The Niskayuna Democratic Committee consists of those members of the Schenectady County Democratic Committee who represent election districts in the Town of Niskayuna. The New York State Election Law provides for two committee members from each election district. Members do not have to reside in the district they represent. Members may be appointed (in the case of a vacancy) or elected in a primary (in case more than two people want to represent the same district). Because Niskayuna has 20 election districts, a full committee would have 40 members, as it does now.

The Democratic Committee, by majority vote, nominates candidates for office. Committee members collect signatures on nominating petitions, show residents how to register to vote, help procure absentee ballots upon request, drive voters to the polls, and, in general, serve as liaison between voters and the Town and Party structures.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of any political party. If you are interested in joining the committee or just attending meetings, contact chairman Ellen Malkis at chair@niskadems.org or 785-9845.

There are also many opportunities to be of help short of becoming a Committee Member. We would especially like to hear from those willing to display a lawn sign at election time and from those willing to devote time to manning phone banks on the weekend before election.

Each May, the Party runs an information booth and a coffee and donut stand on the grounds of the High School during Niska-Day. Rank and file march in the morning parade.

The Party sponsors a small scholarship for a Niskayuna High School graduate each June. A deserving recipient is chosen by school district officials, not the Party.

A brief history of the Niskayuna Democratic Party

There was a rudimentary Party structure in the first half of this century, but most elective Town offices were uncontested. In the late '40s through the early '50s, the Party would usually run candidates for Town Board, but, due to the very one-sided enrollment figures, it was a struggle for any Democrat to gain more than 30% of the vote.

In the late '50s, largely through the efforts of an aggressive Chairman, Ann Kahn, the Party began to be competitive. An election in which Councilman candidate Bill Lange came within 600 votes of winning was considered "close." But, as late as 1969, it was still the case that no Democrat had ever been elected to Town office and none had ever been appointed to the Planning Board.

In 1969, the same year as Eagle landed on the moon and the Mets won their first World Series, came the breakthrough. The big issues were discolored Town water from its new wells and the prospect of a federally funded 4-lane highway that would bisect the Town. A dissident faction of the majority party formed the "Independent Republican" party, split the usual Republican vote, and thus allowed candidate Ed Reilly to become the Town's first elected Democratic Supervisor. He served five two-year terms in the '70s and four more in the '90s.

After the initial breakthrough, victories came more often. In the '70s, Democrat Jim Spool was elected Councilman and John Poersch, later our District Attorney, was appointed and then elected Town Justice. The early '80s saw the election of Democratic Councilmen Ralph Lyons and Luke Smith. But the high-water mark with regard to Town Board control remained at 2-3, Democrat to Republican.

In 1987, there were four Town Board seats contested, the usual three (Supervisor and two Councilmen) plus a vacancy for Councilman. There was great unrest in the Town because its road system had been allowed to deteriorate and, something even more acutely felt, owners of relatively new homes perceived that they were being overassessed relative to those who owned older ones. A townwide assessment revaluation had not been done in 30 years. The Republican incumbents refused to commit to a revaluation, but the Democratic candidates pledged to do so. Democrats swept all four Board seats through the election of Supervisor Bob Ausfeldt and Councilmen Liz Orzel Kasper, Rich Holt, and Jeff Scardino. For the first time, the Democratic Party held a majority of the five Town Board positions, and by a 4-1 margin at that. To add to the victory, Bruce Trachtenberg was elected Town Justice. In a fit of post-election pique unheard of before then or since, the lame-duck Republican administration then passed a modified 1988 budget that decreased the salary of the Supervisor and reduced the tax warrant in such a way as to leave the incoming administration with virtually no discretionary funds to work with. Despite this, the new Democratic administration kept its promises by immediately authorizing property revaluation and by commissioning a three-year highway reconstruction project.

In mid 1989, a half-year before the end of his two-year term, Supervisor Ausfeldt's responsibilities in his full-time job increased to the point where he stated that it would no longer be possible to serve as Supervisor. A call went out to former Supervisor Ed Reilly with the time-honored message "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the Party" (and, of course, to the Town). Ed accepted and was appointed Supervisor by 3-1 vote of the Town Board.

