With the Nov. 7 election results in Putnam County now certified, Robert Langley Jr. defeated Sheriff Don Smith by 324 votes, of nearly 25,000 cast, a margin of 1.3 percent.
How did he do it? Langley, who lives in Garrison, carried Philipstown, where the voter turnout was the highest in the county, at 50 percent, by a more than 2-to-1 margin, 68-32. That landslide created a cushion that Smith, even though he won four of the five other districts, could not overcome.
Carmel and Southeast each had the lowest turnout, at 39 percent. Langley won Southeast, 52-48, while Smith prevailed in Putnam Valley by six points, Kent by four, Patterson by six and Carmel by eight.
Corrigan
Langley Selects Undersheriff
On Nov. 18, Putnam County Sheriff-elect Robert Langley said Michael Corrigan, 54, of Carmel, would be his undersheriff. Corrigan spent 21 years with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, including 18 years as a criminal investigator. A 1995 graduate of the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Virginia, he also has worked as an officer for the Village of Cold Spring.
The map below shows, in blue, the districts won by Langley, a Democrat, and, in red, by Smith, a Republican. In the white district they tied.
Smith also had to contend with a write-in challenge that Andrew DeStefano mounted after his nominating petition for the Republican primary was thrown out. Of the 486 write-in votes for sheriff, DeStefano received 428, according to the Putnam County Board of Elections.
Legend: PH = Philipstown; PV = Putnam Valley; KE = Kent; CA = Carmel; PA = Patterson; SE = Southeast. The large numbers are legislative districts, each of which contains about 10,000 residents.
Behind The Story
Type: News
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
A former longtime national magazine editor, Rowe has worked at newspapers in Michigan, Idaho and South Dakota and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University. Location: Philipstown. Languages: English. Area of Expertise: General.
This also shows how we on the western side of the county often feel neglected, forgotten about. Go, Bob, go!
What’s missing from this coverage is how slim Smith’s margins were in the districts he did carry. Robert L. Langley Jr.’s victory isn’t a simple “Philipstown Turned Out” story. Langley and his team worked very hard in every town, every district, and earned the confidence and support of voters in every party — Republicans, unaffiliated voters, Working Families, Greens. Voters across party lines spoke. It was time for a deeply flawed sheriff, whose problems were of his own making, to be sent packing. Now the real work begins. And we start from a cooperative base to do it together. I’m grateful to Langley for stepping forward to lead all of Putnam.
Foley was Langley’s campaign manager.
What I took from the article was that Philipstown and the western side receives little respect and attention in most races, and many countywide GOP candidates ignore the western side altogether and simply write it off as a loss. As results showed, that was a mistake, and Philipstown played a big role in the election, something I don’t recall seeing. I enjoyed it very much out there.
The result was a wonderful tribute to the hard work of all the volunteers who helped campaign. Honesty and integrity should always prevail. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this wonderful result.
I spent a lot of time campaigning on the western side, including heavy door to door, and I found the dialogue stimulating. I had many good conversations with people. It’s a shame that my petitions were unlawfully invalidated by an elections commissioner hell-bent on seeing his candidate elected at all cost. It’s my understanding he “blames” me for the loss, but the fact is he lacked foresight to see the time for change had arrived. The campaign was well worth it, whatever the outcome, as I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with Philipstown residents.
The same head of the Republican Party supported Ailes, so why would anyone think he would not support another morally flawed individual? Anthony Scannipiecco, the Republican election commissioner for Putnam, is a toxic leader who has supported toxic candidates and will continue to do so. He doesn’t realize that times are a changin’ and hacks will no longer be tolerated by the people of the county. Party loyalty only went so far. Next stop: 2018, when Odell and some legislators are up for re-election. Let’s keep the broom handy; lots to do.
This also shows how we on the western side of the county often feel neglected, forgotten about. Go, Bob, go!
What’s missing from this coverage is how slim Smith’s margins were in the districts he did carry. Robert L. Langley Jr.’s victory isn’t a simple “Philipstown Turned Out” story. Langley and his team worked very hard in every town, every district, and earned the confidence and support of voters in every party — Republicans, unaffiliated voters, Working Families, Greens. Voters across party lines spoke. It was time for a deeply flawed sheriff, whose problems were of his own making, to be sent packing. Now the real work begins. And we start from a cooperative base to do it together. I’m grateful to Langley for stepping forward to lead all of Putnam.
Foley was Langley’s campaign manager.
What I took from the article was that Philipstown and the western side receives little respect and attention in most races, and many countywide GOP candidates ignore the western side altogether and simply write it off as a loss. As results showed, that was a mistake, and Philipstown played a big role in the election, something I don’t recall seeing. I enjoyed it very much out there.
The result was a wonderful tribute to the hard work of all the volunteers who helped campaign. Honesty and integrity should always prevail. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this wonderful result.
I spent a lot of time campaigning on the western side, including heavy door to door, and I found the dialogue stimulating. I had many good conversations with people. It’s a shame that my petitions were unlawfully invalidated by an elections commissioner hell-bent on seeing his candidate elected at all cost. It’s my understanding he “blames” me for the loss, but the fact is he lacked foresight to see the time for change had arrived. The campaign was well worth it, whatever the outcome, as I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with Philipstown residents.
The same head of the Republican Party supported Ailes, so why would anyone think he would not support another morally flawed individual? Anthony Scannipiecco, the Republican election commissioner for Putnam, is a toxic leader who has supported toxic candidates and will continue to do so. He doesn’t realize that times are a changin’ and hacks will no longer be tolerated by the people of the county. Party loyalty only went so far. Next stop: 2018, when Odell and some legislators are up for re-election. Let’s keep the broom handy; lots to do.