Voters went to the polls Tuesday in four Ramapo villages with contested elections. Two villages had incumbents running as write-in candidates.
Despite write-in attempts by incumbent candidates in Airmont and Pomona, the villages appear to have new leadership, according to Tuesday's unofficial results in two of Rockland's hotly contested village elections.
Ian Banks and his running mates Carol McFarlane and Ilan Fuchs took the lead in Pomona over challenger Lloyd Ecker and his running mates Susanne Kernan and Joanne Robinson-Filas.
Write-in candidate Daniel Kolak and his running mates and incumbents Leon Harris and Nicholas Wilson were unsuccessful in their bid to stay in power.
Results were not available early Wednesday for Airmont, which also had a write-in campaign led by the incumbents, but a post on the Preserve Airmont Facebook site acknowledged the incumbents' loss.
Write-in candidate and incumbent Mayor Phillip Gigante and his running mates, Paul A. Marchesani and Anthony P. Valvo lost to Nathan R. Bubel and his running mates Brian M. Downey and Migdalia Pesante in Airmont. Also on the ballot were Ralph J. Bracco Sr. and his running mates Ronald Roberti and Angela Thompson.
Both villages, along with Chestnut Ridge, have been embattled by allegations of discrimination when it comes to zoning and code enforcement.
Incumbents Paul Van Alstyne and Grant Valentine were apparently able to hold their trustee seats against challengers Anthony L. Shaut and Steven J. Wasserman in Chestnut Ridge.
Hillburn also saw incumbents pushed out as newcomers Joseph P. Tursi and Bernadette A. Tarantino appeared to have garnered the most votes over incumbents Craig M. Flanagan Jr. and Eleanor J. Degraw.
Results can be challenged in courts and some villages also need to calculate write-in votes and absentee ballots, which could change the results.
Parking was an issue at the Ramapo Town Hall where the Airmont Village elections were held, with some claiming that the number of spaces was limited as a means of voter suppression. Town officials denied this.
There were uncontested elections in Grandview-on-Hudson, Kaser, Montebello, New Square and Upper Nyack. This is the first time Kaser has a newly elected mayor, Allie Pinkasovits, following the death of founding mayor Bernard Rosenfeld.
Residents were able to vote for write-in candidates in Airmont and Pomona.
Village officials said the names had to be legible enough so inspectors at the polls could reasonably determine the intent of the voter. If a name is misspelled but inspectors can tell who it is meant to be, they can count the vote as valid.
Write-in votes can then be challenged in court after the unofficial election results are announced.
In Airmont, incumbent mayor Gigante, and trustees Marchesani and Valvo took themselves off the ballot and began a write-in campaign after their petition was challenged in court by opponent Bubel.
Gigante and his running mates removed themselves from the ballot by agreeing they had insufficient signatures shortly before a judge heard testimony on the petition challenge alleging they committed fraud.
Pomona Mayor Brett Yagel did not seek reelection, but the incumbent trustees Harris and Wilson, who ran with new mayoral candidate Kolak, were also removed from the ballot for insufficient signatures after their petition was challenged by opponent Ecker.
Airmont has recently been sued twice by members of the Orthodox Jewish community alleging discrimination.
It's not the first time the village has been accused of discriminatory practices. It lost two federal discrimination lawsuits, in 1991 and 2005, brought by Orthodox and Hasidic residents who alleged that the village was hostile and targeted the community through enforcement.
Bubal and his running mates were seeking to end divisiveness and the lawsuits, while maintaining code enforcement, keeping down taxes and bringing in new business. Bracco's campaign focused on revitalizing Route 59 and stronger but fair code enforcement and fire inspections.
A recently adopted law in Chestnut Ridge to allow houses of worship in residential areas was at the heart of the election battle, with the two incumbent candidates voting in favor of the law.
Zoning enforcement became a hot topic after neighbors complained about a building zoned as a garage was used as a synagogue. The new law allows houses of worship in residential areas on a three-tiered system based on the number of worshipers. Prior to the law being passed, the Orthodox Jewish Coaliton of Chestnut Ridge filed a lawsuit against the village for "onerous" zoning.
Wasserman and Shaut said the village should have adopted a comprehensive plan for zoning before voting for the law and advocated for transparency and accountability in village government.
Pomona has struggled with finances and high taxes due to an ongoing legal battle with a rabbinical college that wants to build on a large parcel of land. Yagel and the current board have spent more than $5 million since 2007 trying to keep the Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov from coming to the rural village.
The Tartikov lawsuit was at the forefront of all the candidates' campaigns, although with varying approaches, and they all were seeking to end the divisiveness in the village.