Election day in Oswego added two new democrats to the Oswego common council. Connie Cosmento and Cathy Santos, both Oswego alumni, will be the only democratic aldermen.

Incumbent Connie Cosemento will continue to serve the first ward in the City of Oswego. Cosemento, won her re-election campaign, and third straight term, against former alderman Jay Scanlon 254-218, the Oswego County Board of Elections Web site said. She received 53 percent of the vote.

"I’m kind of relieved because we have some big things going on," Cosemento said.

Cathy Santos, associate provost for multicultural opportunities and programs at Oswego State, won against Republican Miles Becker. Santos accumulated 274 votes to Becker’s 131. Santos has yet to hear the official word that she won yet.

"I never imagined when I first came to Oswego that this was something I would be doing," Santos said. "I’m very excited about the opportunity to serve the community."

Howard Gordon, executive assistant to the president said that Santos will be an important asset to the city by addressing issues and resolving concerns of the people of Oswego.

"Cathy knows the Oswego community because she’s lived here since the late ‘70s," Gordon said. "She knows the issues and she also understand how the people in the community and on campus work hard to improve relations ad address issues that effect all of us."

There are still 36 absentee ballots that need to be counted in the first ward, which is the number of votes that Cosemento is currently leading by.

"I would expect the votes from the absentee ballots would produce the same lead percentage wise," Cosemento said.

Cosemento received word of her victory after 10 p.m. Tuesday night. She celebrated at the foundry with Cathy Santos and Amy Tressider, winner of the 16th Oswego County district. The first and third wards in Oswego border each other and the 16th district covers those wards.

"It was very festive we were real exited when the votes were coming in," Santos said.

"The three of us are very excited about working together," Cosemento said.

In the hotly contested race for the 23rd district congressional representative seat, democrat Bill Owens beat conservative Douglas Hoffman 61,666-57,073. Owens gained 49 percent of the votes to Hoffman’s 45 percent. Dede Scozzafava, who dropped out of the race October 31, just three days before the election earned the other six percent of the vote.

In Oswego County, 10,882 people voted for Hoffman and 10,382 voted for Owens. However, only 93 percent of the votes have been counted, the Oswego County Board of Elections said.