Today, the Albany Times Union endorsed New York State Senate candidate Robin Andrews (D - Columbia County) for the now-open 43rd State Senate District over her Tea Bagging right-wing opponent, Kathy Marchione (R - Saratoga County), who recently defeated incumbent State Senator Roy McDonald, a social moderate who supported LGBT rights, in last month's GOP primary. Because The Times Union has long been the region's most influential and widely circulated newspaper, the endorsement could carry some weight in a race where Andrews has long been perceived as a long-shot candidate, even against the much more conservative Marchione.
From today's Times Union editorial page:
"43rd District: Robin Andrews
Ms. Andrews, the town supervisor in Claverack, Columbia County, was the first Democrat to hold office there in 35 years when she was elected in 2010. She would be a new and refreshing presence in the state Senate as well. Proof of that is her strong advocacy for overhauling the state's campaign finance laws and providing public financing for political campaigns, as well as demanding an increase in the state's minimum wage.
Her experience in local government, meanwhile, would be invaluable in a body where so many of the decisions and so much of the legislation have such a strong and direct impact on municipalities.
Ms. Andrews recognizes the good intentions of the state-imposed cap on local property taxes, but makes an especially compelling case that the real issue there is mandate relief. The state needs to free counties of the burden of paying half the cost of Medicaid, Ms. Andrews argues, as well as reduce the bureaucracy it imposes upon municipalities.
She's running as a moderate, and a very practical one at that, an encouraging notion considering the stridency of so many other Senate Democrats.
Her opponent, Republican Kathy Marchione, has ample experience in local government — first as town clerk and then supervisor in Halfmoon and more recently as the long-tenured Saratoga County clerk. It's by her own admission, however, that she's seeking the seat held by Republican Roy McDonald — whom she defeated in the GOP primary — mainly because of her opposition to his courageous vote last year to legalize gay marriage. Her support for initiative and referendum, which allows people to circumvent the Legislature to get issues on the ballot, would leave such an essential matter of civil rights open to repeal.
Among the victims of such mean-spirited politics would be Ms. Andrews herself, whose own marriage last year was possible because of the new state law.
Ms. Andrews says there are more important issues to the voters in this district — most notably jobs. Voters would be well-served if she gets a chance to address them all, as a gay woman in a male-dominated Senate."
In additon, an Albany-area online newspaper, the
Knickerbocker Ledger, also today endorsed Andrews's candidacy:
"Robin Andrews for New York State Senate District 43
This race should have featured incumbent Senator Roy McDonald running for his third term representing Saratoga and Rensselaer counties. However, Mr. McDonald has been punished by the arch-conservative wing of the Republican Party for voting in favor of marriage equality in the summer of 2011. He was defeated by Saratoga County Clerk Kathleen Marchione, who has polarized this race with her strongly right-wing positions.
Moderate voters who would certainly vote for Mr. McDonald have been left bewildered and have begun to consider Democratic nominee and Claverack Town Supervisor Robin Andrews, and for good reason. Not only does Ms. Andrews possess an understanding of her district grounded in her work as a local executive, but unlike Ms. Marchione, she can bring a moderate perspective to the upper house of the Legislature that is widely representative of her constituents. On this basis, we endorse Ms. Andrews for election."
Overall, it was great to see the editorial boards of two area newspapers line up behind Robin Andrews. Now one can now only hope that the endorsements will bring some much-needed momentum behind her severely underfunded campaign, where she is being outspent by a ratio of nearly 5 to 1 by Kathy Marchione and her right-wing allies. Additionally, even despite continued media claims of the 43rd District being a "Republican stronghold" the newly reapportioned seat is actually a much more moderate district than the one that Roy McDonald currently represents, with the addition of increasingly Democratic Columbia County in the Mid-Hudson Valley and the loss of several heavily Republican suburbs/exurbs in southern Saratoga County (Clifton Park, Malta, Milton, Ballston Spa). In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama carried the reapportioned seat with 53% of the vote, about the same as the federal average. With a more moderate electorate, as well as continued lingering division of the Republican base from last month's primary, and increased Democratic turnout during a presidential year, this could be a winnable seat for Robin Andrews.
With the GOP and right-wing special interest groups now pouring thousands of dollars into Marchione's coffers, this would be a great time to lend a hand to Andrews.