DUTCHESS COUNTY – Tuesday was the day that candidates from several parties squared off in a race to secure a line on November’s ballot. Races throughout the county included candidates who were attempting to resurrect their political careers, with negative results.
The primary for the Working Families Party line for Dutchess County Family Judge pitted Democrat Rachel Saunders against incumbent Denise Watson, a Republican. Saunders currently has 74 votes in the race, while Watson is trailing with 72 votes. The absentee ballots have yet to be counted.
In the Town of Amenia, Republican Town Supervisor Victoria Perotti was challenged by Julie Doran for the November Republican ballot spot. As of Tuesday night, Perotti held a seven-vote lead, 114-107. In the race for two Republican spots on the ballot for town board, incumbent James Morris garnered 122 votes, with Brad Rebillard coming in second, with 106 votes. James Vitiello received 105 votes, and Michele Somogyi, an incumbent, received 101 votes.
In the race for the Democratic line for Beacon City Court Judge, Democrat Gregory Johnston breezed to victory over Republican Timothy Pagones. Johnston received 86 percent of the 1,238 votes cast in the race. The two men battled for the Working Families primary as well, with Pagones getting 19 votes compared to Johnston’s seven ballots. The candidates will battle for the seat in November, with Pagones on the Republican, Conservative, and Working Families lines while Johnston will appear on the Democratic line.
In the Fishkill Town Board race, a battle for the Working Families line on the November ballot was a four-way race with voters asked to pick two candidates. Justin Golon received 23 votes, Robert Reynolds Jr. received 22, and incumbent Kenya Gadsden received 10 votes, and her colleague Jacquline Bardini received eight ballots.
In the Town of Pleasant Valley, former Town Supervisor Carol Campbell mounted primaries for the Republican and Conservative ballot spots in an attempt to get elected to the town board. In the Republican primary, Michael McRitchie, who recently sued the town unsuccessfully, garnered 180 votes, with Scott Cookingham Sr. receiving 171, leaving Campbell in third-place with 119 votes. In the Conservative race, 36 voters chose Cookingham, Campbell received 27 votes, and Wilbur Brink garnered 7 votes. A Conservative primary pitted judicial candidate Darren Fairlie against incumbent Judge Michael Kozek. Fairlie cruised to victory, besting Kozek by a 48-9 tally.
In the Town of Wappinger, incumbent Republican Town Supervisor Dick Thurston handily defeated former Town Supervisor Lori Jiava. Thurston’s victory was almost a 2:1 win, with the town’s top official receiving 400 votes to Jiava’s 196.
