Judy Kennedy (l) hugs her supporter Tamie Hollins after the Democrats unofficial vote count showed her winning the mayor's race.
By Nancy Peckenham
Democrats in the city of Newburgh claimed victory at the polls on Tuesday before any results came in from the board of elections. Shortly before 10 pm, they cheered Judy Kennedy, who, according to their tally, had won the race for mayor by a large margin. Fellow Democrats Cedric Brown and Gay Lee also swept into office, their poll runners reported. Nearly two hours later, the board of elections posted its unofficial vote count, which showed Kennedy getting 1,283 votes and her opponent, Christine Bello, getting 732.
Over at the Republican headquarters, mayoral candidate Christine Bello and city council candidates Jack Penney and John Giudice, waited with supporters including current Mayor Nicholas Valentine and city councilwoman Regina Angela.
Candidates Christine Bello and Jack Penney await the election results at their election night headquarters.
Two other candidates who mounted a write-in campaign after they lost the Democratic primary in September also showed up at Bello’s headquarters. Council candidate Michael Gabor attended along with Omari Shakur, who said that he preferred Bello over Democrat Judy Kennedy because Bello knew the city.
“I know I did everything I could,” Bello said about her campaign effort. “You never know how people will vote or cross party lines,” added Mayor Valentine.
Judy Kennedy said that Timothy Hayes-el (l) and Charles Kimbrough (r), supported her message of change.
At the Democratic headquarters, Judy Kennedy first wanted to thank the volunteers who had supported her campaign, including two of her opponents in the primary election, Charles Kimbrough and Timothy Hayes-El, whom she said care more about their communities than their agendas. She also predicted that “there’s going to be a really big change in the city.”
The activists who had helped get out the vote were on hand to celebrate along with Kennedy, Lee and Brown. Susan Smith of Community Voices Heard declared “this is what democracy looks like. Newburgh finally stood up and said ‘enough is enough.’” Tamie Hollins, who said she was persuaded to support the Kennedy team after seeing their passion, said she was so happy she felt like crying.
“I feel good but I know we have a lot of work to do to turn this city around,” Kennedy told her supporters at the Dry Dock restaurant on Broadway. “I’m up for the challenge.”
Here are the unofficial vote tallies from the Board of Elections:
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