SULLIVAN COUNTY - Although official, certified results may still be a day away, Sullivan County election officials reported yesterday that Karrie Jara won her race for Town of Rockland Town Justice and Susan Brown Otto is the new Tax Collector in Bethel.

“Karrie Jara won by quite a large margin,” the election official noted, separating herself from Scott Steingart, who only trailed by two votes, 516-514 after early voting and election day polling was counted. Jara was running on the Democratic and Justice Party lines while Steingart had the Republican and Independent Party endorsements.

Incumbent Town Justice Richard Dame, who was running on the Conservative Party line, garnered 339 votes before absentees were counted.

But a record number of absentees, coupled with two court orders, took four weeks for the Sullivan County Board of Elections to finally finish counting the absentee ballots and certify the results.

“We will have it all sorted out within the next 48 hours,” the election official said yesterday morning.

In the Town of Bethel, Susan Brown Otto held onto her 176 vote lead over Tammy W. Lapolt to win Bethel Tax Collector.

She will fill the vacancy created when Debra Gabriel retired earlier this year, after serving the township for the past 18 years.

Brown Otto was running on the Republican and Independent lines while Lapolt ran on the Democratic and Conservative party lines.

Although unofficial, Acting DA Meagan Galligan declared victory last week over Republican challenger Frank LaBuda, as her 2,800 vote lead on election day held up after absentee ballots were counted.