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Gillibrand Aide Ray Seney joins Senate race

July 1, 2008

The Democratic field of candidates in the 43rd state Senate District officially grew by one Monday as congressional aide and former union leader Mike Russo announced he would seek his party’s nomination.

Russo, aide to U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, and Saratoga Springs Supervisor Joanne Yepsen are challenging attorney Brian Premo, who is the Democrats’ endorsed candidate for the seat from which state Sen. Joseph L. Bruno is retiring at the end of the year.

Russo and Yepsen are involved in a mad dash to gather at least 1,000 signatures needed on petitions before the July 10 filing deadline. Premo should easily have enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot, according to Larry Bulman, the Saratoga County Democratic chairman.

On the Republican side, Assemblyman Roy J. McDonald, R-Saratoga, and Nassau Councilman Ray Seney are getting their campaigns running.

McDonald will officially kick off his campaign Wednesday in Troy and in Saratoga Springs. Republican committeemen said they are circulating new nominating petitions for McDonald in place of the ones they originally carried for Bruno.

Seney said he is putting up a Web site, http://www.rayseney.org, to promote his campaign and to get volunteers to collect signatures.

The race for the district, which includes Rensselaer County and part of Saratoga County, was expected to see Bruno face Premo. This scenario quickly vanished when Bruno announced last week that he would not seek re-election.

Source: Times Union

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Written by NY Politics · Filed Under News 

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