Residents in the 121st state assembly district are in a much better electoral position this year than people in other districts, and certainly in the country as a whole — we actually have two good candidates from whom to choose and, no matter who gets elected on Nov. 8, we win.
Both Assemblyman Bill Magee (D-Nelson) and his challenger John Salka (R-Brookfield) are good men, with solid credentials and experience and a desire to serve their constituents to the best of their abilities. We have interviewed both candidates in our editorial offices, as well as attended the Cazenovia candidate forum last week, and have come away impressed by both. This will be a difficult choice for voters in NY-121 and, perhaps, it comes down less to credentials and more to how things work in Albany. This election is about status quo versus change.
No one can deny that Bill Magee fights for his district and is very successful in bringing home grants and funding and helping district residents and businesses navigate through state bureaucratic red tape to resolve their issues or achieve their goals. Magee knows this district thoroughly, and the other legislators in Albany know him. He works across the aisle and knows how to get things done in the capital and, with 26 years under his belt and being a member of the majority party, he has also the power to get things done.
On the other hand, Magee has been part of Albany politics for so long that he may be inured to the corruption that surrounds him. He is a quiet man who never seems to cause a ruckus. He continually voted for Sheldon Silver — a man convicted and sent to prison for corruption — to remain speaker of the assembly for years despite not just rumblings but, at the end, clear evidence of Silver’s corruption. Also, as was evident during the Cazenovia election forum, Magee just seems to lack energy.
On the other side of the ticket, it is undeniable that Salka is brimming with energy, excitement, ideas and a desire to roll up his sleeves and effect change in Albany. It is clear to us he will fight relentlessly for his district if elected, and he will work across the aisle and lobby hard to achieve the results he desires and that he knows his constituents desire — a knowledge acquired not only from staying generally informed but from going door-to-door and talking with people in all 33 towns in the district. His practical yet no-nonsense attitude will not fail to impress the other legislators in Albany, nor will his boundless enthusiasm for the job and the potential to improve peoples’ lives.
At the same time, no matter how hard he fights, Salka, if elected, will be a freshman assemblyman in the minority party; he will hold no committee chair positions. In a place as corrupt and incestuous as Albany, his fight to effect change and play a leading role in that body will be difficult, to say the least. Salka said he knows he will not change Albany overnight, but will his indefatigability impress or repel the other members of the assembly?
It will be impossible for Salka to have the power and influence that Magee now wields for this assembly district; but Magee will return to Albany as a grey continuation of the status quo with no way to match the electric verve with which Salka will enter and inhabit the chamber and set a different course.
We offer no endorsement in this race, as the election of either Magee or Salka will benefit this district; but there is a tangible difference in the way these two men can and will approach the job of state assembly member if elected and, for those of our readers still undecided on this race, we see the consideration of that issue as a pivotal point.
