local elections

Mayor Jared Kraham filed a lawsuit this week requesting an injunction against the city council's appointment of Democrat Rebecca Rathmell. It's the latest development in a drawn-out debate over which branch of city government has the legal authority to fill the 6th District city council seat.

The appellate court backed a lower court's ruling against the redrawn district maps, which opponents argued were gerrymandered.

The Broome County Board of Elections finished counting absentee and affidavit ballots from last week’s elections. The results are still unofficial. But two Binghamton City Council races are now so close they will need manual recounts.

The boards of elections in Tompkins and Broome counties will finish counting absentee and affidavit ballots and certify election results this week. After results are certified, automatic recounts could be triggered under New York state law if the margin of victory is narrow enough.

Several races are too close to call and absentee ballots are still being counted. But unofficial results show Democrats with solid leads in at least five races, upending a narrow Republican 4 to 3 majority.

Republican candidate Scott Steve declared victory in Cortland’s mayoral race over Tuesday night. He leads Democrat Bruce Tytler by just over 200 votes.

Drnek ended election night with 1,152 votes. His opponent, Republican candidate Len Carson, received 718.