RENSSELAERVILLE — Two Republicans — Marymichael D’Ark and Peter Sommerville — were victors in the only race in Rensselaerville this year: a three-way contest for two town board seats.

Democrat Patricia Byrnes came up short.

D’Ark was the top vote-getter with just over 47 percent: She received 219 votes on the Republican line, 136 on the Democratic line, and 80 on the Conservative line.

All results reported here are unofficial, posted Election Night by the Albany County Board of Elections.

D’Ark, who owns a sheep and goat farm, a landscaping business, and a pizzeria, all in Rensselaerville,  said she believes in “small local communities being able to problem solve and work together to grow a successful future.”

She told The Enterprise before the election that her priority would be “finding a fiscally responsible long term solution that gives all members of our community access to clean drinking water.”

Incumbent Sommerville, who was first elected in 2021, got over 30 percent of the vote: 186 on the Republican line, and 96 on the Conservative line.

Somerville, who has been a farmer, charter-boat captain, mechanic, fabricator, and business owner, told The Enterprise that he was running again “to preserve and protect the things that make the Hilltowns wonderful.”

He said the most important issue was making quality high-speed internet available throughout town.

Byrnes, who has been a sociology professor and worked for nonprofits that dealt with violence against women, also ran for town board in 2023.

This time, she got almost 23 percent of the vote with all 209 of her votes on the Democratic line.

Rensselaerville has a history, distinct from the three neighboring Hilltowns, of at least a half-century of bipartisan town boards.

All of the other elections in Rensselaerville this year — for supervisor, clerk, and highway superintendent — were uncontested.

Supervisor John Dolce, a Democrat, got 246 votes on the Democratic line, 118 on the Republican line, and 76 on the Conservative line.

Dolce, a Queens native, was appointed supervisor in 2018 to replace former Supervisor Steven Pfleging who resigned after he was charged with grand larceny for stealing more than $13,000 from the town (he later pleaded guilty to petit larceny).

Dolce was first elected to the post in 2019. Before he was appointed supervisor, Dolce was a councilman, a post to which he was also initially appointed, in 2016.

Victoria Kraker was first elected as town clerk in 2013, and before that had been town justice and court clerk. 

“I love the clerk’s job,” she told The Enterprise in 2017. “I love helping people ... It’s a small town so you have that personal touch. You see people face-to-face and ask, ‘How is your mom doing?’”

On Tuesday, Kraker got 251 votes on the Democratic line, 141 on the Republican line, and 85 on the Conservative line.

Highway Superintendent Jason Rauf, a Republican, formerly served on the town board and was elected to head the town’s highway department in 2021.

A lifelong Rensselaerville resident and a mechanic, Rauf said in 2021, “In my opinion, as long as the job is done correctly, nobody cares whether the highway superintendent is Republican or Democrat. They just want their road plowed and maintained correctly. So I’m looking forward to that aspect of it.”

He also said, “My intention is to do 20 years here, in this position, if possible, if the people are good enough to re-elect me. I intend on doing the best job possible in order to become re-elected and to uphold my family name here.”

On Tuesday, Rauf garnered 471 votes — 84 more than when he was elected in 2021. He received 247 on the Democratic line, 140 on the Republican line, and 84 on the Conservative line.