SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Democrat campaign off to ‘mud-slinging’ start BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Even though Democratic candidates outnumber Republicans three to one in city races and have an enrollment advantage throughout the county, they’ve already turned to personal attacks as the 2007 election campaigns begin.
Democratic County Committee Chairman Brian Quail kicked the season off by calling Republican Rotterdam Town Board candidate John Denny III a “Republican stooge.” He also warned that in the Niskayuna supervisor race, he would bring up student discipline decisions that Republican candidate J. Briggs McAndrews made eight years ago when he was school superintendent.
Republican County Committee Chairman Thomas Buchanan said the remarks indicate the beginning of a negative campaign.
“Voters of Schenectady County better be prepared for a very nasty, mudslinging campaign by the Democrats,” Buchanan said. “You’re going to see slash-and-burn, mudslinging and negativity. That’s unfortunate.”
He promised that the Republicans wouldn’t follow suit.
“We’re not going to dig into anyone’s closet, looking for mud,” he said. “You need to come up with things that are actually relevant to the campaign and the position. Taxes is the issue we’re going to talk about — the opponent’s tax record is fair game and I’m not going to fault them for [talking about] that.”
Quail said the party won’t be more aggressive than it’s been in previous years.
But he added that Democrat Edward Kosiur’s recent defeat to Republican political novice George Amedore has taught the local Democrats a lesson.
“The lesson was how to be responsive to Republican attacks,” he said, referring to comments Amedore made, which the Democrats believe distorted Kosiur’s political record.
“We have to hone our response. We’ve learned to pay more attention to their early attacks,” Quail said.
And he’s not planning to lose again.
“We’re going to be aggressive in getting our message out. We’re not going to cede one race, one inch of ground anywhere in the county,” Quail said.
That fight will start with a Democratic primary in Rotterdam, between Republican-endorsed John Denny III and Democrats John Silva and Richard Leet.
Denny successfully filed a petition to force a primary for the Democratic line. He is currently an enrolled Democrat, but he has been endorsed by the Republicans.
Quail said Denny’s petition was politics at its worst.
“He’s an example of invasion politics,” Quail said. “He’s a Republican stooge. The Republicans are not content to meddle in their own politics; they have to come to ours too.”
However, Denny spent decades as a Democratic committeeman and described himself as a lifelong Democrat until he switched parties in 2001 to run for highway superintendent. He lost and returned to the Democrats, who endorsed him to run for the same position in 2003. He also lost that time.
Buchanan said he sees nothing wrong with Denny’s apparent lack of party loyalty.
“Democrat or Republican doesn’t matter as much on the local level. What matters is good government,” he said.
SHORT OF CANDIDATES
And on a more pragmatic level, the Republicans need candidates. Without Denny, they have only one candidate to run for the two open Rotterdam Town Board seats.
Finding candidates has been a problem, Buchanan said. He’s hoping that this year’s slate will be a new beginning for the party.
“We need to start to articulate a message, so we need to be on the playing field,” he said. “That means running candidates to articulate the message.”
But it’s not easy. In the city, Republicans have just three candidates running against nine Democrats.
Buchanan said 2007 will have to be a rebuilding year for the Republicans.
“In the city of Schenectady, the Republican Party has been dying for a long time,” Buchanan said. “We’re going to start with the towns and build up from there.”
In Schenectady, he hopes to marshal the Guyanese to join the party.
“The Republicans have to learn to reach out to new groups. The Guyanese really aren’t aligned with any party,” Buchanan said. “I think some of the new immigrant groups aren’t really in tune with the political process. It’s going to take time, building relationships in terms of getting them involved in the party.”
That’s why the party is running Al Jurczynski for county Legislature, the only Republican running for a Legislature seat in the city. Jurczynski is still beloved by many local Guyanese because of his efforts to draw them to the city while he was mayor.
The party is committed to funding its city races, particularly Richard DiCaprio’s bid for City Council. But Buchanan said the Republicans will focus on winning races in the suburbs.
“The town races are very important to us,” he said. “Obviously, the towns are more winnable.”
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