Because the link to the article will feature next week's news, the rest of the article in it's entirety is posted below. It was written by Chet Hardin. I have added my own emphasis on that which has been lacking in the mainstream and which I personally believe deserves to be emphasized.
The struggle for control in the county committee is a long history, said Steck. "By the time I became chairman of the Democrats in Colonie in 2002, we had simply written off the county committee as a source of support because we knew how it was." The committee was controlled largely by Jennings. "He was the de facto chairman. Everything that he said, went."
However, going into the latest Democratic committee meeting on May 21-after years of organizing, a historic win in Colonie, and months of campaigning-Steck was confident that he had the votes to secure the committee's endorsement for his bid to replace Mike McNulty in the 21st Congressional District, regardless of the mayor, who had thrown his support behind one of Steck's leading opponents, former Hillary Clinton staffer Tracey Brooks. The Steck campaign walked into the meeting knowing that they had secured 30,000 out of the 72,000 weighted votes.
"It was probably one of the largest ever coalitions ever," Steck said, or at least the largest in his memory.
With that support, the Steck camp was able to deflect an attempt by another Brooks supporter and father of the outgoing Congressman, Jack McNulty, to pass a motion stating that the committee should not endorse any of the candidates in the heated primary competition. It was a move that many had hoped the committee would have taken, McNulty reportedly argued, if for no other reason than to preserve "party unity."
Prior to the meeting, said Brooks spokesman Kyle Kotary, "We were contacted by the Albany County Democratic Committee co-chairs and called to a meeting with [former Assemblyman] Paul Tonko, Phil Steck, and members of their campaigns, asking the campaigns and the candidates to support the nonendorsement."
The Steck, Tonko and Brooks campaigns are considered the front-runners in the crowded field of the 21st, and were the only candidates to receive votes of support coming out of the committee's preliminary interview process. It was hoped that the party could avoid stoking the already divisive relationship between the suburban and urban Democrats if these three candidates would agree to not seek the committee's endorsement. Both Brooks and Tonko said yes. Steck said no.
The endorsement, Steck's critics said, was more important than party unity.
Which led to the volatile committee meeting. McNulty put forward his motion for nonendorsement, which led to a vote. According to a committeeman who was present that evening, and wished to go unnamed, all of the votes previous were done by standing voice. But the vote on the nonendorsement, at the urging of Steck's campaign, went instead to a roll call, a long and tedious process that can last for hours.
Many were frustrated by this move and began to walk out. The scene turned chaotic, the committeeman said. It appeared to Steck's critics that "the fix was in."
"Several members got up, voicing disgust, and left," he said.
There appeared to be no real reason for the roll-call vote, other than to disenfranchise committee members with the long, drawn-out process of recording the votes of all 503 members who were present at the beginning of the meeting. Further, the committeeman argued, had the motion for nonendorsement been put to a voice vote, it would have likely won out.
As it stands, the committee endorsed Steck by a vote of 124, with 27 votes going to Tonko and 12 to Brooks.
Steck rejected the notion that he won by any other means than legitimate process. To him, he said, this was simply a contest-a contest that he was better prepared for. And it proved, he said, what years of grassroots organizing can accomplish. Out of the 109 committee members from the town of Colonie, all but two-who abstained-voted for Steck.
"That's a very strong showing," said Steck. "It made me very warm-hearted. It showed me that people appreciated my hard work."
Of course, he said, you're going to have your base of support from wherever you have been most active, but pointed out that he also received support from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, and 9th wards of Albany, as well as votes from Watervliet and Cohoes.
Steck also said that Tonko's campaign had sent out letters previous to the meeting, seeking the Albany County Democrats' endorsement, and that Brooks used robocalls and reached out personally to members of the committee, seeking their support(although Kotary insisted that she sought support only for the motion of nonendorsement).
"They campaigned to win the vote," Steck said. "The problem was, they weren't winning. And then to come to a meeting and see that you don't have the votes, because the other guy has brought together a broader coalition than you could, and then to walk out, I don't think that's an impressive approach."
