After two days plagued by rain, the Boardman Road Library in Poughkeepsie saw a trickle of voters from across Dutchess County Tuesday afternoon. For voters like Bob Haas of Wappingers Falls, it was a pretty easy decision.
"I’m a registered Democrat, it’s very hard for me to vote for anyone else," says Haas.
Republican Elections Commissioner Eric Haight says turnout was low as of Wednesday, at just 2.5 percent — but he says that’s not unusual for off-year elections, and the county is on track for roughly the same turnout it saw in 2021.
Among the biggest races to watch this year are the contests for Dutchess County executive and district attorney. The executive race pits former Republican State Senator Sue Serino against Democrat Tommy Zurhellen, a longtime Marist College professor and veteran who made headlines for walking across the country in 2019. For DA, voters will choose between Democrat Anthony Parisi and Republican Matthew Weishaupt to replace longtime DA William Grady, who’s retiring after roughly four decades.
The city of Poughkeepsie, meanwhile, is electing a new mayor. Common Councilwoman Yvonne Flowers looks to become the first person of color to hold the seat after surprising incumbent Mayor Marc Nelson in the Democratic primary back in June. Flowers has spent four terms representing the city’s Fifth Ward, and currently serves as the council’s finance chair.
The Democrat tells WAMC her top priorities for 2024 are public safety, homelessness, and the opioid epidemic.
"Right now we're dealing with homelessness, and we're dealing with public safety when it comes to the fentanyl that's on the street. We have several overdoses — I mean, it's been happening continuously. It's a little scary to see," says Flowers. "And also we have many people who are roaming our streets who are mentally ill. And that's something that I really want to work on immediately. And we're doing that now, but as a mayor, I really want to make sure we coordinate those services to ensure that we make the city safe."
Her challenger is also no stranger to the campaign trail. Republican Anthony LaRocca is back on the ballot after an unsuccessful bid for the council’s Eighth Ward seat in 2013. A government and criminal justice professor at Our Lady of Lourdes High School, LaRocca says he initially decided to run to ensure Flowers wouldn’t run unopposed — but now he’s in it for the long haul. He also lists public safety as a top concern: as mayor, LaRocca says his first priority would be to ensure staffing and resources for the Poughkeepsie Police Department.
"The fact of the matter is that we have a tremendous amount of officers ready to retire now. The city council has been dragging their feet to get some sort of agreement for them, so that they'll stay," says LaRocca. "Because without an agreement, they could leave tomorrow, which would put the city at levels that are unsafe for the city of Poughkeepsie."
Members of the Poughkeepsie police union criticized the common council at its latest meeting on October 16 for not voting on an updated recruitment and retention plan negotiated with Nelson’s office earlier this year. Members of the common council have said they were largely kept in the dark on the deal, and wanted to consider the outlook in the city’s 2024 budget before acting on it.
Whoever becomes mayor will be facing some headwind in that department. Nelson’s spending plan would raise property taxes by 6.3 percent, requiring the common council to override the state’s property tax cap for the first time in almost a decade. Nelson says Poughkeepsie’s financial standing has improved significantly since he first became finance commissioner in 2016, but with continued inflation (and dwindling funds from the American Rescue Plan Act), the city now needs to choose between raising taxes or cutting services.
"I elected and directed our staff to go ahead and assume a tax cap override. If the council wants to cut it, then they're gonna have to cut it themselves," says Nelson.
The common council has not yet approved an override of the tax cap. Nelson, who is finishing out the term of now-state Senator Rob Rolison, has endorsed Flowers in the mayoral race.
For Dutchess County voters, education, housing, and the nation’s growing political divide were top of mind Tuesday. Carolyn Libretti of Spackenkill says she mostly came out to vote against a particular party and candidate, rather than for one. Which candidate she didn’t specify, but she listed the state of schools after the COVID-19 pandemic as her top concern, along with the current political climate.
"Our culture, now, is mimicking the fact that it's a two-party system, so it's one against the other," says Libretti. "So what I really am looking for is a sense of people who can work together. Maybe we need more than two parties."
Early voting runs through Sunday, and Election Day is November 7. You can find a full list of early voting locations and poll hours here.