Republicans Solidly In Control

Looking at the Election results from earlier this month, there were no surprises as nearly all of the Republican candidates swept to victory as expected. In a nutshell, the GOP overwhelmed the Democrats again this year due to the following factors:

* Better candidates
* Enormously better fundraising skills
* Well organized, experienced, and motivated Committee members
* Significantly better strategy and tactics

Bottom line? A significant majority of residents think the town is being run well, and that their quality of life is good. That's a winning formula in politics at any level, as long as the elected officials keep their noses clean and don't screw up somewhere.

Town Democrats Look to Future

Clifton Park Democratic Committee leaders are reportedly gearing up to support the 2008 re-election efforts of Assemblyman Bob Reilly (pictured right) and Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand. Both candidates are featured prominently on the CP Democratic website at http://www.cliftonparkdems.org/.

Though disappointed that they were unsuccessful in capturing any new elected positions in this year's town elections, the Committee was pleased with Judge Robert Rybak's victory for Town Justice.

It is currently unclear exactly what changes if any the Democratic Committee will be making to try and make themselves more competitive in local races in the future. Other than Rybak, the Democrats have not held any elected offices in Clifton Park since the mid-nineties. This record of continuous losses has been a constant theme in town politics for a long time.