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Contested races inspire turnout

By Joseph Abraham
Posted 11/5/21

SULLIVAN COUNTY –– What a difference a contested race makes. Seven of Sullivan County’s fifteen elected supervisors had opposition this year and those townships saw in­creased …

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Contested races inspire turnout

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SULLIVAN COUNTY –– What a difference a contested race makes.
Seven of Sullivan County’s fifteen elected supervisors had opposition this year and those townships saw in­creased voter turnout and several “too close to call” races.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The Town of Highland supervisor race is currently the closest in the county, with a 25-vote differential.
Incumbent Jeff Haas, who is running on the Republican and Conservative party lines, has received 377 votes while his challenger, John Pizzolato, who is running on the Democratic and Lifting Neighbors party lines, has received 352 votes.

The Board of Elections has reported that these vote tallies include early voting and election day ballots but absentee ballots still need to be counted.

There are 67 absentees already received by the Sullivan County Board of Elections and any ballot postmarked by November 2 and received by November 9 will be counted.

Counting cannot begin until the New York State Board of Elections completes a statewide “match” in regards to the number of ballots received.

In the Town of Thompson, incumbent Supervisor Bill Rieber Jr. currently leads challenger Scott Mace by 76 votes. Rieber, running on the Democratic and Conservative Party lines, has received 1,029 votes to Mace’s 953.
The Board of Elections reports that there are 164 absentee ballots to be counted.

Mace, who has been a town councilman for the past decade, is running on the Republican line.

In an Election Night interview with the Democrat and RadioBOLD News, Rieber said while the race is tight he was confident with his lead heading into absentees, believing Mace will be unable to overcome his edge.
When asked if he was surprised by how close the race is, Rieber said, “I am somewhat given the issues and circumstances of the fellow I ran against. Yes. But you never know what’s in the minds of the voters. You just hope to win them back in the next round.”

ABSENTEES IN FALLSBURG
Town of Fallsburg Supervisor Steve Vegliante, running on the Democratic line, leads challenger Katherine Jane Rappaport by 406 votes.

Vegliante has currently received 1,102 votes (61.22 percent), while Rappaport, who is running on the Preserve Sullivan party line, has only received 696 votes (38.67 percent).

As the Democrat reported on October 27, absentee ballots were expected to play a significant role in this election.

According to the Sullivan County Board of Elections, as of yesterday afternoon there were 979 absentee ballots to be counted in Fallsburg.

“I’m proud of the race we ran locally. I think the people that live here year round and listen to our message made a very clear choice tonight,” said Vegliante in an interview with the Democrat and RadioBOLD News on Tuesday night. “The question becomes, what happens with the absentees? We’re going to look at everyone of those votes closely. I know for a fact that a lot of them are not going to go my way. But coming out with a 400-vote lead is a pretty good cushion. I’m very confident we’re going to pull this out.”

UPSET IN MAMAKATING?
Michael Robbins, who is running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines, and is challenging incumbent Mamakating Supervisor Janet Lybolt, currently has a 169-vote lead.

Robbins has received 1,162 votes (53.85 percent), while Lybolt, who is running on the Democratic and Mamakating First party lines has received 993 votes (46.01 percent).

COMFORTABLE LEADS
In the Town of Neversink, Supervisor Chris Mathews, who is running on Republican and Conservative party lines, was easily re-elected over challenger Jerry Stevens, who was running on the Democratic line.

Mathews received 659 votes (72.42 percent), while Stevens received 251 votes (27.58 percent).

Over in the Town of Rockland, Supervisor Rob Eggleton was re-elected, having received 419 votes (58.68 percent) to challenger Curtis Varner’s 290 votes (40.62 percent).

Eggleton ran on the Democratic and Conservative party lines, while Varner ran on the Republican and Hudson Valley party lines.

Finally in the Town of Bethel, Supervisor Dan Sturm lwas returned to office for the eighth consecutive time after receiving 571 votes (60.3 percent) compared to challenger Ira “Moose” Liff’s 372 votes (39.28 percent).
Sturm ran on the Democratic and Conservative party lines, while Liff ran on the Ira Moose Liff line. Liff is a former Town of Bethel Supervisor, having left office in 2004.

When interviewed by the Democrat and RadioBOLD News on Tuesday night, Sturm said he was very excited about continuing as supervisor.

“The town is doing great and I want to keep that going, said Sturm. “I also want to take a moment, and thank my opponent, who did very well, and ran such a good, clean race. I thought it was very honorable and it’s a good thing to see in this day and age.”

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