Republicans Cruise to Easy Wins in Legislator Races as Democrats Are Left Disappointed
By David Propper and Jackie Rapetti
In commanding fashion, all three Republican candidates running for the Putnam County legislature won their respective seats as unofficial election results came rolling in Tuesday night.
Incumbent Carl Albano topped Democratic adversary Scott Friedman by a 909-664 margin in District 5 and incumbent Roger Gross blew away Democratic challenger John McCarron by a 1,1127-450 margin for District 6.
In District 9, Kevin Wright was able to cruise past Democrat Bernie Kosberg 905-484 in a race that saw current Legislator Anthony DiCarlo withdraw after Wright filed suit to challenge his petitions.
With the GOP sweep, eight legislators will remain on the legislature, while the sole Democrat continues to be Sam Oliverio, who has previously stated he’s interested in running for county executive next year.
The Republican Party held its viewing party at the Villa Barone Hilltop Manor in Mahopac and the mood was jubilation as it became increasingly obvious Albano, Gross, and Wright were going to take the races. Each gave a short victory speech thanking their supporters.
As for the Democrats, they held their viewing party at Four Brothers Pizza in Mahopac, which was less than a mile from where the Republicans were celebrating.
In an interview, Albano called his campaign “very interesting” and said he’s “looking forward to the future.”
Friedman was not immediately available for comment.
Gross, who has campaigned for public office for three straight years joked that he knows it’s time to begin knocking on doors when he sees pumpkins out each fall. After his win Tuesday, Gross said he’s excited to start his first full three-year term in the legislature.
“People came out and supported me,” Gross said. “And I appreciated that.”
Meanwhile, McCarron said he was disappointed he lost, but he is proud of the clean campaign he and his committee ran.
“I will stay involved in Putnam County politics and I’ll be back,” McCarron said.
And finally Wright, who had previously held the District 9 Legislator seat after winning it in 1980, said he’s anxious to once again assist the residents in his district.
“It’s an important job,” Wright said. “And I’m sincerely pumped up about it.”
Kosberg said he is going to continue his work to build a Democratic party in Putnam.
“We may have lost the battle but the war for open and honest government has just begun,” he said. “Together we’ll strive forward and continue to build a party.”
Check back on www.examinernews.com throughout the week for more updates on races around Putnam County and pick up next Tuesday’s The Putnam Examiner for expanded coverage.
