ALBANY COUNTY —With nearly half of registered voters in Albany County enrolled as Democrats — about a fifth are Republicans and another fifth are unaffiliated — it is no surprise that Democrats dominated in county races on Tuesday.

Two exceptions in local legislative races include Republican Mark Grimm’s win in Guilderland’s District 29 with 65 percent of the vote — he’ll take the seat Lee Carman is giving up in his quest to serve on the Guilderland Town Board, a seat Grimm once held.

Another exception is in District 31 — part Hilltown, part western Guilderland — where a committed campaign by Democrat Nicholas Viscio couldn’t unseat Republican Travis Stevens.

The county offices all stayed with Democrats. County Executive Daniel McCoy, unopposed in his first run four years ago, won in a landslide Tuesday with 69 percent of the vote, besting Republican Francis Vitollo who got 27 percent and Green Party candidate Daniel Platt with 4 percent.

McCoy had won a September primary against Daniel Egan.

McCoy, 46, a retired Albany firefigher who served for 12 years in the county legislature, ran on his record. He said, “I turned the finances around, grew the programs for youth, and dealt with the nursing home...I just delivered back-to-back budgets with zero tax increase There are no budget gimmicks and services increased.”

Vitollo, 59, a nurse who lives in Coeymans, largely financed his own campaign, his first run for public office. “Professional politicians need to come to an end,” he said. “I’m a Jeffersonian.” He described his stance as “pro-American and pro-business.”

Plaat, 27, of Albany, also making his first run, described himself as an activist. He knew he wouldn’t win but said, “It’s about informing people to think about voting for the greater good rather than the lesser evil.”

Incumbent Democratic Comptroller Michael Conners retained his post with 73 percent of the vote over Cornelius Donovan. Sheriff Craig Apple, a Democrat, was unopposed.  And the Democratic coroners won as well: Timothy Cavanagh got 36 percent of the vote and John Keegan got 35 percent, besting David Carhart at 14 percent and Michael Leonard also at 14 percent.

All of the vote tallies in this story are unofficial figures from the Albany County Board of Elections.

District 28

Dennis Feeney

Democrat Dennis Feeney ran unopposed for his third term representing the 28th District, which is contained wholly in the town of Guilderland.

A partner in the Feeney, Centi, and Mackey law firm, Feeney said he is proud that the legislature has been able to “hold the line on any tax increases” throughout his tenure, and of what has been done to cut the deficit at the nursing home.

He also championed the land bank and the expansion of the rail trail.

District 29

Mark Grimm

Republican Mark Grimm, a former Guilderland Town Board member, soundly defeated Democrat David Cardona, a former trustee in Voorheesville, in a district that represents Carman Road and part of Western Avenue.

“I’m thrilled,” said Grimm, who received 65 percent of the votes. “This is what hard work looks like.”

Grimm, who runs a media consulting business, said he wants to “look out for Guilderland’s taxpayers” by making sure the municipality gets its fair share of sales tax revenue from the county.

He said he also hopes to bring more transparency to the legislature.

“There are no surprises in what I plan to do,” he said Wednesday. “I am looking out for Guilderland’s residents and businesses.”

Cardona, a chief court clerk in Columbia County, who moved to Guilderland in 2014, said, “This battle is over.”

He said he ran for a seat in the legislature because he missed serving on a legislative body, and his platform included championing conservative fiscal responsibility, veterans’ services, senior services, and tasteful development.

“It has been a fun battle, and I would do it again tomorrow,” said Cardona on Election Night.

District 30

Bryan Clenahan

Bryan Clenahan, a Democrat, has represented the 30th District since 2007, and ran unopposed for another term.

He is counsel to the New York State’s Civil Service and Pension Committee and serves on the Civic Center, Law, and Court Facilities and Conservation and Improvement Committees in the legislature.

Clenahan sponsored the local law to ban toxic toys as well as two laws banning dumping waste from hydraulic fracturing.

He is currently working to crack down on illegal and abusive pet breeding.

District 31

Travis Stevens

Republican Travis Stevens returns for his second term representing western Guilderland and parts of Knox and Berne with 55 percent of the vote.

He faced another Knox resident, Democrat Nicolas Viscio, who is a longtime member of the Knox Town Board. Viscio ran solely on the Democratic line and garnered 940 votes.

Stevens got 781 Republican votes, 250 Conservative votes, 113 Independence Party votes, and 14 Reform votes, for a total of 1,158.

“I’m grateful and thankful people gave me a vote of confidence to represent them four more years,” Stevens said on Wednesday. “It’s an honor.”

