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Herkimer, N.Y. —
After the most hotly competitive race for district attorney that Herkimer County has seen in years, Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter won the position Tuesday night.
Carpenter received 12,471 votes compared to Mary Iocovozzi’s 9,218, according to unofficial results from the county’s Board of Elections.
At the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer, Carpenter said he had confidence the community knew what was in its best interest when they came out to vote. “I promise that I’ll get up every day to protect them,” said Carpenter, who has been acting DA. “I will seek justice in all cases, and if that means the criminals in Herkimer County have to be locked up, then that’s what I’ll do.”
During the campaign, both candidates made promises: Carpenter said he would be a “tough but fair prosecutor,” while Iocovozzi said she would be “an aggressive and independent voice for justice.”
As they awaited vote tallies Tuesday night, both candidates said they were proud of the campaigns they ran and had hopeful ambitions.
“I feel passionately that you have to get justice for all, whether you’re the victim or the accused,” Iocovozzi said during her election night rally at the Elks Lounge in Herkimer.
This was the second countywide race Iocovozzi has run after her 2010 bid for Herkimer County Family Court judge. “All in all, it was just a wonderful experience once again,” Iocovozzi said.
As for the voters, their reasons for picking one candidate ran the gamut from familiarity and experience to outright concern over the conduct of the candidates.
Dave Holleran, 55, was walking up the steps to vote at the Ilion Municipal Building when he said the 10 years Carpenter, a Republican, has spent in the office as an assistant prosecutor set him apart from Iocovozzi, a Democrat. “He’s had more experience than his competition, and that’s what we need instead of somebody who is going to just have on-the-job training,” Holleran said.
Iocovozzi’s devotion to helping children and families through Family Court shows how much she cares about people, instead of being driven by political “greed,” D’Anne Paratore, 50, said after casting her vote for Iocovozzi at Frankfort-Schuyler Central School.
Throughout campaign, both candidates criticized each other for a number of reasons they believe diminished their opponent’s fitness for the job: Carpenter questioned Iocovozzi’s use of a baby’s homicide investigation for political gain, while Iocovozzi attacked Carpenter for holding a second full-time job as a college professor while also working full-tine at the DA’s Office.
On Tuesday, Paratore said that was something that weighed heavily on her choice for DA.
“How can he serve the people while working two different positions,” Paratore asked. “Where’s his attention? You cannot do two jobs 100 percent.”
Although Rose Zennamo, 72, of Frankfort, also said she was voting for Iocovozzi, she was disappointed both sides turned to underhanded attacks during their campaigns. “I didn’t like the bickering going back and forth,” she said. “That’s not good politics, when you’ve gotta be like that.”
Tom Hyla, 59, however, said such mudslinging didn’t bother him, and he just chalked it up as “typical politics.” For this Frankfort voter, it was Carpenter’s experience that mattered most. “I believe in going with the experience, especially with the amount of time he’s had in there,” he said.
After the most hotly competitive race for district attorney that Herkimer County has seen in years, Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter won the position Tuesday night.
Carpenter received 12,471 votes compared to Mary Iocovozzi’s 9,218, according to unofficial results from the county’s Board of Elections.
At the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer, Carpenter said he had confidence the community knew what was in its best interest when they came out to vote. “I promise that I’ll get up every day to protect them,” said Carpenter, who has been acting DA. “I will seek justice in all cases, and if that means the criminals in Herkimer County have to be locked up, then that’s what I’ll do.”
During the campaign, both candidates made promises: Carpenter said he would be a “tough but fair prosecutor,” while Iocovozzi said she would be “an aggressive and independent voice for justice.”
As they awaited vote tallies Tuesday night, both candidates said they were proud of the campaigns they ran and had hopeful ambitions.
“I feel passionately that you have to get justice for all, whether you’re the victim or the accused,” Iocovozzi said during her election night rally at the Elks Lounge in Herkimer.
This was the second countywide race Iocovozzi has run after her 2010 bid for Herkimer County Family Court judge. “All in all, it was just a wonderful experience once again,” Iocovozzi said.
As for the voters, their reasons for picking one candidate ran the gamut from familiarity and experience to outright concern over the conduct of the candidates.
Dave Holleran, 55, was walking up the steps to vote at the Ilion Municipal Building when he said the 10 years Carpenter, a Republican, has spent in the office as an assistant prosecutor set him apart from Iocovozzi, a Democrat. “He’s had more experience than his competition, and that’s what we need instead of somebody who is going to just have on-the-job training,” Holleran said.
Iocovozzi’s devotion to helping children and families through Family Court shows how much she cares about people, instead of being driven by political “greed,” D’Anne Paratore, 50, said after casting her vote for Iocovozzi at Frankfort-Schuyler Central School.
Throughout campaign, both candidates criticized each other for a number of reasons they believe diminished their opponent’s fitness for the job: Carpenter questioned Iocovozzi’s use of a baby’s homicide investigation for political gain, while Iocovozzi attacked Carpenter for holding a second full-time job as a college professor while also working full-tine at the DA’s Office.
On Tuesday, Paratore said that was something that weighed heavily on her choice for DA.
“How can he serve the people while working two different positions,” Paratore asked. “Where’s his attention? You cannot do two jobs 100 percent.”
Although Rose Zennamo, 72, of Frankfort, also said she was voting for Iocovozzi, she was disappointed both sides turned to underhanded attacks during their campaigns. “I didn’t like the bickering going back and forth,” she said. “That’s not good politics, when you’ve gotta be like that.”
Tom Hyla, 59, however, said such mudslinging didn’t bother him, and he just chalked it up as “typical politics.” For this Frankfort voter, it was Carpenter’s experience that mattered most. “I believe in going with the experience, especially with the amount of time he’s had in there,” he said.
