2007 Local Races Heating Up...
By Upstate Blue, Section News
Posted on Sun Apr 15, 2007 at 08:46:40 PM EST
Saratoga County:
Current Registration:
Republican ? 46.2%
Democratic ? 24.3%
Other ? 29.5%
Turnout in 2005 Local Elections:
Republican ? 29,727 (55.91%)
Democratic - 12,090 (22.74%)
Other ? 11,354 (21.35%)
Current Makeup of the Board of Supervisors: 18R-5D
Saratoga Springs:
In Saratoga Springs, last week GOP candidate Matthew Veitch announced his intention to take on Democratic incumbents Cheryl Keyrouze and Joanne Yepsen for a position on the Board of Supervisors.
Overall, Keyrouze and Yepsen have really been the only two independent voices on the semi-corrupt Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and deserve to be commended on their recent votes against the county water project giving corporate welfare to land-holding developers like Roohan and Bonacio.
Veitch is very much your stereotypical Saratoga Republican Machine backed candidate ? he comes from a prominent local family and married the daughter of Wilton Assemblyman Roy McDonald. He will likely only be a yes-man for the continued failures of the county Republican leadership. The obvious choice Saratoga Springs voters will have to make this November is whether they want continued representation in the county government by independent progressive voices like Keyrouze and Yepsen or a return to rule by machine-backed GOP dittoheads like Veitch.
No word yet on whether Saratoga Springs Mayor Val Keehn (D) is seeking a second term, but Keehn held a fundraiser last January at Spargo's Restaurant, leading most observers to believe she will indeed run again. Meanwhile, Democratic Mayoral Candidate Gordon Boyd recently launched his campaign:
Ballston:
Directly to the south, there are several open seats on the Ballston Town Council, and with Democrats performing quite well in recent years in the traditionally Republican town (coming within 1% to 2% of defeating entrenched GOP incumbents in 2005), there could now be an opportunity for progressive forces to have an influence in the Ballston government for the first time since the 1970s.
In addition, the Ballston Spa village also appears to be undergoing some drastic demographic shifts in the last few years as more and more of the ?creative class? continues to move in - art shops, galleries, and cafes are now opening in the downtown where knick knack shops and boarded up storefronts once were, potentially signaling a slow shift from a rural, small town atmosphere towards a more cosmopolitan, metro culture. (ie. A move from conservative/Republican politics to progressive/Democratic politics)
Moreau, Clifton Park:
In Moreau and Clifton Park, with the potential for bruising primaries between incumbents and newcomers vying for the Republican line in county supervisor races, it could potentially allow the Democrats to gain one or two additional seats on the Board of Supervisors, bringing progressives closer and closer to a majority on the county government.
Just to note:
The upcoming Republican primary for supervisor in Clifton Park is largely due to continued infighting between Clifton Park GOP chair Mike Lisuzzo and Saratoga County GOP chair Jasper Nolan. Lisuzzo, who opposed the county water plan, has engineered a primary against Clifton Park Supervisor Anita Daly, an ally of Jasper Nolan, who backed the county water plan. This cockfight should be a fun one to watch. It?s well-known that Lisuzzo is itching to do whatever he can to take Nolan?s job.
Overall:
I think we could see some major Democratic gains in Moreau, Clifton Park, Halfmoon, and Ballston, this year. The more developed, densely populated areas of the county are becoming less and less conservative as they continue to culturally diversify and bring in transplants from Albany County, Downstate New York and other places.
Unfortunately, I still think the Republicans will maintain control of the County Board of Supervisors this year, as the county is still in the process of making the full transition from a rural/exurban environment to a more urban/suburban environment, and also in part due to the GOP?s large (but shrinking) registration edge. However, the overall demographic trends in Saratoga County certainly appear to be on the Democrats side.
Warren County:
Current Registration:
Republican ? 51.7%
Democratic ? 23.5%
Turnout in 2005 Local Elections:
Republican - 11,073 (60.63%)
Democratic ? 4,015 (22.01%)
Other ? 3,156 (17.30%)
Current Makeup of the Board of Supervisors: 17R-3D
In Glens Falls, Democrat William Brown is seeking to run for the 3rd Ward Seat now held by Republican Richard Mason. Brown will likely benefit from an upcoming divisive Republican primary between Mason and GOP hopeful Harold Taylor.
