Following a series of close races, a few of the town’s primary elections will be determined after a count of absentee ballots later in the week.
According to the Albany County Board of elections, absentee ballots are set to be counted on Friday, Sept. 18. The two winners of the Democratic primary race for Town Board are still undetermined, as is the winner of the seat for County Legislative District 35.
Town Board
On primary night, newcomer David VanLuven came out on top after garnering 1,211 votes among the three candidates. Joyce Becker followed with 1,191 votes, with incumbent Joann Dawson coming in third with 1,176 votes.
However, the Board of Elections said 191 absentee ballots were issued in Bethlehem. By Friday, they had received back 115 ballots, and more could arrive as long as they were postmarked before the primary date.
VanLuven said he was excited to see the size of the voter turnout considering primary day was switched to a Thursday, and many residents faced a change in their polling place.
“I was not surprised to see how close the races were,” VanLuven said. “I was the underdog, with Joann and Joyce being more well-known in the community. Now, we just have to wait and see.”
Becker said she was thankful for the community support, but also knew the race would be close.
“I’m afraid to feel good about it, but I want to,” said Becker. “Waiting will be hard.”
Dawson said she was disappointed in the count, but she was waiting like everyone else.
“I don’t know if anything will change on Friday,” she said. “Either way, it’s been a great privilege to serve the community for the past nine years. I had the pleasure of keeping the voters confidence and support, and I appreciate it.”
Highway
The one clear winner Thursday night was incumbent Highway Superintendent Brent Meredith, who won his race against Dan Morin 1,149 votes to 815.
“I was pleased with the results, but there’s still work to do,” said Meredith. “We’ve definitely had an odd set of results, but I don’t think I did anything different than anyone else. Everyone has put a lot of time into their campaigns. But we’re running a different type of race, since this isn’t really a policy job.”
Meredith will still face Morin in November, as Morin had the Independent line, along with John “Tiger” Anastasi on the Republican and Conservative lines. Morin said he wasn’t giving up.
“I still took 40 percent of the votes, so I’m pretty proud of that,” said Morin. “I haven’t had a chance to sit down and digest everything yet. I’m hoping we can still pull this off in November. I’ve never done this before — ran for office — so I’m learning.”
County Legislature
Bill Reinhardt also won his race for Legislative District 33, following a close count. Although absentee ballots still need to be counted, Reinhardt is positive some will be in his favor.
Reinhardt beat incumbent Herb Reilly Jr. 267 to 244 votes, with 24 absentee ballots issued. Reilly has been an Albany County Legislator since 2000 and served as New Scotland Town Supervisor for 12 years, and as a Town Councilman in New Scotland for 10 years prior to that.
“It’s sad. I would have liked to have won,” said Reilly, conceding. “I did very well in the Town of New Scotland (his home town), but not so well in Bethlehem,” said Reilly in concerns to his loss. About two-thirds of New Scotland voters chose Reilly over Reinhardt. Reilly said he “doesn’t know much” about Reinhardt, but he had won a caucus debate against him. He will now run on the Independent line.
Reinhardt said he was finally starting to feel comfortable with his win, unlike Thursday night when he wasn’t so sure what the results would be. He knew the votes were there in Bethlehem, but realized many in New Scotland didn’t know him. He faces Bethlehem resident Andrew Holland in the general election.
“I’m confident now,” Reinhardt said. “I want to take a breather and then get back in the trenches for November. I think I need to get walking again and talk to more people. I’d like to get a better sense on how the community feels on certain issues, like the oil trains.”
Absentee ballots also will need to be counted to determine the winner of the seat for Legislative District 35. Incumbent Charles Dawson lost to newcomer Sean Raleigh by just four votes. Raleigh won 300 to 296, but 45 absentee ballots were issued, with 29 received so far.
“Should I lose, I want everyone to know I’ve been honored to serve the town these past 16 years,” said Dawson. “I hold my head high to have had the integrity to never take the easy way out on easy votes. Also, should my competitor prevail, I will suspend my campaign on the other lines I hold. However, I would ask voters to vote down the county charter reform on the ballot in November. I maintain it’s a sham, and it would deprive voters the ability to determine the size of legislature themselves. It’s not independent, and I would send it back to the drawing board.”
Raleigh could not be reached for comment.
Bethlehem Democratic Chairman Jeffrey Kuhn said he felt everyone ran energetic campaigns, and he was not surprised with the results. He also said any Democratic candidates who win their primaries will have the backing of the party.
“They will have the full support of myself, and I believe the vast majority of the party, to help ensure a Democratic victory in the general election,” he said.
Visit Spotlightnews.com on Friday for continued election coverage. Tricia Cremo contributed to this report.