Good, bad and ugly of local politics

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The Front Page

Morning Update

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

By Ken Tingley

David Strainer is a good example of local politics in action.

Strainer, a local real estate agent, was a capable and respected at-large supervisor from the town of Queensbury who served three terms on the Warren County Board of Supervisors.

Unfortunately, he lost his re-election bid in 2013, despite having three terms of experience and a reputation as a hard worker on the board. After an interview with the newspaper editorial board, it was clear he was an intelligent candidate who had a firm grasp of the issues. Unfortunately, the Republican majority in Queensbury finally caught up to him in 2013. He ran again in 2017 and lost again, despite his credentials.

It is another case of voters choosing their party affiliation over a good candidate. It is especially sad in a local election where ideology rarely plays a role the the county decision-making and most Democrats are as conservative as their Republican colleagues. Sadly, many voters don’t really understand the role of the at-large supervisor positions in Queensbury and Glens Falls.

Over the years, candidates regaled the editorial board with stories about going door-to-door and hearing residents demand that their street’s pot holes get fixed and their city taxes lowered. Of course, only city government officials can address those concerns.

So it wasn’t surprising Tuesday when the lone Democrat running for an at-large supervisor position in Queensbury - Brent McDevitt - lost as well. This is not a new phenomenon. If the Republicans can get five candidates with a pulse, they’ve got a darn good shot of beating any Democrat.

What was so sad to see was the extent Queensbury Republicans went to win all four seats on the board. McDevitt, whose father Peter is a long-time supervisor from Glens Falls, has a past. He had a substance abuse problem that was well chronicled via his arrests and sentencing in the newspaper.

He seems to have turned his life around and you have to admire him for coming within sniffing distance of politics when you have a past.

There was apparently a letter sent out to Republican voters before the election reminding voters of his past. Travis Whitehead demanded to see his legal records at a county public meeting, despite the fact his arrests were well-chronicled in the media.

The whole thing was ugly for the Republicans out to smear a man who appears to have gotten his life back on track.

Brent McDevitt lost Tuesday. I don’t know whether he would have made a good supervisor or not, but I know It took a lot of guts to run and stand put to the bullies. They should be ashamed of themselves.

It is another reason why we should not be surprised that enrollment in local political parties are shrinking. I believe it is a sign of the disgust the electorate has for the actions of politicians local and national, but especially the actions of Rep. Elise Stefanik and the politicization of her office.

Five years ago, I withdrew from the local Republican Party and became an independent. I always voted for the best candidate anyway, so it didn’t change my voting habits at all. I try to vote for smart people with ethics. I think it is a good rule of thumb.

Thanks for feedback

I appreciate all the feedback I got last week from those of you getting this newsletter. There were many kind words of encouragement as I sought guidance on where to go next with this experiment. But I also hope it makes you think about how how you consume news and information that you get a reliable source.

It was also an attempt to inform you about the changing face of news and that if you want good, reliable information you are going to have to pay for it. If you don’t have a digital subscription to a daily newspaper, you should get one. I have three.

Don’t consume news that confirms your own viewpoints, look for news that challenges your viewpoints and beliefs. We all should be constantly trying to learn something new about the world around us.

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We need to continue a community conversation if we want are community to move forward.

Tweet of the Day

Kathleen Moore @ByKathleenMoore

I’m in Niskayuna right now interviewing voters. So far, every voter I’ve interviewed hates all the town board and supervisor candidates. There’s a big desire for “none of the above” here, not that that’s a choice.