Voters cast ballots in local races across the region Tuesday. Most races were local, with just one statewide proposition.
According to unofficial results, just over 45 percent of New Yorkers voted to approve the proposition. It would give the state retroactive permission to expand a winter sports complex on protected land in the Adirondacks. New York began construction on the facility already and is in violation of the state constitution. This would allow the state to legally expand the facility. In exchange, New York would purchase an additional 2,500 acres to add to the Forest Preserve in the Adirondacks. Just over 42 percent voted against the proposition, while around 12 percent of ballots left the proposition blank.
Results are unofficial until all votes have been counted and certified by the state’s board of elections. Under New York state law, manual recounts are triggered when the margin of victory is under 20 votes or 0.5 percent of the vote.
Broome County
In the city of Binghamton, incumbent Mayor Jared Kraham declared victory over Democrat Miles Burnett. With all districts counted, the Broome County Board of Elections shows Kraham ahead by 696 votes, winning or just under 54 percent of the vote.
Democratic incumbent City Council Member Carla Murray declared victory in the race for Binghamton’s 1st District city council seat. Murray secured just under 60 percent of the vote, leading Republican Kevin Micha by 181 votes.
In the race for Broome County Clerk, unofficial results from the county board of elections put Republican Aaron Martin ahead of Democrat Nick Libous by 1,061 votes. Martin won just over 51 percent of the vote. Libous conceded the race Tuesday night.
Martin has been clerk for the Broome County legislature for the past 14 years. In January, current Broome County Clerk Joe Mihalko announced he would not seek reelection after 8 years in office.
In Johnson City, the race for village mayor was too close to call on election night, with incumbent Republican Mayor Martin Meaney ahead of Democratic challenger Christina Charuk by just nine votes.
Also in Johnson City, Republican incumbent village trustees Clark Giblin and John Walker fended off challenges from Conservative candidates Tim Bidwell and Jeanine Bowers.
In the village of Endicott, unofficial results put Democrat Hien Tran set to win one seat as village trustee with just over 38 percent of the vote. In the race for the second village trustee seat, Republican incumbent Anna Marie Marion leads Republican Timothy P. Wright, Jr. by 46 votes.
In Vestal, Democrats Suzanne Messina and Matt Padbury declared victory against Republicans Andy Gowe and William Stewart, with unofficial results leaving Messina with 26.06 percent and Padbury with 25.53 percent of the votes.
Nearly 67 percent of Vestal residents approved a referendum that would officially change the position of tax collector to an appointed one, according to preliminary results.
Tompkins County
In the city of Ithaca, both candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America won their Common Council races. Democrat Hannah Shvets won the 5th ward seat with 64.12 percent of the vote, beating her opponent, Independent candidate G. P. Zurneda.
Jorge DeFendini, the Democratic nominee for the city’s 1st ward seat, secured 88.7 percent of the vote in his race against Republican Zachary Winn. This will be DeFendini’s second time on the Ithaca Common Council. He previously represented Ithaca’s 4th Ward before being unseated by a last minute write-in campaign conducted by current Alderperson Patrick Kuehl.
At the county level, Republican and current Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler won the District 8 seat in the legislature with a 54.51 percent majority. He beat out Democrat James Perkins who received 43.47 percent of the vote.
Democrat Dan Wakeman won the race for District 10. He received 74.45 percent of the vote, beating Independent candidate Thomas Corey. In District 14, Democrat Christy Bianconi won her race against Independent Michelle Wright. Bianconi received 57.47 percent of the vote.
Some Tompkins County race results have been complicated by the presence of write-in candidates who secured a significant portion of the vote. Write-in votes have been counted but have yet to be assigned to a candidate, although they will be tallied in the coming days.
The Democratic pick for the District 7 seat on the Tompkins County Legislature, John V. Dennis dropped out of the race in September. He endorsed current legislator Deborah Dawson, who ran a write-in campaign. Despite exiting the race, Dennis stayed on the ballot as the Democratic nominee and received 43.87 percent of the vote. Write-ins claimed 63.17 percent of the vote.
In the town of Lansing, write-in candidates for the town board also secured a significant portion of votes. Four major candidates sought the two open seats on the board: incumbent Democrats Judy Drake and Joseph Wetmore and write-in candidates Joe Lovejoy and John Duthie.
Drake received 27.72 percent of the vote. Wetmore received 24.92 percent of the vote. Altogether, write-in candidates received 47.37 percent of the vote. However, the distribution of votes among write-in candidates has yet to be announced.
Chemung County
Republicans took the lead in nearly every election in Chemung County, according to the unofficial results.
However, candidate Daniel Cain, a newcomer who ran on the Democratic, Working Families and “Cain for Elmira” party tickets, leads in the city court judge race in the city of Elmira. Cain took 57 percent of the vote. He leads his opponents Republican Jordan Yorke and “Elmira First” candidate Robert Siglin by wide margins.
The Democratic hopefuls in races for council members in the towns of Horseheads and Southport fell behind in Chemung County.
In the Horseheads race for town council, newcomers Miriam Osorio and Sebastian Mathews, both Democrats, received 18 percent and 17 percent of the vote, respectively.
Chemung County Legislator Joseph Brennan, who ran on the Republican and “No Fluoride” ticket, received 20 percent of the votes securing his spot on the Horseheads Town Council.
