Voters head to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in county and local elections, including ones for Orange County executive, Sullivan County sheriff and enough seats on the Ulster and Orange county legislatures to determine which party controls each of them.

Democrat Pat O’Dwyer hopes to unseat Orange County Executive Ed Diana, a two-term, Republican incumbent who has made fiscal prudence the keystone of his campaign.

O’Dwyer has countered by criticizing Diana’s high salary and perks, promising greater diversity in management positions and supporting the push by some legislators to form an independent watchdog agency to police county finances.

Sullivan County voters will choose between longtime prosecutor Jim Farrell, a Republican, and Bloomingburg attorney Glenn Kroll, a Democrat, to replace District Attorney Steve Lungen, who is retiring.

They will also cast ballots in a rematch between Sheriff Mike Schiff and county Legislator Frank Armstrong, who lost to Schiff four years ago in a race that cost each about $100,000. Their second contest has had a lower profile than the first.

In Ulster County, Democrat Deborah Schneer and Republican Donald Williams are battling for a 10-year term as County Court judge. Schneer, a former Town of Rochester justice, was appointed to the position by Gov. David Paterson this year to fill a vacancy; Williams, a prosecutor for 30 years, is a former Ulster County district attorney.

Also to be decided Tuesday are a host of strongly contested town elections, including ones in Bethel, Mamakating and Fallsburg in Sullivan County and Monroe in Orange County.

Polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

(Source: Times Herald Record)