The Board of
Supervisors, with its 2,974 weighted votes divided between sixteen Town
Supervisors, could witness a fundamental shift in power today with twelve
municipalities choosing between two or more candidates to not only lead their
local government but to represent them county-wide.
None of which could have
a greater impact then the race between Cobleskill incumbent Supervisor Tom
Murray and Republican challenger Leo McAllister. Today's victor will hold 481
(16.2%) of the board's weighted votes and his vote alone could either pass or
sink any measure that comes before county government. This holds especially
true with the board's vote to elect a new chairman in January.
Mr. Murray, who recently
appeared in a advertisement with seven other supervisor candidates that make up
the conservative faction and if they are all successful would control over half
of the board's weighted vote, stands as the bulwark of this coalition:
providing almost one-third of their overall support and their control of the
county's economic hub.
As such, the race in
Cobleskill not only represents a stark contrast between Supervisor Murray and
Mr. McAllister, a local business owner who has served his community in a
variety of positions, but it will decide the direction of county politics in
regards to the board's handling of Fitzmaurice's recommendations,
tax policy and the future of Schoharie County government and whether we learn
from the mistakes of the past three years.
Cobleskill voters have a
difficult, yet clear choice to make in today's election: do they stand with the
incumbent and his tri-partisan faction that is seeking to regain control of
county politics, or do they stand with the opponent that is a soft spoken,
polite businessman and who will bring a sense of moderation to a board that has
far too long been embroiled in controversy.
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