GOP sweeps Shandaken, but Democrat Grant topples Frasier for town clerk
Republicans swept the elections in Shandaken, except for town clerk Laurilyn Frasier, who will yield the seat she has held for 24 years to Democratic challenger Joyce Grant, with independent Lois Lapinski coming in a distant third. Supervisor Rob Stanley, council member Vincent Bernstein, and highway supervisor Eric Hofmeister will hold onto their seats. Alfie Higley will join the town council. Assessors Heidi Clark and Carol Seitz, running unopposed, were confirmed in their current roles.
The Democrats received the news first, on laptops set up at their election night party at Arts Upstairs in Phoenicia, where they were snacking at a vegetarian buffet as they checked the Ulster County Board of Elections website.
Once all the results were posted, supervisor candidate Kathy Nolan promptly walked down the street to Al’s Seafood Restaurant to congratulate Stanley, who retained his office by a substantial margin. The Republicans had set up a chalkboard to report the returns, which at that point included only two of the town’s four electoral districts. The Republicans, eating their late-night snacks from a buffet of chicken and sausages, were gratified to hear of their victories.
“I thank the people of Shandaken for their continued support,” said Stanley. “There are a lot of issues facing the town that we have to address in the coming years, with the continuing support of Vin Bernstein and newcomer Alfie Higley. We’ll continue our commitment to transparent government and hope to build the economy in town and rebuild the vision of Shandaken.”
Bernstein commented, “I’m indebted to the people of the town for giving their confidence in me to serve another four years. I’m humbled and proud of them.”
Higley said he was pleased that the campaign has had “no negatives,” either on his part or on the part of his rivals.
Dems won’t give up
Back at the art gallery, Democratic council candidate Peter DiSclafani had already left, and his running mate Michael Koegel was wearily packing up his laptop.
Nolan remarked, “I’m glad for a good campaign, and I thank all the candidates from all the parties. I look forward to working together to address Shandaken’s needs going forward.” She plans to continue attending town meetings to submit her input.
“We’re not giving up,” declared Nick Alba, chairman of the Shandaken Democratic Committee. “We’ve got to be diligent, and we’ve got to keep fighting.”
A proposition to add $11,000 to the tax levy for the support of the Phoenicia Library was passed easily by the voters.++