I took a brief journey over to the Westchester County Office Building in  White Plains today to see if anybody on the defeated ninth floor was standing at an open window, threatening to jump and end it all. Nothing dramatic was going on.

In fact, it was very quiet.

I ran into Board Chairman Bill Ryan in the lobby. For a guy who was 44 votes behind in the unofficial count, he seemed rather buoyant. The election in the 5th District is far from over—there will be a recount. Maybe Ryan thinks he’s got in the bag. After all, they haven’t yet counted the absentee ballots from the local graveyards.

I also ran into Legislator Vito Pinto, D-Eastchester. Pinto was standing at a table selling raffle tickets and baked goods to raise money for U.S. troops overseas. He was doing a brisk business. By the time I got there, he figured he was going to collect $500 for the cause.

Not bad.

A few words about Pinto are in order. He is a modest and dedicated public servant, who has held his seat for 12 years despite being in a mostly Republican district. His popularity with people from all political persuasions was evidenced by the fact that no one opposed him in last Tuesday’s election.

We talked for a little bit about the terrible shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas. I said something about how  the most noble job in the world must be that of an Army medic or Navy corpsman—the noncombatant soldiers and sailors who risk their lives in battle to save fallen comrades.

Pinto knows more than a little about combat. A Vietnam veteran, he flew in 250 missions and was wounded in action. It was moving to see him doing his bit for the troops.

I’m not going soft on the Board of Legislators, but Pinto deserves a thank you and so do all the veterans. Nov. 12 is Veterans Day.