CHENANGO COUNTY – Despite months of contention across the county, election night led to little change in most Chenango County town boards.

Barring the Town of New Berlin, where incumbent Supervisor Ross Ianello was ousted by Republican challenger Robert Starr by a vote of 377 to 120, and the Town of Coventry where the race is still too close to call, the present supervisor in every other township will keep their seat after residents in nearly every town voted heavily in favor of this year’s incumbents.

New Berlin saw a massive voter turnout, with a total 497 votes for town supervisor and 934 for town council.

“I would like to thank the hundreds of people who came out and voted,” Starr said in a statement early Wednesday morning. “Their message was certainly clear in a vote of three to one in my favor that they are looking for change ... I also want to thank the people who helped me along the way. Their help was critical in winning this election.”

While having served nearly 18 years on the Village of New Berlin Board, Starr is a newcomer to town government and admitted that the weeks ahead prior to taking office in January may be an “uphill challenge to get up to speed.”

“My goal in this election has been to change the ambulance service,” he added in reference to the hotly contested incorporation of the Unadilla Valley Ambulance Service. “I hope to resolve that issue.”

Incumbent New Berlin councilmen Robert Gardner and C. Paul Thomsen were also defeated by political newcomers Wendy Rifanburg (D) and John Parks, Jr. (R) in a gaping vote: 320 for Rifanburg and 278 for Parks, compared to 97 for Gardner and 98 for Thomsen.

In Oxford, where heated debate over the issue of hydraulic fracturing played a key role in this election, incumbent Supervisor Lawrence Wilcox (R) fended off Democrat challenger Frederick Lanfear, who also appeared on the Oxford Community party line. This year saw a drastic voter turnout in Oxford with a total 1,015 votes cast: Lanfear’s 474 to Wilcox’s 540, plus one write-in vote.

“It was one of the biggest turnouts in Oxford history,” noted Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner Carol Franklin. “There’s not usually a big turnout in Oxford because it’s not very often that there’s opposition.”

While there may be bridges to mend in the Oxford community, Wilcox, now serving 16 years on the town board, said in a statement this morning that he is eager to move forward with business.