The Village of Cobleskill elected its first woman mayor Tuesday when Linda Holmes defeated incumbent Mark Galasso at the polls, 497-303, in unofficial results.
Ms. Holmes has served as village trustee for five years; Mayor Galasso is finishing his second term.
"I'm honored and humbled," Ms. Holmes said after the results were tallied, "and I'm looking forward to working with Leo [McAllister, who defeated incumbent Democratic Supervisor Tom Murray.
Ms. Holmes said she was already planning on making phone calls the next day on village business on the Comprehensive Plan.
Mayor Galasso offered his congratulations to Ms. Holmes and said while he made his beliefs and goals clear, it was ultimately to the voters to decide.
"If this is a vote on dissolution and the referendum, so be it," he said, "but I hope Linda sees that discussion through.
"I've done this [Planning Board, trustee, mayor] for 24 years. That's long enough. It's someone else's turn."
Mr. Murray, who lost to Mr. MaAllister in a 1007-403 decision, was disappointed by the election results but proud of what he was able to accomplish during his two terms.
"The people decided," he said, "They had a choice and I'm glad of that. We were able to do a lot for Cobleskill's economic development. That's something I will always be proud of."
Mr. McAllister attributed his win to hard work.
"I think that's what made the difference for us," he said, "We had a great team out there and we covered the town and the village. And I know the hardest work has just begun."

Desmond re-elected...

Tony Desmond easily won re-election as Schoharie County Sheriff on Tuesday.
Finishing his first term, Sheriff Desmond turned back challenges from Cobleskill Police Chief Larry Travis and Sheriff's Deputy Todd Ethington.
Unofficial results show Sheriff Desmond received 4,148 votes, or 48.2 percent to Chief Travis' 3,117 and Mr. Ethington's 1,345.
Sheriff Desmond was on the Republican line, Chief Travis had the Democratic nomination, and Mr. Ethington was on the Conservative and Independent lines.
In recent weeks, it was unclear how a three-way race would shake out--which of the two leading candidates the third would draw voters from.
"It's always a nail-biter for me," Said Sheriff Desmond, who won a narrow victory over Bill Slater in his first race for Sheriff four years ago and won several times as Sharon supervisor.
"I was never sure what was going to happen. You never know."
Sheriff Desmond fared well in most towns, winning big in his hometown of Sharon and also in Middleburgh, Schoharie and Wright.
Chief Travis easily carried Cobleskill and lost by a just few votes in Richmondville and Seward, while Mr. Ethington won only in Jefferson and Summit.
Sheriff Desmond ran on a platform of restoring the flood-damaged county jail and sheriff's office, along with continued drug crackdowns.
"I just can't thank enough the people of Schoharie County who supported me," Sheriff Desmond said.
"I'll work together with everybody to do all that we can."
Chief Travis ran on his experience as a 20-year officer in the Cobleskill Police Department and his skills as a communicator and administrator.
He conceded Sheriff Desmond's victory about 10pm Tuesday.
"I wish Tony the best of luck," Chief Travis said.
A deputy in the Sheriff's Office for 23 years, Mr. Ethington began his run early, with his "Sheriff Todd" campaign signs dotting the landscape in late summer.
He was unavailable for comment late Tuesday night.