ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y.—The final results are in for the off-year election in Orange County, where seats for County Legislature, town supervisor, the County Executive’s office, and many other government positions were all up for a vote.
County Executive Steve Neuhaus won reelection, defeating his Democratic challenger Michael Sussman, a Goshen civil rights attorney. Neuhaus won his fourth term with 60 percent of the votes, a total of 43,555. Sussman pulled in about 40 percent with 28,855 votes.
Neuhaus told The Epoch Times, “I’m grateful to the voters for their confidence in my leadership. I appreciate everyone who came out and voted, and I’m looking forward to continuing the important work of lowering taxes, preserving open space, and keeping our residents safe.”
Incumbent Republican Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler beat Democratic challenger Alan Joseph with 56 percent of the vote. Hoovler finished with 39,815 votes to Joseph’s 30,994.
In Legislative District 13, incumbent Republican Legislator Thomas Faggione got 2,009 votes, winning the district with 64 percent voter support. Democratic challenger Michael Cox garnered 1,120 votes. District 13 covers the Town of Deerpark, the City of Port Jervis, and half of the Town of Greenville.
Republican incumbent Janet Sutherland received 1,734 votes, or about 54 percent, to win District 18, covering the Town of Mount Hope, part of the Town of Wallkill, and part of the City of Middletown. Her opponent, Democrat Moniysha Maldonado, had 1,450 votes.
District 20, covering most of Middletown and part of Wallkill, was won by Democrat Sparrow Tobin, who ran unopposed.
Long-time Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano, a Democrat, won reelection with 2,685 votes, or about 82 percent. Joel Sierra, running on the Time for Change platform, received 564 votes, or 17 percent. This is DeStefano’s sixth time being elected mayor since 1993.
“We’re very happy, not only for myself but for our team. We were all returned to office,” DeStefano told The Epoch Times on Nov. 5.
“We’re local government. Our job is to pick up the trash, plow the streets, promote economic development, address the affordability crisis, and give people opportunity. We will continue to do all those good things for the City of Middletown residents.”
Mayor of the City of Port Jervis Dominic Cicalese ran unopposed on the Republican ticket.
“I am proud and fortunate to remain mayor for another term. I appreciate everyone’s support and trust in me and my Councilperson at Large Michael Hockenberry,” he told The Epoch Times on Nov. 5.
“The next term is going to be a busy period for the city.”
Cicalese said that in the spring, hopefully the city will “kick off” one of the main Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) projects, the Jersey Ave Streetscape Project. In the fall of 2026, the $3.5 million water filtration plant upgrades will begin, he said. The Department of Public Works will restart the Environmental Facilities Corporation sewer realignment project in spring or summer 2026. In 2027, the city will undertake the Riverside Park DRI project.
In the Wallkill town supervisor race, the Democratic nominee, former supervisor Frank DenDanto, defeated Republican Ralph Carr. The final votes were 2,900, or 51.5 percent, for DenDanto and 2,728, or 48.5 percent, for Carr. Town Supervisor George Serrano did not seek reelection.
In the Town of Deerpark, which includes the City of Port Jervis, the incumbent supervisor, Republican Gary Spears, ran without challenge.
Similarly, Paul Rickard, the incumbent Republican supervisor of Mount Hope, ran without opposition.
Statewide Proposition 1 passed with 52 percent support—a total of 1,924,501 people. The proposition will allow for the creation of new ski trails in Essex County at the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex.
