Democrat Mary Jane Shimsky has defeated Republican Nick DeCicco in the 12th Legislative District Race to fill the seat vacated by Tom Abinanti. According to unofficial results from the Westchester County Board of Elections, with 94% of the vote in, Shimsky was leading DeCicco 55-45%.

Abinanti was elected to the State Assembly to fill the seat previously held by Shimsky's former boss, Richard Brodsky. Shimsky served as Community Relations Director for Brodsky. She also served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Hastings Democratic Committee and Vice Chair for the Westchester County Democratic Committee.

Shimsky has said a key issue for her moving forward will be to "Strike the right balance in the County budget, to continue to pay for services for those who need them, while at the same time keeping costs low enough for those who can't afford to pay more."

"I'm already planning to talk to the Majority Leader on Wednesday about how we move forward with the restructuring of government and what the steps will be. So I'm ready to hit the ground running," said Shimsky.Her plans are also to come up with a site and personnel to open her district office at a place that has yet to be determined.

She will serve out the remainder of Abinanti's term, which runs until the end of the year, and Shimsky says she plans to be on the ballot to run for a full two year term in November. 

The 12th Legislative District consists of Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings and Irvington as well as parts of unincorporated Greenburgh including Edgemont and most of Hartsdale.