Well, it seems we won’t need a runoff after all—after George Amedore’s latest court appeal was rejected, the most recent recount in the protracted race for the New York State Senate’s 46th District is over. Cecilia Tkaczyk won, by 19 votes. That makes Amedore, for whom the gerrymandered 46th District was created by his Republican cohorts, the shortest-tenured state senator in modern Senate history. I find that deeply satisfying.

It’s even more satisfying—and a major accomplishment—that Tkaczyk won against such formidable odds. Predictably, laggard Greene County gave more of its votes to the conservative Amedore. Yet Democrats worked hard for Tkaczyk in Greene, particularly Greene County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Doreen Parsley Davis. And without the significant number of votes the county did cast for the progressive candidate, Tkaczyk could not have won.

Cecilia Tkaczyk—worth the wait
Cecilia Tkaczyk—worth the wait. Photo: Daily Mail.

We now look to have a real progressive representing us in the State Senate. I wish we could say the same about our representative in the other chamber, who is incredibly short-sighted on gun control and many other issues. More on that in a future post.

Perhaps the newly elected Senator Tkaczyk can win over some of Greene’s deep-red die-hards during the course of her term, if she lives up to her full potential. She made a fresh and principled candidate, and she has the makings of an excellent Senator. She should serve Greene, and the rest of the 46th District, admirably.