GUILDERLAND — Showered with roses and surrounded by hugs, Democrat Denise Randall made history Tuesday. She is the first female to be elected judge in Guilderland.

By less than 200 votes, Randall ousted Republican Judge Steven J. Simon, who has been town justice for 25 years. This is the first time in Guilderland that both town justices will be Democrats.

The Democrats had even more to celebrate Tuesday as they swept the election. This will be the third consecutive term in Guilderland’s 200 years that the town board will be controlled by all Democrats with a Democratic supervisor.

For town board, Democrats Patricia Slavick, an incumbent, and Paul Pastore soundly beat Republican newcomers Michael Donegan and Ed Glenning.

Also, Democratic Supervisor Kenneth Runion, Town Clerk Rosemary Centi, and Receiver of Taxes Jean Cataldo, were all unopposed.

Centi and Cataldo excitedly hugged the winners Tuesday night as Runion, a former Republican, spoke of how happy he is to be a part of the Democratic party.

Then they celebrated with about 50 Democrats, and some Conservative and Independence party members, at Sutter’s Mill and Mining Co.

Meanwhile, the town’s Republican party met at Dorato’s restaurant, further down Western Avenue. The atmosphere was less festive, as the candidates accepted their defeat.

New judge
Randall was calm as the polls closed at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. Asked how she felt, before the results were announced, she said, "I did everything I could. I ran flat out. I ran to win and now I’ll just wait, knowing I did all I could do."

Randall received 4,345 votes and Simon got 4,171. (All vote tallies in this story are according to unofficial results from the Albany County Board of Elections.)

Randall also ran on the Independence and Conservative lines. While Simon was backed by the Conservative party in September’s primary, Randall won the line, 68 to 63.

Tuesday night, Democratic Chairman David Bosworth thanked the Conservative party. If not for it, he said, Randall may not have won the election. She got 304 votes on the Conservative line.

Guilderland has two town judges who each serve four-year terms. In 2003, John Bailey was the first Democrat ever to be elected judge in Guilderland. He replaced long-time Republican Judge Kenneth Riddett, who retired.

Unlike Riddett, Simon wasn’t ready to move on. He told The Enterprise earlier that he enjoyed being judge and wanted to continue his service to the town.
Wednesday, Simon said he was disappointed. "I’ve been doing it for 25 years and it’s been an honor. I’m proud of my record," he said. "I’m going to look forward, not back. I’ll continue my private law practice."

He added that, on the bright side, he won’t have to get out of bed in the middle of the night for arraignments.

Randall, the town court prosecutor who also has a private law practice, thanked the Democratic party, Bosworth, the voters, and her family Tuesday night.
"This, without a doubt, has been one of the most astounding adventures of my adult life," she said. She added that Pastore, who ran against Simon 12 years ago, and Richard Sherwood and Peter Barber, who unsuccessfully challenged the judge since, "ran hard before me and chipped away at my opponent, making this possible."

Other results and reactions

Before the election results were announced Tuesday, Slavick told The Enterprise that she was nervous. She and Donald Csaposs stood at the front of a growing crowd, watching as two party members wrote the results on two posterboards. Csaposs is the town’s economic development director and a member of the Independence Party.

It took about 45 minutes to receive and post the results for all 32 districts. During that time, the room became packed with people, most stretching their necks to read the results.

Pastore looked the most anxious. As each tally was written on the board, he stood on his tiptoes, flexed his eyebrows, and stroked his chin.

Although she knew she’d be re-elected, Cataldo said she was nervous for her running mates.
"I need them to win because I’m not being successful if they’re not here," she told The Enterprise.

The crowd cheered when many of the results were posted and occasionally booed at the districts where Simon beat Randall. By 10 p.m., all the results were in and Csaposs had added the results from the districts together.

Slavick, who also ran on the Independence and Conservative lines, got the most votes, with 4,713, and Pastore, with the Independence line, was next with 4,376. Republican Donegan, also with the Conservative line, got 3,845 votes and Glenning got 3,581.

