Democrats sweep... A sign of things to come?

Democrats sweep in Saranac Lake


SARANAC LAKE —The more Democrat Clyde Baker scribbled down the unofficial vote tallies, the more excited the surrounding crowd of two dozen Democrats grew.

And when his left hand penned the numbers in the final district, someone from the crowd yelled out, “Is it the whole slate?”

Moments later the answer, “everything,” led to the Harrietstown Town Hall being filled with a celebratory yell from the Democrats. They had taken all four contested races in an election that had the biggest turnout in recent memory.

Of 3,078 registered voters in Saranac Lake, more than 1,400 voted Tuesday, about 300 more than in 2003, the most recent year to draw a high vote total.

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I don’t think a campaign has been run in this community that was as open and as forthright and up-front as ours was,” Michael said. “I think that affected people, and I think they heard our message and listened to what we had to say.”

A combination of factors led to the high turnout. Both the Democrats and Republicans had plenty of money to spend. Plus, Wal-Mart’s recent proposal brought more people into local politics.

“There was an incredible amount of money spent on this election on both sides,” Branch said. “I think the word was out, and I think there was a hot issue. I think this was really driven by the department store issue. It’s unfortunate. We have a lot of issues out there.”

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Taxes, affordable housing and open government were also big parts of this campaign. Some voters, upon leaving the Harrietstown Town Hall, expressed dissatisfaction with the current village board, while others said the Democrats did a better job in communicating their stances.

“I really looked at all the candidates. I thought the Democrats had a good handle on all the issues,” said voter Laura Holmes, a registered Democrat who said she is open to voting against party lines but voted all Democrat Tuesday.

Michael said he thinks part of the reason the public responded so strongly was because his party was open to new ideas.

“I think the message that we continued to play out in every single forum was our openness, our willingness to listen and our analytical approach to problem solving,” Michael said. “And I think people bought into that. I think people of the community are tired of politics as usual, and they want to see a more proactive government.”

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and otherwise--Dems have been winning--even some GOP seats. It's a good sign.

:kick: :kick: