In a repeat of the 2011 election, Salina Supervisor Mark Nicotra, a Republican, defeated Democratic challenger Patrick Foster by a margin of 3,754 to 1,725 votes.
“As an elected official, you get a report card every two years, and that’s Election Day,” Nicotra said. “Obviously, we had a favorable report card.”
Nicotra said he planned to stay the course with his next term.
“We’ve got the same challenges,” he said. “We have budget challenges. We have infrastructure challenges. We have to find a happy medium in which to deliver the services our residents expect and do improvements that are needed.”
Nicotra said the town board is still looking for a new location for the town hall and its highway garage after a failed 2011 referendum that asked voters to approve purchasing the old Bresee Chevrolet property on Old Liverpool Road. The property is now a gym, and the town hall and highway facilities continue to decline.
“It’s not easy, because we need to find the perfect spot,” Nicotra said. “It’s got to be somewhat centrally located and easily accessible. We haven’t found anything we thought was appropriate [enough so that we could] proceed in any serious manner.”
Nicotra will have a chance to continue to work with the same crew on these issues, as there was no turnover on the rest of the town board. In the First Ward, Colleen Gunnip, also a Republican incumbent, ran unopposed, garnering 1,278 votes. Incumbent Second Ward Councilor V. James Magnarelli, a Democrat who also ran uncontested, received 1,081 votes. In the Third Ward, voters also saw the 2011 election repeated as former Third Ward Councilor Mike Giarrusso, a Democrat, again took on Republican incumbent Jerry Ciciarelli. Ciciarelli took the seat with 592 votes to Giarrusso’s 544. Finally, in the Fourth Ward, Democratic challenger Ted Santaguida fell to Republican incumbent Mike DelVecchio, who received 892 votes to Santaguida’s 491.
Voters also returned Alicia MacCollum to the tax receiver’s seat; in an uncontested race, she received 5,223 votes.
In the town justice race, Aaron Arnold succumbed to longtime Salina Town Justice Andrew Piraino, a Republican, 3,203 to 2,248. Piraino has served as the town justice for 19 years. Arnold is the upstate director of the Center for Court Innovation.
In the county legislature, meanwhile, longtime Fifth District Legislator Kathy Rapp, a Republican, eked out a victory over Democratic challenger Gary Brisson, 2,192 to 1,929. In the Fourth District, incumbent Republican Judy Tassone beat out Democrat Carol Files Sinesi by a vote of 2,473 to 1,678.
