“We ran a very professional, respectful campaign and the truth prevails. So that’s great for us and the Town of Colonie,” said Paula Mahan, who was reelected as town supervisor Tuesday, Nov. 6, with 11,836 votes to opponent Todd Drake’s 8,186.
On election night, Mahan was elected for her fourth term as Supervisor of the Town of Colonie with nearly 60 percent of the votes, beating out Republican candidate Drake.
During his campaign Drake ran on the platform that Mahan’s administration lacked transparency. He also questioned the legitimacy of the 10-year plan she created to help get the town out of the $20 million dollar hole it was in.
In a campaign speech Drake said, “The issue at stake here for the taxpayers of Colonie is that we don’t know if the Mahan administration’s secret 10-year plan is simply based on raising taxes and giving away town assets or if it’s even working at all. Again, it’s the Mahan administration’s lack of transparency that is the issue here.”
The state comptroller recently praised Mahan for the job she has done eliminating the town’s debt and getting it a surplus of nearly $1.5 million.
Sticking with what has worked for her in the past, Mahan said her campaign strategy was “to be honest with people, show them your accomplishments and let them make a decision. That’s what I’ve done the last four campaigns.`
Mahan did not respond to the attacks during the campaign, other than pointing to her accomplishments. After winning the election, she was finally able to address the accusations Drake made against her.
“I think he ran a very nasty campaign. I think his accusations were totally inappropriate and hurtful to a lot of people. He made a choice to go down the wrong road, and he listened to the wrong people. That’s all I can say about that,” said Mahan.
