Brandow Appointed Conesville Highway Superintendent

After months of interesting details have emerged concerning the Town of Conesville's bizarre tied Highway Superintendent election between incumbent Republican Larry Brandow and Democrat challenger Stephen Young, who each received 154 votes, the Conesville Town Board appointed a temporary office holder yesterday morning to serve until another election can be held next fall.

 

From the exclusion of one absentee ballot due to its owners unfortunate passing to the revelation that a town employee received eighteen write-in votes, the Town of Conesville's contentious race to fill the small community's most important position has sparked the curiosity of people across Schoharie County.  

 

Curiosity that the Conesville Town Board put to bed in their 2014 organizational meeting yesterday by appointing incumbent Highway Superintendent Larry Brandow to continue serving until voters have the opportunity to have their voices heard, again, this upcoming fall in a special election that interestingly enough will be followed next year by the regularly scheduled election.

 

There is no word on whether Mr. Young will seek the position again this fall.

 

 

Conesville Organizational Meeting set for New Years Day, Appointment of Highway Superintendent to be Made

Following weeks of interest in the Town of Conesville's tied Highway Superintendent race in early November between Democrat Stephen Young and incumbent Republican Larry Brandow, and who and when the Town Board will appoint an occupant until a follow up election is held next fall, it has been announced that a decision will be made on New Years Day.

 

The election, which was split evenly between Mr. Young and Mr. Brandow at 154 votes apiece, has had many twists and turns since the final absentee and affidavit ballots were counted a month ago - including the exclusion of one ballot, due to its owner's untimely passing, and the discovery of a write in candidate's 8% (or 18 votes) total share of the electorate.

 

But none of that will matter as the Town of Conesville holds their annual organizational meeting on January 1st, presumably early this year to give the appointed Superintendent an early start in his department, to end by-then two months of speculation over who will head arguably the small rural community's most important function of government.

 

At least until next fall, because New York State law requires any appointment to an elected Town office to be followed by another vote at the next regularly scheduled election, potentially setting the stage for residents of Conesville to have their voices heard one more time on this important local office if both major candidates decide to run again.

 

Stay tuned as we continue to cover this bizarre story.

 

 

Town of Conesville Write-In Votes Add to Hwy Superintendent Election Bizarreness

Last month's unusual Town Highway Superintendent race in Conesville between Democrat Stephen Young and incumbent Republican Larry Brandow, which resulted in a tie that the Town Board will have to decide on in January's organizational meeting, just got a little bit more bizarre with the County Board of Elections final results being published earlier this week.

 

According to the results almost 8% of the Town's electorate, or 20 voters, wrote-in their own choices for the Highway Superintendent position rather then support either Mr. Young or Mr. Brandow, with eighteen of those ballots going to a Town of Conesville employee by the name of Paul Hilliker - who also received a vote for County Coroner.

 

There were no more than a handful of write-in votes in the county Sheriff's election or in the various Town Supervisor races, but as if everything was meant to align perfectly in this scenario, there were more than enough in an election where just one vote could've changed the entire outcome and settled the question who will serve as head of the Town's Highway Department almost a month ago.

 

Add in the absentee ballot that was disqualified, due to its applicants unfortunate death, in addition to the Town of Conesville's indecisive citizenry, and the eighteen write-in votes for Mr. Hilliker just fit in with the bizarre nature of this election, which will be held again next November by New York State law because the Town Board has to appoint someone to fill the position and a special election is not an option.

 

Stay tuned for further developments in this continuously evolving story.

Official Results: Desmond Claims 49.87% of Vote, 12 Towns in Solid Victory

The Schoharie County Board of Elections has released their official results for last month's hotly contested election cycle, which shows a solid victory for incumbent Sheriff Tony Desmond over his two fellow law enforcement officers - Cobleskill Police Chief Larry Travis and Deputy Sheriff Todd Ethington - with 49.87% of the vote in the 2013 race for Sheriff.

Towns that supported Desmond are red, Travis are Blue and Ethington are yellow

Even more impressive was Sheriff Desmond's town-by-town dominance across the county. From his hometown of Sharon Springs to Conesville the incumbent Sheriff carried twelve towns overall, while both his opponents won just two each: Chief Travis in Blenheim and Cobleskill; Deputy Ethington in Jefferson and Summit.

 

Interestingly enough, this marks the second consecutive election where Sheriff Desmond has lost Cobleskill but still managed to build a large enough base of support across the rest of the county to offset the population center's more than fifteen hundred votes, which went by a healthy margin to their hometown candidate this time around.

