Recount in Port Jefferson village trustees race does not affect outcome

A recount in the Port Jefferson village trustees race changed the tally by one vote, but it was not enough to alter the outcome, officials said.

The recount Monday by the Suffolk County Board of Elections confirmed that Randi DeWitt and former trustee Kathianne Snaden defeated Bruce Miller for two open seats, Village Clerk Sylvia Pirillo said.

DeWitt, a member of the Port Jefferson Board of Education, received the most votes, 729, Pirillo said. Snaden tallied 565 votes, 8 more than Miller, who received 557.

The recanvas showed Snaden received one more vote than she had when initial election results were reported last week, Pirillo said.

Snaden, 54, a litigation paralegal who served two terms as trustee from 2019 to 2023, including two years as deputy mayor, said she never worried that the recount would change the outcome.

“I’ve always had faith in the election process, and I know that this can be part of it,” she said Tuesday in a phone interview. “It was just a waiting game for an entire week and I’m glad to have it over with.”

She said she planned to “refamiliarize” herself with village government and “bring myself up to speed on where things are.”

Miller, also a former trustee, could not be reached for comment.

Miller had requested the recount after initial tallies showed he had lost by seven votes in the June 16 election, Pirillo said.

DeWitt and Snaden will be sworn in next month, replacing incumbent trustees Xena Ugrinsky and Kyle Hill. Both Ugrinsky and Hill declined to seek reelection. Trustees serve two-year terms.

DeWitt and Snaden could not be reached for comment.

DeWitt won her third three-year term on the school board last year. Her school board term expires in 2028, according to the district's website.

She had previously been elected to three-year terms in 2019 and 2022.

School board members are not barred from serving in other elected positions.

A 2019 Voters Guide profile of DeWitt said she was a teacher at Mount Sinai Elementary School.

Snaden won a trustees seat in 2019 and was reelected two years later. 

In 2023, Snaden opted to give up her trustee seat and run for mayor. She lost to fellow trustee Lauren Sheprow, 956-796, Newsday previously reported.

Sheprow was reelected mayor last year to a new two-year term, again defeating Snaden, 903-821, Newsday reported.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.