Tedisco Concedes, Murphy Takes Seat

Republican Assemblyman Jim Tedisco called Democrat Scott Murphy to concede the congressional race earlier this afternoon. Murphy’s close victory over Tedisco is a big win for Democrats. He will be replacing now-Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in Congress, representing New York’s 20th congressional district.

Otis Gets Party Nod; Steve Doesn't Care

Otis Jennings walked away from his party’s nominating convention last night with the Republican Party’s designation as their official candidate for Mayor of Syracuse. Steve Kimatian walked away a sore loser. Otis Jennings allegedly drew support from more than 75% of Republican committee members in the vote. Kimatian made it clear he would be forcing a primary and spoke about taking his message to the thousands of registered Republicans in the city. By choosing to primary Mr. Jennings, Mr. Kimatian has made a deliberate commitment to waste time, energy and money in a knock-down, drag-out, bare-knuckle fight that will leave whatever candidate emerges victorious from the primary bruised, bloodied and battered with only six weeks to prepare for Election Day. The only comfort Republicans are feeling right now is that the Democrats promise to do the same. For a man who has been a registered Republican in Syracuse for less than a year, Mr. Kimatian seems intent on destroying the Republican Party’s ability to win a citywide race. To the 18% of city voters who are registered Republicans and would like nothing more than to see a Republican return to City Hall, that knife in your back belongs to Steve Kimatian. The Democrat’s primary election just became the de facto mayoral election. Congratulations.

Maffei is Challenged

Congressman Dan Maffei has drawn his first challenger for an election almost nineteen months away. Conservative Party activist Paul Bertan, a retired chemistry professor, announced that he will seek the Republican, Conservative and Independence Party lines for the 2010 congressional election in New York’s 25th congressional district. Bertan will likely be the first of many to throw their hat into the race.

Otis Lands ABC Endorsement

In what is being called the first major endorsement of this year’s mayoral race, the Central New York Regional Council of Associated Builders and Contractors has endorsed Otis Jennings. The President of the Empire State Chapter of ABC, Rebecca Meinking, said “We try to support the candidates that support the philosophies we believe are fair for business and workers in New York State.”

Steve Makes it Official

As this blog reported on March 7th, Steve Kimatian, a Republican, intended to join the race for Mayor of Syracuse. Today, he made his intentions official in a public announcement. His entry into the race sets him up for a nomination battle with the other announced Republican candidate, Otis Jennings. On Tuesday, April 21st, the City of Syracuse Republican Committee will select a mayoral candidate at their annual designating convention. Otis Jennings is the favorite to receive the designation but the candidate that does not receive the party designation can choose to force a primary in the fall by collecting a certain amount of signatures from party members. The GOP would surely like to avoid a primary so their candidate can focus on the general election while the Democrats fight through a heated primary of their own. A forced primary is distracting and wastes resources and would leave the eventual candidate only six weeks to shift focus to the general election before Election Day. In a race where the Republicans will need every advantage they can get, Steve Kimatian’s entry into the race and the potential for a primary is likely causing headaches for a party that needs unity if they expect to have any chance of winning.

Dan Maffei: Congressman or Comedian?

In an episode that aired this week, Congressman Dan Maffei appeared on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report in a running segment called “Better Know a District,” which highlights congressional districts around the country. In part of the interview, Maffei appears as an evil version of himself, and speaks of his love of cocaine and prostitutes. You can watch the video below.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Better Know a District - New York's 25th - Dan Maffei
colbertnation.com
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Kolb Takes Over

As the results of the special congressional election in New York’s 20th congressional district continue to roll in, Jim Tedisco vacated his post as Assembly Minority Leader in order to focus on his “transition to Congress,” though he has not yet been declared the winner. As a result, Republicans elevated CNY Republican Brian Kolb of the 56th Assembly District to the leadership position. Congratulations, Assemblyman Kolb, you are the leader of the 41 Republicans in a 150-member legislative body. Good luck.

About Last Night...

Well, it happened. As many people feared, the results of the special election yesterday left the race between Jim Tedisco (R) and Scott Murphy (D) too close to call. As the results trickled in throughout the evening, Tedisco saw a healthy lead slowly whittled away. Scott Murphy had a 65 vote lead (numbers vary depending on the source) when election officials called it a night. The race will hinge on absentee and military ballots, which needed to be postmarked by March 30th and received no later than April 7th (military ballots must be received by the following week). While both parties are prematurely claiming victory, we must wait at least another two weeks for a result, barring any further challenges. A promising sign for Tedisco is that more Republicans requested absentee ballots than did Democrats and Tedisco leads Murphy in the group of absentee ballots that were counted yesterday. Republicans also expect Tedisco to lead among military voters. All in all, up to 10,000 absentee ballots may be returned, so a 65-vote swing is definitely manageable for Tedisco. This race is truly up in the air at this point. Stay tuned.