After the 31^st District was redrawn, Stevens, in 2011, scored an upset victory over Democrat William Aylward of Altamont; Aylward was a supporter of Viscio in this election.

Stevens’s running mate in 2011, Deborah Busch, also scored an upset victory, ousting Democratic incumbent Alexander “Sandy” Gordon in another redrawn Hilltown district. This time, Busch was not re-elected.

“I’m not sure why,” Stevens said on Wednesday. “Every election is different.”

Stevens first ran on a platform to control spending and taxes; in this campaign, he said he was most proud of being a listener.

Stevens, 41, works for the state’s Office of General Services as an energy conservation technical specialist.

Viscio, 59, said, during the campaign that his goal, if elected, was “to begin to set up the foundation for success of every piece of legislation that affects western Albany County.”

He also said, “I’m tired of being silent on the obvious reasons we need a change in leadership. I’m 180 degrees from where he has been, squandering our opportunities.”

The week before the election, a flyer was distributed picturing two rusty gas pumps and stating that Travis Stevens was responsible for the vacant service station in center of the Knox hamlet. Actually, it had belonged to his great aunt and Stevens has never been an owner; county records show he has no legal tie to the property.

Viscio said he did not send the flyer. He also said, “Why doesn’t Travis step up to the plate and take responsibility, buy this out of the family...Individual responsibility is what this comes down to.”

Stevens said Wednesday he didn’t know if the flyer had hurt or helped his campaign, because of the backlash.

“We tried to run a good, positive campaign on our accomplishments, and what we want to do for the future,” Stevens said.

He named two top goals. One is to increase transparency by videotaping committee meetings. The other is to “bring services out to western Albany County so a fair share of what we pay in taxes comes back to us.”

Stevens concluded, “We can battle when we need to and compromise when we need to, to benefit our area...I thank everybody.”

Viscio said, “We did the best we could.” He said he was “pretty even” with Stevens in Guilderland results but was down about 180 votes in Knox and about 30 in Berne. “Incumbents are difficult to run against,” Viscio said.

He also credited his wife, Marie, who served as his campaign manager. “I love my wife,” he said. “We’ve been married almost 40 years and this has made our marriage even stronger. I would have never done this without her. It may be a cliché but she’s the wind beneath my wings.”

District 32

Paul Miller

Democrat Paul Miller, a newcomer to politics, unseated longtime Democratic incumbent Mary Lou Connolly in the 32nd District.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Miller, who received 66 percent of the votes, on Wednesday. “I could not be happier.”

After losing out to Miller in the primary election, Connolly briefly considered withdrawing from the race, but, with the endorsement of the Conservative and Independence parties, and verbal support, she decided to give it a shot.

“I’m not surprised,” said Connolly, who owns an insurance business, on Wednesday. “You can’t fight the powers that be in Albany County.”

Miller, a retired accountant, said he wanted to challenge Connolly because he felt she had lost touch with her constituents and disagreed with the way she voted to privatize the nursing home.

He ran on a platform of reforming campaign finance.

“I am looking forward to representing the people,” said Miller. “They deserve somebody down there they can be in contact with, so if they have issues, they can be addressed.”

“I hope Paul does an honorable job as a legislator,” said Connolly. “It’s a lot of work and you really have to be in it for the needs of the people rather than the powers that be.”

She said she hopes to find other ways to serve the county.

District 33

William Reinhardt

Democratic primary victor William Reinhardt, a Bethlehem councilman, bested incumbent Democrat Herbert W. Reilly, who ran on the Independence Party line, and newcomer Republican Andrew Holland, of Slingerlands.

Reinhardt garnered 922 votes, with 840 on the Democratic line and 82 on the Working Families line. Reilly earned 640 votes on the Independence line. Holland showed well on the Republican line with 466 votes, on the Conservative line with 134, and on the Reformed line with 9 votes.

Reinhardt, 65, ran on a platform of working for transparency in government and reducing operating costs and the county’s carbon footprint with sustainable initiatives. He is retired from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Reinhardt is also a founder of Solarize Albany, a not-for-profit group that promotes solar energy use.

Reinhardt did not return a call before press time.

“I’m certainly disappointed with the result,” Holland said. “I worked hard, though. We put forth a very good campaign. It was nice to meet so many people in our district. I enjoyed it.”

Holland said that he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife and their toddler, and concentrating on his job as an attorney.

“At this time, I have no plans to run for future office,” he said.

Reilly, 78, told The Enterprise that he has no plans to run for political office, again.

