Prentice, Rauch Win Democratic Lines

Maasik out; Cheah withdraws as independent candidate
Nat Prentice and Ned Rauch won the two Democratic lines on Tuesday (June 24) for the Philipstown Town Board.
Rauch, who was endorsed by the Philipstown Democratic Committee, will appear on the Democratic and independent Philipstown Focus lines. He edged John Maasik by 24 votes for the Democratic line.
Ben Cheah, the other candidate endorsed by the Democratic Committee, would have appeared on the November ballot on the Philipstown Focus line but on Friday filed with the Putnam County Board of Elections to have his name removed.
In a statement on Facebook, Cheah wrote that, before the primary vote, "there was a lot of speculation that Ned and I would continue on to the November election on an independent line, regardless of the primary outcome. For me, that was never the plan." He said he withdrew because "this is the healthiest choice for both the Philipstown Democratic Party and my own career" and endorsed Rauch and Prentice.
Voters had to be among the 3,597 residents in Philipstown registered with the Putnam County Board of Elections as Democrats. Turnout was 31 percent. The Board of Elections said some votes remain to be counted, such as affidavit ballots filed at the two polling sites and absentee ballots postmarked by June 24 that arrive by Tuesday (July 1). The results below are unofficial until certified.
Democratic
Nat Prentice 631 (29%)
Ned Rauch 543 (25%)
John Maasik 519 (24%)
Ben Cheah 467 (22%)
In a statement on Wednesday, the Philipstown Democratic Committee congratulated Prentice and Rauch, thanked all four candidates and said it looked forward "to supporting our candidates in doing the good work." It added that, "as a committee, we are disappointed that our candidate Ben Cheah was not selected yesterday; we thank him for the passion, hard work and thoughtfulness for service to the town he put into this campaign." It will vote at its July meeting whether to endorse Prentice.
In a statement on Wednesday, Maasik said, "I'm proud that the non-endorsed candidates combined for the majority of the votes and gave the town a choice in this election." He added: "The community deserved to have an opportunity to see all four candidates at one forum to better understand our similarities and differences, and I wish we could have made that happen."
Two Cold Spring residents invited all four candidates to a June 18 forum at their home, but Rauch declined the invitation on behalf of himself and Cheah, telling Marianne Sutton and David Watson that "Ben and I are unavailable on the 18th. With just two weeks remaining until the primary, our schedule is already packed." Watson said about 25 people attended to hear Prentice and Maasik.
Jason Angell and Megan Cotter, Democrats elected to the Town Board in 2021, did not seek second terms. John Van Tassel, who is running unopposed for his third term as supervisor, will appear in November on the Democratic and Philipstown Focus lines.
Because of a new state law that pushes most town and village elections to even-numbered years, the winners of the two open seats will serve until 2028, or three years, rather than four. At the same time, the supervisor position, usually a two-year term, will be on the ballot again next year.
Putnam Valley
Jacqueline Annabi, the Putnam Valley supervisor, fought off a challenge for the Republican line from Stephanie Waters. Annabi will face Alison Jolicoeur, the Democratic candidate, in November.
Republican
Jacqueline Annabi 301 (54%)
Stephanie Waters 258 (46%)
Putnam County
There will be three open seats on the nine-member Legislature, which has eight Republicans and one Democrat (Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley). Each member serves a three-year term.
In District 5, which includes the hamlet of Carmel and eastern Lake Carmel, Jake D'Angelo, 23, defeated incumbent Greg Ellner for the Republican line. Brett Yarris will appear on the Democratic and For the People lines...