 

But now that all is said and done, officially, all three men can return to their positions as law enforcement professionals with last November's race in the past and the protection of Schoharie's citizenry, regardless of who they supported, as their top priority in the present and into the future.

Conesville Town Board to Appoint Highway Superintendent in January

 

On Tuesday afternoon the Schoharie News published a story on the Town of Conesville and their Highway Superintendent conundrum, which began on November 19th when the final count of absentee and affidavit ballots in the tight race between Democrat Stephen Young and incumbent Republican Larry Brandow resulted in each candidate receiving 154 votes apiece.

 

Since then we have received new information.

 

According to Conesville Supervisor-elect Bill Federice, who will take office in January, by New York State law the Town Board cannot appoint anyone to the Highway Superintendent position until the new board is seated, meaning that town residents are still in limbo over how their indecisive vote will effect the highway department and that the Deputy Superintendent will have to serve as interim head from the evening of December 31st until the board decides on someone in their organizational meeting.

 

But that still wont be the end of this saga, because state law requires any appointment to an elected town office to last only until the next regular election, which sets the stage for residents of Conesville to have their voices heard again on the Highway Superintendent position in a little more than eleven months and it also creates the potential for a electoral rematch between Mr. Young and Mr. Brandow, pending the board's final decision.

 

Although this process is long from over for the small town of 734 residents, at least we now have some of the blank spots filled in where they were previously question marks - with the notable exception being who will receive the temporary appointment in January - and to that question no-one knows except for the one Supervisor and four Councilmen who will vote on this pressing matter in just a few weeks.

 

Community Pipeline Meeting on Monday December 2, 2013 at 7PM inside of the Radez Elementary School Gym located on 319 Main Street, Richmondville, NY. The latest information on the proposed Constitution Pipeline from threats of eminent domain and legal efforts to landowner resistance and the pipeline company's safety record will be provided to the public. This advertisement is sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Rural Communities and the Stop the Pipeline Schoharie Action Committee

Town of Conesville Still Without Highway Superintendent

 

Residents of the Town of Conesville are still wondering this Tuesday - three weeks after election day - who their Highway Superintendent will be in the race between Democrat Stephen Young and incumbent Republican Larry Brandow, which after absentee and affidavit ballots were counted last Tuesday was tied at 154 votes apiece.

 

We have been working on finding the answer to this unusual occurrence by researching New York State Town law and reaching out to the Town of Conesville, but unfortunately state law does not specify what actions must be taken in case of a tie between candidates and the Conesville Town Clerk is currently on vacation, which has resulted in a game of phone tag with the Deputy Clerk.

 

Although not specified under the election sub-section of New York State Town law, it is spelled out in other sub-sections that the Town Board is the ultimate arbiter in regards to filling vacant elected and appointed offices, which in this situation could result in the five individuals who sit on the Conesville Town Board electing their next Highway Superintendent.   

 

However, that only muddies the water further because of the political dynamics of the Conesville Town Board, which is unanimously Republican, and would potentially have the power to choose between the incumbent Republican Highway Superintendent and his Democratic opponent, a disconcerting situation considering the overwhelmingly Republican electorate did not place much political emphasis in their decision on November 5th, but that doesn't mean the Board wont.

 

Unfortunately, the County Board of Elections had to throw out an absentee ballot during last week's count because its applicant passed away between the time he filled it out and the election occurred, which in New York State results in the immediate invalidation of that vote. A vote that in this tight race would have decided the election and prevented this complicated situation from happening in the first place.

 

The Schoharie News will continue to monitor this developing story.

 

Community Pipeline Meeting on Monday December 2, 2013 at 7PM inside of the Radez Elementary School Gym located on 319 Main Street, Richmondville, NY. The latest information on the proposed Constitution Pipeline from threats of eminent domain and legal efforts to landowner resistance and the pipeline company's safety record will be provided to the public. This advertisement is sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Rural Communities and the Stop the Pipeline Schoharie Action Committee

Smith, Skowfoe and Bleau Victorious in Supervisor Races; Conesville Still Without Highway Superintendent

The Schoharie County Board of Elections convened yesterday morning for almost four hours to count hundreds of leftover absentee, affidavit and military ballots in all sixteen towns from November fifth's off-year election. Voters in the Towns of Blenheim, Fulton and Wright finally learned who they elected as their respective Town Supervisor, while the final results in Conesville left residents still without an elected Highway Superintendent heading into the new year.

