GUILDERLAND — Bucking a long-time trend, Republican candidates for Guilderland Town Board and town justice beat by wide margins their Democratic opponents in Tuesday’s Conservative Party primary.

While it may not seem like an upset in national politics — Conservatives and Republicans, after all, are typically linked — in Guilderland, Democrats have frequently had Conservative backing as a second party line.

According to unofficial results from the Albany County Board of Elections posted after polls closed on Tuesday night, among the three town board candidates seeking the Conservative line, Republican Brian Sheridan was the top vote-getter with 186 votes or 42 percent, followed by his running mate, Jaime Ralston with 167 votes or 38 percent.

Democratic incumbent Jacob Crawford got 84 votes or 19 percent, and there were 8 write-in votes.

Ralston, a marketer making her first run for office, said last week that her candidacy is “not a stepping stone” for a political career; rather, she is running because she cares about making her hometown a better place. She also said her views on less government and lower taxes fit with Conservative views.

Sheridan, a pediatrician, is making his second run for town board after a close first run in 2021 because, he said, “I want some balance, not just five people on one side.” All of the elected town officials in Guilderland are Democrats. He also said,  “A lot of what I believe aligns with the Conservative Party.”

Crawford, who works for New York State United Teachers and serves as the Albany County Democratic Committee chairman, said that he had sought the Conservative line because he and his Democratic colleagues in Guilderland town government are fiscally conservative. “We continue to find ways of providing more services without raising taxes,” he said.

Crawford also said that Town Clerk Lynne Buchanan and Supervisor Peter Barber will be on the Conservative line in the November elections as well as Robert Haver who is running for highway superintendent.

In Tuesday’s Conservative primary, the GOP candidate for town justice, Stephen Chesley, won handily with 146 votes, or 60 percent, to Democrat Margaret Tabak’s 94 votes or 39 percent. There were also 4 write-in votes. Again, these results are unofficial as posted Tuesday night by the county’s board of elections.

Both Chesley and Tabak are attorneys; neither has served as town justice.

Chesley has been representing clients in town courts across the area and the state throughout his career, which means he would bring not just education, but experience, to the position of town justice, he told The Enterprise when he was running for Guilderland town justice in 2019. 

Tabak, when she ran for Albany Family Court judge in 2019, described herself as passionate about her work, which has included a great deal of pro bono work, and as a strong advocate for her clients, but “not somebody who loses her cool easily.”

Guilderland has just under 600 enrolled Conservatives so about 40 percent of them voted.