Capital News 9 introduces the story in a tell-tale manner:
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Paul Tonko makes no secret about it. He's had his eye on the 21st Congressional seat nearly as long as others have had their eyes on him.
Now the tenth candidate to announce, while one has already dropped out, Tonko says he made the decision to run back in April when he resigned from NYSERDA.
Tonko denied interest in the position to focus on the state budget and then help his long time colleague, David Patterson, assume the role of governor. He says it was only after he stepped down from his state role that he was finally able to focus on this campaign. Emphasis added
As mentioned above, the press has had thier eye on Paul Tonko since the October 2007 announcement that Mike McNulty would retire. In following the race since February, I have made constant note that rumors of Paul Tonko's possible candidacy would often trump actual movement by annouced candidates like Phil Steck, Darius Shahinfar, and Lester Freeman in the mainstream news media. Still, Tonko would not confirm or deny, until now, that he was indeed making a run all this time.
In fact, it was as early as last week's debate where one of Tonko's surrogates told me, insisting that things remain off the record, that he was running but that an official annoucement would come in a matter of days. Today, it appears they've held true, just barely meeting the deadline so it didn't become a matter of a week or more again.
Some observors make note that this is a good thing and that this candidacy rockets him up to the top of the pack. It's difficult not to argue with this; Tonko has a quarter-century's worth of good name recognition in the district and a quarter-century's worth of experience working for the people. Regardless of whether one agrees of disagrees with his policies or performance, that is a tough hurdle for the other seven candidates to overcome, and it is impossible not to respect Tonko's tenure as a public servant.
I make the comparison that if this were the Presidential Primary, then Tonko's official announcement is an event akin to Al Gore's hypothetical entry into the national race. It is that big of a deal to some voters in NY-21. People have indeed been waiting for this, and it completely changes the race: there is no denying internally or publicly that Tonko is the name to beat in this race.
All but proving this to be a fact, the endorsements for Paul Tonko are already rolling in. The Daily News Daily Politics blog reports today that CWA is supporting Tonko's candicay. The union has close connections to New York's Working Families Party, another body whose endorsement of any candidate in this primary is expected to shake things up in the future.
Up until this point, however, the future and speculation about it is what the Tonko campaign has been about in the press. That changes today when he makes things official, but in the past, well-documented here on the blogosphere, every little move by Tonko has been covered when the biggest movement, mostly by Phil Steck, the first candidate to annouce, has been ignored.
Back when candidate Paul Tonko was registering domain names and Tracey Brooks was cybersquatting them, that got coverage instead of Phil Steck's racking up endorsements from local elected officials closest to the community. The race has been covered in this unbalanced manner since the beginning, giving lesser known but more youthful and progressive candidates a much higher hurdle than I believe to be appropriate no matter how well-liked or qualified Paul Tonko is.
Also from the Capital News 9 report:
In an exclusive interview, Tonko told us much of his campaign strategy will focus on his experience in the state legislature as well as his expertise on energy issues, something that sets him apart from the seven other democrats in the race and will lead to higher profile assignments in Washington.
::
At this point, some would say he's the most recognizable candidate in the race.
Tonko says with the prolonged presidential primary, some voters could be exhausted by the political process and looking for a face they know and trust.
While his assessment is correct and his strategy sound and predictable, I can't help but think of how complicit the press has been in making sure people know about Tonko before his official announcement while not letting people know who else has officially annouced. And while I don't doubt Paul Tonko could serve his constituents well in Congress, we have been done a great disservice by the mainstream media up until this point. It gives me no pleasure to predict that biased coverage towards Tonko will continue and become more unfair to other annouced candidates as this race progresses, and it begs the question:
If Paul Tonko wins this primary and goes on to win the general (as the winner most certainly will), who will be responsible for the victory: Tonko for having run on his experience and energy expertise, or the press for quite simply shutting everybody else out?
One thing that is not in question anymore is how much harder each other other seven campaign will be working to defeat such a tough opponent. And that we can at least adhere to the fact that when so many Democrats compete in a primary, we are certain to end up with the the best general election candidate.
Still, others have not been so quick to jump on board the Tonko ship. Times Union columnist Fred LeBrun had knighted Tonko "Hamlet On The Mohawk" last month. He identified a possible problem of Tonko's late entry, citing that Tracey Brooks, the only woman in the race had already moved to front-runner status.
Yet Phil Steck has spent the most time campaigning in this race, and now that the press is done covering rumors of Tonko's annoucement as it becomes reality, they may begin to find that Phil Steck has been campaigning harder than they anticipated. From this week's Troy Record online Talespin:
Congressional candidate Phil Steck, an Albany County legislator, got the endorsement of four of the six Democrats on the Troy City Council last week - Councilmen Ken Zalewski, John Brown, Gary Galuski and Peter Ryan.
It's a pretty big deal given the pundits and operatives think the race to replace Rep. Michael McNulty, who decided not to run for an 11th term representing the 21st Congressional District in Washington, will be won or lost in Rensselaer County.
Steck has built many a bridge in Albany County, where nearly half of the more than 428,000 voters in the district live and the all-but-announced candidate, former Assemblyman Paul Tonko, hails from the western portion of the district where there is a lot of land but relatively few voters.
So, that leaves Rensselaer County and its more than 61,000 registered voters who are pretty much expected to be up for grabs.
If this kind of coverage beings to fill the void of rumors about Tonko after he places himself on the same official footing as the other seven candidates, then perhaps he too will regret having entered the race late. The press may soon discover that the candidate running the strongest was the first to announce, not the last to hit the ground running.
Soundpolitic Blogger's Note
At the very least, the media should report as though the race is still extrememly wide-open, with Tonko's entry as a final game-changer before nominating petitions start circulating. After covering this race since the beginning and having most recently seen all eight candidates make their case, including Mr. Tonko, I can say that he will be on the ballot, as will Ms. Brooks, Mr. Shahinfar, and Mr. Steck.
Paul Tonko becomes the name to beat in this primary, yet that challenge is being taken up by strong campaigners, proven (Brooks, Freeman) and unwisely discounted (Shahinfar, Steck)
I would not discount John Aretakis, Craig Burridge, or Lester Freeman at this point either, for reasons of both money resources for the first two, and for a dedication to drawn out primary battles for Mr. Freeman. I do not expect Arthur Welser, "Citizen for Congress" to make the ballot, but please visit his...interesting website anyway.
I encourage those who wish to know the most there is to know about all eight candidates to check out my complete question by question coverage of last week's definitive debate. Fellow blogger Albany Layman over at Demoracy In Albany also has the full scoop not found in the commercial establishments.
And despite all my railing on Tonko, it is the media's coverage that I am most dissapointed with, not Paul Tonko or his record. His candidacy is part of what makes the Democratic primary for Congress in NY-21 one of the most exciting races in 2008 - a year as full as excitement for Democratic politics as never before. |
