Livingston County: Conservatives may break tie in sheriff race

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The race for the Conservative Party designation in the Livingston County sheriff’s race is all knotted up after three affidavit votes were tallied Tuesday.

Undersheriff James M. Szczesniak, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 28 years, had been leading by one vote over opponent Investigator Sgt. Tom Dougherty, who has been with the same office for nine years, after the primary polls closed Sept. 10.

Szczesniak had 159 votes to Dougherty’s 158 votes in the Conservative primary.

According to Republican Board of Elections Commissioner Nancy Leven, Republican voters received an undisclosed number of Conservative ballots, although media reports put the number at 59 votes that should have counted on the GOP tally.

Dougherty was leading the GOP primary after the polls closed Sept. 10, 3,926 votes to 3,769. The amount is not enough to change the outcome, unless legal action is brought challenging the validity of the election.

The stakes are high because no Democrats are in the sheriff race. Assuming no court challenges and Dougherty keeps the GOP nod, Szczesniak would need the Conservative line in order to be on the ballot in the November general election.

Members of the county’s Conservative Party committee may determine what happens next, according to Chairman Jason McGuire. The committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday night.

Neither the Republican nor Conservative parties made endorsements of the candidates, preferring voters to do so in the primaries.

The committee could decide this evening to break the tie and name a candidate. If the matter comes to a committee vote, the outcome may be different this time, McGuire said.

If a candidate is not named, the results of one or both elections could be challenged in court, McGuire said. The deadline for the latter option is Thursday.

“There are a lot of factors to consider,” McGuire said.

The Election Day snafu appears to be no attempt to subvert the Conservative primary and that human error appears to have played a part, McGuire said.

If a court ruling requires an election, the board will have to comply, Leven said.

A primary election could cost taxpayers about $30,000. The county has about 800 enrolled Conservatives.

“It would be very difficult for us and very expensive,” Leven said.

Primary election intrigue is nothing new to the county. A year ago, a close Republican primary election vote resulted in a tie race for a time and several court challenges.

Ultimately, Democrat Greg McCaffrey won a three-way race for the seat.

Szczesniak and Dougherty are seeking to replace longtime Sheriff John York, who has been with the office for 44 years – the last 24 years as sheriff.