By Tom Precious
ALBANY – Ahead by a few dozen votes after a couple weeks of legal wrangling over the counting of paper ballots, Republican George Amedore is claiming victory today in his race against a Democrat to represent a sprawling new Senate district that stretches from the western reaches of Montgomery County in the Mohawk Valley to the Mid-Hudson Valley near Poughkeepsie.
We are still awaiting word from Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk if there are any other legal routes to consider. (It was a highly interesting race to watch for a bit, until Senate Republicans cut a deal with five breakaway Democrats to form a coalition chamber in the Senate.]
But Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was quick to give the nod to Amedore. “His electoral journey has been a long and winding road, but it ends today with him as senator-elect,’’ Skelos said in a statement.
UPDATE: Not so fast, say Senate Democrats. Gary Ginsburg, a spokesman for Tkaczyk, said there are still hundreds of contested paper ballots that judges at a mid-level appeals court have yet to consider. "When all the votes are counted Cecilia Tkacyzk will be certified the winner of this election and will represent the residents of the 46th Senate district,'' he said.
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