By Russ Tarby

Contributing Writer

Three Republican incumbents were re-elected on Sept. 15 without opposition.

Village Justice Anthony LaValle received 89 votes and trustees Matt Devendorf and Mike LaMontagne each received 88 votes.

More than 80 votes were cast in person at the Village Hall while 12 absentee ballots were also counted, according to Village Clerk Mary Ellen Sims.

Voters also wrote in the names of six non-nominated candidates. For village justice, one voter wrote in the name of Nichols Supermarket owner Mike Hennigan.

For the two trustee positions, voters wrote in the names of Bill Storm, coordinator of the Global Media Archive Research Consortium, recently retired planning board member John Eallonardo, former Salina Town Supervisor Dick Ward, Eagle Newspapers columnist Russ Tarby and Rachel Ward, a musician who works as a law clerk for LaValle.

One write-in vote was cast for “Democrat,” but Democrats have failed to field any candidate for village office since 2001.

In normal years, village elections take place in mid-June, but in response to the COVID-19 pandemic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order on May 1 postponing the 2020 village elections until Sept. 15.

LaValle will begin his fourth 4-year term on the bench here, having first been elected in 2008.  

Initially elected as trustee in 2016, Devendorf won his third two-year term, while LaMontagne secured his second term after his first election in 2018.