This was supposed to be the year: the Democrats were going to take control of the County Legislature, and they were going to increase their presence in the suburbs.
Instead, they lost control of Irondequoit, lost a supervisor's race in Mendon, and made no gains in the Lej. The party actually came closer to control of the Lej in 2007, says Democratic County Legislator Ted O'Brien, who wasn't up for election this year.
It all amounted to a big "What just happened?" moment for the party.
So here's the question: Does this election show that Democrats aren't relevant outside of the city and Brighton? And if they can't take the Legislature in this environment, when the Republican Party is at the center of multiple scandals, can they ever?
There's a good argument to be made that the GOP campaigns were more in touch with the concerns of the people: the economy and taxes. Democrats did focus on those issues, but perhaps not enough. They played up an oversight theme and highlighted county scandals, too, but given the state of the economy, those issues may not have resonated with voters as much.
Democrats say they have plenty to offer suburban voters. But O'Brien says they've realized they should have spent more time trying to establish that Republicans haven't necessarily been the best financial stewards.
"This is a setback, but it's not the end," says Sean Hart, a spokesperson for the County Democratic Committee.
Turnout certainly illustrated that something's wrong. Voters came out at near-record-low levels - 32 percent according to the County Board of Elections - and that could be indicative of fatigue, apathy, or cynicism. That, too, may have benefited the GOP, since the demographic groups most likely to vote also tend to be the same groups most likely to tilt Republican.
But it could be that Democrats everywhere were a victim of broader forces. There's a sense of disillusionment with both parties. Middle-class Americans and seniors see themselves as making all of the sacrifices while Washington bails out banks. They don't see justice.
Among speculators, there's been a tendency to blame the losses on that voter dissatisfaction - whether it's the economy and taxes, the state Democrats who've left voters disappointed, or the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress.
"I think there is a certain sort of natural instinct to create a check on parties in power," O'Brien says.
Results from other parts of the state, and from other states, bear that out. In Erie County, Democrats lost three Legislature seats. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who's been a popular force behind property tax issues, is hanging on to his seat with the narrowest of leads, and may lose once all the outstanding ballots have been counted. Too, Democrats lost gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.
Comments for "POLITICS: The Dems' 'WTF?' moment " (3)
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Voice of Reason said on Nov. 12, 2009 at 5:40am
There are two Democratic power bases operating in Rochester: Louise Slaughter and her wannabe successor Bob Duffy, and Sheldon Silver and his employees including Joe Morelle and at least five of the county leg candidates. The Democratic candidates this year promised that if you liked what you've gotten from Slaughter and Silver so far, you'll love what they'll bring you tomorrow. So, they looked at what they've gotten and said 'no thanks'.
Slaughter/Duffy killed RenSq, which no matter what you thought of the arts center, etc. the fact is it was jobs and $100 million of investment in downtown. Dead. Morelle and Silver brought us government-by-labor union, which has bankrupted the State and left Rochester's job market a wasteland and the City 1/3 smaller than it used to be.
The voters are not happy with the Republicans, either, which means the coming years are wide open for new faces and new approaches. In the same way the Republicans had their fill of Minarik, the Democrats recognize Its time to turn the page from the political wasteland represented by Slaughter/Duffy and Silver/Morelle.
hiwayman17 said on Nov. 14, 2009 at 7:24am
WTF?? Quite simple, actually. I've come to realize through my involvement in local politics that "we the people" is more of a dream than a reality. The town party committees feed into the county party committees. Candidates compete for recognition and support and that all important party designation as the candidate of the party's choice. From the town committees to the county committees, someone has the ultimate power and it isn't the voter. Voters sometimes never have the opportunity to pull the lever for the best or even just a good candidate. Instead the lever is reserved for the candidate who will simply go along with what the party power brokers want.
Sadly, I've seen bright, young, energetic candidates full of ideas and inspiration turned into nearly invisible blandness by going along with the "Joe Morelle" plan for winning. I've heard candidates speak of their ideas for their towns or the county. Yet, when their campaign literature is mailed, voters only get to see the "lowest common denominator" message--which 99% of the time is an attack on the Republicans.
This year, with Robutrad and the Greece police scandals, Republicans gave a wonderful gift to Democrats and voters alike. Republicans showed us why we probably should not vote for them. However, Democrats never told us why we should be voting for them. Democrats need to define themselves as something other than "not Republicans". I found plenty of reasons not to vote for Republicans on Election Day. Unfortunately, I had no overwhelming desire to vote for any of the Democrats either.
I received 9 pieces of large, double-sided campaign literature in the mail during this year's campaign cycle. There was plenty of space for a candidate to define him or herself. I want to know details. I want to know why a candidate is passionate about running for office. I want to know a candidate's budget cutting ideas, environmental ideas, transportation ideas, tourism ideas...I want to know as much as possible. If I get enough information, I might find something to connect with. "I am not a Republican" is not the message I want to hear or see.
Democrats can blame the weather and low voter turn out, but that is an illusion. Think about all the things a person would go out in the rain for...most not as important for voting. Joe Morelle's control over candidates and his creation of bland, generic messages has not worked and will not work in the future. Candidates need to be free to sink or swim on their own with their own ideas and aspirations.
I fully expect Morelle to step down after this year's losses. County Democrats cannot keep using the same plan and the same message, year after year, and continue to hope for a different outcome in the future.
icecucumber said on Nov. 14, 2009 at 7:26am
Voice of Reason forgot to mention the most important power base in Rochester--David Gantt. One person should never have so much control or influence.
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