money What were the takeaways from elections in Westchester and Putnam?
While Election Day 2021 was nothing like last year's, which had an unavoidable focus on the presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, there were scores of county and local level races for Westchester and Putnam voters to choose from this year.
One of those races was for Westchester County executive where Democratic incumbent George Latimer topped Republican challenger Christine Sculti. Every seat on the Board of Legislators was also up for grabs, which resulted in a few races that could see the GOP regain a bit of relevance on the county board.
Election 2021: Unofficial Westchester County results
Election 2021: Unofficial Putnam County results
Multiple town supervisor seats would also see a newcomer take over regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican won due to several retirements.
Results from the Board of Elections are unofficial votes and absentee and affidavit ballots are added before results are certified. The process usually takes a week.
Complete election results are available at these county board of elections sites:
Latimer defends seat with ease
Latimer cruised to another county executive victory Tuesday night, this time over Sculti, who was a first-time candidate. Latimer earned the seat in 2017 when he beat then-incumbent Rob Astorino amid a blue wave following the election of Trump the previous year.
Latimer has never lost an election in Westchester. He declared victory during his campaign party in White Plains. With all precincts reporting, he held a commanding lead over Sculti with 62% of voters choosing the Democrat.
He credited the good work county government has done the last four years.
Sculti would have been the first woman to serve in the position.
Westchester GOP earns leg seat
Most Democrats running for seats on the Board of Legislators had their way Tuesday, but at least one Republican challenger seemed to have toppled a Democratic incumbent.
The last two years there hasn't been a single registered Republican on the lawmaking body, but it appears GOP challenger James Nolan knocked off Ruth Walter, who is in her first term representing District 15 that includes parts of Yonkers.
With all precincts reporting, Nolan held a comfortable lead over Walter with 53% of the vote in his favor.
The only non-Democrat to serve the past two years was registered Conservative Margaret Cunzio. She easily won reelection Tuesday.
Down to the wire
Three races for Westchester Board of Legislators seats came down to the wire. In District 10, Democratic incumbent Damon Maher is ahead of GOP challenger Anthony Giacobbe by 248 votes, good enough for 51% of the vote.
And in District 4, Democratic incumbent Vedat Gashi is leading Republican Robert Brower with 53% of the vote. Earlier in the night, when 80% of precincts were reporting, he was only ahead by 66 votes.
Finally, in District 1, Democratic incumbent Colin Smith might've squeaked out a close one against GOP challenger Joe Torres with a 314-vote margin. Smith was actually down by 291 votes with 87% of districts reporting earlier in the night.
Pockets of Westchester remain red
Republicans easily won contested supervisor races in Somers, Mount Pleasant, Eastchester and Harrison regardless of whether the candidate was defending his office or seeking the office for the first time. The four towns usually lean Republican.
Tony Colavita will remain in office in Eastchester and Carl Fulgenzi will serve another term in Mount Pleasant.
In Harrison, Republican Councilman Rich Dionisio topped Democratic Councilman Frank Gordon with 57% of the vote, with most votes tallied. Dionisio will replace outgoing Supervisor Ron Belmont.
And in Somers Republican Robert Scorrano beat Democrat Stephanie Keegan with 67% of the vote with most ballots reported.
Third time's the charm in Putnam
A hotly contested sheriff's race in Putnam ended up being a blowout win for Republican challenger Kevin McConville over Democratic incumbent Robert Langley.
It was McConville's third time running for the position after two tough defeats in 2009 and 2013; this time he won with 57% of the vote.
In 2017, Langley pulled off a huge upset when he beat former sheriff Don Smith in 2017, but could not repeat that endeavor this year. Langley had countless battles over funding for the department against Republican County Executive MaryEllen Odell and the GOP-controlled county Legislature for a few years leading up to the Election Day.
David Propper covers Westchester County. Reach him at dpropper@lohud.com and follow him on Twitter: dg_props. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Election 2021: Takeaways from Westchester and Putnam
