via Poughkeepsie Journal, 11/23/2011

Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik, center, celebrates at Andy's Place in the City of Poughkeepsie on Election Night, Nov. 8. / Darryl Bautista/Poughkeepsie Journal

City of Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik and Dutchess County Republican Elections Commissioner Erik Haight today said Tkazyik has defeated Democratic challenger Ken Levinson after absentee and other ballots were counted.

“Mayor Tkazyik has another four years,” Haight said after the counting of absentee ballots for the city was completed around 11:30 a.m. “Levinson cannot overcome John Tkazyik at this point. It’s mathematically impossible.”

Final vote tallies were not immediately available, but Tkazyik , a Republican, said he had a 95-vote lead over Levinson. The mayor had a 122-vote lead based on machine results tabulated after Election Day.

Levinson said he called the mayor and “congratulated him on his victory” early this afternoon.

“It was obviously a very, very close race,” Levinson said. “A lot of the people in the city saw the need for change.”

Elections officials began counting paper ballots from the city Tuesday and the count was completed this morning, Haight said.

In other races that remained undecided after the Nov. 8 election, Haight said Councilman Thomas Parise, R-1st Ward, defeated Democratic challenger Jacqueline Jordan. Haight said council Chairman Lee Klein, R-4th Ward, was defeated by Democrat Nina Boyd.

Haight said the 8th Ward race will likely end up in court. Republican Councilman Paul Herman trailed Democratic challenger Leslie Catlett by six votes, but that 14 ballots have been challenged.

If current results stand, Democrats would hold a 7-1 majority on the Common Council next year. The GOP has controlled the governing body for the past two years. Council members serve two-year terms and are paid $9,000 per year.

During the campaign, Levinson said the city needed to fight crime and bolster public safety by placing more police officers on foot patrol. He also called for more youth programs, a need he said escalated after the 2009 closure of the city-based Dutchess County YMCA.

Tkazyik pointed to what he said was his strong record of keeping taxes in check, a recent decrease in violent crime and ongoing downtown and waterfront development in asking voters to give him a second four-year term.

Tkazyik, 32, helps run his family’s restaurant, Andy’s Place. Levinson, 55, is a landlord who buys and restores properties. The mayor’s post pays $25,000 per year.

via YNN, 11/23/2011 by John Wagner

The Democratic challenger in the race for Poughkeepsie mayor has conceded. Ken Levinson said after counting the absentee and affidavit ballots, he didn’t have the numbers to overtake incumbent Republican Mayor John Tkazyik. Our John Wagner has the details.

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Out of more than 5,000 votes cast, current Mayor John Tkazyik is up by 90 with 73 contested ballots. Those numbers lead his challenger Ken Levinson to concede, congratulating the mayor around noon on Wednesday.

“What we predicted election night is what took place here today,” said Tkazyik. “And I want to thank the voters of the City of Poughkeepsie for having the faith and confidence in me to serve another four years.”

Tkazyik had spent three terms in the common council before being elected as the second youngest mayor in Poughkeepsie history. Due to term limits, this will be his second and final term as mayor.

But not all city races are over. The eighth ward council seat is headed for court with Leslie Catlett leading incumbent Paul Herman by six votes with 14 contested ballots.

“The judge will listen to both side’s objections, there will be witnesses called, sometimes there’s even private investigators involved, every ballot will be scrutinized,” explained Democratic elections commissioner Fran Knapp.

“I would expect that we’ll have, hopefully, certified results by sometime in December, January at the latest,” said Republican elections commissioner Erik Haight.

And while it took two weeks to finally decide the mayor’s race, the mayor says there’s already a number of city projects in the works and many reasons for Poughkeepsie to get excited about the next four years.

“Linking our walkway path to the future elevator project with Walkway Over the Hudson, a ten bay emergency response center and we have a new supermarket, Save-a-lot, that’s going to be breaking ground in the spring,” said Tkazyik.

The Democratic lead common council says they’re ready to work with the mayor, but they want to see better crime fighting and a city-wide youth center.

“If we can fund the Walkway over the Hudson, I don’t understand why we can’t fund something for human beings, for our youth, they have no place to go,” said Democrat Gwen Johnson, who was re-elected to her fourth term in the common council.

The next four years, starts now.

via YNN, 11/22/2011 by John Wagner

Absentee and affidavit votes were investigated, questioned and tallied on Tuesday in Poughkeepsie. With a few votes left to count Wednesday morning, mathematically, John Tkazyik is poised to spend another four years in city hall. Our John Wagner has the story.

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — After a hard fought campaign, Mayor John Tkazyik and challenger Ken Levinson sit across the table from each other for eight hours, examining every absentee ballot from the first seven wards of the city.

“The only ward we have left is the eighth ward, which is heavily Republican,” said Republican elections commissioner Erik Haight. “[It's] almost impossible for John Tkazyik to lose the mayor’s race at this point.”

“We’ll seal the deal with the eighth ward and we look forward to getting back to work in city hall,” said Mayor John Tkazyik.

In a city of 30,000 residents, 59 ballots have been challenged, 69 are left to count in the eighth ward and Tkazyik is winning by 75 votes.

“It appears either way it goes, it’s pretty much a tossup and I think that speaks volumes about the people wanting change,” said Ken Levinson. “And about me coming into this election virtually unknown and gathering as much support as I have.”

Levinson says he will accept the final vote count without a court battle. In the common council, Democrats won at least six out of eight seats, with the eighth ward still up for grabs.

Levinson says the Democrat message resonated with voters.

“More focus on youth, they want focus on crime, they want better management, they want open and equal government,” he said.

But those on the other side of the aisle disagree on the voter’s perspective.

“I can’t possibly think of how Levinson could spin this as any kind of a victory at all,” said Haight. “The enrollment is so heavily against a Republican candidate, yet Tkazyik has the appeal for Democratic voters to vote for him because he’s done a good job as mayor.”

Mayor Tkazyik says he’s excited to have another term to continue building on the progress the city has made.

“I’ve had the history of reaching across the aisle to get things done and make things happen in the City of Poughkeepsie. And that’s exactly what I’ll do again over the next four years,” Tkazyik said.

via YNN, 11/09/2011 by John Wagner

Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik won his re-election bid against Democrat Ken Levinson just four years after becoming the city’s youngest mayor ever. John Wagner has more on this close race. Continue reading →

via The Poughkeepsie Journal, 11/2/11

The City of Poughkeepsie mayoral race is a good battle between incumbent John Tkazyik and challenger Ken Levinson, a contest that has rightly focused on development and crime — and whether the city has made progress in the past few years. Continue reading →

via The Miscellany News, written by Sabrina Sucato

Sometimes it can be hard to remember that there is a city outside of Vassar. Sure, we all know that Bacio’s is across the street and that the Vassar Shuttle will take us to the mall, but that’s pretty much the extent of a typical Vassar student’s interaction with Poughkeepsie. Continue reading →