In the town of Van Etten, incumbent Democrat George Keturi trails challenger Angela Dennison in the race for town supervisor. Dennison ran on the “Serving People” party line, securing 56 percent of the vote.
Van Etten Democratic incumbent Fred Swayze Jr. trails the two newcomers for town council with 24 percent of the votes tallied. Republicans Rebecca Wright and Robin Ackerley received 33 percent and 30 percent of the votes, respectively.
Incumbent Penny Flora who ran as the “Better Days” party candidate trails behind challenger Republican T.J. Swartout for a two-year seat on the town council. Flora received 42 percent of the votes while Swartwout secured 57 percent.
Nearly 65 percent of voters said yes to a ballot measure to authorize $4 million for the 2026 Chemung County Library District operating budget.
Schuyler County
Unofficial election results in Schuyler County show Democratic newcomer Gail Walker leading in the race for District 3 county legislator with nearly 60 percent of the votes.
Two write-in candidates made the ballots for seats in the county as well. In the town of Dix, incumbent Republican Alan Gregory has 82 percent of the votes for council member, alongside a write-in candidate with nearly 12 percent of the votes.
In the town of Orange, a write-in candidate has a slight lead for town supervisor, with 51 percent of the votes over Republican incumbent Maryann Friebis, who secured 49 percent of the votes.
Democratic candidates tied in the race for three seats on Hector’s town council, with incumbents Anthony Mansfield and Elizabeth Martin in the top spots with 22 percent of the votes. Republican newcomer Mark Taber secured the third highest number of votes for a spot on the town council, with 19 percent of the votes.
Steuben County
Steuben County voters chose some State Supreme Court representatives in Tuesday’s elections.
Republican Supreme Court Justice candidates Joe DiNolfo and Kristina Kitty Karle secured big leads over Democratic challengers David Siguenza and Darius Lind in the race for the 7th Judicial District, which covers Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, Steuben, Seneca, Yates, and Cayuga counties.
Democratic challengers saw gains in several races, including a Steuben County legislator seat and in representatives for both the city of Corning and the town of Corning.
Newcomer Democrat Deborah Shannon has the lead over incumbent Republican James Kuhl for the District 12 county legislator seat with 54 percent of the votes.
In District 13, newcomer Republican Justin Eberlin secured 52 percent of the vote over Democratic challenger Timothy Tuttle. Eberlin also currently serves as the town supervisor for Hornby.
The city of Corning elected its first woman mayor. Newcomer Democrat Pam Walker was elected by a wide margin with nearly 98 percent of the votes.
Two Democratic newcomers were in the lead in Corning city council races. In Ward 7, Democratic candidate Rodi Rovner secured the lead over Republican incumbent Mark ReSue with nearly 54 percent of the vote.
Republican newcomer George Bacalles, ran unopposed for Ward 5, securing his seat.
Republican incumbents held onto leads in competitive races in the city of Hornell. Republican Lita Brown secured a significant lead over Democratic challenger John Bradley for Ward 6 Alderperson. Republican Kevin Valentine outperformed Democratic opponent Okeena Gadsden for Ward 7 Alderperson.
Hornell voters re-elected Republican John Buckley as city mayor with 89 percent of the vote. The other 10 percent went to a write-in candidate.
In the town of Bath, two Republican newcomers secured significant leads over incumbent Hal Bailey in the race for two competitive town council member seats.
Terry Schoonover, incumbent Democratic candidate in the town of Bradford, held onto their seat for council member. Newcomer Republican Roger Peterson secured the second open council seat.
The race for Bradford’s superintendent of highways is currently tied, with both the incumbent Republican Rodney Hoad and his Democratic challenger each receiving 108 votes.
Bradford’s incumbent tax collector, Democrat Andrea English, trails newcomer Republican Gillian Gampbell for the position.
Cohocton voters chose Republican candidates over “Common Ground” candidates in races for town council, town supervisor and town clerk.
With three competitive races in the town of Rathbone, Republicans received the most votes over “Common Sense,” Libertarian and “We the People,” candidates for town supervisor, town council and superintendent of highways, respectively.
Write-in candidates also made strides in securing seats across the county. Some were on the ballot in lieu of any declared candidates and some outperformed named candidates.
Multiple positions across several towns with write-in votes include town justices, council member seats, an assessor and a tax collector.
Voters chose a write-in candidate over two Democratic challengers for the town council in Prattsburgh, while incumbent Republican Elizabeth Peck held onto her seat.
In the town of Freemont, the town justice position had no named candidates and no write-in candidates.
Write-in candidate names will be available after the Steuben County Board of Elections recanvasses and certifies the election by Nov. 28.
When there are zero votes cast or there is a tie vote and all recanvassing is complete, the county board of elections declares it a “failure to elect.” If this happens the municipality decides to appoint someone for the next year during their reorganization meeting after the first of the year.
Then that position is placed back on the ballot in the next available election cycle, “as that position is an elected office, and the people have a right to elect the next person to that seat,” said Colleen Hauryski, Democratic Commissioner with the Steuben County Board of Elections.
Voters also approved ballot measures in the towns of Dansville and Pulteney.
Dansville will grant some first responders and their spouses a 10 percent real property tax exemption on their residence.
Pulteney will increase the Pulteney Free Library operating budget by $5,440 to $59,850.