Smith leads Bean by 6 for supervisor of Johnsburg; Smith had stroke

Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes: A recount was planned on Wednesday morning, Nov. 19, for the Town of Johnsburg Supervisor election — after this The Chronicle went to press.

As of Tuesday, challenger Mark Smith held a six-vote margin, 301-295 over incumbent Republican Kevin Bean.

Mr. Smith has been hospitalized since October 20 at Albany Medical Center since suffering a stroke.

He told The Chronicle on Monday from Albany, “Most people knew” about his condition at the time of the election.

But Mr. Bean says he heard “from a number of voters in Johnsburg that were surprised to learn of Mark’s illness (only) on and around election day.”

Mr. Bean said he holds out some small hope for the recount: “Until it’s certified it’s up in the air. I’m waiting for certification and then I’ll take it from there.”

Mr. Smith says, “Naturally, I hope it goes my way. Once we find out for sure, then we’ve got some decisions to make, a whole bunch of things. I had a stroke, so I’m physically down, but my brain still works okay, and the brain is what we need.

“I’m coming home next week, so I’ve got to focus on what I’m doing here, and then we’ll have bandwidth to focus on other things. We still got a month and a half to organize and figure out what we’re going to do.”

He said, “About three weeks ago, they moved me up to rehab. I’m walking again, doing common tasks, but it’s going to be probably three months before I’m really able to move around.

“But I am working from here at my job, making phone calls and all that stuff. It hasn’t affected my ability to do my job.”

Mr. Smith ran as an independent this November, having lost the Republican primary to Mr. Bean in June.

Mr. Smith served nine months as Town Supervisor in 2023, appointed by the Town Board after Andrea Hogan stepped down that January.

Mr. Bean successfully challenged Mr. Smith in the November election.

If the elected Supervisor were not to take office, the Town Board would put out a call for letters of interest and appoint an interim.

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