Previous years I have endorsed selected candidates for office in my district. This year is no different, but with a broader stroke: I am endorsing all of the Democratic candidates for my district. You can claim that this is a sellout to my party, but let me first explain my rational.

Democrats are the party of the average person, good government, and protecting civil liberties. They as a party may not be perfect, and I may strongly disagree with some policy issues, at the end of the day they generally seek a higher form of social justice.

President John F. Kerry (Support)

It is always time for a change in the President, as incumbents tend to become despotic. Scandal and troublesome policy choices plagued Clinton's second term, and I see no reason why Bush's second term would be better. Bush is further hampered by a strong ideological bias that will inevitably lead to poor public policy choices. Furthermore, his pro-business stance threatens individualism and small businesses and farms.

A President Kerry would be better at defending our county, and protect civil liberties at the same time. He would be less likely to take our first responders and put them on the killing floor of Iraq, at the same gutting our rural communities of the youth that make up their future. Bush's march to war both in Afghanistan or Iraq seems to have made little sense. He should be held accountable for his failed policies.

Our incumbent President Bush does have some issues on his side. He has been willing to take bold steps to towards reforming the environmental bureaucracy, and placing greater responsibility in professionals who directly work in the environment. He has given greater discretion to loggers, farmers, ranchers, oil drillers and many others: the key will be to see if it's used wisely. Similarly, his energy policies, while unbalanced, tend to realize the need to protect the environment.

On other outdoors issues Bush versus Kerry becomes blurry. Bush has taken many steps to allow reasonable access of motor sports in our parks, including balanced plans for the use of ATV's in national forests and protecting the right to snowmobile in Yellowstone. Kerry on the other hand, would more aggressive prosecute big power plants and other industrial polluters who have contaminated our lakes and streams, making fishing more difficult. Kerry would reduce the mercury problem that makes it unsafe to eat fish.

Both men support second amendment rights. Bush has gotten the endorsements of the NRA and other arms' groups, but Kerry has added for the first time a second amendment plank to the Democratic platform. He has worked hard to get the male vote, and has stressed his hunting experience. We need a hunter as President, one that cares about the environment, and are more then all hat and no cattle. Liberal silliness about the Assault Weapons has little effect on the shooting sports or for that matter, crime. Instead, it much more important to watch the regulation of hunting at the state level.

US Senator Charles Schumer (Support with Reservation)

Chuck E. Schumer is easily going to win the next election. He's done many things for New York, and while I am not particularly impressed by his positions on gun control, war, and civil liberties, he's the best choice over Assemblyman Mills. Howard Mills' positions on abortion, federal spending, free trade, and social welfare are discerning. Moreover, I've met Mills a couple times in the past, and I doubt he has the stature to a US Senator.

The most impressive part about Schumer is that he has visited every county in New York State in the past year. He's well aware of the problems that upstaters face, from the agriculture community to cities like Buffalo and Rochester, whose cores are rotting away. He is the Senator Pothole of today's generation.

With $26 million in the bank at the start of campaign season, and as a well-loved man, he's going to squeak into office with minimal problems. He isn't all I could hope for in a US Senator, but he gets the job done. You could call him the K-Car of US Senators.

US Congressman Mike McNulty (Support with Reservation)

Mike McNulty is a pro-war candidate who is known for his support of the Bush administration on defense initiatives. Since the start of campaign season, he has moved further back to the left side of the spectrum, criticizing the President for his mishandling of Iraq, but it is still obvious where his loyalties stand. He's an outmoded conservative Democrat who supported Clyne and keeping the Rockefeller Drug Laws the same (something his fortunately has no say in), opposes abortion and gun rights. He's a liberal spender on social issues, but is constantly arguing for Congress to have more fiscal restraint.

McNulty is a mixed bag. If he wasn't running against Warren Redlich, a libertarian-Republican who wants all social programs including farm subsidies slashed, then I might withhold my endorsement for McNulty. The Democrats need to find a better candidate. For now, our biggest priority should be getting a Democratic majority. Then we can find a candidate that better suits our ideology.

District Attorney David Soares (Strongly Support)

We need an African American District Attorney who cares about civil liberties. For too long, the Albany DA's office has been run by the Albany establishment, selectively prosecuting individuals and holding minorities in jail for extensive periods of time without prosecution. Instead of protecting the public interest, the DA's office under Paul Clyne and his predecessor Sol Greenberg protected the special interests.

African Americans need not be treated different then whites. It's difficult living with the stresses of city life, and it should be the DA who decides carefully what cases to prosecute and which ones to ignore. Poor choices by Clyne include not actively prosecuting the December 31 Lark Street Police Shootings, and his decision to prosecute Browne case in the way he did. Fundamental fairness is what the DA's office should be about, and the DA's sole job is to ensure that his DA's concentrate their effort on bonafide crimes that hurt the public interest.

