Appointee wins Village Board seat
Voters on Tuesday gave appointed Democratic Trustee John Gavaris a 952-164 win over Conservative candidate James Graham Jr. in the race for a three-year term on the Village Board.
Incumbent Matthew Parker ran unopposed for another four-year term as village justice.
Gavaris, 37, also was on the Republican ballot line. He is director of Support services for Ellenville Regional Hospital and was appointed to the Village Board in April. He was previously on the Village Board for two years about 15 years ago, followed by two fouryear terms on the Wawarsing Town Board.
Gavaris has lived in the village for 35 years. He graduated from Ellenville High School in 1999, earned an associate’s degree in business from SUNY Ulster, and is attending SUNY Ulster classes that will be used for a bachelor’s degree from SUNY New Paltz.
Graham, 42, is a corrections officer at Ulster Correctional Facility and pastor of Christian Corner Fellowship, in Monticello. He was a first-time candidate.