Ortt cruises to win for State Senate

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 November 2014 at 12:00 am

Ortt

Voters in three counties gave overwhelming support Rob Ortt to serve as the next state senator for District 62.

Ortt, the current North Tonawanda mayor, will succeed George Maziarz, who is retiring after 19 years as a state legislator. Ortt was challenged by a Maziarz foe, Johnny Destino. Destino, an attorney in Niagara Falls, had challenged Maziarz in a Republican Primary two years ago but switched to the Democratic Party.

Ortt had his biggest margin of victory in Orleans County with 6,968 votes (79.8 percent) to Destino’s 1,500 (17.2 percent). Those totals do not include the 258 votes or 3.0 percent for Paul Brown of the Working Families Party.

In Niagara County, the Board of Elections reported Ortt just about doubled Destino’s votes, 32,335 to 16,570 with 1,207 for Brown.

The Senate district also includes a western portion of Monroe County. Voters there backed Ortt with 69.7 percent or 6,078 votes to 26.8 percent or 2,336 votes for Destino. Brown had 292 votes or 3.4 percent.

Ortt’s win today follows a decisive win on Sept. 9 in the Republican Primary over Gia Arnold. Ortt received 71 percent of the votes that day.

Ortt, 35, has been North Tonawanda’s mayor for nearly 5 years. He served in the National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan from March to December 2008. Prior to being elected mayor, he served as the city’s treasurer and then clerk-treasurer.