Long-time Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, according to The Associated Press, has defeated challenger Kevin Roberts with 23,816 votes to Robert’s 15,134 in Assembly District 103 on Tuesday. Cahill garnered 59 percent of the vote while Roberts received 37 percent. 4 percent of the votes were blank or write-in.
Roberts, a Republican who was elected to the Ulster County Legislature in 2008, challenged Cahill on issues such as health care, the Startup New York program and property taxes. He called for tax reform to encourage job creation. Roberts, a small businessman who owns his own contracting business, also supported a ban on hydrofracking.
Cahill, a Democrat elected to the State Assembly in 1992, has fought for the environment and made energy efficiency his top priority while helping to create a green workforce. Cahill also says he supports a ban on hydrofracking.
Leading up to the election, Roberts outlined a platform that included lowering property taxes in Ulster County. He urged Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with each other in the State Assembly and in the county legislature as well. He reached across the table as a Republican to the Democrats to work with them on issues like the 2012 Charter Reform and the Safety Net Program.
“One thing is certain; we have created a very efficient government in a four-year period without increasing property taxes. In fact, the property tax has decreased. We can only hope to make a compromise in Ulster County, and I feel that quality is lacking in Albany,” said Roberts.
Cahill will begin his new term on Jan. 7 2015.
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