NY-21: Jim Buhrmaster Running For The Chance To Lose In November

Darius Shahinfar takes the primary (4.00 / 1)

and then rolls over this joker.

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by: Jrathman @ Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 17:11:13 PM UTC

For reasons cited below (0.00 / 0)

A moderate Republican against a moderate Democrat makes for a confusing general election choice.

To beat a Republican, you need a proven Republican fighter.  Right now, that looks like Phil Steck to me.  Steck is also the only candidate in the race who has won an election before.  That said, Darius shows promise and has good people working for him as well.

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by: Soundpolitic @ Thu Mar 06, 2008 at 05:03:50 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

And It's Not As Though (0.00 / 0)

Buhrmaster would really be giving anything up to make the run, as his county legislative term has another three years to go.  Obviously, having a reasonably sane GOP candidate in the race (compare with NY-19) means that the Dems have to make sure that they don't fracture as a result of a possibly divisive primary.

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by: The Maven @ Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 20:35:27 PM UTC

Buhrmaster should not be underestimated (0.00 / 0)

Jim is a very likeable intelligent guy.  Many Democrats really like him.  His voting record is extremely moderate, often being the only member of the Republican minority to vote with the Democrats.  His family also owns Scotia Bank and he personally owns Buhrmaster oil so money wouldn't be an issue if he had a real shot.

There is one way he wins.  If we pick a candidate too far too the left or have a primary that is too factious we lose this district.  Outside of the city of Albany, the district is Democratic but not very liberal.  Schenectady and Montgomery County Democrats are socially very moderate and many are very fiscally conservative.  This is why Amedore won in a District with a Democratic enrollment advantage.  The suburbs of Albany are also not bations of liberal Democrats.  The Albany County Hilltowns and Colonie have many older Reagan Democrats.  

Don't let pure enrollment numbers fool you.  Sam Stratton was a very conservative Democrat.  McNulty for most of his career was a conservative Democrat and the only pro-life Democrat from NY in Congress.

This race is not a given, and though Jim isn't the best candidate, he is still dangerous.

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by: JustAStudent @ Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 23:23:31 PM UTC

Suburbs & Hilltowns (0.00 / 0)

If you're at all worried about the suburbs, look no further than Phil Steck.  His leadership, through grassroots campaigning, ended a century of Republican rule in Colonie of all places.  And he is proudly progressive.

It's because we keep on electing Democrats to Congress that nothing really changed after the fabled 2006 take-over.  Impeachment went off the table; withrdrawl went off the table; health care stalled.  It's because we pick "safe" candidates that we end up with a Democratic Congress and then have to explain approval ratings lower than Bush's.

And up here in the Hilltowns, I can guarantee that Democrats are fired up.  I worked hard on the August primary County Legislator Sandy Gordon when he was challenged by my Town Supervisor Kevin Crosier, who had twice been elected on the Republican ticket.  Turnout was massive for a primary and I still love to look at that chart.  Both in the Hills and the Burbs, this district is ready to elect a progressive.

Good points to consider, I think.  And good point, just, for reminding us that we should never again "misunderestimate" our Republican rivals.

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by: Soundpolitic @ Thu Mar 06, 2008 at 04:56:45 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hilltowns (0.00 / 0)

I think you are misinterpreting the results of that County Legislative election.  Yes, alot of Democrats turned out for a very popular incumbent Democrat (Gordon) in a district with a huge Democratic enrollment advantage.  That does not mean they are "ready" to vote for a "progressive."  Sandy Gordon is a very nice guy, but not a real left liberal.  He voted against the Iraq War resolution which Phil Steck is pushing (and couldn't pass in a overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature).

While I am sure there are some younger progessives such as yourself, you are hardly the mainstream of the hilltown Democrats so I don't think you can fairly say the hilltowns are absolutely ready to elect a liberal Democrat.

I like Phil Steck.  I think he will make a nice candidate for congress. If Breslin had run for Congress, he would have made an excellent state senate candidate.  That said, you are not fairly describing what happened in Colonie.  Colonie flipped in major part because they ran moderate candidates (the supervisor is a former Republican).  They ran in a year where corruption was a major issue (the Gun Club project being all over the news), they got large union backing from CSEA (something they hadn't had before), and the town was on the fringes of finicial ruin.  Combine that with the largely changing demographics of the town that have included a large influx of lower income people who are leaving the city of Albany (This is further shown by how Albany's population is quickily in danger of becoming smaller than the town of Colonie).  Steck's legislative election also is helped by the fact that the Albany County Legislature is so strongly Democratic.

Looking at Guilderland, we saw Democrats lose both town board seats and a county legislative race become much closer than it should have been to a frequent candidate.  This goes clearly against the argument that some moderate Democratic victory now mean that a conservative Democratic district is now ready to elect a liberal Democrat.  The suburbs are not showing any signs of that and neither are the hilltowns.

The western end of the District, Montgomery and Schenectady Counties particularly, voted for an extreme right wing evangelical conservative whose only education is one year at Jimmy Swaggert Bible College (Amedore) despite a Democratic enrollment advantage there too. They don't seem too ready to elect a progressive either.

As I said, Steck seems to be a good guy who did lead a major victory, but it wasn't the out of the blue turn around some are trying to paint it as and certainly doesn't mean the 21st Congressional District is safe or ready to elect a progressive liberal.

