Anker grows her lead to 16 in Suffolk legislative race

Suffolk Legis. Sarah Anker late Friday grew her single-vote election night lead to a 16-vote margin after election officials completed two days of counting absentee ballots in the 6th Legislative District election.

The two-term Mount Sinai lawmaker now leads her Republican challenger, Brookhaven Deputy Highway Superintendent Steven Tricarico, 6,114-6,098 votes. However, election officials say there are 55 challenges -- 27 from Democrats and 28 from Republicans. The Board of Elections commissioners will meet Monday to go through the challenges, and both sides will then have three days to go to the state Supreme Court to challenge the outcome.

"We're very, very, very encouraged," said Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman. "Once the dust settles, the decision is made and the litigation is over, Sarah will be sworn in for another term and continue doing good work."

Republican officials did not return calls for comment Friday night.

The recount was a roller coaster with the lead shifting several times, but Democrats say Anker did better than Republicans expected in heavily Republican retirement developments Leisure Village, Leisure Knolls and Leisure Glen.

"Sarah did very well for a Democrat in the Leisures because she's done a lot of personal work and made direct contact with a lot of the residents," Schaffer said.

While working on the Anker-Tricarico race, elections officials also began counting the absentee ballots in the close 6th District Court judicial race in Brookhaven.

In that contest, Republican Tara Scully picked up 23 votes on Democrat Steven Ukeiley, who led by 142 votes in unofficial returns on election night. Ukeiley's lead is now 119 with 1,794 absentee ballots still to be counted in Brookhaven Town.