It’ll be election deja-vu for some Onondaga County voters this year when it comes to the 127th Assembly District seat. An incumbent who lost two years ago is jumping back into the ring.
Al Stirpe, a Democrat and former two-term Assemblyman, announced his intent to take on Assemblyman Don Miller this November. It could be one of the most competitive races in Central New York. Stirpe lost by just under a thousand votes two years ago in a race fueled, in large part, by anti-incumbent Tea Party sentiment.
“I think the tea party atmosphere has died down considerably. I think it’ll be a year when what’s going to matter is what people have done in the past,” Stirpe said.
And Stirpe says he’s comfortable with that, labeling Miller as an anti-governmental lawmaker who is so ideological that he’s lost touch with people. Miller goes into the race with a voter registration edge in the newly formed district. That advantage would put 8,000 more voters in his camp than Stirpe’s between those registered as Republicans or in other third parties.
The 127th District runs down the eastern end of Onondaga County from the town of Clay to the Cortland County line.
