Two seasoned Village of Suffern Trustees suffered an upset in Tuesday’s election. Long time Trustee John Meehan and Jo Meegan-Corrigan, first elected in 2010, were defeated by Republican challengers Ed Markunas and Robert Morris, both Preserve Ramapo supported candidates. In general, Republicans appeared to get the nod in many races, both locally and nationally.
Corrigan lost by approximately 18 votes. Since taking office in 2010, Corrigan had been a dynamo of activity on behalf of Suffern residents, working on flooding and FEMA issues in Suffern’s Squires Gates community and on local water and sewer fiscal matters. Corrigan was perhaps one of the most consistently engaged Suffern Trustess over the course of her time on the board, responding to residents and the board on any number of issues.
Meanwhile, Sloatsburg Trustees Peter Akey and John Bonkoski won re-election in a landslide, though both ran unopposed. Akey, who also serves as Deputy Mayor, has been one of the go to board members for Sloatsburg residents, addressing any number of village issues, especially related to the Community Fields and Pool, as well as village signage and buildings. Bonkoski serves as Village Fire Commissioner.
The Village of Suffern election apparently turned on whether Suffern is in the dire financial straights pictured in last year’s New York State Comptroller report that designated Suffern the most fiscally stressed of 482 villages in New York. Suffern has invested in major water and sewer upgrades in the last five years which created big deficits on the books. The village borrowed against anticipated revenues but revenues have missed the mark, thus creating a downward fiscal cycle for the village.
Markunas and Morris ran a Save Our Suffern campaign focused on the village’s finances. Markunas is a retired NYPD officer and Morris is retired from the New York City’s Sanitation Police. Markunas said that as Trustee the first thing he’d do is call “for some type of independent investigation and audit of the financial condition of the village.”
That audit investigation just might show that Markunas’ position as a consultant for Suffern’s Parking Authority should be cut from the budget.
In a hotly contested Village Justice race, Republican and Preserve Hudson candidate Ernest Buonocore defeated Robert Yodowitz, winning the justice seat with a four-year term.
Buonocore also ran on the Conservative, Working Families, Independence, and Green party lines. Yodowitz ran on the Democratic and Suffern Pride lines.
In the District 17 Congressional race, Nita Lowey held off a surprising run by Chris Day. Lowey captured 51.8% of the vote to Day’s 48%.
In other races, NY State Senator David Carlucci won another two years in his re-election bid, NY Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee won re-election for the Assembly 97th District seat, and Elisa Tutini captured the Assembly District 98 seat, formerly held by Annie Rabbitt.
