Martins wins 7th Senate District seat

Mineola Mayor Jack Martins was officially declared the victor in his race against 7th State District Senator Craig Johnson by a Nassau County Supreme Court Judge on Saturday. But Johnson announced on Monday that he would appeal the verdict.

The result is the lynch pin for Republicans retaking control of the Senate. Martins winning tips the number of Republicans in the Senate to 32 as opposed to the Democrat’s 30 seats.

“It has been a long process, but I am grateful that we had the opportunity to prove the systems does work,” Martins said. “Every vote has been counted. A judge was involved to supervise that every vote was counted, and when all was said and done, we’re 541 votes up.”

Martins and Johnson have been locked in a tight race since the election on Nov. 2. Martins was ahead by a few hundred votes, but the race was too close to call with the unofficial results from the Board of Elections.

The official results placed Martins narrowly ahead of Johnson, and a Supreme Court Judge certified the results, officially making Martins the winner.

However, Johnson announced in a press release on Monday that he would challenge the vote. A successful challenge from him would once again throw the results — and which party has control of the Senate — into question.

“I’d be the first to congratulate Jack Martins if I was certain that each of the 85,000-plus votes in this race were counted and counted accurately,” Johnson said in a release. “The procedures governing these new voting machines are uncharted territory. What happens here could very well govern how all future close elections are decided.

That is why I intend to take my request for a full hand recount to a higher court. I am prepared for any outcome of such a count.”

When informed that Johnson planned on appealing the decision, Martins acknowledged that it was his right to do so, but added that he was disappointed with Johnson’s decision and that he was confident the result would stand.

“You can’t keep counting until you get the results you want,” said Martins. “At some point the process has to end.

“There is very little, other than a desire to see a different result, that fuels his appeal,” he added.