Lysander — Republicans now occupy all five seats on the Lysander Town Board. Challengers Peter Moore and Bob Ellis defeated incumbent councilors Andy Reeves, a Republican, and Melinda Shimer, a Democrat. Shimer and Reeves ran under the bipartisan Lysander First coalition.
Joe Saraceni ran unopposed for the office of supervisor and received 99.08 percent of the vote. He received 3,226 of the 3,769 ballots cast. Conservative Supervisor John Salisbury, who was elected as a Democrat in 2011, will retire at the end of his term Dec. 31.
The final poll numbers for the town board race were as follows:
• Peter Moore — 36.69 percent, 2,684 votes
• Bob Ellis — 35.15 percent, 2,571 votes
• Andy Reeves — 14.75 percent, 1,079 votes
• Melinda Shimer — 13.38 percent, 979 votes
Town Justice Charles J. Mantione Jr., running unopposed, was re-elected with 3,321 votes.
“I’m really excited about the team that we’ve put together to move Lysander forward,” Saraceni told the Messenger. “We worked hard. I’m honored to be able to serve again.”
Ellis said that as town councilor, he will listen to his constituents’ problems and help in any way he can.
“It looks pretty overwhelming that people want some sort of change in Lysander,” Ellis said. “I promised at the forum and I’ve [said] all along, I’m not sure I have all the answers but I’m willing to listen.”
Moore said the newly elected team has “a great future with this town.”
“I’m glad the citizens of the town of Lysander have confidence in us and we will not let them down,” Moore said. “People supported us — it’s time for us to support them.”
As for the incumbents, Shimer said she was “disappointed” with the results. Reeves said the election came down to “money and negative campaigning.”
“It doesn’t matter what you did in the past. It doesn’t matter what’s best for the town,” Reeves said. “The only thing that matters is money and negative campaigning — that I heard loud and clear.”
continued — Reeves also said he will work for a smooth transition in leadership and is focused on the coming tax cuts for the 2016 budget.
“I heard what the town of Lysander said loud and clear. They don’t like the taxes,” Reeves said. “Lysander wants a tax cut and we’re going to give it to them. I will work my tail off from now until the end of the year to make sure the transition is smooth and the new board can come off the blocks running, not walking.”
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This story was updated at 11:49 p.m. Nov. 3 to include the number of votes each candidate received and to include the re-election of Town Justice Charles J. Mantione Jr.
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CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, we referred to Joe Saraceni and Peter Moore as members of the Lysander Republican Committee. They do not belong to the LRC, but Bob Ellis does. We regret the error.