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by: JustAStudent @ Thu Mar 06, 2008 at 23:21:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hilltowns (0.00 / 0)

I think you are misinterpreting the results of that County Legislative election.  Yes, alot of Democrats turned out for a very popular incumbent Democrat (Gordon) in a district with a huge Democratic enrollment advantage.  That does not mean they are "ready" to vote for a "progressive."  Sandy Gordon is a very nice guy, but not a real left liberal.  He voted against the Iraq War resolution which Phil Steck is pushing (and couldn't pass in a overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature).

While I am sure there are some younger progessives such as yourself, you are hardly the mainstream of the hilltown Democrats so I don't think you can fairly say the hilltowns are absolutely ready to elect a liberal Democrat.

I like Phil Steck.  I think he will make a nice candidate for congress. If Breslin had run for Congress, he would have made an excellent state senate candidate.  That said, you are not fairly describing what happened in Colonie.  Colonie flipped in major part because they ran moderate candidates (the supervisor is a former Republican).  They ran in a year where corruption was a major issue (the Gun Club project being all over the news), they got large union backing from CSEA (something they hadn't had before), and the town was on the fringes of finicial ruin.  Combine that with the largely changing demographics of the town that have included a large influx of lower income people who are leaving the city of Albany (This is further shown by how Albany's population is quickily in danger of becoming smaller than the town of Colonie).  Steck's legislative election also is helped by the fact that the Albany County Legislature is so strongly Democratic.

Looking at Guilderland, we saw Democrats lose both town board seats and a county legislative race become much closer than it should have been to a frequent candidate.  This goes clearly against the argument that some moderate Democratic victory now mean that a conservative Democratic district is now ready to elect a liberal Democrat.  The suburbs are not showing any signs of that and neither are the hilltowns.

The western end of the District, Montgomery and Schenectady Counties particularly, voted for an extreme right wing evangelical conservative whose only education is one year at Jimmy Swaggert Bible College (Amedore) despite a Democratic enrollment advantage there too. They don't seem too ready to elect a progressive either.

As I said, Steck seems to be a good guy who did lead a major victory, but it wasn't the out of the blue turn around some are trying to paint it as and certainly doesn't mean the 21st Congressional District is safe or ready to elect a progressive liberal.

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by: JustAStudent @ Thu Mar 06, 2008 at 23:21:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Nice points... (0.00 / 0)

I don't claim to know too much about the Colonie specifics since I'm not from there.  I take Phil at his word that he helped end a century of Republican rule.  Hell, a century of Republican rule practically ends itself :-)

But in the Helderbergs, there was a lot at stake.  Nearly half of Democrats in Berne turned out in the primary.  The fact that our Supervisor had pushed forward unpopular and undocument proposals to re-zone the Town and merge our Town Highway Department with the County's played a huge factor.  So did the fact that he was running against Sandy at a time when his wife, now deceased, was very ill.  We can see through filthy motives up here in the Hills, and Kevin Crosier got the beating at the polls that he deserved.

One of the main things we pointed out about Sandy Gordon was his introduction of the Right to Farm Bill, which was passed unanimously.  His foolish "nay" on the Steck-Iraq resolution came after the fact.  He was probably considering running on the Conservative line again...and he obviously didn't need it because it was the only line Kevin Crosier still had in the general election.

I still believe that the district, and the country as a whole, is ready for a strong progressive who isn't afraid to call himself a progressive.  And the possibility of getting it done in a five-way race where the magic number for victory is 21%, then with a strong campaigner like Phil Steck, we just might be closer than we think!

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by: Soundpolitic @ Fri Mar 07, 2008 at 00:32:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Couple points (0.00 / 0)

First, the vote came after the election so it had nothing to do with getting the conservative line.  It had to do with Sandy being a moderate guy in a moderate district.  His political mentor, Mike Hammond, is a Democrat who makes keeping taxes down his theme every election.  Both are great guys but not leftists.

Second, the Town probably would have been better off letting the County take over its highway department to be honest.  Its better more efficent government.  County control of highways works in several other states which have lower taxes and in some cases better highway systems.  This parochialism that says it can't be done well unless controlled by towns is one of the reasons taxes are so high.

Finally, I would love to see a more progressive candidate win the race.  The problem is the district isn't as liberal as some are trying to convince themselves it is.  If we get foolish and a lower turnout, split primary leads to a candidate too liberal for the district, we can and will lose.  It might not happen until 2010, but it will happen.  Remember, this district will likely get even more Republican in the next redistricting as we are likely to be used to help protect Gillibrand and the state as a whole will lose 2 seats.

Paul Tonko is probably the only candidate with the appropriate background to win the race as a progressive.  He has represented Schoharie and the Albany Hilltowns during his Assembly career (before redistricting gave him the city of Schenectady) and won in Montgomery and Schenectady counties by huge margins.  He was the primary sponsor of Timothy's law, a major environmental advocate, and a leader on a host of reform issues.  He would be the only candidate with significant legislative experience and a successful campaign background.  The man, even while out of office, still manages to be EVERYWHERE for every event.  There certainly is not a more likable candidate.  

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by: JustAStudent @ Fri Mar 07, 2008 at 01:47:30 AM UTC