The People Have Spoken

Well, the votes are in.

The lowest voter turnout since 1964 contributed to Gates having some of its closest races in recent memory. The Gates GOP maintained control of the Town Board, while Democrat Mark McIntee also held his seat. As such, Supervisor Esposito will continue to preside over a Town Board with a 4-1 Republican majority.

Long time councilman Greg Hart finished third in the balloting for the Board, thus losing his seat. He has given long and honorable service to the citizens of Gates and was a worthy heir to his father, former Supervisor Jack Hart. Greg has been a friend and a colleague for a long time and I'll miss him as a Board member. I'm sure, though, that he will remain very active in Gates politics.

Judge John Pisaturo won his 7th term on the bench. I'm particularly pleased about his re-election, since his opponent used his censure over charging excessive speeding fines as a means to unfairly attack his judicial qualifications. Town voters, fortunately, did not buy into it.

The new face on the Town Board belongs to Chris DiPonzio. Chris led the balloting for the Board and brings both youth and business experience to Town government. He also has a fine political pedigree; his mom, Betty DiPonzio, was a long time Board member, and was one of the most popular elected officials in Gates. I'm looking forward to working with Chris (who is also a good friend and former golf partner).

That brings me to Supervisor Ralph Esposito. As I have previously written, I know no finer public official than Ralph. His political and governmental skills are simply unmatched by anyone I have ever dealt with in the public arena. His experience, competence, and accomplishments make him the best possible choice to run the Town of Gates. His steady hand has brought us through fiscal challenges and given Gates residents a quality of life which is second to none. I am honored to serve with him.

Going forward, it will be interesting to watch both political and governmental developments in Gates. For example, we will learn if Councilman McIntee is going to revert to the cooperative bipartisan spirit that he evidenced in the early part of his first year in office, or if he will continue to be the posturing partisan that he became as the election neared. The GOP majority treated him with respect during the past year; he lost some of that respect due to recent actions that seemed to be political antics. Frankly, he should expect little leeway from us if he continues to try to score partisan points rather than to govern cooperatively.

From a purely partisan view, elections have become more difficult for the GOP in Gates, due to ever declining Republican voter enrollment. The Gates GOP needs to come up with a plan to deal with that problem, as well as the problem of low voter turn-out. We have to accelerate efforts to register new GOP voters and get those we do have to actively participate in the party.

Clearly, the days of easy wins for the GOP are long gone.