Voters: More change, please
It goes without saying that local elections in 2011 lack the big themes and the powerhouse messaging of the 2008 presidential campaign or even the 2010 congressional campaign.
But as we tot up the votes from yesterday’s balloting, I think there are some broad themes here.
First, despite some of the grumbling that we hear here on the In Box, North Country elections are often vibrant, feisty contests.
Some well-established incumbents — Noel Merrihew in Elizabethtown and Mickey Desmarais in Tupper Lake come to mind — were nudged aside this time.
By my rough tally, more than a dozen mayors and town supervisors were toppled and Ogdensburg’s city mayor is hanging on by a handful of votes.
Secondly, it’s also clear that Republicans no longer have anything like a lock on the region’s politics. Even at a time when the GOP is faring very well nationally, Democrats held their own yesterday.
In the town of Essex, incumbent Sharon Boisen was a particular target for Republicans but she won another term. Dems also made gains on the Clinton County legislature and cruised to another victory in Potsdam.
(Republicans also did well in a lot of races. There’s no evidence that Democrats have any real advantage, but this is now a part of New York where every election is, at least theoretically, in play.)
Thirdly, a lot of these races are hyper-local. Fierce contests in Brighton and Crown Point pivoted on personality as much as policy.
Finally, I think it’s fair to say that these are elections where voters – particularly committed, organized voters – can make a huge difference.
In Potsdam, activists prevailed in the debate over dissolution of the village. In Warren County, the Lake George Citizens Group swept the town board and claimed the supervisor’s race.
Does all that add up to big drama? Not really. But it does add up to a whole lot of grassroots, neighbor-to-neighbor democracy.
Big In Box kudos to everyone who voted, and particularly to the candidates (winners and losers) who jumped into the fray.
Tags: analysis, election11, politics
Here’s what I don’t understand. Why is it required that villages be part of towns, thus requiring a duplicate layer of government? Why can’t villages exist on their own, outside the surrounding town?
MOFYC –
It’s a good question and the answers are complicated, particularly for communities like Saranac Lake, where the village is divided into three towns — St. Armand, North Elba and Harrietstown.
Unraveling the costs, the responsibilities, and the historical loyalties that bind these governments has proved nearly impossible.
In practical terms, towns often rely on the tax revenue from homes and businesses inside village boundaries.
Agreeing to step aside in those areas would make it very difficult for some town governments to survive…
–Brian, NCPR
Brian, Mickey Desmarais opted not to run for re-election, he wasn’t nudged out. Please get your info right before you put it in print.
Sue –
Mickey Desmarais clearly stepped aside because of the political winds in Tupper Lake.
In interviews he talked about taking “a whipping” in the community.
Paul Maroun, his challenger, won endorsements from both the Republican and Democratic committees.
After talking confidently about running for re-election in July, Desmarais withdrew in August choosing not to face voters.
So I think “nudged aside” is a fair description of what happened there.
I stand by my account.
–Brian, NCPR
It never ceases to amaze me how the North Country media can’t seem to shake the idea that the North Country is a republican stronghold. It really is not and has not been for a long time. Look at the national elections -Obama, Bill Owen, Hillary Clinton, Gillebrand. These elections are not exceptions to a “rule”. The bigger question is why. My observation is that this radio station is a strong influence, not because it advocates for the democratic party. It does not. It provides balanced information and is literally broadcasts all over the North Country. And that is why. In addition to the print news the station provides the big and small picture to the region in fair and unbiased manner. I’m not trying to plug the station. It is just my observation. When I listen, when I need to know, the information is here, with the tangents necessary to find out more. Good Work. Further, it is the grass roots that turn the tide on many elections. These folks are informed, they care about the process and they realize at the local government level, participation, voting, really does count. Thanks to the grassroots. Keep at it.
Del –
I think you’re right in a couple of ways: First, there have always been strong pockets of Democratic voting in the North Country. Malone, for example, and Potsdam.
But the overall rise of Democratic voting — in the races you cite — is still a fairly recent trend, and one thing I continue to watch with interest is how enduring it will (or won’t) be.
In terms of why Dems have become more competitive, I think there are some plausible factors that may account for it.
The rise in the number of people settling here for retirement or as second home voters is probably part of the answer – GOP leaders certainly think so.
New York state as a whole has been growing more Democratic as the national GOP has grown more conservative.
Democrats have also done a much better job recruiting candidates. The organization is simply more robust than it used to be.
So I think broadly it probably is time to accept that this is a permanently competitive part of the world, with maybe a slight Republican lean…
–Brian, NCPR
I decided to look at Board of Elections numbers regarding party affiliation of North Country counties. The lesser populated counties tend to be overwhelmingly Republican but the larger counties are more split between the two major parties… I suppose this squares with many of the observations Brian (NCPR) has made in recent years.
Essex: 85% more Republicans than Dems
Franklin: approximately evenly split
Clinton: slight advantage to Dems
Hamilton: 3-1 GOP
St. Lawrence: slight advantage to Dems
Lewis: 2-1 GOP
Jefferson: 45% more Republicans than Dems
So yes, the region is not nearly as solidly Republican as is often perceived. It’s more conservative in the independent sense than in the party-tied sense.
