By Tom Grace
Democrat Daniel Crowell has apparently won the Otsego County Treasurer's race, defeating Republican Edward Keator Jr. of Oneonta by 140 votes, 6,302 to 6,162.
Results will not become official until Tuesday, according to Lori Lehenbauer, the county's deputy Republican elections commissioner.
``Monday is the last day we can receive military ballots, so we can't declare anything officially until after we receive Monday's mail,'' she said.
On Monday, elections staff will recheck their work in this close race before certifying results the next day, she said.
On election night, Crowell's lead over Keator appeared to be just five votes, but as machines were re-canvassed last week, a series of small reporting errors were discovered and the lead grew.
By Friday morning, when the Otsego County Board of Elections began to count absentee ballots, Crowell had a 146-vote lead. After counting about 640 absentee votes, the margin changed little, as the absentees were divided in about the same proportion as machine votes.
On Friday, Crowell, 34, said he was relieved to learn he had emerged victorious.
``It was hard to wait,'' he said by telephone from Meadows Office Complex, where the Board of Elections is situated.
In January, he will succeed Republican Myrna Thayne, who has served one term and was defeated by Keator in the Republican primary.
``Next week, I plan to reach out to the current treasurer to try to make the transition as smooth as possible,'' he said.
Crowell is the first Democrat in decades to win countywide office in Otsego County, and he thanked Republicans, as well as Democrats and independents, for their support.
``We calculated we had to get about one-in-three Republican votes to win this race,'' he said.
The staff at the Board of Elections worked overtime Friday to tally absentee ballots in this and other races. At the end of the day, only one race seemed unresolved, the race for Hartwick town council, where Anita Briggs Jones and Julianne Sharratt were tied at 300 votes each.
``There is one contested vote in that race and we'll know next week what happens with that,'' Ross said.
If the vote is counted, it may tip the race. If not, the new town council will pick a member after the first of the year, Ross said.
In other close races, unofficial results show:
Incumbent Republican Betty Anne Schwerd of Burlington defeated Democrat Keith Carpenter of Edmeston by 25 votes, 478 to 453, to retain the District 10 seat on the Otsego County Board of Representatives.
Incumbent Hartwick town Supervisor Patricia Ryan won another term, defeating David Petri by 17 votes, 336 to 319.
Challenger Bill Elsey defeated incumbent Springfield town Supervisor Thomas Armstrong by 22 votes, 230 to 208.
