Democratic presidential primary canceled
After pushing the Democratic presidential primary back by two months to June 23 because of the COVID-19 shutdown, the state Board of Elections last week canceled it altogether.
In Putnam County, there will not be a vote in Philipstown. The only primaries will be held for registered Republicans to decide who will be on the ballot in November as the candidate for the county legislator who represents Kent (Toni Addonizio is being challenged by Paul Denbaum, a member of the Kent Town Board) and Mahopac (Amy Sayegh will face former legislator Dini LoBue). Independence Party members will also decide in Putnam Valley on a candidate for town justice.
In Dutchess County, including Beacon, Peter Forman and Jessica Segal will compete for the Green and Independence Party lines for county judge, while Eric Carter and Peter Bradley will face off to be the region’s candidate for the Serve America Movement (SAM) state committee.
Other races that will appear on the November ballot:
■ Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, will be challenged by Andrew Gauzza IV, a Republican who last year lost his second bid for a seat on the Beacon City Council.
■ Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, a Democrat whose district includes Philipstown, will be challenged by Republican Lawrence Chiulli, whom she defeated in 2018 with 65 percent of the vote.
■ State Sen. Sue Serino, a Republican whose district includes the Highlands, will again face Democrat Karen Smythe, whom Serino defeated in 2018 by 688 votes of more than 118,000 cast.
■ U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat in his fourth term, will face Chele Farley, a Republican who in 2018 challenged Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Scott Smith, who is running on the Serve America Movement line. As of March 31, Maloney had $893,000 in his campaign fund and Farley had $258,000. Smith reported $246 on Dec. 31.
On Saturday (April 25), Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an order to have absentee ballot applications mailed to every registered voter in the state, although he said in-person polling would still take place. Early voting is scheduled for June 13 to 21.
