Absentees to decide special Assembly race
Republican holds small lead over Democrat
RENSSELAER COUNTY, N.Y. >> A special election to determine who would fill a vacant 107th Assembly District seat will be formally decided after absentee ballots are counted.
Republican Jake Ashby led Democrat Cindy Doran by 280 votes after the polls closed Tuesday, 7,797 to 7,517, meaning the race will be officially decided after 700 absentee ballots are counted.
The state board of elections said Rensselaer County will begin to go over the absentee ballots on April 30, with Washington County counting theirs on May 1 and Columbia County doing theirs on May 7. The 107th Assembly District covers parts of Rensselaer, Columbia and Washington counties.
While Ashby said he’s confident the results will hold, Doran Wednesday said she’s not ready to concede.
“We believe that every vote counts, so we’re going to wait,” said Doran. “We believe that we have a serious absentee ballot campaign in Columbia County and Washington County, so we’re going to want to know what those results are.”
Ashby also said he will wait until the results are certified before declaring victory, but he was pleased with Tuesday’s results. “It feels great,” he said. Both candidates are members of the Rensselaer County Legislature and are running to succeed Steven McLaughlin, a Republican who took over as Rensselaer County executive in January. If the unofficial results hold up, Ashby will need to run for the assembly seat again in the general election this November.
Ashby, 37, is a former Army
captain from Castleton who served two tours of combat duty, and today works as an occupational therapist and college instructor. Ashby earned his MBA-H from Union Graduate College in Schenectady. He is a local entrepreneur, starting his own occupational therapy practice in 2014. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in education from Creighton University.
He is a prior Castleton VFW post commander.
In January, Ashby was elected to the county legislature in District 4, which includes the towns of Schodack, Sand Lake and Nassau.
Ashby said he heard from constituents that they want someone who will have a strong voice for the 2nd amendment -- which he is a supporter of -- along with environmental issues, the opioid epidemic and taxes.
Doran, 58, was elected to a full term in office as a county legislator in 2013, representing the city of Troy. Originally from a diary farm in Malone, Doran has taught and lived in Troy for more than 30 years.
Doran graduated with high honors from the College of Saint Rose with a bachelor’s degree in Business/Secondary Education and a Minor in Mathematics. She holds a master’s degree in Advanced Classroom Teaching/ Business Education from the University at Albany.
For 30 years, Doran taught classes in college accounting, finance, business mathematics, economics, word processing, and career education at Troy High School, as well as courses for Hudson Valley Community College and Cornell University at work place sites.