Team New Castle Wins Town Board Elections: Unofficial Tally

With all of the local election districts reported in, the Team New Castle ticket has won the races for New Castle Supervisor and for two council seats, according to unofficial results from the Westchester County Board of Elections.

The supervisor numbers, as of Thursday, show that Rob Greenstein defeated Democratic candidate and Town Administrator Penny Paderewski by 2,720 votes to 2,170, or 56 percent to 44 percent. For the council seats, Team New Castle candidates Lisa Katz and Adam Brodsky won with 2,833 and 2,615 votes, respectively. Incumbent Councilman and Democrat John Buckley has been ousted, according to the data, coming in third with 2,263. Former Councilman and Democratic candidate Michael Wolfensohn lost his bid for a comeback, coming in last with 1,980 votes.

The only Democratic candidate to beat Team New Castle was incumbent Town Justice Noah Sorkin, who defeated challenger Stuart Miller with 2,681 votes to 2,228.

The full results were not posted initially on the website, with only 13 out of 16 districts listed hours after polls closed.

The returns include all party ballot lines that the tickets ran on. The Democratic candidates had their eponymous line plus the Working Families Party, while Team New Castle held the Republican and Independence Party lines.

Except for Miller, none of the Team New Castle candidates are registered with either of the parties they used for ballot access. Greenstein and Katz are registered Democrats, while Brodsky is non-affiliated (independent). 

Greenstein won on what was his second run for the town board. In 2011 he lost a bid for a council seat, running as an independent with a line called "Transparency in Government."

The outcome represents a significant shake up in local politics, as a Democratic slate has lost for the first time in recent history. All of the incumbent town board members have been supported by the Democrats.

The outcome also means that the majority of members on the board (three out of five) will be those who did not run under the Democratic ballot line. The only two members who have won as Democrats and will remain on the board next year are Deputy Supervisor Elise Kessler Mottel and Councilman Jason Chapin. They were elected in 2011 and their terms expire on Dec. 31, 2015.

The takeover by Team New Castle candidates could have profound policy ramifications. The slate ran vocally on its opposition to the Chappaqua Crossing retail proposal, which calls for rezoning the southern part of the former Reader's Digest site to allow for 120,000 square feet of retail, including a grocery store anchor tenant. Katz, who lives in the nearby Lawrence Farms East neighborhood, is worried about its quality-of-life impact and has called the proposal a strip mall. Greenstein, a co-founder of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce, is worried that the proposal, with its collection of stores, could result in the creation of a third business district in town that could hurt the existing ones.

Team New Castle candidates also stated their opposition to the town acquiring the Twin Oaks Swim & Tennis site, according to Q&A interviews given with Patch. The current officials have expressed interest in purchasing site, whose owner has listed it for sale for $2 million, for recreational use. Additionally, candidates have expressed opposition to Conifer Realty's Chappaqua Station affordable housing plan, which the current town gave approval for but has been criticized by residents due to its Hunts Place location between train tracks and the Saw Mill River Parkway.

Greenstein, when interviewed as results came in but before all of them were posted, replied that the voters "have spoken." He also feels that the voters sent the message that they are not in favor of the Chappaqua Crossing proposal and Conifer's plan. Additionally, Greenstein called on the current town board to not approve rezoning for Chappaqua Crossing. The new members will not take over until their terms start on Jan. 1.

Greenstein also wants to change the way in which town elections are decided by removing party affiliations from ballots.

Katz, reacting as the results came in this week, said she is "so excited" and added it will be a "new beginning" for the town.

Buckley and Wolfensohn each went to the Team New Castle gathering space on election night, Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua, to meet their counterparts and give congratulations (Wolfensohn says he did not concede but acknowledged that the trajectory favored the other slate). Greenstein said that Paderewski called him.

Wolfensohn was upset, however, at the way Paderewski was treated during the campaign by Team New Castle's local support, calling the characterization "disgusting." Paderewski, who has worked in town government in various positions for about 27 years, will be stepping now from her current post, according to a 2014 budget message posted on New Castle NOW before the election day.

“I wish them nothing but the best," Buckley said Wednesday night, believing that they had won. He also offered to make himself available for help.