Former Harrison Supervisor Ron Belmont, left, with General Baumgarden at Harrison Veteran’s Day celebration
By Dan Murphy
Write in candidate and Former Harrison Supervisor-Mayor Ron Belmont is awaiting the results of 2,114 write in votes case for Town Supervisor on Nov. 7. Belmont ran one of the more successful write-in campaigns in Westchester history, and while most of the write in votes cast still have to be reviewed and counted, at the Board of Elections, Belmont is believed to have most or all of the 2,114 votes cast.
Republican Supervisor-Mayor Rich Dionisio got 1,984 votes, with democrat Mark Jaffe at 1,827. Dionisio leads until the Belmont votes are counted and reviewed. Belmont’s estimated total of 2,114 votes gives him a 130 vote lead over Dionisio. The Board of Elections, and Dionisio’s campaign attorneys, will be reviewing each and every write in vote for errors.
Many believed that the two republicans in the race, Dionisio and Belmont, would split the vote and give the victory to the democrat, Mark Jaffe. But Jaffe finished third, 150 votes short of Dionisio and an estimated 280 votes from Belmont.
This election might be in the courts for a while before a winner is declared. Congratulations to Ron Belmont for running a successful, campaign that shows the overwhelming popularity and respect the people in Harrison have for Ron Belmont. The numbers also show that Belmont’s campaign was able to explain to voters that while his name was not on the ballot, and then to explain how to write Belmont’s name in-not an easy task.
In the Town of North Castle, one vote separates Town Supervisor candidates, democrat Joseph Rende, 1,569 and republican Barbara DiGiacinto, 1,568, with an automatic recount underway.
Democrats in North Castle won the two council seats, Jose Berra and Saleem Hussain, and the town clerk and town judge races on the ballot.
Two reasons why DiGiacinto, a well known councilwoman, is only one vote away. The outgoing Supervisor, Michael Schiliro, who was not running for relection endorsed DiGiacinto, the republican. And DiGiacinto also got 166 votes on the Conservative Party line.
Across the county on Nov. 7, Abortion rights referendum were on the ballot in Ohio and Virgina, helping turnout more democratic candidates.
Despite claims to the contrary, abortion was not on the ballot in Westchester. Democrats still hold a 15-2 super majority on the county board.
While we applaud the Westchester Republican Party for nominating candidates to run in many races, we never thought that the board could flip to republican control this year, or in any time in the future. Legislator Colin Smith’s win for reelection in the 1st district was big for democrats.
The Westchester Conservative Party had a mix bag of results on election night. In Eastchester, they were soundly defeated. Bob Fois, the conservative candidate, got handily beaten by Sheila Marcotte and Anthony Giacobbe.
In Harrison, conservatives made no endorsement. Republican Supervisor Mayor Rich Dionisio might have gotten 200 votes on the line.
In the races for State Supreme Court Judge -9th Judicial District, conservative leaders from Westchester and other counties endorsed the four democratic candidates for the bench. Those four candidates won election on Nov. 7, but the votes they received on the conservative line were not enough to tip the balance. If the republican candidates had the conservative line, it is still not enough.
In the race for Yonkers City Court Judge, republican candidate Nick Sperenza did not get the conservative party line. City Court Judges Karen Beltran, and Judge Arthur Doran III, both democrats, also had the conservative line.
Beltran and Doran got 2,200 conservative votes and both won by 4500 votes. If you give the 2,200 conservative votes to Sperenza, he is very close to Doran’s total. Beltran got the most votes out of the three, with 5,002.
One more write in campaign worth noting. This one for Putnam County Highway Superintendent. Michael Stern ran a write in campaign and won, defeating Gerald Ahler by 789 votes, 3,521 votes to 2,735.
Stern ran a MASSIVE publicity campaign, with signs all over the Northern Westchester-Putnam border, and several mailings to registered Putnam voters, and even a tent outside each polling place on election day, (just far enough away to be permissible). The cost could be $100,000.
But Stern’s effort is similar to Belmont in that Stern was able to educate voters that he is not on the ballot, and then get voters to write in his name.
But unlike Belmont, Stern was an unknown in Putnam County. His campaign also had to raise his name recognition. And they did it skillfully. To this reporter it shows that money spent, or invested wisely can help the right candidate not only pull off an upset, but do it as a write-in.
