Voters send message to town

AMENIA — Following a heated race for the Town Board, registered voters in the town of Amenia prioritized casting their ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

From 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., voters could vote at Immaculate Conception Church, the Wassaic firehouse or VFW Post 5444 on the Dover Plains border. Throughout the day, the polling places drew a strong turnout of voters determined to have a say in which candidates would fill the two positions up for grabs on the Amenia Town Board as well the town supervisor post.

“I think there’s a lot of strong feelings right now about events that are happening,” said voter Jessica Deister, “and it’s important, no matter what way you vote, to make sure to get your opinion out.”

Deister said she was very confident about the candidates running for office this year.

“I like that there was a big turnout this year and there was a lot of people running.”

Though keen to do her civic duty and vote in her local election, Amenia resident Kathy Kelleher said she was not confident about the candidates this year; her husband John said he was “still undecided” at the polls.

“I’m just tired of all the mudslinging all the time,” he said. “It’s a small town — we don’t need that crap here.”

Unofficial results

Once the votes were tallied in the late evening hours of Election Day, the Dutchess County Board of Elections (BOE) posted its unofficial 2021 results. In Amenia, there were a total of 1,043 ballots counted.

Campaigning for her fifth two-year term in office, town Supervisor Victoria Perotti (REP, CON) received 648 votes out of a total of 1,043 cast, while her contender, newcomer Julie Doran (Amenia Strong—AS), received 280 votes.

“I’m honored to serve another term in office and appreciate the faith and support that the voters had in me to re-elect me,” Perotti said. “I love Amenia and I’m looking forward to a bright future for the town.”

Running for the two four-year seats on the Town Board, Leo Blackman (DEM, WOR) received the highest total with 515 votes, followed by one-term incumbent James Morris (REP) with 348 votes; Brad Rebillard (REP, AS) received 345 votes; Katherine Lee (DEM) garnered 319 votes; James Vitiello (AS, CON) earned 268 votes; Stacy Mantel (WOR) got 76 votes; and write-in, one-term incumbent candidate Michele Somogyi received 37 votes.

Blackman thanked Amenia residents for their support.

“I had a great time walking around, talking to people, meeting people, and I’m looking forward to representing them and their needs and issues and hopefully being a really effective Town Board member,” he said. “Not having done this before, I didn’t appreciate how much work it was, so I would just like to thank all the other candidates for putting in the same amount of energy.”

Also on the ballot, incumbent Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner won re-election for her fifth two-year term with a total of 700 votes, while her husband, former Town Constable Christopher Klingner, won his first race for town justice with 656 votes. Dawn Marie will serve as his justice clerk, a position she formerly held for former Town Justice James Devine.

Incumbent Highway Superintendent Megan Chamberlin also won re-election for her second four-year term with 823 votes.

Both Klingners ran unopposed under the Democratic party line, as did Chamberlin, who ran under the Republican and Conservative party lines.