Latimer Easily Wins Second Term as Westchester County Executive
Westchester County Executive George Latimer easily won re-election to another four years in office Tuesday night, defeating Republican challenger Christine Sculti.
Latimer declared victory and spoke to supporters at The Opus Westchester hotel in White Plains, pledging to continue fighting to improve the quality of life for the county’s residents while reaching for common ground among those who disagree.
“We here in Westchester County created a template and the template is results matter, that we don’t accept that we can’t build a New Rochelle Family Court, we don’t accept the thought that the Miller House is going to collapse,” Latimer said.
“We’re going to succeed in department after department because we believe in things to make people’s lives better,” he added.
Latimer defeated Sculti 94,833 to 58,069, according to Westchester County Board of Elections totals. Sculti, a Harrison resident, had served as former county executive Rob Astorino’s chief adviser during his eight years in office.
Tuesday’s victory for Latimer, 67, continues his streak of never having lost an election starting with his service on the Rye City Council in the 1980s. He has also served on the Board of Legislators and both houses of the state legislature before winning his first race for county executive in 2017.
Local Incumbents Win County Legislator Races
Local incumbents were successful in holding onto their seats on the Board of Legislators Tuesday, although a couple of races were nail-biters for much of the evening.
Legislators Colin Smith (D-Peekskill) in District 1, Margaret Cunzio (C-Mount Pleasant) in District 3, Vedat Gashi (D-Yorktown) in District 4 and Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) all won re-election.
Smith trailed his Republican challenger Joe Torres before pulling ahead late, 5,965-5,651, while Gashi was locked in a close battle with his opponent, Robert Brower Jr., before opening up a 7,537-6,663 lead.
Cunzio won a fourth term, easily defeating Pleasantville Village Trustee David Vinjamuri, 7,035-5,069. Borgia was successful in her try for a sixth and final term on the board, besting Charles Braue, 6,750-3,305. She will be term limited at the close of 2023.
Democrat Erika Pierce, a former legislative aide to outgoing Legislator Kitley Covill, defeated Republican Gina Arena 7,838-5,748 in the District 2 race. Covill had decided against running for a third term.
Republicans did pick up one seat last night on the Board of Legislators. In District 15, which includes portions of Yonkers and Bronxville, challenger James Nolan defeated Democratic incumbent Ruth Walter, 4,830-4,356. The Democrats will hold a 15-2 advantage on the Board of Legislators starting in January.
Ten of the 17 races were uncontested.
County Clerk Timothy Idoni defeated Republican Scooter Scott 90,560-55,704 to win a fourth term.
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/
