by Marianne Christy
The absentee and affidavit ballots for the general election for the Town of Webb, tallied by the Herkimer County of Elections on Wednesday, November 18, have determined Robert A. Moore the winner of the supervisor’s race.
In the closest supervisor race in recent memory, Moore nudged out opponent H. Stuart deCamp by a mere 17 votes.
In the November 3 general election only two votes separated Moore and deCamp, who received 395 and 393 respectively.
Herkimer County Election Commissioner Lou Christie said that of the 87 absentee ballots that were sent out prior to the election, 78 were received and included in the Wednesday count.
Results showed Moore with 35 votes in Webb 1 and ten in Webb 2 for an overall total of 440, to deCamp’s 25 in Webb 1 and five in Webb 2 for a total of 423. (One absentee ballot was cast for Cory Potter Hayes.)
It is interesting to note that the race was determined by voters in District 2. While deCamp led Moore by six votes in Webb 1, Moore bettered him by 23 in District 2.
It was also a tight race for candidates vying for two seats on the town council. Though Barbara Green had a comfortable lead in the general election with 480 votes, only 30 votes separated candidates Dave Berkstresser (325) and George T. Hiltebrant (295), and only one vote came between Hiltebrant and Bill Brooker (294).
In the end, Berkstresser was the winner with an overall total of 345 votes, picking up 12 votes in Webb 1 and eight in Webb 2. Green picked up an extra 37 votes in Webb 1 and 12 in Webb 2 for a total of 529.
Brooker garnered 33 votes in Webb 1 and eight in Webb 2 for a total of 335; Hiltebrant added 27 in Webb 1 and four in Webb 2 for a total of 326; and James B. (J.B.) Herron had six in Webb 1 and three in Webb 2 for a total of 184.
Due to the extremely close nature of the local races, the board of elections decided to canvass the votes in reverse alphabetical order. Otherwise, Webb would have been the second to last town tallied county-wide.
Commissioner Christie said the above results will not become official until they are certified by the New York State Board of Canvassers which will occur on or before December 15th.