Family Life

11.08.12 | Sarah Harnisch

Those that supported high-volume hydrogracking did very well on election day in New York state.  In the 22nd congressional district, Richard Hanna beat Dan Lamb, who was endorsed by New York Residents Against Gas Drilling. In the 23rd, Nate Shinagawa lost by 10-thousand votes to incumbant Tom Reed, who supports drilling. Shinagawa was an outspoken critic of drilling. In Broome County, anti-drilling activist Tarik Abdelazim lost to Debbie Preston, a strong drilling supporter. Anti-fracking candidates also fared poorly in local town races in the Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, where shale gas drilling is most likely to begin if Gov. Andrew Cuomo allows it. In the town of Sanford, drilling opponent Brian Stevens lost 661 to 219 against incumbent Town Supervisor Dewey Decker, a landowner hoping for gas wells on his farm. In nearby Vestal, incumbent Steve Milkovich led anti-fracking candidate Paul Logalbo 5,264 to 5,009 on Wednesday, but Logalbo said absentee ballots may decide the race. In the town of Union, three candidates endorsed by New York Residents Against Drilling lost to incumbents. The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, which endorsed pro-drilling candidates, called the election results "a clear mandate. The voters have spoken in favor of natural gas development for upstate New York."