Unofficial election results show Colonie’s political landscape has shifted, much like its large Albany County suburban counter parts, Guilderland and Bethlehem, from longtime Republican strongholds to burgeoning Democratic districts.
The Albany County Board of Elections has tallied all of the town’s 60 election districts. Those results show a clean Democrat sweep. If the more than 1,000 pending absentee ballots follow results at the booths Tuesday, Nov. 6, Republicans stand to lose three town board seats and the office of town supervisor, held by six-term incumbent Republican Mary E. Brizzell.
Leading the potential Democratic shift is candidate for supervisor Paula Mahan, who led Brizzell by 373 votes early Wednesday, Nov. 7. Those are the closest results so far among Democrats and Republicans in the town.
Among the six-way race for board seats are three Democrats, Nancy Hernandez, William Carl and Robert Becker, who so far have bested first-time Republican candidates Michael DeMartino and Andre Claridge. Ulderic Boisvert, the only incumbent board member to run this year, received the lowest vote count with 1,243 votes fewer than Hernandez, who topped the list. Hernandez received more votes than Brizzell.
If unofficial results hold, it will be the first time a Democrat will serve in Colonie in more than 80 years.
The returns were so encouraging. They clearly heard our message. They understood how hard we were working and what we were working for, said Mahan.
Democrats covered the town by foot leading up to the election, she said. Many homes were visited and the message was understood that people wanted a change. Not only did their votes reflect that at the town level but also at the county level.
So far, county Democrats are poised to control half of the town’s eight legislative districts; two more have Republicans leading so far by as little as 70 votes.
Democrats hit the ground running this election year, calling for more accountability from the Republican administration.
Democrats came out against recent practices that have cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars and landed them under investigation by some state and county agencies.
Leading up to the elections, Colonie Republicans came under fire for using public employees and equipment to dispose of town-owned waste soils in the privately owned West Albany Rod and Gun Club. Several town officials are members of the club, including Boisvert. The town defended the practice, stating that the public benefit far outweighed the private. Albany County District Attorney David Soares and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli launched a joint investigation into the work after residents and town Democrats called for one.
Despite the unofficial results, Brizzell said that the count doesn’t show a clear mandate by town residents.
`I think it was one big sweeping change. It’s an accumulation of change,` said Brizzell, comparing the Democrats showing to recent state and federal mid-term elections and general elections in the county and neighboring towns.
She wasn’t clear on what exactly may have been the coup de grace to the town GOP defeat, but did say that the recent news of a five-year running $8.5 million deficit in the town didn’t help.
`I didn’t have a good feeling with it,` said Brizzell.
`Sometimes when people are there for a very long time, they get comfortable. I know from walking door-to-door there was a strong sense that people were feeling the need for change,` said Mahan.
This year, Democrats focused on the issues and the facts, she said. It was what won the election for her and board members.
Absentee ballot counting begins on Thursday, Nov. 15.
Albany County Board of Elections posted the unofficial results on Wednesday, Nov. 7:
Town Supervisor: Mahan 10,712, Brizzell 10,339.
Town Board
Democrats: Hernandez 10,435, Carl 9,998 and Becker 9,987.
Republicans: DeMartino 9,342, Claridge 9,293 and Boisvert 9,192.
Town Clerk: Elizabeth DelTorto (R), Alison McClean (D) 9,693.
Town Justice Peter Crummey ran unopposed. He received 20,767 votes.“