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'Off-year' election still includes a number of hotly contested local races

The campaigning and the ads, positive and negative, all wind down today to make way for what really counts…the voting.

It is election day on Tuesday across New York State, with the polls open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Turnout is usually not too strong on what is called an “off-year,” or non-presidential election year, but area elections’ officials are hoping that interest in some key races will still generate a decent turnout.

The only statewide votes are for three ballot propositions, including the one that has garnered the most attention, a proposal for a constitutional convention. The other two include one that, if approved, would authorize judges to strip the pensions of any official convicted of corruption; another is a proposition that creates a 250 acre land bank for the Adirondack and Catskill forever wild preserves while allowing public utility lines and bicycle paths on certain state lands.

The races locally getting a lot of the focus this election season include:

-Monroe County Sheriff, where Republican Incumbent Patrick O’Flynn is being challenged by Democrat and former Greece Police Chief and Veterans Outreach Center director Todd Baxter.

-Rochester Mayor, where incumbent Democrat Lovely Warren seeks a 2nd term, facing challengers including Republican County Legislator Tony Micciche, Green Party candidate Alex White and Lori Thomas, an independent candidate. James Sheppard is on the Working Families and Independence lines, but is not actively campaigning.

-Rochester City Council, where several candidates are running to fill five, at-large Council seats.

-Rochester School Board, where three seats will be voted on.

-There is just one seat up for considering on the Monroe County Legislature, where Democrat Howard Maffucci and Republican Jason Rosenberg are running.

And there a number of town supervisor and town board races throughout the region.

Among the contested races outside of Monroe County, there is a race for Wayne County District Attorney, where Michael Calarco faces David Fulvio.

Listen for results, reports from campaign headquarters and analysis on AM 1370 WXXI starting at 9:00 p.m., and you can also follow results as they come in by following @WXXINews on Twitter. We'll also have results and interviews later on wxxinews.org

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.