Democrat voters hit the polls throughout the Capital District last Thursday, and the end result is still unclear for many of those vying to represent the party come November.
The Capital District has long been blue. Those not affiliated with the party will quickly conjure the names of “Uncle” Dan O’Connell and the Democratic machine that ran the Capital City for nearly 90 years. However, it was one of their own who did just that on Friday when Dan Egan, who has challenged incumbent Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy for the party’s bid, invoked the party machine on Friday.
Egan pulled no punches during his campaign against McCoy, accusing him of several improprieties, including having a hand in the deaths of senior citizens waiting to board the county’s senior living facility.
As ballots were counted last week, Egan failed to collect enough votes to earn the party’s bid, and later called McCoy’s administration a relic of the by-gone machine.
In its hay day, the Democratic machine led with an iron grip. Uncle Dan led the charge of “South End against the World,” from the background. And, though you’ll hardly find a person who would say so, it was O’Connell, and he alone, who handpicked each representative and each seat. Anyone daring enough to oppose him would be laughed out of town, or find his home reappraised rather unfavorably.
Election years bring out the best and the worst in political candidates, and sometimes the best person for the job doesn’t always win. The drama that ensues in the process often casts an ugly shadow over the issues at hand.
There is, for the lack of a better phrase, a game to be played. Those who play it well, will often go far. These primary races were kept relatively clean. Once the absentee ballots are counted, and representatives are finally decided, election season will heat up in earnest.
Hopefully, earnest will be the name of the game for all who compete this November, so as not to overshadow the issues voters need to concern themselves with, rather than the drama that often brews between each party’s candidate.
The race between McCoy and Egan may be a sign that voters are looking for just that, a clean and fair race between politicians. There no longer is room for name calling and mudslinging when it comes to deciding the power players who decide upon the laws that govern us all. That, of course, would be the optimistic, romantically-hopeful and painfully-naive point of view for us to take. In all likely hood, the ballots simply reflect the popularity of an incumbent and the confidence he’s earned over the years.
Nevertheless, a clean and fair race is what we all deserve to see on all levels of the campaign trail this, and every year. Leave the drama to the kids on reality television, please.
