Election Day approaches for local elections across the state, and in Orleans County, the vast majority of candidates are running unopposed. Not a single county position is contested, and in the towns, just seven offices involve a bid from more than one candidate. Of the county’s 25,000 registered voters, the number of registered Republicans doubles the number of registered Democrats.
WBFO reporter Holly Kirkpatrick spoke with Tom Rivers, editor of the Orleans Hub, to find out why there are so few contested positions this election cycle, and to hear what might be motivating the challengers who have mounted a campaign. You can hear their conversation by hitting the "Listen" button, or read the transcript below.
WBFO: Thank you for joining me. Of the 58 vacancies in Orleans County, only a handful of races are contested. So does that mean it's a quiet election for you?
Rivers: Well, it is quiet in many ways, but not totally quiet. There are eight county positions — some of them are at a district level. The sheriff, he is unopposed, that is Chris Bourke. There are seven county legislators — they're all unopposed.
It is a Republican-dominated county, Orleans. We have about 40,000 people. Republicans have at least a two-to-one enrollment advantage, but they have a much bigger advantage I would say, in foot soldiers. They're just much more organized. They're the New York Yankees of the Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera era, the Tom Brady Patriots, they're just tough. So a lot of Democrats don't even try because it is so difficult. But we do have some Democrats running. Really where the battle has been here has actually been the Republican primaries, and some of the people who have lost are back as Conservatives or under an independent line. So there are some races.
WBFO: Can you talk me through some of the positions that are contested? Does anything have people talking? Is the attention on a particular race?
Rivers: What has happened in Orleans, and I think this is the case in some of the rural counties, you have some monster renewable energy projects. That could be solar, wind energy, or other things. I mean, you're seeing some big money come into these communities with these projects that are much bigger than anything they have ever seen, to be honest. So that has created some tensions that we have not seen in terms of some of the landowners getting money that's split up neighbors or pit neighbors against neighbors, and we have people who have never been to a town board meeting who are going. And these projects, they've really been on the radar screen for five to 10 years. I mean, it's a long drawn out battle before they get to the finish line — if they do get to the finish line. So some of the races are in Barre — they are being eyed for a $200 million plus turbine project. And also a very large solar project — 2,000 acres that actually goes into neighboring Shelby. So we got races in Barre and races in Shelby.
WBFO: And those races — in Barre there's a race for town supervisor with incumbent and Republican Sean P. Pogue and Conservative Scott A. Burnside running, and then there are also three people vying for two town council spots there. And in Shelby, there's the superintendent of highways position as well as the town clerk race happening. So it sounds like although not many seats are contested, there's still quite a lot of political engagement happening, is that right?
Rivers: Even though people don't run, they want to know what's going on. And we get a lot of letters to the editor, a lot of Facebook comments on the Orleans Hub. People definitely care, but it is somewhat daunting to run — if you do not get the Republican party endorsement you are definitely paddling upstream. But you do have people willing to take on the challenge.
WBFO: Tom Rivers, the editor of the Orleans Hub, thank you very much for speaking with me.
Rivers: Thank you.
Contested races in Orleans County:
| Office | Available Positions | Candidates |
Barre Town Supervisor | 1 | Sean P. Pogue (REP) Incumbent Scott A. Burnside (CON) |
| Barre Town Council Member | 2 | Margaret J. Swan (REP) Kirk L. Mays (REP) Kerri A. Richardson (CON) Incumbent |
| Kendal Town Council member | 2 | Margaret Lynn Szozda (DEM) Incumbent David Bentley (REP) Barbara A. Flow (REP) Incumbent |
| Murray Town Supervisor | 1 | Gerald E. Rightmyer (REP community) Joseph Sidonyo (CON) Incumbent |
| Shelby Town Clerk | 1 | Darlene Rich (DEM People’s Choice) Incumbent Christine Pask (REP) |
| Shelby Superintendent of Highways | 1 | William Wolter (DEM) Dale S. Root (REP, CON) Incumbent |
| Yates Town Council Members | 2 | John B. Riggi (REP) Incumbent Susan B. Hrovat (REP) Incumbent Steven A. Colon (CON Taxpayers First) Paul Lauricella Jr. (CON Taxpayers First) |
Early voting is open now through Nov. 5. Election Day is Nov. 7.
