Democrats retain control of City Hall

With a landslide victory, Democrats retained control of the City Council on Tuesday, defeating their Republican-backed challengers by a wide margin in what supporters called an affirmation of the administration’s handling of a fiscal crisis it inherited two years ago — and its recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy.

With all 24 city precincts reporting, incumbent Scott Mandel, the City Council president, was re-elected to a second term with 4,470 votes — just over 20 percent of the 21,700 votes cast, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections. His running mates, incumbent Councilwoman Eileen Goggin and newcomer Anthony Eramo, had 4,451 and 4,319 votes, respectively.

In the battle for three open council seats, Mandel and Goggin earned four-year terms, while Eramo, a member of the Working Families party, won a two-year term. They thanked their families, supporters and council members Fran Adelson and Len Torres.

The Republican-backed challengers, Janna Jachniewicz, Mike Franceschini and Damian Walsh, who ran as independents, garnered 2,851, 2,796 and 2,831 votes, respectively.

During the campaign, the Democrats — endorsed by the city’s three unions and high-profile Democrats like U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Gov. Andrew Cuomo — touted the administration’s post-Sandy recovery efforts, and pledged to continue advocating for residents still reeling from the storm and to return the city to fiscal stability.

“The residents of the city spoke, and said that the city has come a long way in the last two years,” City Manager Jack Schnirman said at Long Beach Democratic Committee headquarters on Tuesday night. “The City Council reminded me tonight that we have a long way to go, and told all of us at City Hall to get to work right away. We have to continue our fiscal and physical recovery.”

Democrats will now have a 5-0 majority on the council. John McLaughlin, the lone Republican, did not seek another term.