David Soares has had some pretty nasty things said about him, including the dredging up of expunged traffic-related misdemeanors. That was fundamentally unfair and mean-spirited, and shows what great length Clyne and Cusick will go to discredit him. Voters are unfazed, and still support him overwhelmingly. At least Soares is an outsider, and is not becoming rich off of trial lawyers like Clyne.

I have campaigned for Soares, and been a strong supporter of him, since he has won the primary. He has run a clean campaign, and look forward to him becoming an effective prosecutor as DA.

New York Senator Neil Breslin (Support)

Neil Breslin is an overall nice person. He cares about the downtrodden, and has worked for them throughout his life. He is an expert in many fields from insurance to agriculture. He serves on these committees and others in the Senate, and his minority voice provides a great deal of dissent. His opponent, the disillusioned Mike Conners, quit the Democratic Party this spring and has since become a hard-core conservative.

I have campaigned for this man, and believe he will win and provide a strong voice for our county.

New York Assemblyman Jack McEneny (Support with Reservation)

Jack McEneny has been the Assemblyman from the Hilltowns and parts of Albany and Guilderland. He's probably been our most effective representative in the New York Legislature, serving in the majority party of the Assembly and serving on many important committees like agriculture. I disagree with his support of some pieces of legislation, like tough anti-ATV bills, the burn barrel bill, and canned shoots, but are willing to overlook these weaknesses for all the good that being a majority party member has had to our district.

His opponent Mr. Sorce is a relative unknown whose campaign lacks the seriousness necessary to win the election. Sorce maybe a very good health department bureaucrat, but his experience and ability to bring home the bacon can not compare to McEneny.

Hold your nose and vote for McEneny. He's old and tired, and his positions on certain pieces of legislation might be reprehensible, but he can do more for us then the alternative.

Other Candidates Worthy of Mention

I would like to mention a few candidates out of my district I know personally or have a great interest in seeing re-elected, along with my rational for choosing them.

Assemblyman Bob Reilly. Bob Reilly is running against Bob Prentiss for the Colonie and Clifton Park Assembly seat. Bob Prentiss is a longtime establishment candidate from this largely Republican district, and my experience with him is that he is a pleasant and friendly person. Yet, he lacks the ability and power of being in the majority and the values that Bob Reilly has. Not only is Bob Reilly a farmer, owning several head of beef cattle in his long-time family farm outside of Clifton Park, he also runs a bar in Albany off of Partridge Street. He's a very nice, down to earth person who cares about people even more then Prentiss. Albany needs a change.

Assemblyman Dan Hooker. The freshman Assemblyman from Schoharie's motto is to vote 'no' to everything. That's gotten him in trouble on the campaign trail, but his solidly Republican and rural district will ultimately come through for him. I like a man who's not afraid to vote 'no' when he believes something is bad, even on bills where such an action could have serious political repercussions. For example, EANY has rated him the NY legislator with the worst environmental record for all the things he's voted against.

Assemblyman Chris Ortloff. The Republican from Plattsburgh has offered a lot to his area, particularly for being in the minority. This man is well dressed, articulate, and brings a powerful voice to the Assembly minority. It would be a loss to lose him this year, as Plattsburgh's Republican base continues to erode away.

Assemblyman Patrick Manning. You can't vote against the man who brings us Assembly Dairy Day, and helps us remember all the good things that farmers bring to us. Moreover, his ranking minority voice in Assembly Environment Conservation gives balance and perspective from that of an upstater. As they say, you have to live off the land and not in a city to really understand environmentalism (unlike Thomas DiNappoli).

Assemblyman Roger Green. Roger Green is a great Assemblyman and all around charismatic guy. His ethical mistakes are just that, and his return will be greatly appreciated by all.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. A solid driver of policy that represents the people of New York, and helps to keep the more extreme ideas of the NY Senate in check. Having met him before, and listened to him many times on the Assembly floor, I can say he is a real down-to-earth person despite the persona given to him by the media.

NY Senator Nancy Lorraine Hoffman. The Republican Senator and former Democrat from Syracuse who chairs Senate Agriculture is a pretty charismatic person. I disagree with some of her positions on women's rights, but her loss would be a major loss to the Senate.

NY Majority Leader Joe Bruno. Like usual, he's running unopposed. His iron grip of the Senate might be despicable, but it has served a good check on the power of government. He has supported many Democratic-initiatives from the Assembly in the past, and his chamber's ideas have been invaluable to initiating sound policy ideas.