By Tom Grace
Unofficial election results show that Phillip Rumsey, Michael Coccoma and Molly Fitzgerald were elected state Supreme Court justices in the Nov. 6 election.
On election night, Fitzgerald, a Democrat and a lawyer with Smyk & Fitzgerald in Binghamton, was in fourth place in a six-way race for three seats, just behind Republican Joseph Fazzary, Schuyler County's district attorney.
A recanvass of votes in Broome County gave her a slight lead over Fazzary as boards of election in the 10-county Sixth Judicial District began to count absentee and military ballots this week. That count continued Thursday and may not be done until today, but Fazzary called Fitzgerald at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday to concede, she said.
``He was very gracious, and even though they're still counting some votes, he said it was mathematically impossible for him to win at this point,'' she said.
Fitzgerald, 46, spoke as she was on her way to a victory party in Binghamton.
``It's been a tense week,'' she said.
On election night, she was in second or third place until late in the night when she dropped to fourth, she said.
``My heart sank, but my son, Jack, put his arm around my shoulder and told me not to worry; there were still absentee ballots to count,'' she said.
Those paper ballots lifted her into third place behind Rumsey, 58, an incumbent state Supreme Court justice and Coccoma, 54, an Otsego County judge and acting state Supreme Court justice. Rumsey and Coccoma are Republicans.
Fazzary could not be reached at his office. His campaign manager, Philip Barnes, declined Thursday to comment on the race.
The Otsego County Board of Elections completed counting paper ballots Thursday, adding 304 to Rumsey's count for a county total of 5,302 votes. Coccoma gained 605 votes for a total of 9,921. Fazzary gained 298 votes to Fitzgerald's 235, but this was offset by results from Broome County, where she gained 1,018 votes to his 704.
Fitzgerald said she will begin to close her law practice.
``That is the hardest part for me,'' she said.
Marianne Bez of Cooperstown, who helped coordinate Coccoma's campaign, said, ``From the numbers I've seen, Judge Coccoma is in a comfortable second place.''
About four county boards of election have yet to report their results, she said.
The other two Democrats in the race, Chemung County lawyer Richard Rich and Madison County District Attorney Donald Cerio, finished thousands of votes behind the top four finishers.
Last year, voters in the district also elected a woman and Democrat, Elizabeth Garry of New Berlin, as a state Supreme Court justice.
State Supreme Court justices serve 14-year terms and are paid $136,700 a year. The counties in the Sixth Judicial District are Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Madison, Otsego, Tioga, Tompkins and Schuyler.
Sheila Ross, Otsego County's Republican deputy elections commissioner, said she expects that all the boards of election in the Sixth Judicial District will finish counting today, although results may not be immediately certified.
