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November 4, 2009

2 local judicial candidates fall to downstate winners

By DENISE RAYMO and JOSH MINER The Press Republican Thu Nov 05, 2009, 05:01 AM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Two Clinton County towns will have new supervisors at the start of 2010, and two local men lost their bid for State Supreme Court.

Here are some election-related developments and changes over results reported in Wednesday's Press-Republican:

DANNEMORA

Americo "Ves" Pivetta will be the new supervisor of Dannemora.

Pivetta earned 275 votes on Election Day to defeat Deborah Coryer, with 235 votes, and Sally Siskavich (R,I), 151.

Barbara Douglas, who is the current town supervisor, did not seek re-election.

Pivetta, 70, ran on the Democrat and Independent lines.

He had told the Press-Republican that if elected he planned to pursue grants to help the town.

"There is help out there for preservation of lakes, sewer, water and road work," he said.

He also wants to help the town develop the building it purchased to house the Highway Department and possibly the Town Offices.

Pivetta also wants to work on town aesthetics and said he will be "a listening supervisor."

ELLENBURG

With hopes of creating a more open government, Richard Pearson said, he was the answer for residents who wanted to know what was going on in local politics.

"The town has to march on the beat, and the beat is the people. We are just hired help."

Defeating Democratic incumbent James McNeil, 432 votes to 269, Pearson felt voters didn't see McNeil as forthcoming.

"The people in town wanted to know what was going on. They didn't have all the information."

Pearson plans to make sure the town will receive tax breaks for wind power, as well as bring back a community newsletter that allows residents to stay aware of what is going on in their town's politics.

After losing a previous election by a slim margin, Pearson changed his strategy for this election.

"I went around and sat with people, discussed the issues, what we can do. I got ideas from them, I gave them my ideas. I think we have a very good relationship with them, and I understand where the town wants to go."

McNeil, who is in his fourth year as town supervisor, couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

STATE SUPREME COURT

Essex County Judge Richard Meyer and Brian Stewart, an attorney in Franklin County, were defeated in the race for State Supreme Court 4th Judicial District.

Elected to the position were Thomas Mercure, 75,796 votes; and Barry Kramer, 74,872 votes.

Meyer received 56,963 votes and Stewart, 55,675. Meyer will remain as Essex County judge.

Mercure is a Supreme Court justice based in Hudson Falls, and Kramer is Schenectady County Surrogate Court judge.

Eleven counties comprise the 4th Judicial District: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington.

BURKE

The supervisor's race in the Town of Burke is the tightest race in Franklin County, with just eight votes separating incumbent Albert Johnson and challenger Donald Strachan.

Johnson tallied 208 votes compared to 200 for Strachan, but as many as 59 potential votes are still out there.

The Franklin County Board of Elections mailed absentee ballots to 59 Burke voters who could not make it to the polls.

So far, 42 ballots have been returned.

The last day results can be received from civilians is Nov. 10; it's Nov. 16 for military personnel.

Election officials are unsure how many of the absentee ballots were exclusively for the race for the 23rd District Congressional seat and how many were for the general election, which may lower the potential ballot numbers for the supervisor's race.

HARRIETSTOWN

Voting-machine problems delayed retrieval of election results in the Town of Harrietstown Tuesday night.

The unofficial results have incumbent Town Supervisor Larry Miller returning to office without challenge with 863 votes.

Barry Defuria and Ron Keough were each restored to the Town Council by votes of 730 and 873, respectively, and an unexpired term on the Town Council went to James Nurnane with 790 votes.

Other incumbents returned to office were Town Clerk Patricia Gillmett, with 868 votes, and Highway Superintendent Craig Donaldson, with 859 votes.

MALONE

Thomas Shanty said he was fielding telephone calls from friends and well-wishers most of the morning Wednesday following his win for Town of Malone highway superintendent the day before.

He defeated Ronnie Benware, 1,271 to 683, to take the job left vacant when Alvin Livernois decided not to seek re-election.

Shanty, who is serving a 30-day suspension without pay from his job as deputy highway superintendent, is to appear at a Civil Service hearing on Monday to learn whether he will be fired.

He allegedly failed a mandatory drug test he took following a collision in December 2008 when a vehicle slammed into the rear of the snowplow he was driving.

"I was a little surprised because I thought it was going to be a lot closer than it was," Shanty said of his election numbers. "I just want to thank everybody who supported me and thank the people who voted for me to do this job."

NORTH HUDSON

Jean Gokey and Ronald Moore were elected to seats on the North Hudson Town Council.

Gokey (D,I) received the most votes, 93, and Ronald Moore (R,I) pulled in 84. They defeated Daniel Wachowski (R), with 45 votes.