By JAEGUN LEE
TIMES STAFF WRITER
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009
CAPE VINCENT — A week has passed since Election Day, but the race for town supervisor is far from over.
Democratic incumbent Thomas K. Rienbeck currently holds a 42-vote lead over Republican Urban C. Hirschey, 532-490. However, there were 259 absentee ballots issued, and 230 were returned to the Board of Elections office. Those votes could turn the tables on the incumbent.
The absentee ballots will be counted Nov. 17.
Mr. Hirschey said that several of the absentee ballots represent seasonal residents — from Syracuse, Rochester and Utica — who changed their registration to Cape Vincent to have a voice in the election.
"I'd be delighted if I win," Mr. Hirschey said. "But let's not count our chickens before they hatch."
Mr. Rienbeck did not return calls seeking comment Monday.
Mr. Rienbeck, who has been in office for 10 years, said earlier last week that he was not going to assume his victory when there were more than 200 absentee votes to be counted. He also said he hopes "things will stay the way they are right now."
Mr. Hirschey, a Republican, said winning almost half of the votes cast on Election Day, despite conflicts with his own political party, was itself "a victory" for him and his supporters.
"I'm very pleased on how well we did," he said. "Whichever side wins, they must be respectful of the other side."
The local Republican committee dropped its support for Mr. Hirschey and other Republican candidates for town office because several members said they felt the Democratic contenders, such as Mr. Rienbeck, were more qualified.
Mr. Hirschey is a member and former chairman of the Wind Power Ethics Group, which opposes unregulated wind development in the town. Mr. Rienbeck has supported the proposed wind farm projects.
If he is elected supervisor, Mr. Hirschey said, his main priorities will be adopting a "good wind law" to spread out the wind turbines and revitalizing the town's Main Street.
Two wind projects are proposed in Cape Vincent: the Cape Vincent Wind Farm in the southern part of the town's agricultural district and the St. Lawrence Wind Farm planned for the northern part.
Mr. Hirschey said he also plans to make the town's decision-making process more transparent to the public by videotaping town meetings and uploading them on the town's Web site.
Mr. Hirschey is the chairman of the Board of Directors of Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency, the vice president of the Carthage Industrial Development Corp. and the former chairman of Climax Manufacturing Co., a plant in Lowville that manufacturers packaging.
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