Blenheim
 

One of the three too close to call Town Supervisor races was decided just five minutes into this morning's count, with Democratic challenger Sean Smith winning seven of nine absentee ballots and Blenheim's top job over twenty-year incumbent Republican Robert Mann Jr. Mr. Smith received plenty of well wishes and support from members of the county board and other officials in attendance.
 

Conesville
 

The biggest surprise of the morning came from the Town of Conesville's Highway Superintendent election between Stephen Young and Larry Brandow, with Mr. Young heading into the day with what was thought a safe eleven vote lead with twenty-nine ballots yet to be opened. However, as luck would have it, Mr. Brandow carried the absentee and affidavit count overwhelmingly by a decisive 20-9 spread, which resulted in the two candidates ending the day with 154 votes apiece. 

Fulton

 

Entering the morning not knowing whether he would retain his position as Town Supervisor in Fulton, let alone the Chairmanship of the county board, incumbent Democrat Phil Skowfoe nervously paced back and forth across the Board of Supervisors chambers as he and his Republican challenger Francis Tatten awaited the results of their highly competitive race, of which the difference was only two votes in the incumbent's favor. With twenty-seven ballots to count Mr. Skowfoe needed only thirteen of them to claim victory, instead he received sixteen and a narrow seven vote victory to boot.

Wright
 

Roughly two dozen observers waited out the remaining eight towns to hear who would win Wright's contest between Democrat Karl Remmers and Republican Amber Bleau, where the Democrat held a three vote lead on election night with forty-five ballots left to count. As anticipation built amongst the audience, the machine decided not to work - delaying the final process for almost five excruciatingly long minutes - which was followed by the Deputy on patrol accidentally turning off the room's lights, adding to the anxiety of everyone in attendance. But after all was said and done, Ms. Bleau carried the absentee and affidavit ballots 26-18 over Mr. Remmers, winning the election by five votes and finally ending the Town of Wright's ten month long lack of representation on the county board.

 

New County Board's Weighted Vote Totals by Party, Faction

As asked for by our readers, we are happy to bring you the totals of the weighted votes controlled by the Democrats and Republicans and those that were endorsed by the Conservative Party or not.

Democrats and Republicans, * Denotes Conservative Party Backing

Cobleskill - 481 (16.2%) (R)

Middleburgh - 352 (11.8%) (D)

Schoharie - 326 (11%) (D)

Richmondville - 241 (8.1%) (R)

Esperance - 204 (6.9%) (R)

Sharon Springs - 184 (6.2%) (D)

Carlisle - 176 (5.9%) (R)

Seward - 164 (5.5%) (D)

Wright -155 (5.2%) (R)*

Jefferson - 129 (4.3%) (R)

Fulton - 127 (4.3%) (D)

Gilboa - 122 (4.1%) (R)

Summit - 112 (3.8%) (R)*

Broome - 95 (3.2%) (R)

Conesville - 73 (2.5%) (R)

Blenheim - 33 (1.1%) (D)

Total Democrats: 6 seats- 1186: 39.9%
Total Republicans: 10 seats- 1788: 60.1%
Total: 2974

Total Non-Conservative: 14 seats- 2704: 91.0%
Total Conservative: 2 seats- 267: 9.0%
Total: 2974



Town of Wright Final Elections Results

The Town of Wright has not seen a Supervisor since the death of Bill Goblet. The infighting left Amber Bleau as de facto Supervisor, unable to represent the Town at the County level. On election night Mr. Remmers led by a scant three votes. However, with over two-dozen absentee ballots left to count, Ms. Bleau wound up with the lead.

Bleau (R-C)- 343: 50.4%
Remmers (D)- 338: 49.6%

It is unclear if there were any affidavit ballots counted in this race but it was the closest in recent memory.

Skowfoe Wins in Fulton

Incumbent Fulton Supervisor Phil Skowfoe has pulled out a dramatic victory in the Town of Fulton race. In the first results, Skowfoe led Republican Town Councilman Frank Tatten by just two votes. With the absentees counted and certified today, Skowfoe expanded this lead.

Skowfoe* (D)- 230: 50.8%
Tatten (R)- 223: 49.2%

* Denotes incumbent

Smith Wins in Final Tally in Blenheim

Newcomer Shawn Smith has officially unseated 20-year incumbent Bob Mann in Blenheim. The 27-year old attorney ran a vigorous campaign and expanded his lead over Mann in the final tally. In the original count, Smith was leading by 6.

Now, with the absentees counted, Smith won by a larger margin.

