Party sees more influx
Schenectady firefighters fill Working Families rolls
Registration in the Working Families Party in Schenectady County is on the uptick.
The party has seen enrollment increase 21 percent since last November, according to the county Board of Elections.
The Working Families Party had 618 registered members in Schenectady County last November, a number that increased to 750 by Feb. 21, according to election data.
As with similar surges in Rensselaer and Saratoga counties, the party's leadership is wondering if the influx has more to do with electoral antics as opposed to genuine interest in progressive principles.
Chad Putman, a Working Families Party state committee member for the city of Schenectady, acknowledged the party didn’t engage in sustained voter outreach over the past year, calling it a “missed opportunity.”
Yet the numbers are increasing, chiefly because the Working Families Party cleared the thresholds that resulted in other minor parties recently getting knocked off the ballot due to changes in election law.
The migration, he said, is an attempt by Schenectady Fire Department members to “build capital and political influence” as they come up in their next contract negotiation process. Contracts are expired and negotiations have been delayed due to the pandemic.
Officials with the union representing Schenectady firefighters didn’t return requests for comment on Friday.
Schenectady County Independence Party Committee Chairman Richard G. Nebolini didn’t dispute that fire department members are migrating to Working Families in an effort to find a new political home.
“Quite a majority in the Independence Party were Schenectady firefighters, as I was,” Nebolini said. He brushed aside away any notion of ulterior motives, and said firefighters are independent-minded and prefer a third-party over registering as Democrats or Republicans.
Despite the influx, Working Families Party registrants still constitute a small fraction of the total 103,391 registered voters in the county.
““Normally, they vote their own conscience.” Schenectady County Independence Party Committee Chairman Richard G. Nebolini
The migration isn’t just an issue in Schenectady, but elsewhere in the Capital Region, where Working Families Party leadership is concerned that a more conservative-leaning membership will push out progressive candidates in primaries.
In Rensselaer County, the Times Union reported recently that the GOP is attempting to register supporters in the WFP to seize the ballot line to challenge the party's endorsed candidate. Since November, registration in the party in Rensselaer County has more than doubled in size to roughly 2,000 enrollees.
Putman said he hoped the new members in Schenectady County would adhere to progressive principles, including racial justice and climate change, and that an endorsement from the Working Families Party isn’t a rubber-stamp.
“I hope they use their white privilege and position to promote progressive agendas in the city and county and help prop up progressive candidates on the local level,” Putman said. “I like to be optimistic, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
Party leadership endorsed City Councilwoman Marion Porterfeld in her bid for re-election this year, but declined to endorse City Council President John Mootooveren, who received their endorsement in the past, but is now viewed as too moderate.
The committee also endorsed City Council hopefuls Thearse Mccalmon and Carl Williams, as well as Omar Mcgill, who is running against Brendan Savage for the county Legislature District 1 seat being vacated by veteran lawmaker Peggy King. All are registered Democrats.
Nebolini said how the new members vote is up to them.
“Normally, they vote their own conscience,” Nebolini said. “If they choose to vote on that line, it’s up to each individual.”