https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Democrats-line-up-to-challenge-Tedisco-12907512.php
Democrats line up to challenge Tedisco
Veteran state legislator prepared to defend Senate seat
Published 2:01 pm, Friday, May 11, 2018
ALBANY - Two Capital Region Democrats are hoping to take on state Sen. Jim Tedisco in November.
Sergia Coffey, of Milton, and Michelle Ostrelich,of Niskayuna, have formed campaign committees to challenge the Glenville Republican and could face off in a Democratic primary in September. The 49th Senate District, which has been represented by Tedisco since 2017, stretches into the Adirondacks and includes parts of Saratoga and Schenectady counties.
Coffey is an economics professor with Empire State College and has lived in Milton for 20 years. She helped run her family's small business when she was younger and has a long history of political activism, including a losing bid for the Milton Town Board in 2017.
Ostrelich is a stay-at-home parent, who previously practiced law in Philadelphia, and has lived in the region since 2005. She serves on the Niskayuna Zoning Board of Appeals and is a board member with the Niskayuna Community Foundation.
After the presidential election in 2016, Ostrelich said she became involved in direct political advocacy and also has touted her community involvement and ability to find bipartisan solutions.
Coffey and Ostrelich both support the NYS Health Act, which would create a single-payer health care model in New York and is championed by the state Assembly.
"We're living in a society where people are going to GoFundMe pages to finance their health care," Coffey said. She is worried that her 22-year-old son, who had a heart transplant when he was 13, will need to hold fundraisers to pay for treatments when he leaves her health insurance at age 26.
Coffey wants to legalize recreational marijuana use in New York and commute the sentences of New Yorkers incarcerated for marijuana convictions. Ostrelich doesn't have a position on legalization of marijuana.
Ostrelich wants to increase state education aid by billions of dollars to the levels mandated by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit.
The petitioning process to get on the ballot begins in June and both Democrats say they're prepared for a primary.
Tedisco said he'll begin his campaign after the legislative session ends in June, but stressed the importance of Republicans retaining control of the chamber.
"It's critically important to Upstate New York and our representative democracy that we maintain a balance of two voices in state government and hold our Senate Majority so we don't fall back to one-party downstate total domination that will be very bad for taxpayers and upstate residents," he said in a statement.
Coffey said Tedisco hasn't done enough for working families, but credited his legislation on school bullying and Buster's Law.
The 49th Senate District is conservative leaning and there are about 13,000 more Republicans than Democrats. In 2016, when it was an open seat, Tedisco won by about 50,000 votes.
David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87