Smith (D)- 77: 53.5%
Mann (R)*- 66: 46.5%

* Denotes incumbent

Schoharie News Poll Reflects Overall Election Results

The latest Schoharie News poll has closed out, with very similar results to those that were shown at the ballot box last week. County-wide there was a 15.6% vote for candidate Todd Ethington for Sheriff. In this unscientific poll ran for the last seven days, we find:

Yes: 154- 82%
No: 34- 18%
Total: 188

This poll was placed up last Tuesday night and reflects the overall feeling with the over a dozen races across the County, and not just one in particular.

"Tri-Partisan" Ad Was Kiss of Death at Ballot Box

The candidates endorsed by the Conservative Party placed an ad in last week's Cobleksill paper together, hoping to carry themselves to victory. Instead, every opposed candidate on the ballot yesterday faced defeat. Only Harold Vroman won-- and he was unopposed.

Three races are too close to call but have the Conservative Party-backed candidates lose. Many of these candidates were allies of Todd and Cassandra Ethington.

Vote in Our New Poll: Are You Satisfied with the Overall Election Results?

With the sweeping changes at the County and Town levels, the Schoharie News is running a new poll to see if you are happy with the overall results. It is over on our sidebar right now.

Vote and share with your friends.

County Coroner Results

Donna McGovern has won another term as the Coroner of Schoharie County by a large margin.

McGovern, Donna	6963	100.0%
............. Total votes in the Town of Blenheim cast for McGovern, Donna	89
............. Total votes in the Town of Broome cast for McGovern, Donna	275
............. Total votes in the Town of Carlisle cast for McGovern, Donna	407
............. Total votes in the Town of Cobleskill cast for McGovern, Donna	1236
............. Total votes in the Town of Conesville cast for McGovern, Donna	226
............. Total votes in the Town of Esperance cast for McGovern, Donna	437
............. Total votes in the Town of Fulton cast for McGovern, Donna	337
............. Total votes in the Town of Gilboa cast for McGovern, Donna	196
............. Total votes in the Town of Jefferson cast for McGovern, Donna	322
............. Total votes in the Town of Middleburgh cast for McGovern, Donna	693
............. Total votes in the Town of Richmondville cast for McGovern, Donna	476
............. Total votes in the Town of Schoharie cast for McGovern, Donna	758
............. Total votes in the Town of Seward cast for McGovern, Donna	428
............. Total votes in the Town of Sharon cast for McGovern, Donna	384
............. Total votes in the Town of Summit cast for McGovern, Donna	239
............. Total votes in the Town of Wright cast for McGovern, Donna	460

District Attorney Results

Incumbent District Attorney James Sacket cruised to re-election unopposed today by a wide margin. The 20 year veteran had the Republican Party's backing.

Sacket, James L	7494	100.0%
............. Total votes in the Town of Blenheim cast for Sacket, James L	99
............. Total votes in the Town of Broome cast for Sacket, James L	301
............. Total votes in the Town of Carlisle cast for Sacket, James L	438
............. Total votes in the Town of Cobleskill cast for Sacket, James L	1224
............. Total votes in the Town of Conesville cast for Sacket, James L	235
............. Total votes in the Town of Esperance cast for Sacket, James L	500
............. Total votes in the Town of Fulton cast for Sacket, James L	358
............. Total votes in the Town of Gilboa cast for Sacket, James L	210
............. Total votes in the Town of Jefferson cast for Sacket, James L	353
............. Total votes in the Town of Middleburgh cast for Sacket, James L	757
............. Total votes in the Town of Richmondville cast for Sacket, James L	506
............. Total votes in the Town of Schoharie cast for Sacket, James L	872
............. Total votes in the Town of Seward cast for Sacket, James L	449
............. Total votes in the Town of Sharon cast for Sacket, James L	410
............. Total votes in the Town of Summit cast for Sacket, James L	269
............. Total votes in the Town of Wright cast for Sacket, James L	513

Town of Broome 2013 Election Results

The Town of Broome has five races this election day, four of which are hotly contested. Incumbent Supervisor Anne Batz is now running for Town Clerk.

Supervisor

Smith III, William M	228	65.7%
Micheli, David A	119	34.3%

Clerk

Wood, Donald K	201	56.6%
Batz, Anne M	154	43.4%

Councilman

Vance, Dale	224	32.6%
Wood, David L	223	32.5%
Schafroth, Frank J	151	22.0%
Jackson, Kermit E	89	13.0%

Assessor

Schmidt, Irene

243

100.0%

Highway Superintendent

Wayman, Jason S	193	52.4%
Parker, Michael A	175	47.6%

Town of Carlisle 2013 Results

There are two of four contested races in Carlisle including for incumbent Supervisor Larry Bradt.

