Photos: Committee's choice wins caucus for Guilderland judge
At a packed Democratic caucus in Tawasentha Park Thursday, Bryan Clenahan beat Christine Napierski, 153 to 132, to be the nominee for town justice.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Before the voting started on Thursday, Guilderland supervisor, Peter Barber, and his wife, Catherine, chatted with other Democrats who crowded the caucus site.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
The lines were long as Democrats — close to 300 — formed three queues to sign in to vote at Thursday’s Democratic caucus where the race for town judge was hotly contested.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Listening in the crowd, Guilderland’s town judge Christine Napierski waits for Thursday’s caucus vote. She challenged the Democratic committee’s choice, Bryan Clenahan, and narrowly lost, 153 to 132. She had been appointed town judge in April after Richard Sherwood resigned, having been charged with felony larceny to which he later pleaded guilty.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Eugene Napierski, father and law partner of Christine Napierski, casts his vote at Thursday’s Democratic caucus, held at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland. He and his daughter sued in federal court, saying the facility is not easily accessible for voters with disabilities like himself. He uses an electric scooter since he suffers from a neurological disorder. Federal Judge Glenn Suddaby made stipulations to accommodate handicapped voters at the caucus.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Greg Wier, at right, easily won the Democratic nomination for town highway superintendent, with a show of hands, at Thursday’s caucus. Here he chats with Jacob Crawford, the town’s Democratic Party chairman, holding his daughter in his arms. Wier had been appointed to the post by the Guilderland Town Board after Steven Oliver retired before his term had ended.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Democracy in action: Packed into a hot pavilion at Guilderland’s Tawasentha Park Thursday evening, 285 Democrats cast paper ballots for their choice of judicial candidates. The Democratic committee had backed Bryan Clenahan but Christine Napierski, who had been appointed unanimously to the post by the town board in April, fought for the nomination. The board had interviewed 14 candidates, including Clenahan, for the job. Napierski lost on Thursday by 21 votes. She plans to run in November on the Conservative Party line.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Tallying the paper ballots: Bryan Clenahan, far left, watches along with Judge Christine Napierski, standing at center, with her father, Eugene, seated beside her, as the votes for judge are counted during Thursday’s packed Democratic caucus at Tawasentha Park. Clenahan, the Democratic committee’s choice, won, 153 to 132.