Saratoga County voters decided incumbent supervisors should hold on to their seats, by the seat of their pants in some cases, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8.
In his seventh time running for Town of Clifton Park supervisor, incumbent Republican Phil Barrett won by a large margin with 4,680 votes, over challenger and Democrat Marty O’Connor’s 1,675 votes.
“I want to thank everybody for all their support and assistance once again this year. … Every time’s a little different, every campaign’s a little different, every opponent is a little different but the one constant is this committee, the friends that we’ve made over the years and the tremendous job that you folks [do],” said Barrett, flanked by his girlfriend Paula Davis and two sons at a gathering of Clifton Park Republicans on election night.
O’Connor could not be reached for comment.
Barrett said the town has already taken cost-cutting measures to maintain a balanced budget but warned the hard times are not over.
“We’ve made a lot of tough choices and will need to make more. There’s going to be some more cost-cutting measures we need to put in effect. We need to continue the progress and make sure that we maintain Clifton Park in the state that it’s in: very fiscally viable and successful,” said Barrett. “I assure you we will and I sincerely hope that we’ve always made you proud of us.”
There will be one new face on the Clifton Park Town Board with Republican challenger James Whalen defeating Democrat Wanda Zygmuntowicz to join Scott Hughes, R, on the board. Whalen lead the Town Board candidates with 4,621 votes, followed by Hughes with 4,800 and Zygmuntowicz with 2,358.
Current Town Justice and Democrat Robert A. Rybak will keep his seat after besting challenger Joseph C. Berger.
Halfmoon
The Town of Halfmoon saw its first supervisor race in a decade and Republican incumbent Mindy Wormuth came out on top of challenger Deanna Stephenson with 2,003 votes to 1,476.
“Obviously it showed the fact that our team will be here for another two years and will continue to lead our town with no town tax, no highway tax and we’re very happy with the results and happy with the type of campaign we ran,” said Wormuth. “It’s always nerve-wracking and I always take a challenge seriously.”
Stephenson said she had “no regrets.”
“Quite frankly, it’s been a great ride,” said Stephenson.
Wormuth said Stephenson pointed out some things during her campaign that she felt the town could do better and that the town would definitely consider them in the future.
“We don’t always think we’re perfect so we will take those things into consideration as we move forward,” said Wormuth.
But not all of Stephenson’s issues were warranted, said Wormuth.
“We feel like a lot she threw out there was misinformation and more used as scare tactics for people and either wasn’t truth or she didn’t have a good understanding of how municipal government works,” said Wormuth.
Stephenson said she still stands by the reasons she ran for supervisor in the first place, which is that the town needs to “keep an eye on financial issues” and “mindful development,” and she said she’ll take a bigger role in town government to help achieve those things.
“I’m not leaving and I plan to be even more involved in town government,” said Stephenson, who said she would “absolutely” run again in the future.
“Don’t count me out,” she added.
Ballston
According to unofficial election returns, Democrat Patti Southworth will hold on to her spot as supervisor of the Town of Ballston for a third term, defeating Republican Peter Connors by 1,220 votes to 1,134.
“I’m pleased with the results and I’m happy and proud that the public has faith in me for another term,” said Southworth. “I’m really proud of the campaign that my running mates and I ran. I think we were honest, above the board, full of integrity and when all is said done we can look at ourselves in the mirror and be happy with what we see.”
Connors could not be reached for comment.
There are still absentee ballots to be counted, though, with 144 issued and 108 received so far, according to Saratoga County Board of Elections. John Marcellus, deputy commissioner of the board, said there’s still time to receive absentee ballots and it’s “hard to say” when an official result would be revealed.
Republican Carol Shemo defeated Democrat Robert Ogle for Ballston town clerk and Republicans Timothy Szczepaniak and William Goslin secured seat on the Ballston Town Board after defeating Paul Simpson and Bruce Hogan, both Democrats.
Malta
In a race that was only three votes apart at some points of the night, Republican Paul Sausville will once again serve as the Town of Malta supervisor after beating opponent Cynthia Young, 1,377 votes to 1,317 votes, according to unofficial election returns.
“I represent everybody in the town and voters decided they want me to be their supervisor for the next two years and I’m looking forward to it,” said Sausville.
But there are still absentee ballots to be counted, with 146 issued and 105 received so far, according to the Saratoga County Board of Elections.
“It’s going to come down to the absentees so I still think there’s a possibility I could win,” said Young. “I think the closeness of it shows there really is not a mandate for Paul’s vision of the future in Malta.”
Young said she would “carry on” and continue to be a voice for residents in Malta, no matter what the final outcome.
“We worked hard and came up just a little short,” said Young.
Current Malta Town Board members Peter Klotz and Tara Thomas, both Republicans, held on to their seats by defeating Democratic challengers Ryan Gregoire and Carol Henry.
Saratoga Springs
The City of Saratoga Springs will see some shuffling on the City Council, with voters giving the boot to two Republicans: Commissioner of Finance Ken Ivins and Commissioner of Public Safety Richard Wirth. Democrat Michele Madigan defeated Ivins 3,231 to 2,944 and Democrat Christian Mathiesen defeated Wirth 3,208 to 2,891.
Republican Mayor Scott Johnson narrowly defeated Brent Wilkes to hold on to his office by a vote of 3,304 to 3,078.
Johnson said he was looking forward to working with the new City Council members.
`I think we can put politics aside and focus on what’s best for the city,` said Johnson. `My primary focus is always strengthening our local economy, so whatever that takes.`
Wilkes could be reached for comment.
