Mayoral challenger Steve Noble speaks at a fundraiser at Tony’s Pizza. (Photo: Esther Joy/ProjectEJ.com)
If 1,400 turn out for the mayoral-alderman-at-large contests, the Democratic primary between Brian Woltman and Jennifer Schwartz Berky in Downtown District 7 might not draw a third as many. There are three legislative districts in Kingston, about equally divided between Uptown, Midtown and Downtown, where voter participation, in the rare cases of contests, falling between weak and indifferent. Provenzano, in making the rounds, has been sure to put in a good word for Woltman who’s, like her, committed to Gallo’s re-election. In even-lighter-than-usual primary voting, that could be decisive.
Women arise!
In one of those curious twists that make politics interesting, former state senator Cecilia Tkaczyk has left the Democratic Party and joined the Women’s Equality Party, founded and funded by Andrew Cuomo last year. With Democrat Cuomo’s clout and cash, the WEP gathered the necessary 50,000 votes to attain a ballot position for the next four years. Tkaczyk, a one-termer soundly defeated by Republican George Amedore last year — with no help from “Women’s” founder Cuomo — will be acting state chairman during the organizational period.
A party dedicated to the issues that concern women should not be operated by men, declared Tkaczyk, appearing on Liz Benjamin’s Capital Tonight TV show on Monday. Pressed by Benjamin, the ex-senator allowed that the Democratic and Working Families parties also are strong on women’s issues. She dodged a question on whether she would run for state Senate next year.
Fred fights on
Republican Fred Wadnola has picked up former gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino’s anti-Common Core party’s endorsement in his quest to unseat three-term Ulster Town Supervisor Jim Quigley. The retired educator could have used that endorsement when he ran for Kingston school board last May. But, as they say in the trade, any line is worth something.
Wadnola sounded a little wishy-washy after handily losing the Conservative Party nomination to Quigley last month but is now obviously pointing to the all-important town Republican caucus on Sept. 16.