Brian Mann said, “Secondly, it’s also clear that Republicans no longer have anything like a lock on the region’s politics.”
It’s kind of good that voters are looking beyond party affiliation and considering the individual.
This election saw the success of Democrat and Conservative, Cecily Morris, as well as the rejection of the Andrew Cuomo appointee, Regan.
I think candidates like DeeDee Scozzafava started waking people up to the realization that “what you see isn’t always what you get” when she ran as a Republican who bore the name only.
I think it’s good that we are looking beyond party affiliation, here.
Mr. Mann: You really dropped the ball in covering Tupper Lake. Rather than focusing on an ineffective county legislator running in an unopposed race for Mayor you should have focused on the bigger issue. The local chamber is positioning itself to become a third layer of government in the community as evidenced in the election of Donah and Tomberlin. Will they still remain chamber members to avoid future conflicts of interest? It is clear that they ran for one reason; the mountain. There are a few self annointed in this community that will do anything to make sure Foxman gets what ever he asks for. Tupper is heading down a slippery slope and I say this as someone who is not opposed to the ACR but someone that will not sell the shirt of my back to make the rich richer
And Sue, Mickey was nudged out by the likes of Tom and Sue Lawson
Rockydog –
I think we made it pretty clear in our coverage that this election represented a victory for folks who support ACR.
You’re right that we didn’t burrow down to the council level, but we had a lot of ground to cover.
I also think it’s fair to point out that these candidates campaigned openly on their support for the resort. It’s not like this was a stealth thing.
As in all elections, all sides had the opportunity to run candidates. In this race, pro-ACR candidates ran and won.
–Brian, NCPR
I understand you have much to cover and you all do a great job. I’m just giving you a heads up. There are shady things happening in Tupper and a lot of people stand to suffer at the greed of others. I repeat, the local chamber is looking to usurp control in the village and town.
Similar to Cape Vincent, Hammond has struck a solid blow to any thought of green energy development within their township. Kudos to CROH. A considerable amount of resources were poured into this election allowing them to maintain their influence over the supervisor position and pick up an additional board seat. The amount of resources invested in this election is staggering, but obviously well worth it. Congratulations to CROH on their well-run election.
Rocky, Your correct in your observations in Tupper Lake. It was embarassing to watch the ACR candidates try to outdo each other in support of it. I,m 100% in favor says one candidate, the other says he’s 110% in favor. Now watch as the Village and Town boards agree to anything and everything the ACR developers ask of them. It’s scary. If the PILOT goes forth as proposed you will see all existing locals taxes go up as the new wealthy second homeowners will not be contributing their fair share of taxes, even if the project succeeds. It’s amazing no media outlet querried these candidates on their positions/understanding of the PILOT. It is the most important issue in this whole ACR scheme.
I’m not a Tupper resident but I’d be concerned if I were and I understand some of the comments made above. It was noteworthy to hear the outgoing mayor described as a mild supporter but with questions and then to hear assurances that the incoming mayor assure that he was 100% (or maybe 150%) in favor of the project and wouldn’t bother the developer with any of those pesky questions and oversight. I’m sure the developer is happy to hear that once APA approval comes, he’ll have a blank check to do whatever he wants, residents be damned.
Sometimes you get what you wish for and something you didn’t wish for.
I just heard that hydrofracking may have been the cause of the earthquakes is Oklahoma.
Pete, an explanation I heard is that the Oklahoma earthquakes are actually caused by God.
I haven’t paid much attention to the earthquake story in OK but there is plenty of genuine scientific evidence that pumping fluids/extracting fluid from the ground has caused earthquakes in other places.
More on topic, the North Country is very much in play for Democrats even into small communities like the Town of Johnsburg where a Democrat is the new Supervisor. Often it is personality driven. People will give a decent individual a chance in spite of party affiliation. Too often the problem has been that there has been too little competition — just not enough good people willing to run for office.
I think the Republican Party has changed and Democrats have changed enough to win over the moderate Republicans in the North Country. For example in the North Country some of the issues that made people vote republican things like hunters rights, an uncomfortableness with abortion, can be found in North Country Democrats. In fact I would say that many North Country Democratic candidates are actually more conservative on a range of issues than many New York state Republicans.
the politics of the North Country seems to be the politics of the center. Political extremes on either side will be rejected.
To – Brian – MOFYC not NCPR –
The answer to your question is rooted in NY’s colonial history. Towns were created by the Dutch & English colonial governments. When NY became a state, towns were understood as creations of the legislature & were understood to serve state purposes. Most importantly, in NYS, towns (not villages) are viewed as the primary units of local government. In contrast, the farther west you move in the USA villages & often counties are the primary units of govt.
Villages in NY on the other hand are created voluntarily by citizens of 1 or more towns that wish to provide municipal services. Thus, the voluntary nature of village formation also allows for their dissolution by village residents and the “non-voluntary” formation of towns allows only the legislature to dissolve or consolidate towns into county (or city) government.