by Trotta in an off-year election.

Cunningham, who would be the likely successor to chair the panel in January, said last week he would await the absentee voting results before thinking about plans for the new year. “I’m looking forward to a smooth transition,” he added.

In Pike County, Democrats lost control of the commissioners’ panel as Blooming Grove Supervisor and former county jail warden, Republican Richard Caridi was elected along with Republican incumbent Harry Forbes.

Incumbent commissioners chair, Democrat Karl Wagner was runner-up in the voting and will retain his seat as Commissioner Gerry Hansen leaves the panel.

In Wayne County, Republicans retained control of the commissioners’ panel as incumbent chairman Anthony Herzog led all candidates in the voting.

Republican Donald Olsommer also won and Robert Carmody was top vote-getter among Democrats. Olsommer and Carmody served previously as commissioners from 1988 to 1991.

In a hotly contested district attorney’s race, Michael Lehutzky won election as a Democrat, narrowly defeating Republican Chris Farrell, who had beaten Lehutzky for the Republican nomination this spring.

New York town races awaiting absentee vote counts include supervisors’ races in Bethel and Liberty, and council races in Highland and Liberty.

 In Forestburgh, Democrat “Bill” Sipos won re-election as Supervisor, Democrat Jim Galligan was re-elected to a council seat and challenger Ken Schultz won election to the council.

In other unreported races in Pike County, Democrat Henry Prigge was re-elected without opposition in Shohola, where Republican Barbara Hopkins defeated Democrat Fran Ortolano as Inspector of Elections.

Also in Pike, Vincent Accordino was elected supervisor in Blooming Grove Township, while Republican Hugh Symes defeated Democrat Linda Polizzi for the Inspector of Elections position.