UPDATE, Dec 14:
In the final vote count, Democrat Ed Szczesniak lost by 115 votes toRepublican Bill Meyer. The final vote county was 3,089 for Meyer and 2,974 for Szczesniak, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
In a close race, Democrat Ed Szczesniak lost the campaign for Onondaga County Legislature in District 3.
“I’m proud of our campaign,” Szczesniak said in an interview as the loss became evident Tuesday night. “But obviously I’m disappointed with the results tonight.”
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Szczesniak had 48.9 percent of the vote. The winner was incumbent Republican Bill Meyer, the legislature’s chairman. The unofficial results from the Onondaga County Board of Elections show 2,722 votes for Szczesniak and 2,839 for Meyer.
Meyer was first elected 20 years ago. District 3 district covers most of Cicero and the northern section of Manlius.
Republicans hold 9 seats and Democrats hold 7 seats on the Onondaga County Legislature with three races still too close to call. All 19 legislators were up for reelection this year.
District 3 leans Republican. As of September 2009, the district had 5,974 registered Republicans; 5,159 registered Democrats and 820 voters of the Independence Party. Fifteen voters were registered with the Working Families Party.
Szczesniak also carried the endorsement of the Working Families Party.
In the fundraising race, Szczesniak beat Meyer almost two dollars to one. Szczesniak raised $26,799 since Jan. 1, according to reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections. Meyer raised $14,699 during the campaign.
At the polls Tuesday, some voters explained why they punched their ballots for Szczesniak.
At the South Bay Fire Station in Cicero, John Latocha, 66 of Cicero, listed roads, city utilities and taxes as his concerns — and he crossed party lines to vote for Szczesniak. Latocha is a registered Republican. “I am very unhappy with how the town is being run,” Latocha said. “I voted for Szczesniak because I couldn’t get any services out of the town.”
Also at South Bay Fire Station, Laura Mizener, 78, of Cicero, had been won over by Szcznesiak’s door-knocking campaign. “He came to our house and was so personable,” Mizener said. “I really liked what he said and I really liked him.” Mizener added: “I couldn’t help but vote for him.”
(Dan Scorpio is a junior with dual majors in newspaper journalism and political science.)
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