The owner of Tioga Downs in Tioga County is expected to bid to become a casino.

KRISTOPHER RADDER/BINGHAMTON PRESS & SUN-BULLETIN

Highlights: Casinos, more women mayors

Joseph Spector

Albany Bureau Chief

ALBANY — New York will be betting on casinos to revive the struggling upstate economy as a re­sult of elections on Tues­day. Republicans re­tained the county execu­tive seats in the New York City area on Election Day, and three major upstate cities will have women mayors for the first time.

Those are the high­lights of an election day that also saw Democrats regain the New York City mayor’s office for the first time since 1989. Here’s a look at what hap­pens next.

Casino bidding begins soon

A proposition on Tues­day’s ballot was over­whelmingly passed with 57 percent of the vote. It means New York will move forward with up to seven casinos in a state that already has nine racetracks with video-lot­tery terminals and five Native American-casi­nos.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state has room for more casinos, and the new resorts will drive tourism to hard-hit areas of upstate and create jobs. The first four casi­nos will be built upstate: in the Catskills, Southern Tier and Albany area. They will have exclusiv­ity for seven years.

Cuomo took a victory tour Wednesday, visiting Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Sullivan Coun­ty, home to the 1969 Wood­stock Festival, and Bing­hamton.

The areas have been stung by job losses, and the Catskills, once a booming destination for New York City vacation­ers, has been seeking ca­sinos for decades.

Overall, the proposi­tion was passed in 39 counties and rejected in 23 counties, including narrowly in Monroe County. Casino operators have already indicated that they will seek licenses from the state Gaming Commission, which will soon appoint a siting com­mittee to start reviewing bids. The law takes effect Jan. 1, and then the com­mission would have 90 days to put out requests for proposals. There are at least three plans for casinos in the Catskills. Tioga Downs and Saratoga Raceway, which are rac­inos, expect to bid to be full-scale casinos.

Both parties gain and lose

Despite Democrats holding a 2-to-1 enroll­ment edge over Republi­cans in New York, the GOP was able to win county executive races in Nassau, Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties. Two were open seats held by Republi­cans, and two Republican incumbents in Westches­ter and Nassau won.

Republicans viewed the wins as a warning to Democrats in New York heading into the 2014 elections — when Gov. Andrew Cuomo will seek re-election and other statewide seats, all held by Democrats, will be on the ballot. Republicans also won the mayor’s seat in Bing­hamton, which had been held by Democrat Matt Ryan, gained control of the county Legislature in Erie County and retained it in Dutchess County.

“If Republicans are winning in Erie and West­chester, Andrew Cuomo should start getting wor­ried,” the state Republi­can Committee said in a statement Wednesday.

On the anniversary of Susan B. Anthony being arrested for casting her vote, three women, all Democrats, were elected or re-elected to be the mayors in Rochester, Syr­acuse and Albany.

In Rochester, Lovely Warren will be the first African-American wom­an to hold the job. In Syra­cuse, Mayor Stephanie Miner won a second term. In Albany, voters elected Kathy Sheehan, who will succeed longtime mayor Jerry Jennings.

De Blasio eager to jump into job

The mayor-elect of New York City made it clear Wednesday that he wanted to waste no time in enacting his vision that could move the nation’s largest city toward the left and announcing a transition team. “The people in this city have spoken and the man­date is clear that (it) is our obligation to create a city in which our prosperity is shared and there is oppor­tunity for all,” Bill de Bla­sio said. The Associated Press contributed to this re­port.