Senate Candidates On Display
Spots Going Fast For October 27th Breakfast
Election Day will be a mere 12 days away when the Chamber holds its Oct. 27 breakfast featuring eight candidates for the state Senate.
“Ulster County is unique in that we have four state Senate districts,” said Chamber President Ward Todd. “All eight candidates for those four offices have been invited to our breakfast and the issues they will talk about are extremely important to local businesses.”
The breakfast, sponsored by Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, is scheduled for 7:30-9 a.m. at the Best Western Plus in Kingston.
Todd said the format would be the same as past years with opening statements, written questions from the business community and then closing remarks.
The following candidates were invited to the breakfast: 46th Senate District First-term incumbent Sen. George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, faces a challenge from Democrat Sara Niccoli in this race.
Amedore was elected to the Assembly in 2007 and is vice president of Amedore Homes, a second-generation family business.
Niccoli is supervisor in the Montgomery County town of Palatine and a family farmer. She is the former executive director of the Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State.
The 46th Senate District includes the city of Kingston and towns of Esopus, Hurley, Kingston, Lloyd, Marbletown, Saugerties, Ulster and Woodstock in Ulster County. 39th Senate District This race pits longtime incumbent Sen. William Larkin, R-Cornwall, against Democrat Chris Eachus, a New Windsor resident and Orange County legislator.
Larkin was first elected to the Senate in 1990 and is seeking a 14th two-year term. He served in the Assembly from 1979-1990 after 23 years of active military service.
Eachus is a former physics, astronomy and Earth science teacher at Marlboro High School and Newburgh Free Academy who lost to Larkin in 2012. He has been a county legislator since 2006.
The 39th Senate District, which encompasses mostly Orange and Rockland counties, includes the towns of Plattekill and Marlborough in Ulster County. 42nd Senate District Incumbent Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, is facing off against Democratic environmental activist Pramilla Malick of Minisink in this race.
Bonacic, a former majority leader and chairman of the Orange County Legislature, was first elected to the state Senate in 1998. He was a member of the state Assembly from 1990-1998.
Malick won an opportunity to ballot election in September. A mother of four, her campaign website said she got involved in politics to
oppose the construction of a compressor station near her home and has since fought against fracking.
The 42nd Senate District includes the towns of Denning, Gardiner, New Paltz, Rosendale, Shawangunk and Wawarsing in Ulster County.
51st Senate District
Incumbent Sen. James Seward, R-Oneonta, faces Democratic challenger Jermaine Bagnall-Graham of Shelburne in this race.
Seward was elected to the Senate in 1986. He is a former Milford town justice and former chairman of the Otsego County Republican Committee.
Bagnall-Graham, a U.S. Army veteran, works as an IT analyst for Bassett Healthcare Network. He earned a master’s in public administration from Binghamton University and served a graduate internship with the city of Norwich.
The 51st Senate District Seward represents includes the Ulster County towns of Rochester, Olive, Shandaken
and Hardenburgh.
Chamber breakfast programs are a great way to network with other local business leaders and stay on top of current events. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. For more information or to register, call the Chamber at (845) 338-5100 or go online at www.ulsterchamber.org.