Election results for the Essex County New York Board of Supervisors indicate that the new board in January will lean heavily Republican and may lose all of its female members.
The 18-member board is a mix of Republicans, Democrats and Independents with four women currently serving. But following Tuesday’s elections, three women lost their seats and the fourth must await the results of a recanvassing and absentee ballot count. If Minerva Town Supervisor Sue Montgomery-Corey loses her seat, it will be the first time in 34 years that the rural Adirondack county will have no women on the Board of Supervisors. The results were unexpected according to Plattsburgh Press Republican Southern Essex County Bureau Staff Writer Lohr McKinstry.
McKinstry notes that the results shift the balance of the panel to Republicans.
Essex County Democratic Committee Chair Bethany Kosmider isn’t sure what happened election night to throw so many Democratic incumbents out of office.
With the Board of Supervisors dominated by Republicans and the possibility of no women, Lohr McKinstry says it will be more conservative.
Current Board of Supervisors Chair Democrat Randy Douglas ran unopposed and was re-elected to his seat. He says most of the board’s work is the nuts and bolts of budgetary items.
The new board will hold its first organizational meeting on January 6th.
It will consist of 12 Republicans, three Democrats, two independents and the possibility of another Democrat or an independent who lost a primary race to the current Democrat.
