Four Watertown council candidates move on to November

Craig Fox, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Jun. 28—WATERTOWN — Robert O. Kimball didn't expect to be the top vote-getter in Tuesday's City Council primary.

But that's where he ended up.

"I thought I'd place in the top four candidates, so I'm very happy they put me in first place," Kimball said.

The other three council candidates going on to the general election are Benjamin P. Shoen, former Councilman Leonard G. Spaziani and Timothy J. Babcock in second, third and fourth place, respectively.

Incumbent Councilman Patrick J. Hickey lost his bid to stay on council, finishing in fifth place.

Kimball received the most votes with 778, followed by Mr. Shoen, 697, Mr. Spaziani, 375, and Mr. Babcock, 362, according to unofficial results from the Jefferson County Board of Elections.

The top four finishers among 10 candidates in the primary will now compete for two open council seats in November.

One seat is currently occupied by Councilman Hickey, while the second is occupied by Councilwoman Sarah V. Compo Pierce, who is challenging Councilwoman Lisa A. Ruggerio for mayor. Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith is not seeking reelection.

Shoen, who ran an unsuccessful bid for council two years ago, said he is pleased with the results.

"I made the cut," he said. "I feel good, happy."

Babcock was so satisfied after he saw a check mark placed next to his name as one of the four who will run in November that he was going to bed so he can wake up at 5 a.m. for work.

The last he heard, 13 votes separated him and Spaziani and enough between him and Douglas E. Osborne Jr. for the final spot.

"I'm happy," Babcock said.

Both Kimball and Shoen said there's lots of work to do before the November election.

However, Kimball plans to take a couple of days off before campaigning again. He will plant some overdue tomato plants and do some yard work before getting started to meet more voters and let them know about what he wants to do for the city.

Shoen said he'll hit the ground running but first wants "to clarify his voice."

While a new pool at North Elementary School and the $3.4 million purchase of the former Watertown Golf Club both have been decided, the city will have to focus on how to pay for a $50 million water treatment plant project to rectify two contaminants, Kimball said.

"There's a lot of positive and beauty in the city, and I want to enhance that," Kimball said.

With results coming in, Hickey sat at former Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham's bar, his old friend, thinking about what had just happened. On Jan. 1, he will no longer be on council.

"I did my two years," he said. "I was retired for five years, and I'll be retired again."

He warned, whoever is elected in November, that being a council member is a full-time job. He said that's how he viewed his work on council.

The total votes for other candidates in the primary are Hickey, 313, Osborne, 305, Maryellen I. Blevins. 176, Clifford H. Lashway, 156, Michael J. Wratchford, 136, and Jason M. Traynor, 67.