Rumors are circulating right now that Democratic Treasurer Francis O? Keefe may retire. Given the sclerotic nature of the Warren County Democratic organization, and the county?s disgustingly heavy Republican enrollment, it?s probably somewhat of a miracle that the Democrats even were able to get this countywide seat in the first place. If O?Keefe opts to retire, the treasurers? position may very well likely be lost to the GOP?
Unfortunately, outside of Glens Falls, Warren County is about as blood red as they come, in part due to the hostility towards Adirondack Park regulations, the large number gun owners, and the Word of Life evangelical outfit located in the northern part of the county in Pottersville. I don?t see too many gains here other than perhaps in Glens Falls and Queensbury?
In the mean time, the conservative-leaning North Country Gazette has a good article critical of Republican County Sheriff Larry Clevland:
A passage from the article:
Washington County:
Current Registration:
Republican ? 48.0%
Democratic ? 24.3%
Other ? 27.7%
Turnout in 2005 Local Elections:
Republican ? 8,831 (59.68%)
Democratic ? 3,337 (22.82%)
Other - 2,589 (17.50%)
Current Makeup of the Board of Supervisors: 19R-1D
While I haven?t heard too much about the local elections over in Washington County yet, I do know that the one Democratic seat on the Board of Supervisors is in SERIOUS, SERIOUS jeopardy of being lost, leaving the Republicans with a complete 100% monopoly on the Board of Supervisors. (Scary huh? Glad I don?t live in Washington County)
The overall key towards progressive victories is making sure that the Democratic voters in these counties actually SHOW UP. Even as the number of enrolled Democrats and unaffiliated voters continues to swell in this portion of the state, the Republicans continue to maintain a near-monopoly on the region?s politics as the local GOP organizations keep finding increasingly sophisticated ways of inflating the turnout of their hard-core base on Election Day.
Just think - if the voter turnout in Saratoga County had been more relative to the actual registration in 2005, you may have seen Democratic sweeps in far more towns than just Saratoga Springs and Mechanicville.
Current Registration:
Republican ? 46.2%
Democratic ? 24.3%
Other ? 29.5%
Turnout in 2005 Local Elections:
Republican ? 29,727 (55.91%)
Democratic - 12,090 (22.74%)
Other ? 11,354 (21.35%)
Current Makeup of the Board of Supervisors: 18R-5D
Saratoga Springs:
In Saratoga Springs, last week GOP candidate Matthew Veitch announced his intention to take on Democratic incumbents Cheryl Keyrouze and Joanne Yepsen for a position on the Board of Supervisors.
Overall, Keyrouze and Yepsen have really been the only two independent voices on the semi-corrupt Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and deserve to be commended on their recent votes against the county water project giving corporate welfare to land-holding developers like Roohan and Bonacio.
Veitch is very much your stereotypical Saratoga Republican Machine backed candidate ? he comes from a prominent local family and married the daughter of Wilton Assemblyman Roy McDonald. He will likely only be a yes-man for the continued failures of the county Republican leadership. The obvious choice Saratoga Springs voters will have to make this November is whether they want continued representation in the county government by independent progressive voices like Keyrouze and Yepsen or a return to rule by machine-backed GOP dittoheads like Veitch.
No word yet on whether Saratoga Springs Mayor Val Keehn (D) is seeking a second term, but Keehn held a fundraiser last January at Spargo's Restaurant, leading most observers to believe she will indeed run again. Meanwhile, Democratic Mayoral Candidate Gordon Boyd recently launched his campaign:
"The Democrat recently purchased 2,000 small seed packages with the message, ?Boyd for Mayor? on the envelopes. He intends to hand out the future flowers while campaigning door-to-door over the next several weeks." (From The Times Union Local Politics blog)(I get the feeling that a divisive primary may be in the works)
Ballston:
Directly to the south, there are several open seats on the Ballston Town Council, and with Democrats performing quite well in recent years in the traditionally Republican town (coming within 1% to 2% of defeating entrenched GOP incumbents in 2005), there could now be an opportunity for progressive forces to have an influence in the Ballston government for the first time since the 1970s.
In addition, the Ballston Spa village also appears to be undergoing some drastic demographic shifts in the last few years as more and more of the ?creative class? continues to move in - art shops, galleries, and cafes are now opening in the downtown where knick knack shops and boarded up storefronts once were, potentially signaling a slow shift from a rural, small town atmosphere towards a more cosmopolitan, metro culture. (ie. A move from conservative/Republican politics to progressive/Democratic politics)
Moreau, Clifton Park:
In Moreau and Clifton Park, with the potential for bruising primaries between incumbents and newcomers vying for the Republican line in county supervisor races, it could potentially allow the Democrats to gain one or two additional seats on the Board of Supervisors, bringing progressives closer and closer to a majority on the county government.