Town of Carlisle

Supervisor

Bradt, Larry R	342	66.7%
Bortell, Susan M	171	33.3%

Clerk

Crofts, Colleen

470

100.0%

Councilman

Smith, Robert L	350	38.6%
Laraway, David	322	35.5%
Cross, Linda K	235	25.9%

Town of Gilboa 2013 Election Results

All unopposed races in Gilboa tonight.

Town of Gilboa

Supervisor

VanGlad, Anthony

200

100.0%

Councilman

Tompkins, Norwood	193	51.1%
Pickett, Dorothy	185	48.9%

Assessor

Molle, Thomas V

213

100.0%

2013 Sheriff's Race Results

Just coming in from the County Board of Elections-- incumbent Sheriff Tony Desmond has won a hard-earned victory tonight over his Democratic and Conservative rivals.

Candidate	Votes	Vote Percentage
Desmond, Anthony	4148	48.2%
............. Total votes in the Town of Blenheim cast for Desmond, Anthony	43
............. Total votes in the Town of Broome cast for Desmond, Anthony	222
............. Total votes in the Town of Carlisle cast for Desmond, Anthony	259
............. Total votes in the Town of Cobleskill cast for Desmond, Anthony	252
............. Total votes in the Town of Conesville cast for Desmond, Anthony	160
............. Total votes in the Town of Esperance cast for Desmond, Anthony	323
............. Total votes in the Town of Fulton cast for Desmond, Anthony	235
............. Total votes in the Town of Gilboa cast for Desmond, Anthony	152
............. Total votes in the Town of Jefferson cast for Desmond, Anthony	149
............. Total votes in the Town of Middleburgh cast for Desmond, Anthony	471
............. Total votes in the Town of Richmondville cast for Desmond, Anthony	275
............. Total votes in the Town of Schoharie cast for Desmond, Anthony	582
............. Total votes in the Town of Seward cast for Desmond, Anthony	243
............. Total votes in the Town of Sharon cast for Desmond, Anthony	328
............. Total votes in the Town of Summit cast for Desmond, Anthony	116
............. Total votes in the Town of Wright cast for Desmond, Anthony	338
---
Travis, Lawrence Larry	3117	36.2%
............. Total votes in the Town of Blenheim cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	49
............. Total votes in the Town of Broome cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	106
............. Total votes in the Town of Carlisle cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	180
............. Total votes in the Town of Cobleskill cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	775
............. Total votes in the Town of Conesville cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	86
............. Total votes in the Town of Esperance cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	155
............. Total votes in the Town of Fulton cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	137
............. Total votes in the Town of Gilboa cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	83
............. Total votes in the Town of Jefferson cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	96
............. Total votes in the Town of Middleburgh cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	299
............. Total votes in the Town of Richmondville cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	254
............. Total votes in the Town of Schoharie cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	288
............. Total votes in the Town of Seward cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	226
............. Total votes in the Town of Sharon cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	79
............. Total votes in the Town of Summit cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	86
............. Total votes in the Town of Wright cast for Travis, Lawrence Larry	218
---
Ethington, Todd J	1345	15.6%
............. Total votes in the Town of Blenheim cast for Ethington, Todd J	36
............. Total votes in the Town of Broome cast for Ethington, Todd J	35
............. Total votes in the Town of Carlisle cast for Ethington, Todd J	77
............. Total votes in the Town of Cobleskill cast for Ethington, Todd J	137
............. Total votes in the Town of Conesville cast for Ethington, Todd J	51
............. Total votes in the Town of Esperance cast for Ethington, Todd J	102
............. Total votes in the Town of Fulton cast for Ethington, Todd J	53
............. Total votes in the Town of Gilboa cast for Ethington, Todd J	33
............. Total votes in the Town of Jefferson cast for Ethington, Todd J	182
............. Total votes in the Town of Middleburgh cast for Ethington, Todd J	107
............. Total votes in the Town of Richmondville cast for Ethington, Todd J	102
............. Total votes in the Town of Schoharie cast for Ethington, Todd J	95
............. Total votes in the Town of Seward cast for Ethington, Todd J	61
............. Total votes in the Town of Sharon cast for Ethington, Todd J	72
............. Total votes in the Town of Summit cast for Ethington, Todd J	138
............. Total votes in the Town of Wright cast for Ethington, Todd J