KINGSTON >> The Kingston Democratic Committee on Wednesday rejected Mayor Shayne Gallo’s bid for a second term, instead endorsing challenger Steve Noble.
Gallo said he’ll run against Noble in a September primary.
Noble received 1,365 weighted votes to Gallo’s 1,045 at the city Democratic convention, held at the Best Western Plus hotel on Washington Avenue.
The committee also backed Alderman-at-Large James Noble, Steve’s uncle, for re-election over challenger Jeanette Provenzano, a current Ulster County legislator. Provenzano, like Gallo, will try to win the party line in a primary.
“I feel great,” Steve Noble, who works for the city as an environmental educator, said after winning the party’s support.
He also said he looks forward to meeting city voters in the coming months.
Gallo, first elected in November 2011, called the convention result “basically a foregone conclusion” and said he plans to run on his record of success in campaigning to win the primary.
Gallo said there have been allegations that city Democratic Chairman Joseph Donaldson set up the committee to fit his desires. Gallo said a letter will be sent to the state party chairman, calling for an investigation.
Donaldson was not available for comment later Wednesday.
Gallo is no stranger to running for mayor without first getting the Democratic Committee’s support. In 2011, he beat party pick Hayes Clement, an alderman at the time, by seven votes in a Democratic primary before going on to win the general election.
Steve Noble has worked for the city since 2005 and has the title environmental program operations specialist. Since announcing his candidacy, he has criticized Gallo’s temperament and what he said was the mayor’s lack of vision for the empty Bank of America building at Broadway and Henry Street in Midtown, once pegged to be the city’s police headquarters. He and Gallo also have traded angry words over a request for federal funding for the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
James Noble, Gallo’s running mate in 2011, also has criticized the mayor in recent months and at one point considered not running for re-election if Gallo was on the Democratic ticket in November.
Gallo responded by saying James Noble had created toxicity on the Common Council, which the elder Noble leads.
The other announced candidates for mayor so far are Republican Scott DiMicco, a former First Ward alderman, and Ihor BohDan Procyk, running on the Clean Sweep Reform Party line. The city GOP Committee has yet to hold its nominating convention.
In Wednesday’s race for the alderman-at-large nomination, James Noble received 1,609 weighted votes to Provenzano’s 748. Noble has held the position since early 2002 and was the Sixth Ward alderman from 1997 to 2002.
The alderman-at-large is elected by all city residents and serves as president of the Common Council. The mayor and alderman-at-large serve four-year terms.
There so far is no Republican candidate for alderman-at-large.
The Democratic Committee on Wednesday also nominated candidates to run for the two-year Common Council seats in the city’s nine wards. There were only two contested races.
In Ward 2, incumbent Brian Seche was defeated by challenger Douglas Koop by a weighted vote margin of 1,533-886.
In Ward 6, Tony Davis defeated Alex Panagiotopoulos, 1,239-1,176. Current Ward 6 Alderwoman Elisa Ball, a fellow Democrat, chose not to seek re-election and endorsed Davis.
In uncontested races, the committee endorsed Lynn Eckert in Ward 1, where incumbent Democrat Matthew Dunn, the council majority leader, is not seeking re-election and endorsed Eckert; incumbent Brad Will in Ward 3; incumbent Nina Dawson in Ward 4; incumbent William Carey in Ward 5; former Alderman Bill Reynolds for Ward 7; incumbent Steven Schabot in Ward 8; and Lynn Johnson in Ward 9.
Seventh Ward Alderwoman Mary Ann Mills was nominated for the party’s endorsement, but that nomination did not receive a second.
Will, Dawson and Schabot each are seeking their second two-year terms, while Carey is seeking his third.
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“Kingston mayoral candidate Steve Noble books ‘house parties’ to meet public,” May 14, 2015
“Kingston mayoral hopeful Scott DiMicco raps current state of city politics,” May 12, 2015
“Newcomer to Kingston launches third-party bid to be mayor,” April 29, 2015
“Challenger, mayor spar over vacant bank building in Midtown Kingston,” April 23, 2015
“Kingston GOP chairman says he’s not ready to endorse mayoral candidate,” April 6, 2015
“Former Kingston alderman Scott DiMicco announces GOP candidacy for mayor,” April 4, 2015
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“Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo formally launches re-election bid,” March 23, 2015
“Kingston Mayor Gallo to launch re-election bid next week,” March 16, 2015
“Kingston mayor agrees with challenger’s assessment that city ‘is on the upswing’,” March 10, 2015
“Steve Noble announces candidacy for mayor of Kingston,” March 7, 2015
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