Dissolution rejected, Yurgartis takes spot as new mayor

POTSDAM — The village of Potsdam will live to see another day.

Voters convincingly rejected, 687-334, a proposal Tuesday that would have dissolved the 170-year-old village.

Roughly half of the registered voters in the village cast ballots, voting down dissolution and bringing an end to two years of debate and discussion.

“I’m ecstatic with the results,” Mayor Reinhold J. Tischler said. “I think people began to realize, as all the information came out, that there were too many uncertainties.”

In the spring of 2010 a special committee was formed to investigate the potential outcome of dissolving the 4.8-square-mile village. It crafted a 260-page report, outlining the details of the dissolution plan, which it presented in a series of public hearings.

The committee estimated village of Potsdam taxpayers could see their tax rate cut 40 percent if dissolution were to occur.

Opponents of dissolution argued services would be lost. Supporters said it might be the only way to spur economic development. All agreed the future after dissolution was somewhat uncertain.

In the end, it was that uncertainty, along with the fear of losing village services, that outweighed a desire to see tax rates slashed, many voters said.

“The village is very unique compared to other towns and villages,” Chestnut Street resident James D. Carl said as he left the voting booth at Potsdam High School. “It needs certain services the rest of the town doesn’t.”

Stephen J. Warr, the main proponent of dissolution, said he and other dissolution proponents simply lost a promotional battle.

“The people who wanted to vote no did a better job of selling fear of change than we on the yes side did of selling the positive side of change,” he said.

The vote to keep the village intact means Mayor-elect Steven W. Yurgartis will lead the village for the next four years.

Mr. Yurgartis, 57, won the seat in Tuesday’s election, easily outpolling Republican candidate Sharon Hutchinson, 743-255.

The victory for Mr. Yurgartis, a Clarkson University professor, means the Republican Party will have been shut out of the village’s top seat for more than three decades.

“It feels like a real privilege to be able to represent the residents of the great village of Potsdam,” he said.

The seat was vacated by Mr. Tischler, who opted to run for a seat on the Board of Trustees, a position he captured Tuesday as well.

Political newcomer Eleanor F. Hopke took the second seat up for grabs, a seat left open after incumbent George F. Regan failed to gain the nomination of the Democratic Party. Both candidates won their seats with large margins, with Ms. Hopke leading the way with 612 votes and Mr. Tischler gathering 406.

Republican candidate Joseph J. Goliber rounded out the top three, capturing 355 votes.

Ms. Hopke will serve her first tour of duty on the Village Board, while Mr. Tischler will build upon his 22 years in village government, 16 of which came as a trustee.

All three candidates said now is the time for the village to re-evaluate how it operates.

Just because the issue of dissolution has been put to rest for the time being doesn’t mean the village will be spared from a vote again in two years, Mr. Yurgartis said.

“I don’t in any way think that vote indicates that we can rest,” he said. “On the contrary, I think the village residents have given us another chance to solve the problems that have been troubling the village for a long time.”