Politics & Government

Fried Claims Victory Over Schoenberger In Democratic County Executive Primary

According to unofficial results from the Rockland County Board of Elections David Fried won the Democratic primary for Rockland County executive over Ilan Schoenberger by a significant margin.

Fried, a former Spring Valley justice, received 7,164 votes or 52.20 percent of the total votes cast to county legislator Ilan Schoenberger’s 5,896 or 42.96 percent. Unofficially Fried received 1,268 more votes than Schoenberger of Suffern. Absentee ballots were not counted in the total.

Fried delivered his primary victory speech to a crowd of chanting and cheering supporters.

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“No candidate can run for public office on their own,” he said. “We’re here tonight because a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens thought they could change the course of Rockland County’s future.”

Schoenberger said he will not act on the unofficial results for a day or two although he did plan to speak with Fried.

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“I was told the numbers are unofficial,” Schoenberger said. “I think it is premature to concede until I see the actual results of the election.”

Write-in votes totaled 664 or 4.84 percent in the Democratic primary. Vladimir Leon also of Spring Valley, whose petitions were invalidated by the county Board of Elections, had asked his supporters to write-in his name. 

Leon tried the same tactic in the Conservative Party primary for county executive in which Thomas Sullivan of Nanuet received 493 votes unofficially compared to the 161 cast for Simon Leschinsky of Spring Valley.  A total of 43 write-in votes were cast.

Schoenberger is on the ballot for the November 10th General Election for the Working Families and Independence parties. County legislator Ed Day of New City is the Republican Party’s candidate for county executive.


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