Gouverneur trustee's challenge of village ballot ends as AG refuses to investigate

GOUVERNEUR — Village Trustee Michael C. Barth-olomew's challenge of election results that left him in last place in a three-way race is over.

Mr. Bartholomew filed a complaint with the state attorney general's office because of an error on some ballots that instructed people to vote for only one trustee candidate rather than two.

Mr. Bartholomew came in third with 281 votes, including absentee ballots.

Newcomer Carl A. Petitto was first, with 413 votes. Incumbent Roger A. LaPierre took the second seat with 343 votes.

"I would like to continue my complaint but unfortunately, the state attorney general's office got back to me and said because of budget constraints they can't afford to do it," Mr. Bartholomew said. "Can you believe that?"

Mr. Bartholomew wanted the investigation conducted to make sure that voters knew their choices. Now, he said, he sees the situation as a teaching moment.

"My big thing is, I hope the Board of Elections will be a little more careful next time. You have to check and double check," he said. "As long as we learned something from it, that's what's important."