CHENANGO COUNTY – Election night bore few surprises in Chenango County which resulted in many incumbents being voted back into office for another term.
Statewide, the story is much the same. Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo will serve four more years, keeping ahead of Republican Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino by a comfortable margin. The New York State Board of Election reports unofficial election results of 46.5 percent of the vote for Cuomo and his running mate, Kathy Hochul. Conversely, only 31.5 percent of the vote went to Astorino and his running mate, Chemung County Sheriff Chris Moss.
Chenango County, however, voted mostly red, favoring Astorino with 6,481 votes to Cuomo’s 4,011 votes.
In the statewide election for Comptroller, incumbent Thomas DiNapoli (D) gathered 57.2 percent of the vote, keeping him ahead of Republican Robert Antonacci, who saw only 34.3 percent of the vote. The race for State Comptroller was another where Chenango County voters weighed heavily on the Republican side, giving Antonacci 5,687 votes to DiNapoli’s 4,438.
Likewise, Chenango County voted Republican in the race for Attorney General, giving Republican challenger John Cahill 6,746 votes while Democratic incumbent Eric Schneiderman received only 3,729. Regardless, Schneiderman will serve another term having received 53.2 percent of the vote statewide. Cahill claimed 38.8 percent.
But a lot of attention in Chenango County and across parts of the Southern Tier was focused on the race between incumbent State Senator Tom Libous (R) and Democratic challenger Anndrea Starzak. Chenango opted to keep Libous, giving him 5,478 votes to Starzak’s 2,471. Libous trumped Starzak throughout the 52nd Senatorial District, earning 59.9 percent of the vote (43,300 votes). Starzak pulled in only 36.1 percent (26,119 votes).
In the northern portion of Chenango County, incumbent Assemblyman Gary Finch (R) defeated Diane Dwire (D) to represent the state’s 126th District. Finch garnered nearly twice the votes as Dwire with an unofficial count of 1,795 votes (67.7 percent). Dwire finished with 855 (32.3 percent).
In what was the only contested race for local office that appeared on the ballot Tuesday, Republican candidate Theodore Guinn held off Democratic challenger Kathleen Brown for the seat of Tax Collector in the Town of Norwich. The county Board of Elections reports Guinn brought in 467 votes (53.6 percent) to Brown’s 405 votes (46.4 percent).
Two propositions that affected two county townships were also put in the hands of voters Tuesday. Residents in the Greene area favored a proposal to give Town of Greene officials authority to authorize bingo games by select organizations without giving the same authority to Village of Greene authorities. And in Columbus, residents turned down a proposal that would have allowed the Columbus Town Board to sell the 209-year-old Town Hall building.
In a statement sent to The Evening Sun, Columbus Town Supervisor Tom Grace said, “The people have spoken and I want to thank everyone for participating in this advisory referendum. It is clear that Columbus Town residents want us to maintain and keep our Town Hall, and I will vote to do so.”
Three statewide propositions were also accepted by voters, including one to spend $2 billion on technology upgrades in public schools. The Smart Schools Bond Act (Proposal Number Three) was favored among voters, as was the electronic distribution of legislative bills (Proposal Number Two) and the state redistricting procedure (Proposal Number One).
Chenango County additionally saw a number of uncontested local, state and federal races on the ballot which included:
• 22nd Congressional District Representative – Richard Hanna (R)
• 6th Judicial District Supreme Court Justice – Robert Mulvey (R)
• 51st District Senator – James Seward (R)
• 122nd District Assemblyman – Clifford Crouch (R)
• Chenango County Treasurer – William Craine (R)
• Afton Town Justice – Ronald Sherman (R)
• Bainbridge Town Justice – Randall Lambrecht (R)
• Coventry Councilman – Daniel Clark (WTP)
• Lincklaen Town Justice – Justin Rice (R)
• New Berlin Town Clerk – Deborah Collins-Barker (R)
• Town of Norwich Assessor – Mark Doliver (R)
For complete Chenango County election results, visit the county Board of Elections website at www.co.chenango.ny.us/elections. State election results can be found on the New York State Board of Elections website at nyenr.elections.state.ny.us.