Hudson Valley Legislator Mocked For ‘Embarrassing’ Post Then Loses Election

In a last-ditch effort to turn the election his way, a Hudson Valley politician resorted to accusing his opponents of the most ridiculous thing, and voters weren't having it.

Today, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. With election day now in the rearview mirror, we're finally rid of those annoying text messages, robo-calls and television commercials that have been relentless over the past month.

While national and statewide elections are always contentious, our local Hudson Valley elections have somehow managed to be more respectful. Sadly, that is beginning to change, as even the tiniest town positions have drawn some nasty rhetoric from politicians who seem to have taken a cue from the national political climate.

Social Media Post From Hudson Valley Legislator Draws Ridicule

Tony D'Aquanni, the Dutchess County Legislator for District 5, took to social media on Tuesday to make a wild accusation against his opposing party.  In an early-morning Facebook post, D'Aquanni shared images of a large election sign promoting Judge Ned McLoughlin for County Court Judge that had toppled over.

The sign, located near Panera Bread on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie was shown flipped on its side. D'Aquanni blamed the Democrats for messing with the sign.

I just passed by the corner of Spring Road and route 9. take a look at what I saw! this is how Democrats campaign!
It only took a minute to right that wrong! people please, right the wrongs that have been done to us for so many years get out there and vote responsibly today!

Apparently, the Legislator seemed to forget about the 55mph wind gusts that were blowing through the Hudson Valley earlier that morning. Tree branches, Halloween decorations and even heavy garbage cans had all toppled over. Certainly, it wasn't a surprise that a huge sign like the one pictured in D'Aquanni's post also wound up on its side.

Legislator Mocked by Voters for "Embarrassing" Post

D'Aquanni's post did not elicit the outrage he was expecting. Instead of sympathy, the Legislator was ruthlessly mocked for attempting to stoke division by blaming his opponents for something the wind did.

Virtually every single comment on the thread was critical of D'Aquanni, either accusing him of "performative nonsense" or just laughing at the ridiculousness of his attempt to garner sympathy.

Andria Gentile McKenna replied, "Dude it’s almost as if you’re trying to mock yourself. This is absolutely laughable." Larry Coats shared his distaste for D'Aquanni's attempt to stoke controversy, saying, "Way to just spread hate. Oh it's the democrats! Hate your fellow neighbors! I'm sick and tired of this lunacy from either side. You suck."

Sign Not Only Thing Knocked Down on Tuesday

Unfortunately for D'Aquanni, his attempt to blame his opponents for knocking down the sign didn't help his campaign. The Legislator lost his seat to the Democratic candidate, Anna Shah, by 200 votes. Judge McLoughlan also lost his bid for County Court Judge to Kara Gerry by almost 9,000 votes.

Facebook user Eric Pl summed up Tuesday's election in the latest comment to appear on D'Aquanni's post, saying, "Apparently, judging by the Dems blowing down every Republican nationwide tonight, maybe the winds of change are upon us?"