Jenkins

MONTICELLO – By a 61 vote margin, Monticello Councilman Gordon Jenkins has defeated Mayor James Barnicle for the village’s top job.

Absentee ballots from last week’s election were counted Tuesday and Jenkins came out on top with a total of 523 to Barnicle’s 462, said Sullivan County Democratic Elections Commissioner Timothy Hill.

Jenkins is a Republican; Barnicle is a Democrat.

The new mayor said attracting more jobs for village residents and fighting crime go hand in hand.

 “When you put people to work, you reduce crime,” he said. “It’s a low-income area and that’s what you get when you don’t have anyone working.” That’s a big problem in Monticello, said Jenkins. “If you create jobs and pay decent wages it would reduce the crime that’s happening here.”

Also winning in the elections were Carmen Rue and Victor Marinello for village trustees.

With Jenkins moving up, his board seat is now vacant, so leading into the new village year, the village board will be 2-2, Democrats and Republicans, until a new trustee is appointed.