T IMES
MID
HUDSON
Vol. 29, No 46
3
NOVEMBER 15 - 21, 2017
Cheerfest
Page 38
3
ONE DOLLAR
Scholastic
Olympics
Page 20
SERVING NEWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR
Jacobson, Monterverde, Sofokles elected Lujan elected
Mejia to serve 2nd term on city council
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Last Tuesday’s general election
provided definitive wins for Newburgh
City Council candidates vying for
four open seats. Beginning new terms
in January, they each vowed to work
together on a council that has done a fair
amount of bickering in recent years.
“The first thing I want to do is be able
to work with all the council members,”
said Patty Sofokles, who won in Ward 4.
“I want a united council that gets along
and works together for the betterment of
everyone in the city. I’m not just saying
that, I mean it.”
According to unofficial results,
Sofokles received 364 votes, defeating
Councilwoman Cindy Holmes who drew
185 votes, and Republican Christine Bello
who drew 112. “It was a team effort,”
said Sofokles, who ran alongside Ramona
Monteverde and Councilwoman Karen
Mejia.
Sofokles currently serves on the city’s
ethics board and assessment review
board, from which she will step down at
the end of the year. Sofokles co-founded
the Downing Park Planning Committee.
She also owns and operates Sofokles Tax
Service.
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V eterans ’ D ay
Veterans salute a passing color guard, Saturday, during a Veterans’ Day Ceremony at Newburgh Town Hall.
WWW.MIDHUDSONTIMES.COM
to District 4
One of the first Latinos to
serve as county legislator
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Democrat Kevindaryan Lujan was
elected to represent legislative District 4
last week. Lujan made history as one of
two of the first Latino candidates ever
elected to the Orange County Legislature.
According to unofficial results, Lujan
brought in more than twice the votes
of his opponent, Independence candidate
Anthony Tarsio: Lujan drew 894 votes
compared to Tarsio, who collected 432.
Lujan joins Joel Sierra, of the City of
Middletown, to become the first Latinos
to win seats on the county legislature.
District 4 covers Balmville and the east
end of the City of Newburgh, which has
a population that is roughly 50 percent
Latino.
“I was raised by strong independent
women, and my Colombian heritage and
their work ethic are very much a part of
this accomplishment,” Lujan explained
Monday. “I am honored to represent the
Latino community and hope that this
historic achievement will inspire other
young leaders to find their voice.”
However, Lujan said, he represents a
diverse community and he focused on
the issues, not on his ethnicity during
the campaign. “We had an aggressive
‘get-out-the-vote’ strategy,” Lujan said,
and knocking on doors that included
Balmville. “We were out at 4:30 in the
morning until 8:55 at night on Tuesday.”
Lujan said he would work on creating
livable-wage jobs in the district. “We
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