Ramapo
89 of 89 (100%) machines reporting (89 total districts)
RAMAPO SUPERVISOR Vote for 1
Christopher P St Lawrence 15,497
Anthony Mele 10,985
Scatter 4
It doesn't take a mathematical wizard to discern that Mr. Mele's claim of garnering 48 percent of the Ramapo vote seems embellished just by peeking at the raw numbers. And Melé's figure is even two percent higher than what he claimed three years ago in the comments section of a Journal News blog piece. An astute observer can only assume that Mr. Melé is somewhat out of practice when it comes to 5th grade mathematics, or maybe he just likes juicing the numbers to make it look like he lost a squeaker in a local election when he really lost in a landslide. Would Melé do this to make himself look more formidable in a likely Republican primary or a possible race against Rep. Eliot Engel?
For the record (and by anybody's calculator): 10,985 out of 26,482 votes recorded for the candidates of that 2007 race is just shy of 41.5 percent, some 6.5 percent less than Melé's calculations.
UPDATE: Melé scrubbed his website on May 5, removing the 48 percent claim without explanation. However, it doesn't mean he's done exaggerating.
The site now reads:
Mr. Melé was a formidable republican challenger for Ramapo Town Supervisor in 2007,. He galvanized supporters drawing the largest voter turnout in recent memory, winning a majority of votes in 9 out of 12 towns villages. The entrenched incumbent barely won re-election.
Barely won? St. Lawrence outpolled Melé almost 3:2. That's virtually the same ratio that Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale by in the 1984 Presidential race. You know, the one that's considered one of the biggest electoral landslides in US History.
This diary is cross posted at Left of the Hudson. |
