After absentee-ballot count, Napierski and Beedle still victors

Tuesday, June 29, 2021 - 20:37

Enterprise file photo — Melissa Hale-Spencer

Challengers Kevin McDonald, at the head of the table, and Christine Napierski, to his left, had enthusiastic support on Primary Night as voting results came in.

GUILDERLAND — Absentee ballots, counted on Tuesday, did not change the results of the June 22 Guilderland Democratic primary: Christine Napierski and Amanda Beedle are still the split ticket.

Absentee ballots for the four candidates, according to the Albany County Board of Elections, were in the same order as the original vote:

— Napierski got the most, 59, bringing her tally to 1,021;

— Beedle got 56, bringing her tally to 973;

— Paul Pastore got 52, bringing his talle to 924; and

— Kevin McDonald got 38 for a total of 815.

In Guilderland’s first primary, where the major issue was development in town, Napierski and McDonald had challenged the candidates chosen by the Democratic Committee: Pastore, a 16-year incumbent, and Beedle.

The town is currently in the midst of appealing an Albany County Supreme Court decision that halted Pyramid’s plans to build a Costco Wholesale store and a 222-unit apartment complex. Pastore had voted in favor of the appeal. Beedle is on the planning board that approved the projects.

Both Napierski and McDonald oppose the Pyramid projects. McDonald is among the Westmere residents who brought the suit stopping the projects. Napierski, a lawyer, made a point during her campaign of not accepting funds from developers; her campaign was largely self-funded.

Napierski and Beedle, by winning the Democratic line, will have a great advantage in November since enrollment in Guilderland skews Democratic.

Both Beedle and McDonald were making their first run for office.

In November, Napierski and Beedle will face off against two Republican candidates: Brian Sheridan, a pediatrician, and Amanda Knasel, the pediatric quality project manager in the same office. The GOP is fielding just those two candidates, each making their first run for office.

Both Republican candidates spoke to The Enterprise in June about the importance of listening to a wide variety of viewpoints in town and striving for unity. Asked about her views on development in town, Knasel said that she’d like to bring in more development and make it an easier process for businesses. “We should be working with businesses to grow,” Sheridan said, adding, “I do it with my own business.”

Not quite half of Guilderland’s roughly 23,000 registered voters are enrolled as Democrats while about a quarter are enrolled as Republicans and more than a quarter are not enrolled or belong to small parties.

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