Hogue wins in a walk in Dering Harbor

Tim Hogue, unopposed on the ballot, won a 13th two-year term as mayor of the Village of Dering Harbor  in elections held on on Tuesday.

Incumbent trustees, John T. Colby, Jr. and Brandon Rose kept their seats despite challenges. Mr. Hogue and Mr. Colby garnered 34 votes each; Mr. Rose had 36.

The challengers, Ari Benacerraf and Elizabeth Morgan, each had 26.

“On behalf of the incumbent trustees and myself, I’m pleased to have the continued support of the village,” Mr. Hogue said after the vote count at Village Hall.

As in recent elections, some residents wrote in for people not listed on the ballot, including 18 who hoped to make Patrick Parcells mayor. Other write ins for mayor were former trustee Mary Walker who had two votes; former mayoral challenger Alfredo Paredes and Mr. Colby who each had one vote. The one write in for Mr. Colby was ruled invalid since his name was already listed on the ballot for trustee.

While he did not formally challenge any of the votes cast, Mr. Parcells was critical generally of the election, saying it relied on voters who do not reside in the village, including children and grandchildren of residents, and in one instance, a domestic worker.

“If this election were run with legitimate village residents the results would have been very different,” he said after the votes were tallied, claiming that of the 29 votes cast in person and 32 absentee ballots received, “18 or so are not legitimate village residents.”

Mr. Parcells, who as a write-in had tied Mayor Hogue in initial voting in 2014 but then lost by a large margin in a runoff, relied upon a federal voting rights pamphlet for a description of residency defined as: “Shall be used in election law as synonymous with domicile … the place of one’s permanent abode.”

Very few Dering Harbor residents actually live full-time in the village and state law does not restrict voters from registering at a second home, so long as the individual is not also registered elsewhere.

The win was a first for Mr. Colby, who had been appointed in February to serve the remainder of the term of Ms. Walker, who resigned citing scheduling challenges. Mr. Colby had previously served as an appointed volunteer on boards in the village.

For Mr. Rose, it was a second win; he was appointed in 2013 to fill the seat vacated by Linda Adams and elected for his first two-year term in 2014.

Mr. Rose thanked “all candidates for having the courage to offer alternate ideas and perspectives and to voters for making it clear some changes need to made.”

“I ask everyone to remember that we are neighbors first, and in that regard we need to respect and work together to rebuild some trust and resolve lingering issues, ” he wrote in a email to the Reporter.

Ms. Morgan called the campaign a “truly positive experience. I got to meet many neighbors and listen to the issues that they care about. Everyone was so welcoming and there were many productive discussions.”

But she joined Mr. Parcells in expressing concern about non-resident voters.

“I think the results would have been different if so many non-residents hadn’t voted and I’m encouraged by that,” she wrote to the Reporter. “Hopefully, the voting issues will get resolved and we’ll have fairer elections, which will be a win for everyone.”

Mr. Benacerraf did not respond to a request for comment.