“I always said what I believed,” Reilly told The Enterprise. Before his time as a county legislator, Reilly served as supervisor in New Scotland.

“Herb has been a great colleague,” said New Scotland Democratic Chairman L. Michael Mackey, who ran for and won his seat on the legislature in District 38, after election results were read to gathered Democrats in the American Legion Hall in Voorheesville. “You’re going to be missed.”

“I won New Scotland, but lost Bethlehem,” Reilly said of voters in his district that is split by town lines.

“You earned some time off,” Mackey said to Reilly.

“I have no regrets, and a lot of happy memories,” Reilly said.

To The Enterprise, Reilly said, “I’m not unhappy. Bethlehem is a tough, tough town. You have to wear two hats — one for your district, but also for the whole county. I don’t think they all have that vision.

“I wish I would have been there to see the rail trail finished,” Reilly continued. “The rail trail has been on my agenda since 1995.”

District 38

Michael Mackey

New Scotland Republican Chairman Timothy Stanton was defeated in his bid to oust incumbent Albany County Legislator L. Michael Mackey, who serves as the New Scotland Democratic chairman.

Stanton earned 720 votes on the Republican line, and 44 on the Reformed Party line. Mackey topped Stanton by 200 votes, garnering 718 votes on the Democratic line, 124 votes on the Conservative line, and 90 on the Independence Party line.

Before final results were tallied, Stanton remained hopeful.

“It looks like we’ve got a good showing, so far as I’m can see,” he told The Enterprise.

As results came in in favor of Democrats, Stanton said, “We need to get conservative people on the Conservative line.” New Scotland Democrats ran on the Conservative Party line this year.

Mackey spent Election Night supporting his Democratic colleagues who won their offices, and thanking those who did not.

Mackey ran his second bid for the legislature on his record of introducing the anti-blasting bill to protect private well owners from having to prove that future water issues stem from blasts done by corporations. Under the law that passed this year, blasting entities must test wells, as requested by property owners, before and after blasts, and remediate any disturbances.

“We passed the drinking water protection law – the first in the state,” Mackey told The Enterprise earlier. Similar bills have been introduced in Schoharie and Rensselaer County, where Mackey has been asked to speak to the counties’ legislatures, he said.

“That was a major accomplishment of the legislature,” Mackey said. “It was just a common-sense approach to the problem.”

District 39

Chris Smith

The Republican minority whip in the Albany County Legislature was cleanly defeated by a well-known restaurant owner from Berne who learned about government issues by talking to people door-to-door for weeks.

“I think people are just ready for change,” said Chris Smith, who owns Maple Inn on the Lake on Warners Lake in Berne. “It's no longer party line. It's just the person who has a history of getting stuff done or can get stuff done.”

Deborah Busch was a vocal legislator for District 39, which covers a large rural area in the Hilltowns, speaking out against any form of tax increases and what she considered unenforceable and unnecessary laws. A nurse manager, she served on the legislature’s Elder Care committee and sided with the Democratic county executive by favoring privatization of the county’s nursing home. An effort by Busch to get county services in the Hilltowns was stalled in the legislature.

Busch had four party lines on the ballot — Republican, Conservative, Independence Pary, and Reform Party — but Smith’s  1,197 votes on the Democratic line alone totaled almost 200 more than the total for Busch. Four years earlier, Busch defeated a popular Democrat as she ran on Republican, Conservative, and Independence Party lines and got 1,402 votes. At the time she had become known in Tea Party rallies and focused on the tax burden to constituents.

This September, Busch won the Conservative Party primary over Smith, who is enrolled as a Conservative. He was endorsed by the town’s Democratic committee.

“When I made my introduction to people, I said, ‘I’m a registered Conservative. I'm a true Conservative, but I have the backing of the Democrats, so I hoped people put it together.’”

Busch declined to comment before abruptly ending a phone call on Wednesday.

Asked how he would balance his duties at the legislature with running his businesses, Smith said his restaurant schedule allows for it.

“The legislature meets once a month on Mondays,” he said. “Most town meetings are Monday and Tuesday and my restaurant doesn't open until 3 p.m. so I have the day to meet with people.”

He said his immediate plans are to attend town board meetings and continue listening.

“I met a lot of people and I'm just going to put it all into play,” said Smith.

— Jo E. Prout wrote about districts 33 and 38; Anne Hayden Harwood about districts 28, 29, 30, and 32; Marcello Iaia about District 39; and Melissa Hale-Spencer wrote the county overview and about District 31.