Big Turnout In The Hotly Contested Election In Hoosick

by Bea Peterson
The turnout in the Town of Hoosick on election day was large. All told, 1,960 ballots were cast. It has been a bitterly contested negative campaign.
[private]The highest profile race, for Town Supervisor, pitted Republican, Independent and Conservative candidate Keith Cipperly against Councilman Mark Surdam, formerly a Republican running as a Democrat and Hoosick First candidate. Surdam defeated incumbent Keith Cipperly 1,124 to 790.
Absentee Ballots May Decide Outcome
What makes many of the other races undecided is the 132 absentee ballots sent out. So far 96 absentee ballots have been returned but not yet counted. Democrat and Hoosick First committee member Margaret Casey noted there are also 14 or so affidavit ballots to be confirmed that may or may not be counted.
Current figures show Bill Shiland III (996 votes) ahead of Louis Schmigel (927 votes) by 69 votes for the position of Highway Superintendent.
For the two Council seats, David Sutton currently has the most votes with 974. Jeff Wysocki is six votes behind him with 968 votes and Michael Hickey is 21 votes behind Wysocki with 947 votes. Joyce Brewer received 893 votes.
Final results in these races may be a week or more away.
At the County level Stan Brownell (2,558 votes) and Lester Goodermote (2,743 votes) retained their seats in the Rensselaer County Legislature. Their opponents, Ben Patten and Jacqueline Elacqua, received 1,391 and 1,406 respectively.
Hoosick Town Clerk Sue Stradinger and Judge Tom Restino ran unopposed and received 1,673 and 1,738 votes respectively.
Comments From Candidates And Others
Hoosick Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly said, “This election I learned a lot about taxpayers and voters. If you tell enough good lies, they will be believed.”
“People say they hate the way Congress and the State are run, yet it’s happening right here. I’m grateful to the people who voted for me. I still love this town. I lost the election, but I’m not going to go away. Now I can be me, Keith Cipperly. I don’t have to be politically correct Keith Cipperly. We need to have more people be involved in the Board meetings and in the community so they can see what is going on.”
“My wife was upset over the loss, but my daughter told her grandmother, ‘I hope Daddy loses so we can have him back.’
I gave a lot of time to the job of Supervisor, and I feel I accomplished a lot. I’ll be happy to spend more time with my family.”
Hoosick Councilman and Supervisor-elect Mark Surdam said, “It’s been a good day; all good! The message is out for change.” He said he’s leery regarding the next couple of months, but after that, “you’ll see a change in demeanor in the meetings.”
When Surdam takes office as Supervisor on January 1, there will be a Council vacancy. Surdam said he hopes the third top vote-getter from the recent Council candidates would replace him. “I would like to keep politics out of it,” he said. Surdam noted he is only one vote on the Board and a replacement procedure has yet to be determined.
As for the campaign, “People said it was time for a change. I worked with a very good group, and we worked together to make that change. The Democrats and the Republicans ought to be able to work together.” Surdam noted he is not a micro-manager. “We have good employees, and it is important to let them do their jobs,” he said.
Rensselaer County Legislator Lester Goodermote easily won re-election. “I feel the people had a chance to have their say, and they did. Do I agree with them 100 percent – no.” He said there was a large turnout of voters in Hoosick, Grafton and Petersburgh this year.
Ben Patten ran for County Legislator because he said, “I felt it was important for voters to have a choice; that it was important they go through the process. Candidates should not run unopposed.”
“The outcome is certainly not what I wanted. I wanted to lay out a plan for the next few years, but that just didn’t happen. I’m grateful to my family for all their help these last four months, and I certainly appreciate all those who voted for me. I’m still a Hoosick Falls Village Board Member, and I will work tirelessly for the betterment of Hoosick Falls and, hopefully, see the Town and Village working together.”
Margaret Casey is very happy with the election results. “We worked hard in many different ways – letters, house to house, signs – to make this a successful campaign, and it made a difference,” she said. “Now I hope we can forgive and forget and proceed to do what is right for the community.
Republican Chairman Cindy Mattison is glad the election is over. “We did our best to run a fair and clean campaign,” she said. “The fighting and name calling has to stop. No one is going to want to live or build a house in a town that is torn apart. No businesses are going to want to come here. Now it is time to get on with it and do what is best for the Town of Hoosick.”
“In spite of it all I’m happy that come January I will have four Republicans on the Hoosick Town Board,” she concluded.
All around Town on Wednesday people were hoping to see the election signs disappear. They want life to get back to normal. And they desperately want those newly elected to do what is best for the whole Town.[/private]