GOP Dominates in Town Council Elections

Two races to fill vacant seats on the Kent and Southeast town boards saw GOP candidates easily win Tuesday night by double-digit percentage margins.

In Kent, Republican Chris Ruthven topped Democrat Gary Link and in Southeast, Republican Eric Larca surpassed Melinda Montanaro. Ruthven will fill the seat in January currently held by Councilwoman Christine Woolley, who was appointed shortly after former town board member Scott Chin resigned earlier this year. Larca will take over the seat previously held by former councilwoman Liz Hudak, who resigned less than two months before Election Day.

Larca was elected with almost 56 percent of the vote (3,590-2,845) over Montanaro. The election was perhaps one of the most crucial in the county, with a large scale logistics center being proposed in the town that would require a zoning change approved by the town board. While Montanaro was clear she could not support the Northeast Logistics development in its current form, Larca held back his views because he’s on the planning board, which is also reviewing the project.

“I’m so excited, I love Southeast, I love Brewster,” Larca said. “I’m just really happy where I can be in a position where I can have more effect in Southeast.”

At times during the campaign, Larca expressed frustration that he could not openly discuss the logistics center as his opponent did, but said he was he excited for residents to see how he will approach the proposal. On Election Day, Larca walked into a local hardware store and was told by a resident he was not going to vote for him because Montanaro expressed her clear disapproval with the project, which many residents also oppose.

“This project became the election and I’m just happy the town is going to see what I think about the project and how I’ll approach it,” Larca said. “It’s going to be an issue about the community.”

Ruthven also won by a comfortable margin, beating Link with 55 percent of the vote (2,653-2,151). He called his first campaign a “wonderful and fulfilling” experience, though it turned out to be more work that he thought. He noted Link was a gracious opponent.

“I hope to do great things for Kent,” Ruthven, who is deputy commissioner for the Putnam parks department, said. “It’s certainly a thrill to be elected, what a great feeling. It was exhilarating, it was wonderful.”

At the village level, in Brewster, current trustees Tom Boissonnault and Mary Bryde ran unopposed for another two- year term and in Cold Spring, incumbent trustees Lynn Miller and Steve Voloto also ran unopposed to win another two years.