Finney defeats Fadden for Liverpool mayor seat

VILLAGE OF LIVERPOOL – Democrat Stacy Finney – a middle-school art teacher – will become the 14th mayor of the village of Liverpool on July 3, after defeating Republican Trustee Christina Fadden by a vote of 381 to 299 on Tuesday, June 20.
Finney, 48, is the second Democrat ever to win election as mayor, the third non-Republican ever to hold the office and the second female to do so.
Her fellow Democrats – trustee candidates Melissa Cassidy and Rachel Ciotti – also won their races. Ciotti was the election’s top vote-getter with 460, while Cassidy drew 415 votes to outpace the Republicans, incumbent Dennis Hebert who received 265 votes and newcomer Ryan Miller who got 239.
Finney thanked those who voted and said, “I’m honored to have been elected by the citizens of the village of Liverpool, and look forward to working with them over the next two years and beyond.”
Finney and her family, husband Ray Finney, son Nathan and daughter Amelia, have lived in Liverpool since March 2011.
After hearing the results at the village hall on election night, Fadden met with a small group of disappointed supporters at The Retreat. The only statement Fadden made was to express concern for her backers. Fadden did telephone Finney to congratulate her, she said.
That same night, Finney hosted an informal victory party attended by some 45 supporters in the backyard of her home.
Her initial goal as mayor, she said, “is to get up to speed on the history of current initiatives. There are many exciting things happening in the village, and I hope to build on and expand what our current administration has in the works.”
One of her priorities is to revamp the village website.
“I also want to get more people involved,” Finney said. “Our greatest resource is the people in this gem of a community of ours. We have so much passion, talent, and drive – and my goal is to mobilize people to make the village of Liverpool even better than it already is.”
At Finney’s victory bash, Mark Spadafore – who chaired the April 28 Democratic Party caucus that nominated Finney, Cassidy and Ciotti – noted that the village should now be marked with a blue banner on maps.
On a more serious note, Spadafore – the Upstate political director for 1199 SEIU – said the three winning Democrats well-represent “the new village of Liverpool.”
“Look around,” he said. “The people who live here are changing, and these candidates are part of that newness.”
In this year’s election there appeared to be more young voters than in past years, he said, and the village’s demographics are becoming more diverse.
A total of 635 voters cast ballots here June 20. Some 1,700 village residents are registered to vote. The results were announced that evening by Village Deputy Clerk Sandra Callahan.
The Finney-Fadden race took shape after incumbent Mayor Gary White announced in April that he would not seek an eight two-year term. He planned to preside over his final village board meeting on June 26. Finney and the two new trustees will be sworn in on Monday, July 3.
Second-ever Democrat mayor
Stacy Finney is the second Democrat ever elected mayor of Liverpool. The first, and only other, was Pete Beneke, 90 long years ago, back in 1933.
In 1987, Jon Zappola won the office as an independent write-in candidate, defeating incumbent Republican Jim Moore.
Zappola served one term, then ran again for mayor in 2001, that time as a Democrat. But he came up short, losing to Liverpool’s first-ever female mayor, Republican Marlene Ward.
Republicans have long dominated village government, but now for the first-time ever, Democrats will hold a three-to-two majority on the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees.