Update: 12/6 -
Final results from the Westchester County BOE for the VOM
Village Justice:
Daniel J. Gallagher – 3,957
Jennifer Bienstock Cohen – 2,684
Village Trustee:
Andre B. Hallstrom – 3,348
Ilissa Miller – 3,574
Leon A Potok – 3,411
Dennis Cucinella – 3,016
George J. Belsito – 2,950
Michael J. Sudano – 3,199
Update: 12/5 - 4:20 p.m.
Election results for the VOM may be available as early as tonight, said Doug Colety, the GOP commissioner for the Westchester County BOE and Republican Party Chairman.
"We are focusing on the VOM now right now and fast-tracking it," he said.
Although the BOE website shows that all 15 districts have reported their results, Colety said that those only reflect the machine counts and not absentee ballots.
The delay in obtaining final certification for election results may have been due to the effects from Hurricane Sandy.
"Governor Cuomo ordered us to take ballots from every county due to Sandy," he said.
Update: 12/5 - The email below was sent from VOM Attorney Charles Goldberger to VOM Trustee John Hofstetter today at 1:29 p.m.
Rich and I spent a considerable amount of time on Monday trying to get the Westchester County Board of Elections to issue a letter certifying the recent election results in the Village. They refused to do so because of uncounted absentee and/or affidavit ballots, notwithstanding the fact that there are not enough of those ballots to alter the results that have been already been announced.
In view of the position taken by the Board of Elections and their refusal to certify the results, it was my opinion that we could not have the new Trustees sign their oath of office. It was also my opinion that it would be foolish to have them take part in the ceremonial activities at the Board meeting before they were officially certified. Therefore the organizational meeting was put over for one week. I believe all parties were notified as soon as we learned that the Board of Elections would not be able to certify the results by the end of business on Monday. Since the new Trustees are not sworn in, the current Trustees, yourself, Sid and Tony remain as Trustees with full power to act in their capacity. To my knowledge nobody suggested that the existing Trustees had any "limited powers".
The issue with respect to Judge Gallagher was quite different. Local justices are specifically prohibited from serving after their term of office has expired. Hence, Judge Gallagher could not serve as Village Justice after Monday night. In fact he had a busy court calendar scheduled for Tuesday. He communicated with me and we worked out a legal and satisfactory arrangement whereby the Mayor appointed him on an interim basis for a period of three weeks or less if the results were certified. This procedure is specifically authorized by New York State Village Law Section 3-312 subdivision 3, which states "vacancies in offices caused other than by expiration of the terms thereof shall be filled by the Mayor . . .". I determined that the failure of the Westchester County Board of Elections to certify the Mayor in the Village Justice contest created a vacancy caused by "other than by expiration of the terms . . .". I so advised the Mayor and he made the emergency interim appointment. Had this not been done Monday night, Judge Gallagher would have either had to cancel court on Tuesday or act in what could have been considered an illegal capacity as Village Justice.
I hope this will satisfactorily answer your questions.
Very truly yours,
Charles Goldberger
An organizational meeting scheduled for tonight in the Village of Mamaroneck (VOM) in which members of the newly elected board of trustees were to be sworn into office, has been postponed, according to an notice sent out this afternoon.
Although the Board of Election (BOE) website shows that 100 percent of the 15 district's results were reported, results have not yet been certified. Unofficial results from the BOE indicate that Andre Bermudez Hallstrom (D), Ilissa Miller (D) and Leon Potok (D) have garnered enough votes to win the three trustee seats on the VOM board.
"There's not a doubt in my mind that any number will change," said VOM Mayor Norm Rosenblum, who said the BOE predicits that certified results should be available by Friday.
The organizational meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, Dec. 10 at 7:15 in the VOM Courtroom.
It is unknown what caused the delay in producing certified results. A call to BOE officials had not been returned by press time.
Editor's Note: Final results were certified by the BOE on Dec. 6. The headline and article have been updated to reflect this information.
