Schenectady, Rensselaer County Races To Be Decided In Today’s Primaries

Several key Capital Region races are being decided in today’s primaries. Polls are open until 9 p.m.

In Schenectady, seven Democratic candidates are running for five seats on the seven-member city council. Councilors Leesa Perazzo and Ed Kosiur left the panel in the middle of their terms earlier this year. Doreen DiToro, Haileab Samuel and Carl Williams are vying for those two seats.

The other three are for full four-year terms. Candidates are current City Council President John Mootooveren, councilors Marion Porterfield and Karen Zalewski-Wildzunas, and challenger Damonni Farley, a longtime city advocate who in a recent public forum challenged sitting council members.

“As we talk about all of the good things that are happening in our city, especially when we talk about things like some of the economic growth, if it has not changed or improved the material conditions of the people that actually live here, if you can’t feel that, if it’s not tangible for you then it’s missing the mark and we’re missing the mark.”

Farley says he believes in "making decisions with people and not for people."

In Rensselaer County, three Troy city council seats are up for grabs, and two county legislature seats are in contention with Working Families Party, Democratic and Conservative primaries.  A WFP primary pits Sara McDermott against Gwen Wright. The winner will face Republican County Executive Steve McLaughlin in November. Wright had crusaded for adding additional early voting sites in the Collar City.

"What is however, unfortunately unique to Rensselaer County is the failure of our Board of Elections to select an early voting location which complies with the letter and spirit of New York's early voting law by designating an easily accessible early voting location in the city of Troy. That is unconscionable."

A judge ruled in favor of New York Attorney General Tish James in a lawsuit filed last month against the Rensselaer County Board of Elections and its commissioners claiming officials failed to provide voters with adequate and equitable access to early voting poll sites. The BOE filed an appeal, with a hearing expected after the primary. Early voting wrapped June 20^th.

Other primaries are being held in Saratoga County and in the Albany County Town of Guilderland. Polls close at 9 p.m.