Dan Hust | Democrat SULLIVAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S Deputy Luis Alvarez chats with Elections Inspector Marie Harris during Wednesday’s village elections at the Ted Stroebele Recreation Center in Monticello. Deputies were asked by the County Board of Elections to be present due to anticipated trouble that never materialized. However, Democratic County Elections Commissioner Faith Kaplan said police officers will now be regular figures at Monticello elections.

New mayor in Liberty?

By Dan Hust
SULLIVAN COUNTY — Unofficial results of Wednesday’s village elections indicate Liberty will be getting a new mayor, but county elections officials cautioned yesterday that an unknown number of absentee/affidavit ballots have yet to be counted.
Final, official results in all races should be known by next week, but here are the preliminary outcomes:
Bloomingburg
Incumbent Clifford Teich was returned to his Village of Bloomingburg Trustee seat by 40 voters. He ran unopposed.
Jeffersonville
Mayor Ed Justus garnered 20 votes, and Village of Jeffersonville trustees Craig Fisher and Kathy Herbert each got 18 votes. Since all three incumbents were unopposed, they’ll each serve another two years.
Liberty
Incumbent Village of Liberty Mayor William “Rube” Smith is currently running behind challenger Richard Winters, 193-232.
The two open trustee seats are still hotly contested as well, with incumbent Shirley Lindsley at 239 votes, challenger Corinne McGuire at 215, incumbent Joan Stoddard at 210 and challenger Anthony Covington at 170. The two highest vote-getters will earn seats on the board.
Monticello
The most contentious village election still has more than 200 outstanding absentee ballots to be counted, so Village of Monticello Trustee TC Hutchins’ 477 votes are not yet far enough ahead of challenger Keith Rieber’s 368 to ensure he retains his spot on the board, but it remains a significant difference for Rieber to make up.
Wurtsboro
Incumbent Village of Wurtsboro Mayer Michelina “Mickey” Maher won re-election by a landslide 203 votes compared to challengers Paul Champagne (28 votes) and Robert Whitehead (24).
Likewise, incumbent Trustee Barbara Piper’s 211 votes easily outdistanced challenger Robert Hawkes’ 34.