Ravena

Seeking re-election in this small village, Mayor William Misuraca thought he'd be dealing with issues like water and sewer systems.

Instead, due to a viral video of a rabid raccoon's death, he's dealing with death threats, vitriolic emails and Facebook diatribes from all over the world. And what's more, the professed animal lover said, the criticism is misdirected.

Misuraca is being targeted by a social media assault triggered by the images of two town of Coeymans police cars chasing the rabid animal in Ravena for 15 minutes until they hit it.

"I love animals and don't want to see any animal suffer but I've gotten hateful messages from seven different countries and from all over America," Misuraca said.

Misuraca's nickname is Moose. Cartoon mooses adorn his campaign posters. Before the raccoon video, he was mostly talking to voters about plans for updating Ravena's antiquated water and sewer lines. Now, people keep asking why he can't fire the Coeymans cops who killed the raccoon.

It's important to note one of the police cars was inscribed with the word "Coeymans," the town in which Ravena is situated. The other car was an unmarked Coeymans cruiser.

"Ravena doesn't have its own police force so I don't oversee the Coeymans police, and I have no authority over them," he said. "The Coeymans town board has authority over those police officers, so would the town supervisor. Ravena has an arrangement that allows our village to rely on Coeymans police services. But all I can do about the raccoon now is make my concerns clear and try to get questions answered."

On his official mayor's Facebook page, he says the raccoon video was "sad and heartbreaking to watch. As an animal lover, I do not condone or agree with any of the actions depicted. But that is where my jurisdiction ends."

He also advised that people with concerns send their messages to the town of Coeymans. An attempt to reach Town Supervisor Philip Crandall later Thursday was unsuccessful.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating the raccoon killing, and animal cruelty investigators from the Albany County District Attorney's office have asked to assist.

The Coeymans police said earlier this week they did not shoot the raccoon because it was not in a place where they could safely use their guns. The raccoon was near a Shop Rite grocery store and strip mall restaurant. Police said the animal tried to enter a business.

The raccoon video overshadows what appears to be much more civil politics in this village of about 3,300 residents.

The Democratic mayoral candidate is retired schoolteacher Martin Case, who has 12 years of experience on Ravena's board. When he accepted the party's nomination in February, he told the caucus that nominated him, "This shows that the Democratic Party is alive and well in Ravena, and that gives me hope."

The Times Union contacted his home for an interview but Case's wife said her husband was out knocking on doors and did not own a cellphone so she could not keep track of him.

Attempts to reach the two Democratic challengers for village trustee, Linda Muller and Mary Ellen Rosato, were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the Republican incumbents for village trustee, Keith Mahler, Jr. and Joel Coye, were wishing for another record-breaking voter turnout.

"Three years ago, we had over 900 people vote," said Coye, who wants to create a master plan for on replacing what he calls Ravena's "ancient" pipelines, some of which date back to the 19th century.

Mahler says one of his goals is improving Ravena's parks. He said that he's been best friends with Mayor Misuraca since the two buddies were 10 years old.

"We would hang out at a little family restaurant that the mayor now owns," said Mahler. "We grew up here and when we run for office, there's no huge fundraisers or major donors. We pay for our yard signs and we run because this is a good place to live and we can make it better."