Most village-level politicians up for re-election in the Catskills on Tuesday went unchallenged. But some local villages had contests -- and with big issues like tax caps and flood recovery on the table even at the smallest level of government, the few people who tend to vote in local races have a lot at stake.
Unofficial results for contested elections follow, from village officials or local news accounts (linked).
Delhi voted to keep its mayor, Richard Maxey, who won 162 votes to challenger Gerry Pilgrim's 89. In a race for two seats on the village board, incumbent Gregory Krzyston, with 161 votes, and newcomer Dan Ayres, with 159, won over previous trustee Margaret Baldwin with 136 and write-in Virginia Hoyt with 11.
Hancock is likely to head for a recount, with incumbent mayor John Martin besting challenger Eugene Morgan by just one vote, 107-106. Incumbent trustees Dawn Gotthardt, with 148 votes, and Patrick O'Brien, with 132, kept their seats against challenger Dorothy Picozzi, who got 89 votes.
So much for "Cat"-skills: In Stamford, the "Mountain Party" triumphed over the "Feline Party," with incumbent mayor Michael Jacobs besting challeger Vera Bell 84-70.
In Walton, a three-way race for two village board seats was settled decisively, with incumbent Teresa O'Leary (186 votes) and newcomer Charles Gregory (286 votes) winning over Jennifer Stanton (106).
Margaretville opted not to elect a local man who once sued the village for $2 million as its mayor, picking former Fairview Library director Diana Cope over retired engineer Lauren Davis by a resounding 102-24.
In Bloomingburg, a 40-40 tie in a village board race between incumbent Clifford Teich and Rural Heritage challenger Joe Gotthardt will likely be decided next Tuesday, when the handful of absentee and affadavit ballots will be counted.
Liberty's mayoral race appears to be an upset, with Democrat-endorsed Republican Daniel Ratner besting incumbent Republican Richard Winters by just 14 votes, 203-189. Democrat Ronald Stabak, with 230 votes, will be a new face on the village board of trustees, but incumbent Republican Corinne McGuire, with 175, will have to wait for an absentee ballot count before she can be sure of her seat. Challengers Matthew DeFrank and Anthony Covington got 156 and 152 votes, respectively.
In Wurtsboro, incumbent Michelena Mickey Maher can stay "Mayor Maher": She bested challenger Charles Corrigan 119-48. Incumbent trustee Cliff Jessup also held onto his seat in a race with Tim Bracci, 128-32.
Two incumbent Democrats on the Athens village board squeaked through to victory: Robert June and Anthony Patsky won re-election over challengers Richard Surrano Jr. and Francesco Taccetta, whose "Just For Today" ticket will apparently have to wait for another day. Voters also soundly rejected an extension of term limits for village politicians.
Incumbents also held the fort on the Catskill village board, where new challenger Lillian Johnson -- a Democrat who also ran under the ticket "It's Catskill's Time" -- lost to incumbent Vincent Seeley and former trustee Stanley Dushane. But with a gap of just 20 votes between Johnson's 169 and Seeley's 189, another 26 absentee ballots will have to be counted.
Correction: In an earlier draft of this post, we misspelled the name of a Hancock trustee -- it's Dawn Gotthardt, not Don. Apologies for the error!
In a previous roundup of local village elections taking place Tuesday, March 19, we mistakenly left out Franklin, a Delaware County village where there were no contested races on the ballot.
