The expectation was that Tuesday would end Campaign 2007. But like so much of the past year, the elections look to drag out for at least another week, with absentee ballots to be counted in the race for Auburn mayor, Fleming, Owasco and Summerhill supervisors and for county Legislature Chairman George Fearon's seat. Here are some passing thoughts :

BEING COUNTED

There is no question that while there may have been some big wins - Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann's victory was one - in many cases it will come down to just a couple of votes, especially in the hotly contested races named above.

In the case of mayor, this looks a lot like a repeat of the 1999 race, where incumbent Chris DeAngelis was defeated by city council challenger Melina Carnicelli by just 66 votes. As then, it looks as if every single vote counts. Who says their vote doesn't count?

CONSOLIDATED

The defeat of Proposition 2 to consolidate the city's Civil Service Commission was a major defeat, not only for supporters such as Auburn City Manager Mark Palesh and city councilor Matthew Smith, who taped an ad for it - but those who want to promote municipal consolidation.

The roughly 57-43 percent defeat will make it tougher for proponents of consolidation to put their political capital on the line in the future. While there has been talk about consolidating assessment functions, as well as economic development efforts, don't expect much to happen on that front. Clearly voters, if they understood the question, aren't interested in consolidation at this point.

GIVE THEM CREDIT

The Cayuga County Board of Elections has taken some major hits in the way they have reported election results in the past and rightfully so. This year they should be given credit for what looks to be an almost flawless reporting system.

With the exception of some glitches in a machine in Throop and the failure to allow write-in votes in one city machine - the board was able to process returns very quickly election night. While the results in the nail-biter in Owasco did not seem clear by the end of the night, most of those who had access to the Internet were able to know all the winners within two hours - something that has not been the case in the past.

What made the night even more enjoyable for those who looked at returns from their computer screens, was that you could track trends. For example the ups and downs of many races could be tracked by what districts reported in. In the city's 12th Election District, mayoral candidate Michael Quill may want to thank new Legislator Patrick Mahunik, a Democrat, for what may be reverse coattails - with his major win in an area now held by a Republican possibly getting some votes for Quill.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com