Phil Steck gets Independence Party Backing
Working Families endorse Paul Tonko
Former Republican party chair enters Democratic Primary
When the Working Families Party endorsed Paul Tonko, they released a statement entitled "In Crowded Field, Third Party Hopes to Give Progressive Candidate Major Boost."
This could also have been said about Phil Steck, who has recieved the backing of the Independence Party. The two now have third-party support in an eight...make that nine-way race to fill Mike McNulty's shoes when he retires.
...and in "who cares" news, the dueling Republicans picked up their backing too: Conservatives for Buhrmaster and Presidential candidate Ron Paul for Vasquez. More on the primary that will produce the next Congressman for the 21st below the fold.
Today's Working Families Party endorsement of Paul Tonko continues a long history. Capitol Confidential gives the full press release, too.
Tonko was endorsed 5 times by the Working Families Party during his long, productive tenure as Assemblyman from Montgomery and Schenectady counties, most recently in 2006. The Working Families Party hopes its endorsement will help Tonko navigate a crowded primary field.
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The Working Families Party’s network of supporters and activists and its grassroots electoral operation first made their mark helping to elect insurgent candidate David Soares to Albany County District Attorney in 2004. Last year, WFP members helped elect Ken Zalewski, ending Republican control of the Troy City Council.
That network of supporters certainly will be a commodity in this crowded race. Today was the first day nominating petitions may begin circulation and each candidate must get 1,250 signatures to get on the ballot by July 17. Third-party backing will play a role in this endeavor and in future ones.
CapCon broke the Steck endorsement by the Independence Party as well today.
Last Saturday, the state committee held a meeting and voted to support Steck, according to the Steck campaign spokesman Tom Nardacci.
Steck has a history with the Albany County Independence Party and its chairman Paul Caputo. The Independence Party’s support of the Democrats helped them to win the majority in the town of Colonie.
"Phil has a history of building coalitions to create change and this endorsement reflects that," said Nardacci.
Steck also received the endorsement of Hudson Mohawk chapter of Democracy for America, which played an active role in organizing for the successful campaign of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand in 2006.
It's probably safe to assume that these two endorsements came about in an more orderly fashion than the recent Albany County Democratic Party's endorsement of Phil Steck. The movement Steck has built in Colonie resulted in the first Democatic Town government in a century, yet there are still remnants of a party machine in the County, and little support was given to Phil as chairman in his hometown of Colonie. The Independence Party's help thus gives Steck the endorsement of a party who has backed him before as well, but that resulted in big symbolic victory for Albany County Democrats.
The WFP's nod to David Soare's is interesting in this context; the division over the Albany County DA primary last time was divisive as well, and indicative of the impact the Steck coalition is having today. Looking deeper, we see that the Troy City Council Democratic majority the WFP helped out have backed Phil Steck for Congress, including Mr. Zalewski. So it's remains to be seen whether the Working Families Party is indeed united as the political ties begin to move into their knots.
Speaking of getting tied up in knots, the Times Union reported that a ninth Democrat entered the race today. Trouble is, when it went to print, they thought it was the eighth.
Former Albany city Republican chairman Joseph P. Sullivan has announced he will run for retiring Congressman Michael McNulty's seat in the 21st district this year.
Sullivan, who switched back to his Democratic roots two years ago amid infighting among other Albany Republicans, says he will run as a conservative Democrat. He is the 10th candidate to enter the race.
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A primary, which would now involve eight Democrats, will be held Sept. 9.
I suppose when things get this crowded, people can lose count. Especially in the absence of appropriately frequent updates. There are now nine Democrats currently running for Congress:
John Aretakis, Tracey Brooks, Craig Burridge, Lester Freeman, Darius Shahinfar, Phil Steck, Paul Tonko, (who could forget Arthur Welser), and now, Joseph Sullivan. That's nine. A tenth Democrat, Gary Mittleman, has already dropped out. So Sullivan is the tenth Democrat to seek the seat.
I know it's easy to forget about them, but we should be nice to our friends the Republicans. Jim Buhrmaster now also has the Conservative Party's backing, and his other Primary opponent, Steven Vasquez, has been endorsed by the Ron Paul...um..."party." But if Warren Redlich had stayed in after he dropped out, he would have surely gotten Paul's backing. Especially after seeing Redlich's blog on thespoof.com. Go ahead...Google it!
(In any case, that means thirteen people have entered the race at this point. Lucky thirteen.)
What to make of all this?
The split endorsement of the two major third parties in Democratic politics here seems to confirm that what is technically a nine-way race is turning into a two-man contest between two strong frontrunners. The Steck campaign is running a strong grass-roots organization that is an outgrowth of a larger movement in the Capital District; Paul Tonko has years of experience, name recognition, and media attention turned his way. In a packed house like this, third-party support means something, and really separates the two from the rest of the pack.
That said, Steck's endorsement from Democracy for America's Hudson Mowhawk Region gives Steck one more in his column than his nearest rival. None of the Times Union blogs have that press release, which gives us even further insight as to the voting:
Phil Steck announced to today that he was very pleased to receive the endorsement of the Hudson Mohawk chapter of Democracy for America (www.democracyforamerica.com). Democracy for America is the nation's largest progressive political action community and was founded in 2004 by Governor Howard Dean.
"I am very pleased to have the support of the local chapter of Democracy for America, an organization that is a grassroots powerhouse," said Steck. "DFHMR is a vocal advocate for reform and grassroots action in the Capital Region and they have taken the lead to inform voters about this important election."
DFHMR played an active role in organizing for the successful campaign of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand in 2006. DFHMR requires a 2/3 vote to get their endorsement. The percentages were as follows:
Steck 68%
Tonko 16%
Shahinfar 11%
Brooks 3%
Welser 3%
Steck added: "I have been organizing at the community level to bring about real change in my own community in Colonie. Now, more than ever, we need community-based values in Washington."
From an e-mailed press release
Points of interest include DFHMR's suport of Gillibrand. Steck's fellow candidate Darius Shahinfar is a former aide of the Congresswoman and has pockets of devoted support. As a bonafide grassroots organization, it's interesting to see his support at a similar level to Tonko's with this type of group.
Steck has been on a roll with endorsements for months, and Tonko is greatly picking up speed after only officially announcing his campaign last month. The momentum appears to be with them in the mainstream, and is visibly moving away from Tracey Brooks. The fact that she recieved as much support as Mr. Welser is indicative for those who are familiar with Mr. Welser (arthurwelsercitizienforcongress.com).
The race goes on, and the petitions are flying. Other possible endorsements could come from one of the New York's other parties. With energy as a key issue in this race, the Greens might begin to play a role. As might any other pocket of support that these nine candidates can find as they move forward.