On Tuesday, Albany Law School professor and immigration attorney Sarah Rogerson announced her bid for New York's 44th state Senate district seat, becoming the second Democrat to publicly launch a campaign this week.
This week, two Democrats have thrown their hats in the ring to attempt to challenge long-time Republican State Sen. Jim Tedisco, who has served as a legislator for more than four decades.
On Monday, Stillwater patent attorney Patrick Nelson announced his campaign and now Niskayuna resident Sarah Rogerson.
Rogerson tells WAMC it’s time for new representation in the 44th District, which encompasses portions of Saratoga and Schenectady counties.
“Incumbents currently, in this moment of crisis in our democracy, cannot rely on what they've done in the past. Handshakes, chicken dinners, informal agreements are not the job. You can be social, but you need to also be effective,” said Rogerson.
Nelson tells WAMC he believes voters in the 44th District need a more effective representative.
“Given our local challenges and also the challenges that New York state and our communities are facing from a manufactured crisis of weaponized incompetence coming from the federal government, we need more than a ceremonial senator who’s focused on ribbon cuttings and passing out certificates. We need someone who has the skills and experience to actually deliver results in Albany that will help our communities,” said Nelson.
In a statement to WAMC, Tedisco says his record disputes these claims, adding “I’m proud to work in a bi-partisan fashion and sponsor several bills with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and be able to pass 54 bills in the past few years in the Senate to help residents in the 44th Senate District and statewide.”
Rogerson said her career would inform her leadership, as well. She said she would look to back legislation in support of immigrant New Yorkers, especially in the face of a number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainments within the district over the past year.
“I've been reading about it for years, the idea of establishing a civil right of action for people to sue Ice in New York State for violations of their constitutional rights, among many other proposals that are out there, including one rallying today on care for all you know, in order to expand access to immigrant New Yorkers for A lot of state benefits,” said Rogerson.
Rogerson’s nephew was shot in the 2021 Oxford High school shooting in Michigan. She tells WAMC she’d look to further support common-sense gun laws in the state.
“This is an issue that involves multiple interventions, investments in community gun violence prevention writ large, not just school shootings and social emotional supports in public schools and in our communities,” said Rogerson.
Patrick Nelson, who previously ran for New York’s 43rd State Senate seat in 2020, says he’s centering his campaign around his service as a staffer in the state Assembly as well as the Senate.
“I’ve helped lead efforts to expand homesteading, pass term limits, crack down on vacant properties which hurt our property values, create a supportive climate for our small businesses, while also working to keep our property taxes low,” said Nelson.
Schenectady County Democratic Committee Chair Frank Salamone says while his committee will issue its official endorsement in the coming weeks, he tells WAMC he believes Rogerson is “the perfect candidate.”
The deadline for voters to change their party registration to participate in primary elections is Feb. 14. Tedisco won the 2024 election for the seat by defeating then Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner and current Saratoga County Board of Supervisor Member Minita Sanghvi.
