BIDEN PREVAILS
New Yorkers say now it’s time to work
Many of New York’s politicians and citizens savored former Vice President Joe Biden’s clinching of the presidency Saturday.
Many on both sides in the Capital Region also expressed the deep need to work together now on the many challenges ahead and to patch up divisions.
Albany County Executive Daniel P. Mccoy, one of the first local delegates to back Biden, said Saturday was not a day for gloating.
“As Biden has already said, he plans to be a president for both Democrats and Republicans,” Mccoy said. “It’s time that we reject the hyper partisanship that has divided us and only gotten far worse over the last four years. It’s time that we turn the page and move forward as one nation.”
The victory of Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-calif., over President Donald Trump and Mike Pence shatters a glass ceiling for women and minorities across the country: America’s first female vice president, first Black vice president and first person of Indian descent to take the office.
“Twice in my lifetime I have witnessed people who look like
me make historic moves in a country who counted them less than,” said Thearse Mccalmon, a Schenectady Democrat who lost her challenge against Republican state Sen. Jim Tedisco in Tuesday’s election. “I am so happy that my daughters not only have an example in Kamala, but that they get to see that in me as well!”
Recounts and legal challenges may continue for days or weeks as Trump continued unfounded claims of voter fraud and other election irregularities Friday, but even some Republicans accepted that it was time to turn the page.
“The economy today is healthy, gas prices are low, jobs are being created and our country is seeing some measure of peace and stability in the world,” said Rensselaer County Executive Steve Mclaughlin, a Republican and former state assemblyman. “We are counting on the next president to continue and expand on those good results and to bridge the gaps that now exist in a divided nation.”
U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, R-corning, was the first Republican of New York’s congressional delegation to speak out Saturday afternoon about the election call. He said the country must continue to transparently count and certify the election results.
“However, out of respect and in deference to the moment, I extend my congratulations to President-elect Biden,” he said. “We are ready to come together, work as one and help all Americans through the difficult times ahead.”
By mid-afternoon Saturday, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R- Schuylerville, had not issued any comment on the election call, despite a press inquiry. Republicans in the state Legislature had not issued any statements or responded to requests for comment. Nick Langworthy, chair of the state Republican Committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, DN.Y., was at a march demanding the counting of every vote in Brooklyn on Saturday. Surrounded by masked voters and press, he declared, “Now we take Georgia and then we change America!”
Two Senate run-off elections in January are must-wins for Democrats to claim a Senate majority and Schumer to swap his present title for majority leader. He said in a statement, “A Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate would be the biggest difference maker to help President-elect Biden deliver for working families across the country and in Georgia where, for too long, they have been denied the help they need by President Trump, (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch Mcconnell and a Republican-led Senate.”
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said she looks forward to working with the Biden and Harris administration. “This country faces many big challenges, and I know that Joe Biden will rise to meet them with decency and compassion, and do the necessary work to heal our nation,” Gillibrand said on Twitter.
“This is a historic day,” said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. “After the darkness, division and hate of the past four years, America has spoken and rejected more of the same ... today we go forward in hope and progress.”
U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-amsterdam, said he was “full of hope” Saturday.
“As I said Election Day about my own race, every vote should continue to be counted, and it is apparent that Joe’s margin of victory will only increase as that happens,” Tonko said. “Bright days are ahead of us and we all have a role to play to build back better, no matter who we voted for.”
U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-rhinebeck, also urged unity after a bitter campaign and a polarizing presidency divided the nation.
“Now is the time to come together and unite around our shared values and common purpose,” Delgado said. “The journey to perfect our union remains paramount.”
New York Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said part of the work of moving forward from a Trump presidency was “respecting those who might not agree with us.”
For the organizers who worked across the country for a Biden victory, Saturday was a day of elation. Denise Murphy Mcgraw of Niskyuna, a member of the New York for Biden leadership team, said she distributed 10,000 Biden-harris signs in New York, sent a daily newsletter about the campaign, ran 88 phone banks and made five trips to bring New Yorkers to Pennsylvania to knock on doors.
Her daughter Caroline Mcgraw, a college student, was a Biden delegate for the Democratic National Convention in August. Caroline cheered for Biden at a rally Saturday
outside the White House.
Murphy Mcgraw also worked on Biden’s 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns. She was with Biden on Election Day in Scranton. The tears ran down her face as Biden told her “keep up the good work,” Mcgraw recounted. “This has been 33 years in the making,” she said. “I have the gray hair to prove it.”
In capital city, a cacophony
Saturday afternoon in Albany, cars drove down State Street past West Capitol Park honking, some flew Trump flags out open windows as passengers’ squeezed airhorns. Others, honking equally as loud, displayed Biden-harris in blue and red lettering across their windows as passengers cheered.
On the north side of the Capitol were small groups of five or six people holding Biden signs, mostly standing and talking to each other. Citizens Action of New York, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Albany, had organized a “Protect the Results” rally for noon.
Similar rallies were happening across the country to stand in solidarity with other states, like Pennsylvania, where mail-in ballots were still being counted Friday night.
Once the group learned Biden secured a victory the purpose of their rally changed. They still felt it was important to come out and support each other and talk about next steps.
“I just feel such a profound sense of relief. I can’t even describe it,” Kate Rose Bobseine said with tears in her eyes. Bobseine and her 5-yearold daughter planned to come to the Capitol for the rally before they heard the news. They wanted to be with people who cared about the votes being counted accurately.
“I have a lot of cautious optimism,” said Jenna Kersten, another group member. “Obviously I’m really happy but we still don’t know what is going to happen and Biden being in the White House doesn’t mean the fight is over.”
On the south side of the Capitol stood a couple of members of the group Stop the Steal— a group created on Facebook, and a day later taken down by Facebook, that believes fraudulently cast ballots were being counted.
Trump’s campaign has failed to prove allegations of voter fraud and other election irregularities in court. The campaigns’ claims before and after the election of voter fraud have been widely discredited.
The group members who spoke with the Times Union and who declined to give their full names said they believe that mail-in ballots should not be counted, and that Trump won the presidency.
“We’ve known that (election fraud) has been happening for months now, it is not new,” one Stop the Steal member said. “We have to come out today and stand up to fight against it.”
Citizen Action of New York members said they believe it is important to spread awareness about how the claims are false, but they were more excited thinking about what work will be possible with Biden as president.
“My first thought was nice, we got (Trump) out, now what is next?” said Gabriel Silva, the group’s community organizer. “Is Biden going to give us housing? Is he going to give us health care?... The problems facing this country didn’t start with Trump. They have been around much longer.”