Brian Sharp

@SharpRoc

Voters gave Democrats a foothold in the Republican-controlled halls of Monroe County government on Tuesday, electing Adam Bello to a full term as Monroe County Clerk, while returning U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter to a Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Monroe County went for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. Incumbents ruled the day in local down ballot races. And in the 133rd state Assembly district, upended by the death of incumbent Republican Bill Nojay days before the primary, former GOP state Assemblyman Joe Errigo, the party's chosen replacement, was leading in unofficial vote tallies at press time.

So as a region and a nation awakes from an exhausting and often ugly campaign season bent on change, what do they find?

"The very depressing answer to that is, regardless of the outcome, I think it is going to be status quo," said Kathleen Donovan, assistant professor political science at St. John Fisher College. "All of these problems, this deep divide, is still going to be there. This gridlock is still going to be there.

"All of this is not going away on Nov. 9," she said, "as much as we would like it to."

In other notable races, GOP congressional incumbents Chris Collins, Tom Reed and John Katko had either declared victory or were leading in their respective races. New York state Assemblyman Harry Bronson, D-Rochester, easily won in the 138th District, covering Chili, Henrietta and parts of Rochester. Voters similarly returned Republican Sens. Joseph Robach of Irondequoit and Michael Ranzenhofer of Amherst. All results are unofficial and incomplete.

"I really am deeply humbled and delighted by the results tonight," said Bello, 36, of Irondequoit, who was seeking his first elected term after being appointed to the clerk's post in March by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to fill a vacancy created when Cheryl Dinolfo moved to the county executive’s office. "I am very proud of the campaign we ran ... and didn’t get drawn into the negativity."

Bello won 58 percent of the vote, according to unofficial tallies. Looking ahead, he said he is focused on issues of zombie properties and modernizing the office, including with a new e-file system. Asked about his political aspirations, he said: "I learned a long time ago, do your job and do it great, and the future takes care of itself. I am fully committed to the clerk's office. We have a lot of work to do."

The clerk's office launched both Dinolfo and, before her, Maggie Brooks to the county's top post. Three clerks preceding Brooks left for jobs in state government.

Republican challenger and Greece Town Clerk Cheryl Rozzi, 55, similar expressed pride in her campaign, adding: "Although I am greatly disappointed in the results of this election, I know I will still wake up tomorrow and be the town clerk of the town of Greece, and I will be able to serve the 100,000 people of Greece."

Two years ago, Gates Town Supervisor Assini came within 900 votes of unseating Slaughter — a midterm election in which low voter turnout caused fits for Democratic congressional incumbents nationwide. But election years, with higher turnout, favor Democrats. And Slaughter, D-Fairport, an incumbent who vastly outspent Assini and had a sizable field operation, was not seriously challenged in the 25th District race this time around, taking nearly 56 percent of the vote.

"We talk about progress being on the ballot," said Slaughter, 87, who heads back to Congress for a 16th term. "We're not falling back."

Assini, 57, said he called Slaughter and wished her well.

"Whenever you have a divisive campaign, you need to come together when it is over," he said. "I truly wish her well. In this case, if Congresswoman Slaughter does not do well, it will have an impact on the people and families in our district. I want her to succeed."

Congressional terms are for two years, with a base salary of $174,000.

Despite the seeming incumbent entrenchment, the campaign season showed a region not unlike the rest of the nation.

"We mirrored the national quest (for change) up here in upstate, particularly Western New York," said Timothy Kneeland, chairman of the history and political science department at Nazareth College, noting the popularity of Trump and Bernie Sanders, who narrowly lost Monroe County to Clinton in the presidential primary.

"It's economic expectations. Whoever wins Congress and the White House, they are going to have to see that," Kneeland continued in an interview before election results were known, pointing to predictions of another recessions, worries of job loss or, for millennials, no jobs to come by. "It is anxiety and fear about things that haven’t happened yet. Politics is often about that. You need reassuring."

Where election years typically favor Democrats, the mid-terms tend to favor Republicans. And as elections go, two years is not that far off.

BDSHARP@Gannett.com

Includes reporting by staff writers James Goodman and Meaghan M. McDermott.

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