Residents in the newly redrawn 50th state senate district now know who will be representing them in Albany, six weeks after the final votes were cast. A judge ultimately ruled on the ballots that put incumbent democrat John Mannion over the top by a 10 vote margin.
It’s been a long wait for Mannion and GOP challenger Rebecca Shiroff, who’ve endured the drawn-out process of a hand-recount, followed by a court hearing and judge’s ruling on objected ballots. Mannion praised the process and dedication of elections workers.
"This is important for the public to know it's a thorough process, it's a transparent process, and it works even in a scenario where we're 10 votes or less of a difference in a race where we have more than 120,000 votes cast."
Mannion says he’d say the same thing if he came out on the losing end of the race. For her part, Shiroff says she’s disappointed in the outcome, but received praise from both republicans and democrats about the way she conducted her campaign.
"I came out of nowhere, and I lost by a mere 10 votes to an incumbent who had endless resources and name recognition."
So, Shiroff says it’s only fair to herself, Senator Mannion, and the voters to let the judge’s ruling stand.
"This just dragged on way too long. There needed to be closure, which is why I personally refused to appeal the decision and drag it out any longer," Shiroff said. "We have to respect the process, and I do respect the process. Everything was done the way it was supposed to be done."
She says she called Senator Mannion to wish him the best, and had a nice conversation. Mannion says it was clearly a challenge to pull off a victory in a new district that has 5,000 more enrolled republican and conservative voters. At the same time, he says he feels he’s a good reflection of those he’ll represent.
"The majority of my town supervisors are republican, with republican town boards across the board," Mannion said. "I work well with them. We have a shared interest. We're all here to help Central New Yorkers, and I'm going to continue to do that, just with some new folks and some new relationships."
Mannion says when he returns to Albany next month, he’ll work to ensure public education and health care institutions are properly supported in what’s likely to be a tight state budget.
