New Hartford, NY – As Dave Townsend announces his intention to run for Oneida County Sheriff, it leaves his 115th Assembly seat vacated for the first time in nearly two decades.  Several GOP candidates have expressed interest in replacing him, according to published reports from GOP Chairman George Joseph. 

The most notable of the crowd is former Chief of Staff to Townsend, Attorney Claudia Tenney.  Tenney served for six years as Townsend’s top aide and legal counsel, giving her a vast knowledge of the district and issues facing the people of the 115th. 

Tenney ran for Surrogate’s Court Judge last year, beating the party’s choice handily in a primary.  With just one party line in November, Tenney ran a strong campaign against a well funded opponent.  There’s no doubt that Tenney is well qualified and suited for this position, but she’s certain to face opposition from the insiders.  Tenney has always been an independent thinker, and that scares party bosses.  But if they want to keep the seat, they might want to start backing candidates that can win.  They may have won the Surrogate’s Court seat last fall if they did just that.

Another GOP candidate that has experience and a proven ability to win is former County Clerk Rick Allen.  Allen lost his position as Clerk after the GOP backed another candidate in 2006, forcing a primary and subsequent split in the November election.  This allowed Sandy Deperno to take the office with a simple plurality of 46% of the vote.

The Democrats have one candidate so far, Dave Gordon.  Gordon has run for this seat twice before, so he knows the district.  With the overwhelming Republican numbers, it will be hard to find another Democrat interested.

The other Republicans expressing interest are Camden town Supervisor Daniel Yerdon, Scott Duggleby of Oswego County and Republican Randy Soggs of New Hartford.