The Saratogian
Saratoga
http://saratogian.com/articles/2010/11/02/news/doc4cd0e70bda957467336598.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Republican Assemblyman Jim Tedisco won his 15th straight election Tuesday night, beating out Democratic rival BK Keramati of Galway, to continue into his third decade representing the 110th Assembly District.
“I think everybody in this room has been waiting for years for a day like this, and we finally got it,” he said Tuesday night of an election cycle that has seen major gains for the GOP in New York.
He was one of the first officials to congratulate Chris Gibson on his win against Scott Murphy, who Tedisco unsuccessfully campaigned against in 2009 for the congressional seat.
In his latest Assembly bid, Tedisco campaigned on lowering taxes, reeling in spending and creating jobs. Keramati’s campaign focused on creating green jobs, reducing and reforming property taxes and “making government work better” through campaign finance reform.
Tedisco was first elected to the Assembly in 1982 and was elected minority leader by his fellow Republicans in 2005. However, he stepped down from the position in 2009 – insiders say under pressure from fellow Republicans – pending the results of the 20th Congressional District seat race that he lost to Scott Murphy.
During his victory speech Tuesday night, Tedisco reached out to Democrats.
“We want you to help us help the people of New York,” he said.
Keramati said he was proud of the campaign he ran but “apparently we didn’t reach enough voters.”
“Being a newcomer, I feel
that if we got the message out. We did a good job,” he added. “I hope that he sees and takes notice of the issues we ran on and takes notice of the enthusiasm we ran with and that he takes notice of the things that will really make it a more positive thing for him to lead in the Assembly representing us.
Tedisco received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Union College and a graduate degree in special education from the College of Saint Rose. Tedisco worked for nine years as a guidance counselor and a special education teacher in two Capitol Region high schools. He was elected to his first public office in 1977 as a city councilman for Schenectady. Before finishing his second term in office, Tedisco won a four-way primary and eventually the general election for the 110th Assembly seat.
One of the issues Tedisco campaigned on was “keeping sex predators off the streets.”
Early in his Assembly career, Tedisco was appointed to the Children and Families Committee. Later, as chairman of the Assembly Minority Task Force on Missing Children, he authored the book “Missing Children: A psychological Approach to Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Stranger and Non-Stranger Abduction of Children.”
Keramati is a retired GE engineer and manager who ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2008. He has served on the planning board in Princetown and was the building committee chair for the Habitat for Humanity in Schenectady County. He is the Galway Democratic Committee chairman. Since retiring in 2004, he has been an activist for government reform with organizations such as Citizen Action of New York and Americans for Campaign Reform. His focus has been on campaign finance and ethics reform in Albany.
The 110th Assembly district represents Saratoga Springs, Greenfield, Milton, Ballston, Charlton, Galway, Glenville, Niskayuna and a portion of Schenectady.
