Aubertine won’t run for NY-21 seat
The Watertown Daily Times is reporting that former New York senator and state Agriculture and Markets commissioner won’t run for the 21st District Congressional seat currently held by Bill Owens. He told the paper that the congressional run would take him away from his family and his work in the state Comptroller’s office, where he’s been since late last year.
This means that Aaron Woolf, the part-time Elizabethtown resident who’s been endorsed by district Democrats, is pretty much the only Democrat in the field. So far, he’s kept quiet about his plans, which Aubertine told the paper makes sense: “Clearly he’s putting together a platform, being deliberate, which he should.” He says he’s not sure how active a role he’ll play in campaigning for Woolf; he’ll decide that, he said, when they meet.
Tags: Albany, aubertine, congress, ny21, politics, washington
My prediction is that there is still going to be a local Democrat actually from the district who will run.
Mervel – there isn’t much time left to get in the race. and… Aaron Woolfe already has the endorsement of the Democratic Committees.
Since he never said he was going to run, why is it news when he says he’s not going to run. Who edits this stuff? The tail is wagging the media on this one….and it’s not really worth the effort to comment on a non event. Why bother if not for boredom?
It’s like the stories about asteroids that wont hit the Earth but will get close — closer than 1 million miles!!!!!!
Just imagine the devastation a giant piece of rock that will never hit your house would cause if it DID hit your house. It’s fun to pass the bong around and speculate on imponderables.
I’m not running either!!
Mervel, I think you’re going to be wrong on that one. Once Aubertine dropped out I think that finished it for anyone with serious potential to challenge.
I think the carpetbagger issue is a little bit silly in this district. In a way I think it shows a lack of understanding of the district itself. Over on my side of the mountain it is quicker to drive to Brooklyn than it is to drive to Watertown or Malone. Besides, a significant portion of our population is from somewhere else. Much of the real property is owned by someone who resides here only part time. In the town where I live most of the businesses are owned by people originally from downstate or Jersey. Even though my family has lived in the town for 3 generations before me I’m only considered a sort-of local because I was born elsewhere and went to school in the neighboring town. In fact being a local seems to be defined more by being in the snowmobile club than anything. And the people who are “true” locals, those who’s families have been here since before the Revolution, don’t even participate in local government at the rate that “outsiders” do. If it weren’t for people from somewhere else we wouldn’t have a town supervisor and most of the town board, hardly anyone to teach in the school, many of our bus drivers and probably a lot more. I’ll have to go down to Stewarts and find out.
I’ve met Aubertine and Stefanik as many times as I’ve met Woolfe – never. I have actually seen Doheny in person and I’ve seen Matt Funicello many times – he bakes great bread. Matt may have been born in the district depending on exactly how you define it because the lines were different and the Saratoga hospital may or may not actually be in the district now, I don’t know. But he grew up in Canada, different country! Though maybe that is a good qualification for the Rep from this district.
You may have a point knuckle. I think on this side of the district, we don’t have the second home bunch (with the exception of TI), people have been here longer etc and yes I have met both Aubertine and Addie Russel for example at various parades and other events.
The City is a different world, most people that I know locally have never been there, most have never been south of Albany. So yeah a filmaker from Queens is just not going to seem like he would understand our poverty problems or concerns with Diary or the prison industry etc.
But that may be totally different in the eastern part of the district.
I think Hillary did a very good job for example of representing our state and she actually articulated a depth of knowledge about North Country issues that I found pretty amazing given our relative isolation and lack of influence in the state at large; so a carpetbagger is not always a bad thing if they are an exceptional person.
I hope Dede runs as an Independent…She’ll get my vote.
Yes I would vote for her over any of the current slate.