North Country politics out of the lockbox

A decade ago the North Country was a political lockbox, the key held firmly in the fist of Republican powerhouses:

State Senators Ron Stafford, Jim Wright and Ray Meier, along with Reps. John McHugh and John Sweeney, cruised to re-election every couple of years with snoozy predictability.

Democracy seemed like an afterthought, a quaint ritual. Heck, elections in the Soviet Union and Iran had more drama.

But these days, the region finds itself at the political crossroads (in the political crosshairs?), with our election landscape completely unsettled.

The special election in the 23rd congressional district — for John McHugh’s soon-to-be vacant seat — is only the latest chapter.

We regularly figure in state and national politics, adding heaps of money and drama to the mix.

What changed?

The first big factor was demographics. The region has attracted tens of thousands of second homeowners and retirees in recent years. Those urban exiles vote D more than they vote R.

The second wave came in the form of a changing Republican Party, a movement increasingly conservative in its policies and increasingly Southern in its tone.

While the North Country’s GOP remains moderate and home-grown, the national brand suffered under George W. Bush and his allies.

The third wave came in the form of a single person: Hillary Clinton. In her bid for the Senate — in 2000 — she shocked the state by spending vast amounts of time in the North Country.

She brought her husband here, developing relationships. She began funneling resources into the region.

The next crack in the Republican armor was the retirement of Plattsburgh, Sen. Stafford in 2002. A giant had left the stage. The musical chairs had begun.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the North Country, the so-called River District was being created, a Dem-friendly Assembly bastion along the St. Lawrence River.

For the first time, Democrats had a real shot at winning state office.

That change opened the door to Darrel Aubertine, who served in the Assembly from 2003 to 2008.

The aura of Republican inevitability was eroding fast.

The next tectonic shift came in 2006. Hillary Clinton was re-elected with strong North Country support.

More dramatic that year, however, was Kirsten Gillibrand’s toppling of John Sweeney — a close Bush ally — in the 20th congressional district.

Helped by Sweeney’s scandals (and they were whopper scandals) and by a landslide Democratic year, Gillibrand won in a squeaker.

That same year, Democrat Mike Arcuri soundly defeated North Country Senator Ray Meier in the House race to replace Republican Sherwood Boehlert.

Not one but two Dems in the region (Arcuri’s district snakes up around Old Forge) had captured seats that had been considered Republican safe bases.

What’s more, they did so against powerful GOP brand-name politicians.

It’s heady stuff, more drama and change than the region had seen for a generation; but the curtain was only rising and the pace of change was accelerating.

Coming on Monday: A look at 2008, the watershed year in North Country politics.