TOWN OF FISHKILL – Councilwoman Kenya Gadsden was appointed to the Fishkill Town Board back in January to fill a vacancy. On Tuesday, Gadsden was on the ballot, seeking to be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term.
After the polls closed, Gadsen trailed her opponent, Kevin McCarthy by 830 votes.
McCarthy is a registered member of the Independence Party who ran on the Republican and Conservative lines. Gadsden, a Democrat, ran on her party’s line as well as the Independence and Working Families lines.
Absentee ballots that have not been counted yet will likely determine the winner.
As of Tuesday night, the Dutchess County Board of Elections had received 2,296 absentee ballots. Of those paper ballots, 1,136 were submitted by registered Democrats compared to 458 ballots from registered Republicans. Absentee ballots from 35 registered Conservatives are at the elections board along with 123 Independence ballots, four Green ballots, one Libertarian, and three Working Families ballots. A total of 536 voters that are not affiliated with a political party also returned ballots.
Gadsden indicated that the race is still undecided. “I am patiently waiting for the BOE to receive all ballots and count them. In a short ten months, I have made positive strides working with members of the town board,” she said. “The large voter turnout and large submission of absentee ballots show Fishkill has entered their voices in the race.”
McCarthy is optimistic about the race. “I am feeling good. I feel my message of accountability, open government, and community involvement resonated with the electorate across the political spectrum so I feel surprisingly calm at this point.” The absentee ballots are not scheduled to be counted immediately, McCarthy said. “Unfortunately being so far down-ballot my race is going to have to wait until next week for the final call.”
