Remember the Democrats who said that the GOP was doomed to be a party that could only win in the South? Those Democrats must have been absent from Rensselaer County for Election Night 2009, when the party of Obama and Paterson found itself getting relegated to the cities of Troy and Rensselaer. Democrats had their hats handed to them anywhere they didn't hold a sizable enrollment advantage. Republicans won both town board seats in North Greenbush, captured a 4-1 majority on the Hoosick town board and re-elected Republican supervisors in virtually every town. Even Democrat heavyweight Ginny O'Brien found herself outdone by a Republican candidate in East Greenbush. To Ginny's credit, she was able to read the writing on the wall, and jumped ship ahead of all four of the Democrats' county legislature candidates in District 2 getting blown out of the water.
While the Republicans find themselves worried about hosting so many swearing-in ceremonies, the Democrats are worried about the looming indictments of Troy Democrats involved in the absentee ballot scandal. Expect a messy fight for Troy City Council president pro temp as the Dems struggle for their share of the post-Chappy world.
|