The world woke today to a Donald Trump presidential victory after his swing state wins in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Wisconsin. As expected, Kamala Harris won New York State and Ulster County easily.
As the dust settles on the main electoral event, Ulster County Democrats were celebrating their continued dominance over the local political landscape. In the county’s two congressional races, Pat Ryan and Josh Riley, were both successful. With 549 of 586 voting places in his congredssional districts reporting, Pat Ryan won 57% of the vote to Alison Esposito’s 43%. Josh Riley won a squeaker against GOP incumbent Marc Molinaro, 180,538 by 176,850, in what was touted as the most expensive congressional race in the nation; Riley was helped by a plurality of 4000 in the Ulster County portion of the district.
Democrat Kristen E. Gillibrand cruised to victory as one of the state’s U.S. senators, with 58% of the vote, with 13,077 of 13,357 statewide districts reporting.
In Ulster County’s most significant state senate race, Michelle Hinchey garnered 57% of the vote to Patrick Sheehan’s 40%, with all districts reporting. Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha easily kept her seat, defeating Jack Hayes with a whopping 61% of the vote versus Hayes’ 35%, with all districts reporting.
On the back of the ballot, Proposal 1 (the amendment to protect against Unequal Treatment) easily passed with 57% of the statewide vote. Now language will be added to the New York State Constitution explicitly prohibiting denial of rights or unequal treatment based on a person’s ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, or sex. This amendment expands upon existing protections and seeks to ensure broader inclusion and equality across various sectors, including education, employment, and housing. By explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on pregnancy outcomes and reproductive healthcare, the amendment effectively enshrines abortion rights into the New York State Constitution.
Unofficial election results for local uncontested races
In New Paltz, voting for uncontested positions had 5,465 votes for appointed supervisor Amanda Gotto to fill an unexpired term and 5,065 votes for trustee Edgar Rodriguez for town board. Both positions run through 2025. Incumbent justice Rhett Weires had 5,563 votes in seeking a four-year term. A proposition seeking to set the Elting Memorial Library budget at $769,000, for an increase of $48,000, was approved 4,950-1,706.
A proposition on the back of the Gardiner ballot seeking voter approval for a $29,434 increase was approved 2,276-1,076.
Residents in Olive approved a proposition asking to set the Olive Free Library Association budget at $193,142, an increase of $25,000.
In Hurley, the uncontested position for clerk/tax collector had 2,910 votes for Lynne Bailey, and two uncontested town board seats had 2,898 for incumbent councilwoman Debra Dougherty and 2,695 votes for newcomer Joseph Letendre.
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