Cato, N.Y. -- In September, when the ballots were printed for the town elections in Cato, it seemed the races were already won. There were no challengers for any of the five spots.

That’s how things usually were in this town of 2,500 in rural Cayuga County.

But less than six weeks before Election Day, a full slate of candidates mounted a write-in campaign for all five of the town posts up for election. And then they defied the odds by sweeping the entire ballot.

It wasn’t about Republican or Democrat here, where nearly 70% of the residents voted for President Donald Trump. It didn’t have anything to do with the immigration raids at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners plant that made national news.

Over the past year, there was a litany of trouble in this small town, according to posts in

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