Incumbent Ehlers Wins Close Race for Orange County Legislature
Unofficial results reported November 5 show Republican incumbent Glenn R. Ehlers defeating Democrat Stephen Diffley for the Orange County Legislature District 3 seat, with Ehlers receiving 2,319 votes to Diffley s 2,022. The result matters to residents of Chester, Warwick, Goshen and Monroe because county lawmakers set budgets and policies that affect local services, infrastructure and land use.
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Unofficial returns reported by the Warwick Advertiser on November 5 indicate that Glenn R. Ehlers, the Republican incumbent, prevailed in the race for Orange County Legislator representing District 3. The vote tally showed Ehlers with 2,319 votes and challenger Stephen Diffley, running on the Democratic and Working Families lines, with 2,022 votes. The margin between the candidates was 297 votes.
Those results remain unofficial until certified by the Orange County Board of Elections. Certification will confirm the outcome and determine the formal transition to the next term for the district s representative. County legislative seats are four year terms, and the office carries responsibility for setting the county budget, overseeing county departments, and shaping policies that influence local services and infrastructure.
District 3 covers the Town of Chester and portions of Warwick, Goshen and Monroe. Voters in those communities will look to their newly elected or returning legislator to address county priorities that affect daily life, including road maintenance, public health programming, social services administration and land use decisions. County legislators also play a role in allocating funds for local projects and in oversight of county agencies that deliver services to residents.
The relatively narrow margin in District 3 underscores the influence of local turnout and geographic voting patterns in county races. A difference of fewer than 300 votes statewide in a single district reflects how closely contested local contests can be and how individual voter participation can shape representation at the county level. Local advocacy groups, municipal leaders and residents will likely watch the certification process and early actions by the legislator to assess priorities for the coming term.
The reported result completes one element of the November local elections that will determine the balance of representation in the Orange County Legislature. While statewide and federal contests often dominate headlines, county legislative races directly affect budget decisions and policy choices that determine how county resources are deployed. When the Board of Elections certifies the result, voters and officials in Chester, Warwick, Goshen and Monroe will move from campaigning to governance, with attention turning to how the legislator will address local needs and the policy issues that matter most to Orange County residents.
