Smiles got bigger and cheers got louder at the Rotterdam Democratic Party headquarters as primary election results rolled in on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
For a list of Schenectady County 2011 Primary results CLICK HERE
The Schenectady County primaries solidified many lines for Democrats both in and outside of their party. Some Democrats in Rotterdam decided to split from the party, but the primary election didn’t add any ballot lines for their general election quests. Except for one instance, with Rotterdam Democrat Kevin Mercoglan for RepublicanTown Justice, the town Democrats were able to secure all their bids in the Democrat, Conservative, Working Families and Independence lines.
Rotterdam Democratic Committee Chair and County Legislator Anthony Jasenski stood atop a chair and gave a victory speech after unofficial polling results displayed the party’s victories.
“I can tell you today that it is not about being a Democrat. It is not about being a Conservative or a Republican … because people want our different parties to work together,” Jasenski said during impromptu speech. “What you saw on the board tonight is evidence of that. They believe that this group, this team, can bring the things the need to governing the Town of Rotterdam.”
Frank DelGallo had Democrat support during his previous bid for town supervisor, which is when he stepped into politics for the first time. When he sought reelection and town Democratic backing, including registering as a Democrat, the party voted to support Harry Buffardi. After left in limbo with no main party line support, he decided to form the independent party Rotterdam First, which will now be the only ballot line he holds.
DelGallo wasn’t dismayed at the primary results and said he is ready to focus on the November election.
“The primary means something, but it doesn’t mean everything,” said DelGallo. “You lose the battle that ain’t the war, I’ll keep fighting the war till I win it, but if the people don’t want me anymore than they won’t vote me back in.”
For the Democratic line, DelGallo had pushed for supporters to write-in his name, but Buffardi held a sizeable lead against all write-in votes with a total 686 votes, or 83.25 percent, according to unofficial results from the Schenectady County Board of Elections. Also, Buffardi grabbed the Conservative line, on which DelGallo did have his name on the ballot for the primary. Buffardi captured 263 votes, or 55.49 percent for the Conservative line and DelGallo trailed behind with 133 votes, or 28.06 percent.
After the primary results were in, DelGallo said he didn’t expected to nab the Democratic line, but thought he would fair better in the Conservative primary.
“Getting the people out to vote is one thing too. They had more of their votes out than I did mine,” said DelGallo. “No party endorsed me so I am nobody’s puppet. I am just my own man working for the people of Rotterdam.”
Buffardi said he was pleased with the primary election and the support shown to him.
“I am very comfortable by the numbers personally, but I am even more gratified that the team came through,” said Buffardi. “We started doing this as a team concept … it is not just about Harry Buffardi or any single person, but it is about the team coming through.”
Democrats secure several lines
Buffardi’s primary wins were not unique for the majority Democrat Party, because other challenges from fellow party members breaking off from the majority failed too.
Robert Godlewski, deputy supervisor for Rotterdam, made a bid for a seat on the County Legislature and challenged Democratic incumbents Jasenski and Santabarbara for the party’s nomination. Unofficial polling results have Santabarbara garnering 41.55 percent of the votes and Jasenski with 33.43 percent, but Godlewski came in under Jasenski with 23.3 percent.
Also, Santabara and Jasenski had similar results in their bid for the Conservative line. Mark Viscusi had bid for one of the two spots, but the Democrats had similar support.
