I am a nothing - politically speaking, that is.

Today, Primary Day, I am not able to fully participate in our electoral process since I am not enrolled in a political party.

That wasn't always the case.

Back when I was a senior at Keveny Memorial Academy in Cohoes, one of my proudest moments was the day my Urban Affairs teacher, Sister Alethea Connolly, took a group of us to the Albany County Board of Elections to register to vote. Sister Alethea was a terrific teacher who instilled a passion for the political process in her students. While we were at the Board of Elections, she urged all of us to consider enrolling in the political party of our choice so we could fully participate in the process.

To be honest, I wanted to be able to vote in primaries, but I wasn't sure in which party to enroll. In the end, I chose the Democratic party, and, over the next few years, I enjoyed voting in the various primaries and general elections.

As the years went by and I moved into leadership roles at The Record, I decided it was inappropriate for me to be enrolled in a political party if I was going to be directing local news coverage so I dropped my party enrollment.

I knew it was the correct decision, but when primary days rolled around, I found myself remembering how much I enjoyed participating fully in our electoral process.

When I took a buyout at the end of June after 39 years at The Record, I had a lot of things on my plate and it slipped my mind that I was now free to join a political party and vote once again on Primary Day. Oh well, there's always next year.

Today, there are many competitive races on the ballot throughout our region, and I can't wait to find out who wins.

In Cohoes, my hometown, Dianne Rigney Nolin and Shawn Morse are vying for the Democratic nod to become the city's next mayor since incumbent Mayor George Primeau decided against seeking re-election. I've known Dianne for a lot of years since we were classmates at Keveny; I met Shawn many years ago, too, through my job at The Record. Both candidates deserve praise for wanting to serve their fellow citizens and help keep the Spindle City moving forward.

In Troy, my longtime professional hometown, all eyes are on the Democratic primary for mayor. Incumbent Mayor Lou Rosamilia decided not to seek a second term, and political newcomer Ernest Everett Jr., TRIP executive director Patrick Madden and City Council President Rodney Wiltshire are seeking the backing of the city's Democratic voters to go up against Republican Jim Gordon in November with the winner becoming the next mayor of the Collar City.

There are also several Green Party, Working Families Party and Independence Party primaries on the ballot in Troy today for various city positions as well as a Republican Party primary for Rensselaer County Sheriff with Pat Russo and Scott Ryan vying for the GOP nod.

And that's just a quick look at a few of the contests on the ballot today.

Voter turnout for primaries is normally notoriously low and experts are already predicting today's results will be more of the same. Do me a favor: If you are enrolled in a party with a primary on today's ballot, please get out and vote. Defy the "experts," and don't be a political nothing like me.

P.S. Since I took a buyout from The Record, I've been asked many times if I miss my job. For the most part, I honestly don't. Yes, I miss my coworkers and the people I worked with in the community over the years, but I had a terrific career for 39 years and I sincerely was ready for a new challenge. Days like today, however, I find myself a bit envious of my successor, Charlie Kraebel, who gets to plan the Primary Day coverage and work with our wonderfully talented reporters. Or maybe I'm just missing that pizza we always ordered for the newsroom on voting days. I don't think so!

Tonight, The Record is sponsoring a debate between the two candidates vying for the Democratic line in the reconfigured 44th state Senate District.

The debate, which will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bush Memorial on the Russell Sage College campus at the intersection of Congress and First streets, will feature incumbent state Senator Neil Breslin and challenger Shawn Morse, the Albany County Legislature chairman, both of whom are on the Sept. 13 primary ballot.

The free public event is co-sponsored by The Sage Colleges.

 The debate will be moderated by Record columnist John Gray, co-anchor of Fox 23 News. Record City Editor James V. Franco, Record reporter Danielle Sanzone and longtime Capitol reporter Kyle Hughes of NYSNYS News, who provides content to The Record and its sister newspapers
in New York state, will question the candidates.

If time permits, we will include questions from the audience submitted in writing as part of the debate.


We felt it was important to shine a spotlight on this race because of changes made to the 44th Senate District during the recent reapportionment process. Senator Breslin's current Senate district includes only Albany County. However, come Jan. 1, a portion of the city of Troy and the entire city of Rensselaer will be added to the new 44th state Senate District, which also includes several Albany County communities.

While many of us at The Record have dealt with both men over the years, we thought it was a good idea to provide such a forum so voters on both sides of the Hudson could get a better understanding of these candidates and where they stand on the issues.


This debate came together quickly and it wouldn't be have been possible without the cooperation of several people.

First, let me offer my personal thanks to our co-sponsor, The Sage Colleges, in particular, Ardelle Hirsch, director of media and public relations, and Christine Cowieson, coordinator of conferences and events. These are two dynamite professionals who are good at what they do and a pleasure to work with on any project.

I also want to thank John Gray, who after a quick check of his very busy schedule, readily agreed to moderate the forum. John, whose popular column appears Wednesdays in The Record, moderated a previous debate for us at the same location between then Troy mayoral candidates Frank LaPosta and Harry Tutunjian.

It's also terrific to have Kyle Hughes back in the fold for the debate. Some of you might remember Kyle from his days as The Record's Capitol bureau chief. He did some great work for us then and we're happy to be working with him again through his NYSNYS News role and with this debate.

Record readers know Jim Franco, who writes two weekly columns for us, including the popular "Talespin" political column that appears in print on Mondays and online daily.

Reporter Danielle Sanzone covers several Albany County communities for The Record as well as the Troy school district and fills in on just about every other beat on the paper while writing a blog and putting us all to shame through her use of social media.

Thanks also goes to Digital Specialist Tom Caprood, who has been working with Sage to make sure we will be able to video the session.

Reporter Andrew Beam will be on hand to cover the debate, while Chief Photographer Mike McMahon will be taking the photos.

Finally, I would like to thank the gentlemen of the hour, Neil Breslin and Shawn Morse. Both men readily agreed to participate in this debate and their campaigns worked hard to clear their schedules so we all could pull this off for the residents of the newly configured 44th state Senate district.

As I type this, the days are quickly winding down toward the Sept. 13 primary. The time demands on all of us are great, but I hope you'll be able to take some time out of your hectic schedule and join us for what promises to be an interesting evening.