Primary Results

While there are still write in votes to count off the election machines, here are the unofficial results from the Rensselaer County BOE from last night's primaries across the county.

It was an extremely low turnout across North Greenbush which is the norm for primaries in an off year. Regardless, we thank everyone who took the time to vote.

One political epitaph was written for a member of the Town Board. Ernie Kern failed to secure any ballot line or endorsement. His term will end on December 31st after being double crossed by the GOP.

Campaigning on Town Time

This late update to this mornings post concerning multiple reports confirming that a Building Department employee was using a town vehicle yesterday while on the clock to pass out literature to Conservative voters on their mailboxes in support of Mike Miner and Kelly Hoffman. The employee is a utilities inspector who was hired to inspect the work done on the now completed Water 14. He was observed with the town vehicle by multiple people including at least one elected official.

Yes, Ernest Kern and Mark Evers should be furious that a town employee would use his taxpayer funded position and vehicle to campaign against them and for a town employee who is supposed to be working for them. Kern is now off the ballot and Evers lost a critical Conservative ballot line in part because an employee with nothing left to do in his job is kept on the payroll, unsupervised and helping with a political campaign, apparently with the consent of his immediate supervisor.

Who's Running With Who?

Sure seems as though the Republican ticket is having trouble knowing whether they can trust each other as running mates. With Kelly Hoffman as Mark Evers GOP running mate along with Joe Bott, folks were scratching their heads as Hoffman celebrated her Conservative party primary win with Evers Conservative opponent Mike Miner and Lou Desso at the American Legion. Now let's get this straight, Hoffman is Evers running mate when she tells Republicans she's part of the GOP team but morphs into Miner's running mate when she tells Conservatives she part of the Conservative team.

How fortunate town Democrats saved her from further confusion by defeating her effort to win the Democratic party endorsement at their caucus because then she'd be running around campaigning with Democratic Supervisor candidate Josephine Ashworth trying to tell Democrats she's part of the Democratic team. That's a candidate who stands for nothing except wining at any cost. We've seen the effects of candidates like these during the last two years on the town board and we think voters understand the cost to all of us. The only question left is whether Evers and Kern comprehend the cost to themselves?