Schoharie County’s next Assemblyman could be homegrown.
Chris Tague, Schoharie supervisor, county GOP chairman, and a Central Bridge native, has been nominated by Republicans in the 102nd Assembly District for what was Pete Lopez’s seat.
Mr. Lopez, also from Schoharie, resigned the post in December to take a federal job with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Since then, his district, which includes parts of seven counties hasn’t been represented in the Assembly, but Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo set an April 24 special election date for 11 vacant seats, including Mr. Lopez’s.
Also Monday, Democrats in the 102nd announced Aidan O’Connor Jr. of Durham, minority leader of the Greene County Legislature, has received their nomination for the seat.
Mr. Tague was elected to his second term as Schoharie supervisor in November.
He works as general manager for Cobleskill Stone—a job he said he’ll leave if he’s elected.
Mr. Tague said Friday that Mr. Lopez was among those who suggested he should run for the 102nd,
With his family’s backing, he went through the nomination process for all seven counties in the district, he said, and won the nomination in all of them.
Mr. Tague said he worked in his first campaign—his father’s—when he was just four years old and has since worked on campaigns at both the state and federal levels as well.
Though he said he realizes no freshman GOP Assemblyman is going to be able to go into a Democratic-controlled Albany “and write legislation,” he listed infrastructure, economic development, and the need for a state Farm Bill as his top concerns.
Mr. O’Connor grew up in Greene County and worked as a paramedic for both Greene County EMS and LifeNet of New York.
He received his paramedic certification at SUNY Cobleskill, where he now teaches, and he continues to work for LifeNet of New York, as a regional business development manager.
He was elected to the Greene County Legislature in 2015, representing Durham.
Mr. O’Connor was expected to introduce himself to local Democrats last night, Tuesday, at a stop in Middleburgh.
Both Mr. Tague and Mr. O’Connor point to their ability to work across the aisle
For Mr. Tague, that’s meant finding ways to bring Hoober Feeds to Central Bridge and successfully working to find grants for both water system improvements and economic development, also in Central Bridge.
“All of it, it’s been a team effort,” he said. “When we work together, we can get things done. This county means everything to me and I see so much potential here.”