In 1989, the appointment of Supervisor Reilly was affirmed by the voters, but Board control changed to 3-2 because of the razor-thin loss of Rich Holt. But a Democratic majority still prevailed and the Party held that advantage in 1991 by re-electing Supervisor Reilly and Councilmen Kasper and Scardino. And the Town elected its first Democratic Town Clerk, Helen Kopke, who was already serving by appointment after the retirement of long-time Clerk Alice Wagner.

In 1993, Rich Holt was returned to office as Councilman and, along with fellow victors Ed Reilly and Bill Chapman and continuing Board members Liz Kasper and Jeff Scardino, the Party held its first ever 5-0 majority.

In 1995, Supervisor Ed Reilly and Town Clerk Helen Kopke were re-elected, but the defeat of Councilmen Scardino and Kasper (the latter by 11 votes!) once again reduced the majority to a precarious 3-2.

In 1997, the Conservative Party endorsed the Republican slate and all three Democratic Town Board candidates were defeated by narrow margins.

In 1999, our candidate Luke Smith edged incumbent Supervisor Kathleen DeCataldo in a Conservative Primary and then defeated her by a substantial margin in the General Election. Town Clerk Helen Kopke and Councilman candidate Liz Orzel Kasper also had Conservative and Liberal endorsements and won by comfortable margins. Councilman candidate Bill Chapman had the Independence and Liberal lines and was returned to the seat he had held two years earlier. As a result, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a 3-2 margin on the Town Board.

In 2001, the voters granted Supervisor Luke Smith the resounding reelection victory he deserved, restored Rich Holt as Councilman, elected Diane O'Donnell Councilman, and elected Paul Zonderman Town Justice. As a result of this sweep, the Democrats hold all five Town Board seats and seven of the nine elective offices in the Town.

In 2003, Supervisor Luke Smith and Town Clerk Helen Kopke ran unopposed and were thus "unanimously" elected. With the Democratic, Independence, and Conservative voting lines, Councilmen Liz Orzel Kasper and Bill Chapman were both reelected by comfortable margins. Our Democratic candidate for Town Justice, Patricia "A-Rod" Rodriquez, ran a great race and almost became the first female Town Justice in Town history.

Probably because the position of Supervisor was uncontested, voting was unusually light for Niskayuna. But November 4 was a great day for Democrats all over Schenectady County. City voters made Brian Stratton the first Democratic mayor since Karen Johnson, the City Council remained 6-1 Democratic, and the County Board went from 8-7 to 10-5 Democrat over Republican. As of January 1, 2004, of the 33 elective offices in the county and City of Schenectady combined, 26 were held by a Democrat and only 7 by a Republican. The list included 10 county legislators, 6 city councilmen, a mayor, two city court judges, two Family Court judges, the County Judge, the Surrogate Judge, the District Attorney, the Sheriff, and the County Clerk. The Republicans held five county legislators, one city councilman, and one city judge.

In 2005, Supervisor Luke Smith, Town Clerk Helen Kopke, Councilman Diane O'Donnell, and Town Justice Paul Zonderman were again handily reelected, and they carried with them newcomer Maria Freund (by over a thousand votes!), who filled the open Board seat created when Rich Holt retired, thus preserving the Party's 5-0 majority. The City Council remained 7-0 Democratic, and Glenville elected the first Democratic Supervisor in its history. Democratic enrollment in Niskayuna rose steadily over the decades since 1970 while Republican enrollment remained static, so that by 2007, there were over 300 more enrolled Democrats than Republicans.

As we prepare for the election of November 6, 2007, Luke Smith has announced his retirement and the position of Supervisor will be contested by the highly capable Joe Landry and an independent opponent recruited by the major opposition party when it failed to attract a registered Republican to run for the office. Councilwomen O'Donnell and Freund are only halfway through their terms and hence do not have to defend their seats until 2009. Councilwoman Liz Orzel Kasper will defend her seat, and since Councilman Bill Chapman has chosen to run for County Legislator, our candidate for his seat is county auditor Julie McDonnell, and our candidate for Town Justice is local attorney Steve Swinton. See our candidate page for the qualifications of this stellar slate of candidates.