Incumbents Perform Strongly in Board of Legislators Races
Incumbents ruled Election Day at least when it came to local races for seats on the Westchester County Board of Legislators.
Democratic Majority Leader Peter Harckham and legislators Michael Kaplowitz, Catherine Borgia and John Testa all were re-elected with varying degrees of ease.
The closest race involved Harckham who defeated his challenger, Lewisboro Republican Chairwoman Andre Rendo, by a six-point margin (5,608-4,945) to win a fourth term on the board in District 2, according to unofficial results from the county Board of Elections.
In District 4, which covers New Castle and portions of Yorktown and Somers, Kaplowitz easily won a ninth term, defeating Republican challenger Gregory Kane 7,163-4,501 with 85 percent of the vote counted.
Another Democrat, Catherine Borgia, comfortably held off Peter Tripodi IV 4,896-3,498 to win in District 9.
Republican John Testa also had a relatively easy time winning another term in District 1, winning 60 percent of the vote (5,652-3,819) over Democratic challenger Duane Jackson.
Republican Legislator Michael Smith was unopposed in District 3.
If the results from all of the Board of Legislators races hold up, the Democrats would pick up one seat, increasing their majority to 11-6.
However, at least one seat is still very much in doubt. In District 10, Democratic challenger Mary Jo Jacobs clinged to an 11-vote lead (4,467-4,456) over Republican incumbent Sheila Marcotte with 81 percent of the vote counted late Tuesday night.
Another Democrat, Catherine Parker, held a 219-vote lead over Republican John Verni in District 7 with just 70 percent of the votes in.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/