Ulster County – While many are saying that Illinois Senator Barack Obama's win of the White House this year over Arizona Senator John McCain represents a historic moment in our nation, so too are the residents of Ulster County experiencing an important moment in their history of democracy. The first ever County Executive has been selected as current County Administrator, Democrat Michael Hein, who ran against Independent Len Bernardo, who ran under the Republican ticket.

The results of the county's elections will remain unofficial for the next two weeks while county officials look into absentee ballots and affidavit votes, but the margin between Hein and Bernardo was wide enough so that a reasonable prediction of Hein as the winner can be made. As of 11:19 p.m. on Tuesday night, Hein had received 41,987 votes, while Bernardo received 31,907, a difference of a little more than 10,000 votes, or 13%.   >  MORE...

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