Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
November 10, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 45 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Latimer upends Astorino, wins county executive race Village GOP rolled over in Board of Trustees sweep By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
Photo/Andrew Dapolite
By CHRISTIAN FALCONE Editor-in-Chief Republicans in Westchester didn’t stand a chance on Tuesday night, as a Democratic voter surge culminated with the ushering in of state Sen. George Latimer to the highest elected office in the county. The failed re-election for incumbent County Executive Rob Astorino, a two-term Republican, was decisive and swift. As the results began to pour in shortly after 9 p.m. on Nov. 7, the numbers quickly shifted in Latimer’s favor, and what materialized into a double-digit margin early on never tightened. It was a sobering night at the
polls for Republicans throughout Westchester, who were left to regroup amid fears that the turnout was in direct response to President Donald Trump’s policies. Termed the “Trump effect,” it was too much to overcome even for Astorino, who had defied odds in his previous election victories despite a 2-to-1 voter registration disadvantage for Republicans. According to the unofficial county Board of Elections tallies, Latimer captured 116,767 votes, equating to 57 percent of the popular vote, compared to Astorino’s 89,463 votes, or 43 percent. The turnout shows a stark turnaround from when Astorino successfully won re-election in 2013. With his biggest win to date,
Latimer continues his unbeaten streak of 18 consecutive elections, which started off in 1987 in a run for the Rye City Council. He then successfully worked his way through the Westchester County Board of Legislators and into the New York state Legislature. Latimer has held some level of elected office for 30 years. Joined by a packed house of supporters at the Coliseum White Plains, Latimer offered victory remarks to raucous cheers from the audience. “We are going to run this county well,” he said. “We’re going to run it on progressive values; we’re going to keep your taxes in line, but it’s not going to be
just about taxes.” Latimer said his administration would be about jobs, housing, transportation, health care and also taxes. “We are going to show you in Westchester what we’re going to show you in the nation in three years,” he added, offering a prelude to the 2020 presidential race, “how to run America the right way.” The campaign was hard fought but also full of mudslinging from both sides. Astorino, with a significant war chest, outspent Latimer by a 3-to-1 margin. At the Crowne Plaza White Plains, Astorino awaited the results alongside his supporters. LATIMER continued on page 7
In a pivotal election for mayor, voters went decisively Democrat, opting to elect town of Mamaroneck Councilman Tom Murphy. Nora Lucas, a Democrat, also picked up a trustee seat to give village of Mamaroneck Democrats full control of the five-member Board of Trustees. Murphy, who previously served on the village board from 2004 to 2009, won a convincing victory against his Republican opponent George Mgrditchian, earning 60 percent of the vote to Mgrditchian’s 40 percent. Lucas, the former village Democratic Party chairwoman, won by similar margins, walking away with 57 percent of the vote, compared to her Republican opponent Maria DeRose, 43 percent. “You don’t get here on your own,” said Murphy, 56, thanking Democrats who worked on his campaign. “You get here on the shoulders of others.” Murphy’s comment, in front of a festive crowd at Bar’Lees Wine and Whiskey Bar on Mamaroneck Avenue, quickly turned to the national stage, marking his victory as one of many steps by Democrats nationwide toward “taking [the] country back.” “Tonight the sun comes out, tonight is a different day,” said Murphy, his voice in a crescendo. “Next year we will take back Congress… we’re going to take our goddamn country back.”
Murphy and Lucas’ victory will mark the end of any Republican representation on the village of Mamaroneck’s governing body. Popular village mayor, Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, backed out of a re-election campaign to run for Westchester County legislator, and Deputy Mayor Louis Santoro, also a Republican, did not seek re-election. In defeat, Mgrditchian, who was at Bar Harbor on Boston Post Road awaiting the returns on election night, wished Murphy and Lucas the best. “We hope our new leaders will bring what Maria and I had hoped to have brought to the village, “integrity, and civility,” Mgrditchian, 57, said. Unusually high Democratic voter turnout in an off-year election seems to have clearly pushed candidates to victory throughout the county. In the village of Mamaroneck, there were nearly 2,100 more overall votes cast in this election compared to the 2015 mayor and trustee race, according to county Board of Elections tallies. SWEEP continued on page 9
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