Runion received 6,019 votes. Although he was running unopposed, during his campaign he outlined for The Enterprise the accomplishments of his administration, including: keeping the budget in line despite surprises, adopting a comprehensive land-use plan, and creating parks.

Enrollment for Guilderland voters falls roughly into thirds — Democrats, Republicans, and those who are not enrolled in a party or who are in small parties.

Cataldo garnered 6,298 votes and Centi got 5,955 votes. All three incumbents also ran on the Independence and Conservative lines.
Tuesday, Bosworth called the winners to the front of the room. Randall, Slavick, Centi, and Cataldo were given bouquets of roses and Cataldo pinned "I’m a Winner" ribbons on the elected councilpersons.

After several rounds of applause, Slavick spoke first. She thanked the Guilderland Democratic Committee for its work on the campaign.
"We won because we worked very hard," she said. "We showed a lot of energy on the streets. We clocked 85 hours on the street."

Slavick encountered a setback in the race in August, she said. Then, leaders of the Republican party had complained to Slavick’s employer that she was violating the Hatch Act by keeping her job and running for town board.

Slavick, an accountant, told The Enterprise then that she’d done all she could to clear her candidacy with her supervisor at the state’s Office of Mental Health. The Hatch Act is a law that prohibits federal and certain state workers from running for an elected office.

When told just before the Democratic caucus in September that her job was in conflict, Slavick decided to quit, she said. Still, Republican candidate Michael Donegan told The Enterprise that Slavick’s leaving her job wasn’t good enough. She violated the law for too long and she should drop out of the race, he said.
Tuesday, a smiling Slavick said, "I said in principle that I was going to run in this election and I did it."

She said earlier that her goals for the next four years include: conducting more studies for the comprehensive plan; seeing that water lines are looped for better quality and access; finding more grants for town projects; and getting more sidewalks in town, in accordance with a study made by the pathways committee.
Tuesday night, Pastore said that campaigning and working with the Democratic party was "truly a privilege and a pleasure."
"This victory is as much yours and it is ours," Pastore said. "I am most proud to be a part of the team. I truly believe that I’ve won prior to the results in having dealt with all of you."

Pastore said earlier that his experience as the town’s planning board attorney has helped him understand how the town is growing and what the current planning issues are. As a town board member, he said, he’ll see that issues such as residential growth and property-owners’ rights and public concerns of safety and well-being are addressed.

Wednesday, Donegan sent a letter to the Enterprise editor congratulating Slavick and Pastore and thanking everyone who worked on his campaign.
"I’m obviously disappointed," he told The Enterprise yesterday afternoon. "We ran a hard campaign."

Donegan, a lawyer with the state’s Commission of Corrections, said earlier that he ran for town board because he had fresh ideas and he wanted to open up the process of town government.
"I want to be proactive instead of reactive," he said.
Donegan also said that "the local Democratic party really has a stranglehold on this town board."

He and other Republicans have said that it is a conflict for Bosworth to be both party chair and councilman and that Bosworth has too much control over the board members. They used Democratic incumbent Bruce Sherwin, who said he was not nominated by his party because of his independent thinking, as an example.
Wednesday, Donegan said of he and the Republicans, "We’re resilient. We will be back."

Asked if he’d run again for town board, he said it’s too early to say, but he will keep his options open. He plans on getting rest now and spending time with his family, he said.

Glenning, a vice president for the Bank of America, told The Enterprise Wednesday that he congratulates the winners. He did not go to Dorato’s Tuesday night with other Republicans, but watched the results on television at home with his wife and daughter, he said.
"The greatest thing in an election is the public gets to be heard," Glenning said Wednesday. "We ran a good campaign, everybody did."
He said earlier of his election goals, "We need to have a better balance to the Guilderland economy. The way I see the town developing, there’s a lot of residential growth and I don’t see a lot of corresponding, commercial services."

Glenning now plans on spending more time with his daughter and wife, he said. He hopes to share some of his ideas with town officials, he said.
Glenning concluded that he will not run again. "This election was a one-shot deal for me," he said.