Just to note:
The upcoming Republican primary for supervisor in Clifton Park is largely due to continued infighting between Clifton Park GOP chair Mike Lisuzzo and Saratoga County GOP chair Jasper Nolan. Lisuzzo, who opposed the county water plan, has engineered a primary against Clifton Park Supervisor Anita Daly, an ally of Jasper Nolan, who backed the county water plan. This cockfight should be a fun one to watch. It?s well-known that Lisuzzo is itching to do whatever he can to take Nolan?s job.
Overall:
I think we could see some major Democratic gains in Moreau, Clifton Park, Halfmoon, and Ballston, this year. The more developed, densely populated areas of the county are becoming less and less conservative as they continue to culturally diversify and bring in transplants from Albany County, Downstate New York and other places.
Unfortunately, I still think the Republicans will maintain control of the County Board of Supervisors this year, as the county is still in the process of making the full transition from a rural/exurban environment to a more urban/suburban environment, and also in part due to the GOP?s large (but shrinking) registration edge. However, the overall demographic trends in Saratoga County certainly appear to be on the Democrats side.
Warren County:
Current Registration:Republican ? 51.7%
Democratic ? 23.5%
Turnout in 2005 Local Elections:
Republican - 11,073 (60.63%)
Democratic ? 4,015 (22.01%)
Other ? 3,156 (17.30%)
Current Makeup of the Board of Supervisors: 17R-3D
In Glens Falls, Democrat William Brown is seeking to run for the 3rd Ward Seat now held by Republican Richard Mason. Brown will likely benefit from an upcoming divisive Republican primary between Mason and GOP hopeful Harold Taylor.
Rumors are circulating right now that Democratic Treasurer Francis O? Keefe may retire. Given the sclerotic nature of the Warren County Democratic organization, and the county?s disgustingly heavy Republican enrollment, it?s probably somewhat of a miracle that the Democrats even were able to get this countywide seat in the first place. If O?Keefe opts to retire, the treasurers? position may very well likely be lost to the GOP?
Unfortunately, outside of Glens Falls, Warren County is about as blood red as they come, in part due to the hostility towards Adirondack Park regulations, the large number gun owners, and the Word of Life evangelical outfit located in the northern part of the county in Pottersville. I don?t see too many gains here other than perhaps in Glens Falls and Queensbury?
In the mean time, the conservative-leaning North Country Gazette has a good article critical of Republican County Sheriff Larry Clevland:
A passage from the article:
?Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland has long been known for his alleged dislike for women which has led to several complaints against him and the county for sexual harassment and discrimination with the NYS Division of Human Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He's also known for his childish actions and demeanor and use of office for retaliatory, vindictive purposes.?
Washington County:
Current Registration:
Republican ? 48.0%
Democratic ? 24.3%
Other ? 27.7%
Turnout in 2005 Local Elections:
Republican ? 8,831 (59.68%)
Democratic ? 3,337 (22.82%)
Other - 2,589 (17.50%)
Current Makeup of the Board of Supervisors: 19R-1D
While I haven?t heard too much about the local elections over in Washington County yet, I do know that the one Democratic seat on the Board of Supervisors is in SERIOUS, SERIOUS jeopardy of being lost, leaving the Republicans with a complete 100% monopoly on the Board of Supervisors. (Scary huh? Glad I don?t live in Washington County)
The overall key towards progressive victories is making sure that the Democratic voters in these counties actually SHOW UP. Even as the number of enrolled Democrats and unaffiliated voters continues to swell in this portion of the state, the Republicans continue to maintain a near-monopoly on the region?s politics as the local GOP organizations keep finding increasingly sophisticated ways of inflating the turnout of their hard-core base on Election Day.
Just think - if the voter turnout in Saratoga County had been more relative to the actual registration in 2005, you may have seen Democratic sweeps in far more towns than just Saratoga Springs and Mechanicville.
| < NY-25: Maffei Running Again | NY-20: Treadwell's In... > |
Related Links
+ good article+ SERIOUS, SERIOUS jeopardy of being lost
+ More on Scoop
+ Also by Upstate Blue
