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MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. Although the Westchester Board of Elections reports that Michael Smith is the unofficial winner in the District 3 County Legislator race, incumbent John Nonna is not ready to concede.
Im going to wait for the official results, Nonna said in a phone interview Thursday. There are a number of ballots that have still yet to be counted and there are a number of districts that are affected by that so Im going to wait for the official results before reaching a final conclusion.
Both Nonna and Smith said Thursday that they have not been given a timeline as to when an official result will be determined and that it may not be until next week. Currently, challenger and Republican Smith holds a 51-to-49 percent advantage over Democrat Nonna with a 123 vote favor. The candidates estimated that there could be approximately 250 absentee paper ballots that are yet to be counted.
In the past 24 hours, the advantage shifted from Nonna to Smith. Early Wednesday morning, Nonna held a 60 vote lead over Smith with 87 percent of the districts reporting. Now, Nonna finds himself with his back against the wall.
Its obviously a disappointment to go from being slightly ahead to being slightly behind, but this could be a roller coaster ride for a while, Nonna said.
A victory for Smith would be a bigger victory than just winning his first political election. If Smith is declared an official winner, it would be another seat that the Republican Party will pick up on the Board of Legislators, breaking the current Democratic Super Majority.
Republican County Executive Rob Astorino issued remarks Thursday in regards to Smiths possible victory and addressed his desire to work with both parties of the board.
"I look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats alike on the new County Board to enact meaningful budget reforms in the coming year. We need to build together a strong social safety net at an affordable price to taxpayers. That must be the goal of all elected leaders, regardless of political affiliation," Astorino said in the statement.
Nonna said that a large reason as to why Smith was able to keep this race as close as it is and possibly defeat him was Astorinos ties to District 3.
I think what made this race close was that Rob Astorino is from the town of Mount Pleasant and he has a lot of contacts here and I think it was really his efforts that made the race close,
Nonna said Thursday that it was too early to determine whether there is basis to seek a recount or if he will chose to run again if he does not succeed.
District 3 encompasses Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville, and Sleepy Hollow, and parts of Greenburgh, and North Castle and Briarcliff Manor.
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