PLATTSBURGH — Incumbent Elizabeth Gibbs easily dispatched Chris Rosenquest in the City of Plattsburgh Ward 3 Democratic Party primary Tuesday night.
The other incumbent in the primary, Jeff Moore, was trailing in the Ward 6 race.
Gibbs won by an unofficial tally of 138 to 60 over Rosenquest, the current mayor who opted not to run for re-election to the mayor’s seat, and instead chose to take on Gibbs in the council race.
“At this point, I guess the only thing I would say is that I’m incredibly grateful,” Gibbs said by phone Tuesday night.
“The first people I need to thank are my family, my boys, who have been so supportive and encouraging, and my campaign team, the people who helped me with the petitions, the people who asked for signs on their lawns, they helped me with literature drops in the neighborhood, my friends who reached out to other friends in the neighborhood to encourage them to vote for me. I really had so much support. I could not have asked for any more. Just so many people who really wanted to help me and volunteered on my campaign and I’m so grateful to them.”
With no other candidates in the race now, Gibbs, 54, will seemingly be elected to her third consecutive term on the council in November’s general election.
“They have really proven that they support me, that they want me to represent them and I’m so thankful that they showed up to vote.”
She had previously discussed ensuring voters understood the importance of the primary election and how it would ultimately decide who the next councilor would be.
“I went out and knocked on so many doors and even as recently as Friday night, interacting with voters in the ward and explaining to them that the election really is (decided by) the primary,” Gibbs said.
“So I am just very grateful for the support that I’ve received from my friends and my neighbors and I will continue to work hard for them and I am sure that they know that. That’s the reason why they voted for me, I’m sure.”
“It really isn’t totally official until Board of Elections certifies the results,” she continued. “But at this point, I’m just very grateful that people have put their trust in me and I’m so incredibly, incredibly grateful to my family and my friends who helped me. I had a lot of support on this campaign, and I really could not have done it without the people who helped me. It’s very humbling to know that I’ve got so many people willing to help me out, because it’s important to them that I win.”
With a primary win checked off, Gibbs said she now looks forward to getting back to doing other stuff.
“That’s how it goes,” Rosenquest, who was elected mayor in 2020 after defeating incumbent Colin Read in a Democratic primary and Republican Scott Beebie in the general election, said Tuesday night.
“That’s an election. That’s part of politics. You put your name out there and you get people to come out and vote and sometimes they vote for you, sometimes they don’t, that’s just how politics goes.”
Rosenquest, who has often disagreed with Gibbs over city matters, said he will continue to work hard the rest of his term as mayor to lead the city.
“Congratulations to Miss Gibbs,” he said.
“We will continue to work to finalize projects that we’ve been creating and working on over the last several years, and just finish as positive as we started.”
Turnout for the primary was low, as is often the case in local primaries.
Rosenquest was disappointed by that.
“That’s unfortunate, but that’s kind of how it is on primary day,” he said.
“You work as much as you can out there, and you encourage people to vote and they don’t or either they are busy or they forget.”
Early results showed a much closer race in the Ward 6 Democratic primary between candidates Amy Collin and incumbent Jeff Moore.
As of Tuesday night, just 18 votes separated the two as Collin led Moore 69 to 51.
“I am really happy about the results,” Collin said by email Tuesday night.
“As a first time candidate there has been a big learning curve. Running for Plattsburgh’s Common Council has made me really appreciate the people whose positions require them to campaign on a regular basis. There are a lot of rules and practices that someone new to this process simply can’t know until they’re in it. I’m grateful for so much support and that some of those people have a substantial amount of experience with campaigning. I couldn’t have done it without them,” she continued.
“The best part about the experience is that I have met a lot of people in Ward 6 who have shared their concerns and hopes for our city. We all have friends, family and peer groups we’re used to hearing from on a regular basis. We know their ideas and perspectives because we spend time over the course of years talking about the peaks and pits of what’s happening in the North Country. Talking to people whom I’ve never met from different parts of Ward 6 has been great. It’s humbling to know that I’ve been given an opportunity to represent them, and I intend to do it well.”
Moore did not respond to a request seeking comment Tuesday night.
Because the margin after the polls closed was so close, a recount of the vote will be held.
Clinton County Board of Elections Republican Commissioner David Souliere IV said he will confer with Democratic Party Commissioner Mary Dyer and set the time for the recount, which could be Thursday morning.