Tag: Corey Ellis

Albany politics: June 24 primary

Corey Ellis, Sam Fein

Albany.land trustHere’s something that you folk who live elsewhere may not know about Albany politics. The city along the Hudson River hasn’t had a mayor who wasn’t a Democrat since 1921. There is a Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 24, with early voting from June 14 to June 22.

Here are the candidates for the nomination:

Dorcey Applyrs, the current city auditor. She was born in Washington, D.C., but has lived in the city for several years, serving on the city council. She has been winning the endorsement race. The incumbent mayor, Kathy Sheehan, who is not running for reelection, recently donated $10,000 to the political action committee supporting Dorcey, Albany Forward. One of the points Applyrs has consistently made is that she is not Sheehan 2.0. 

Dan Cerruti, who was born in Albany but moved away. According to the Applyers supporters, they are “extremely concerned” about Cerutti’s campaign, since he was reportedly “formerly registered as a Republican living in Texas and only in 2023 re-registered his party affiliation as a Democrat.” And accepted MAGA money. Yet one of my reliably progressive buddies, whom I’ve known since college, vouches for him. Dan has recently been endorsed by former mayor Jerry Jennings, which honestly is not a plus.

Corey Ellis, born in Albany, is the president of the Common Council (city council), who didn’t enter the race until January. 

Carolyn McLaughlin, born in Albany, served on the common council for many years and was president for seven of them. She’s now a member of the Albany County legislature. She is a cousin of a church friend of mine.

After watching a couple of debates where they all say, more or less, the right things, I was no more enlightened.

It’s just a primary

Then Corey Ellis came to our door a couple of weeks ago. I asked him why he entered the race so late, and he explained the timing in terms of his position with the state nurses’ association. He discussed some of his less visible achievements in the city. Did he see himself as a spoiler? No.  

I decided to vote for Corey. Years ago, he spoke at my daughter’s class, and she was impressed. He was a speaker at a Friends and Foundation book review a couple of years ago. 

My philosophy, not one I originated, is that I vote with my heart in the primary and with my head in the general election. That’s how I have voted in Democratic Presidential primaries for decades.

The interesting twist in this contest is that Dorcey already has the Working Party’s line for the general election in November. If Corey or Carolyn were to win the primary, I suspect, although I don’t know, that she might step aside in favor of them or at least not actively campaign. If Dan wins the primary, she would have another bite at this political apple.

Count my money

In the city auditor race, there are three candidates:

David Galin is the Chief of Staff of the City of Albany. Previously, he served as an attorney at the Legal Aid Society and with the United Way.

Sam Fein serves as an Albany County Legislator and is an Analyst in Albany’s Office of Audit and Control. He has worked as Policy Director in the New York State Senate.

John Rosenzweig is a public school math and attendance teacher, and he has coached baseball and soccer. He was a member of the Albany Common Council  for two terms.

I wrote about my noncommitment. Sam wrote to me asking for my support, so I’m giving it to him. I’m sure David would be fine, even though his dog “talks” in his print ads. Incidentally, Sam is nominated by the Working Families Party. 

Election Day (tomorrow)

Tomorrow, Albany will almost certainly elect its first woman mayor in its long history.

I was at my allergist’s office last month for my every-28-day injection, and she asked if I wanted a reminder card. “Nah, just tell me the date.” “November 5.” “Oh, that’s Election Day, easy to remember.”

This led me to mention that Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, so it will fall on November 2 through 8, but NOT on the 1st. When asked WHY, I admitted that I didn’t know, but that it was probably tied to the fact that it was All Saints Day, and/or it’s easy to forget that a new month has started.

So what IS the real story why Congress (in 1845) select the first Tuesday in November as Election Day?

From Information Please:
“. . . For much of our history, America was a predominantly agrarian society. Law makers therefore took into account that November was perhaps the most convenient month for farmers and rural workers to be able to travel to the polls. The fall harvest was over… but in the majority of the nation the weather was still mild enough to permit travel over unimproved roads.

“Why Tuesday? Since most residents of rural America had to travel a significant distance to the county seat in order to vote, Monday was not considered reasonable since many people would need to begin travel on Sunday. This would, of course, have conflicted with Church services and Sunday worship.

“Why the first Tuesday after the first Monday?… First, November 1st is All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics. Second, most merchants were in the habit of doing their books from the preceding month on the 1st. Apparently, Congress was worried that the economic success or failure of the previous month might prove an undue influence on the vote!”

From the Wikipedia:
“The actual reasons, as shown in records of Congressional debate on the bill in December 1844, were fairly prosaic. The bill initially set the day for choosing presidential electors on “the first Tuesday in November,” in years divisible by four (1848, 1852, etc.). But it was pointed out that in some years the period between the first Tuesday in November and the first Wednesday in December (when the electors are required to meet in their state capitals to vote) would be more than 34 days, in violation of the existing Electoral College law. So, the bill was reworded to move the date for choosing presidential electors to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a date scheme already used in New York.”

As I’ve noted, I ALWAYS vote. ALWAYS. Tomorrow, Albany will almost certainly elect its first woman mayor in its long history. I must say that I didn’t vote for Kathy Sheehan in the primary, and that one of her campaign workers inadvertently talked me into that position. I said to the volunteer that I was voting for this guy Darius Shahinfar for city treasurer in the primary, and he told me something I already knew, which was that Kathy, the current treasurer, was aligned politically with Darius, so they’d sure to get along. But given the long-time shenanigans of the Albany Democratic machine, maybe having someone NOT aligned would be better.

I was reminded that when I was growing up, in New York State, there was often a Republican governor and a Democratic comptroller, or vice versa. Since there IS no functional Republican party in the city of Albany, the primary IS the race. I voted for Corey Ellis for mayor in the primary. But Sheehan (and Shahinfar) won the primary, as expected. And the city has a bunch of economic woes, caused in no small part by 20 years of one mayor, and not long before that, 41 years of another mayor.

Ramblin' with Roger
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