Now that the electioneering has come to an end, now that the tumult and the shouting have ceased, there is something we believe Republican, Democratic and independent voters can all agree upon.
That's for all the candidates to remove their lawn signs from our highways and byways with all the zest and zeal with which they were planted.
With that out of the way, we can comfortably sift through the results of what was a fascinating local election on Tuesday.
The city of Oneonta mayor's race, as expected, essentially came down to a contest between two men named Miller.
And, as expected, former Hartwick College President Richard "Dick" Miller, an independent running as a Democrat, prevailed over Republican Third Ward Alderman Erik Miller.
The close 1,078-to-894 Dick Miller advantage reflected what was an honorable and issue-oriented campaign run by the two men.
The third person in the race was 21-year-old State University of Oneonta senior Jason Corrigan, whose brash and undisciplined efforts resulted in only 177 votes, making him barely a footnote on election day.
Now that the counting is over, Dick Miller must turn his attention to the many challenges he will encounter when he takes office on Jan. 1.
We wish him well, and look forward to seeing him succeed.
Perhaps the most fascinating result Tuesday night was the race for Otsego County treasurer involving Democrat Dan Crowell and Republican Edward Keator.
Out of 11,733 total votes, only a margin of five separates the two candidates, with Crowell leading before the absentee ballots are counted.
A similar scenario exists in the Town of Oneonta where Republican incumbent William Mirabito won re-election with 679 votes, but the second seat remains undecided pending the counting of absentee ballots.
Republican Scott Gravelin has 623 votes, and Democrat John Frisch garnered 607. With a bit more than 100 absentee ballots to be tallied, either man could emerge victorious.
Another race that isn't official yet was in District 10 for a place on the Otsego County Board. Republican Betty Anne Schwerd leads Democrat Keith Carpenter by 16 votes with 27 absentee ballots to be counted.
If anything, the close races prove that every vote does indeed count, and that a democracy depends on the willingness of its citizens to take the time and effort to "go vote."
That, more than any individual result, is what _ along with all those lawn signs _ should be taken away from the election of 2009.
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