Republican Town Board candidate Dan Dustin claimed the third open seat on the Colonie Town Board after absentee ballots were opened Thursday, Nov. 12, and Friday, Nov. 13, showing Dustin with 10,317 votes over Democrat Paul Rosano’s 10, 304 votes in unofficial Albany County Board of Elections Results.
Dustin will now be the sole Republican on the board, along with newcomers Linda Murphy and Dan Hornick, and current Town Board Members William Carl, Bob Becker and Nancy Hernandez.
Also voting on town issues with the board is Democrat Supervisor Paula Mahan, who also won a second term on her seat this month.
On Sunday, Nov. 15, Dustin thanked those who contributed to his success.
Obviously, there was a lot of hard work by a lot of people that helped get me elected, he said. `There certainly are some issues that will come before the board in the next two years that will take input from all sides, all parties.`
Some of those issues, Dustin said, include a controversy that spurred during the campaign season over a resolution the Town Board passed in August to begin looking into a land swap for the acquirement of a kettle bog, a unique natural piece of land, on Guptill Holding Corp. land for a portion of town-owned land.
Dustin, who had often inquired about town finances at Town Board meetings, also said that town finances and the town budget will also be issues he will keep a close eye on.
On Dustin’s winning the seat, Colonie Republican Committee Chairman John Graziano Jr. said, `I’m ecstatic that Dan’s going to be there. I mean, Dan is certainly a very credentialed person. There’s not a person with a better handle on the numbers than Dan Dustin.`
Colonie Democratic Committee Chairman Rich Jacobson said that while the party would have liked to see its candidate, Paul Rosano, win the third open seat on the board, the party is encouraged by the fact that it has such a majority on the board.
`We are disappointed that we did not win Paul Rosano’s race for the seat on the Town Board,` he said. `We are encouraged by the fact that we have a 6-1 majority on the Town Board. All of the members of the Town Board look forward to working for the people for the Town of Colonie and for our future.`
Dustin said that by being from a different party, he will be able to bring another set of ideas to the table.
`Obviously, it’s important that all sides be represented and obviously there are ideas and thoughts that I’ll be able to share,` he said.
For more on this story, check back at www.spotlightnews.com, or read the Wednesday, Nov. 18, print edition of the Colonie Spotlight.
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