The race for an open New York state Senate seat rekindles an old rivalry.
In office since 1997, Democrat Neil Breslin is the longest-tenured Senator in the chamber. The 82-year-old from the 46th district decided not to seek another term early this year. Party leaders were quick to promote state Assemblymember Pat Fahy of the 109th district to run in Breslin’s stead this fall, and any other Democrats who had interest in running for Breslin's seat quickly dropped off the radar.
In February, Family Danz Heating and Air Conditioning founder Ted Danz launched a Republican candidacy for the seat, setting up a rematch of sorts against Fahy, whom he had run against in 2012 for the Assembly seat. Fahy handily defeated Danz, netting about 63 per cent of the vote.
"She slaughtered me. She killed me. It was all Albany," said Danz. "Of course, everybody knows that grew up in this area, like myself. Democrats run the roost. I don't consider myself just as a Republican. I am sponsored by the Republicans. I am a Republican, I'm a conservative, I'm independent, but I'm a New Yorker. I want what's best for New York first. "
According to the Assembly website, the 66-year old Fahy has been the prime sponsor of over 200 bills – more than 75 of which have been signed into law. Danz, who just turned 77, doesn't think much of one of Fahy's best known causes: reimagining Interstate 787 to reconnect Albany with its waterfront.
"A little late," Danz said. "Hindsight is always 2020, that should have been a consideration a long time ago. As it stands, that's as, in my own opinion, it's an unfeasible project."
Danz says he balks at projects fueled by tax dollars, like the recently announced $10 million in state funding to dismantle Central Warehouse, long an eyesore on the Albany skyline.
"And then what? We're going to fund a new project there? You know, more tax incentives?I want to see property go back in the tax roll. And, you know, it seems amazing to me that it's going to cost $12 or $13 million to tear a building down. I have really got a problem figuring how it's going to cost that much to do that. I always flinch when I hear the word state money. That's our tax dollars," Danz said.
Danz says he'd also like to see the sprawling College of Saint Rose campus back on the tax roll after the private college in Albany shuttered. At the close of the session, lawmakers, led by Fahy, approved the Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority to handle the property’s future.
"It was last November on Channel 10, my opponent stated that the College of Saint Rose was financially secure," said Danz. "Two months after that, they announced the closing. She's head of the Committee for Higher Education. You're telling me, somebody didn't know something was going on there. For the last five or six years, they ran out of money. I would love to see what happened there. I don't want it to happen again. We [could] have another college move in there, or another state entity move in there. We have to be real careful with our money. People are leaving New York because it's so expensive to live here. And I don't mean to jump track on that, but that's part of it. We just keep spending money. Now we're coming to an election, and the politicians are running out there, giving money away, left and right."
Danz, reflecting on taxpayers footing a $1.7 billion dollar Wadsworth Labs project, thinks some of the campus' 81 buildings and part of the Saint Rose property could be a new home for the facility. He has misgivings about “Good Cause” eviction.
“ I think, as a as a state and as a county community, we have an obligation to help people that are struggling, but to just openly say that we're not going to give the landlord the right to evict somebody. I think that's wrong,” Danz said."
Danz says the city of Albany is not safe. He says he and his wife had a frightening encounter with a young unhoused individual as they left an event at the Palace Theatre that ended when two burly security guards from a nearby building walked into the scene. "My wife was in tears. As it stands, my wife will never go into the city of Albany again after dark," said Danz, who blames Fahy.
"This no bail has been a disaster," Danz said. "This is one of Pat Fahy's pet projects. It's an absolute failure. What we need to do is we need to boost up the police force. We need to increase the pay for the police. There shouldn't be an officer on a beat that's carrying a gun that's making less than $100,000 a year."
Another of Fahy's priorities, the NY HEAT Act, didn't make it through the legislature this year. Danz says that's a good thing, because the infrastructure needed to supply new electricity "just isn't there.” He adds most people prefer clean-burning natural gas for cooking and heating.
"How do we generate electricity? We're burning oil down at the National Grid plant down in Selkirk, we're burning oil. We're burning gas. In some areas, coal. I just don't see it as a feasible object that we could say 'within five years we're going to be all electric.' The idea that we can just stop the flow of gas and switch everything over to electric, is going to be very expensive," said Danz.
When it comes to climate change and protecting the environment, Danz says we should "do things right" and "be clean," but also be wise.
"I think we have an obligation," Danz said, "on the federal end to significantly put pressure on third world countries, and not even third world countries. China, building like a dozen, putting a dozen new coal plants online every month there. Why is it we have these great meetings and we don't pressure other countries to do what we do. It just doesn't make sense to me that if we're just that little island on Earth and we're keeping it clean, but everybody else's filth and pollution and dirt is blowing onto our dirt. It's got to be a global effort, not just us."
Although it may seem the odds are once again against him due to Democrats’ enrollment advantage, Danz believes there is an opportunity for victory.
"The idea that I would run against Pat Fahy again, really wasn't a consideration. Ms. Fahy now has a voting record that I can go against. Previous to that, I think it was a very one way race, given that there were so many more registered Democrats than there were independents, Republicans or Conservatives, that it was overwhelming. I felt it was a real good experience, and I enjoyed the challenge. And I'm a real competitive person, and I think this time around the tide has turned. I think there's a lot of people out there who claim they're Democrats. They're actually going to vote independently. They're going to vote for the best candidate," said Danz.
Fahy says she feels good about the rematch against Danz.
"I think people appreciate it that even if they don't always agree with me, they know I'm going to work my heart out. And I feel, I'm getting good feedback on that. So I feel optimistic in this Senate campaign," Fahy said.
The 46th state Senate district includes portions of Albany and Schenectady Counties and all of Montgomery County.
