Field narrows as Stec receives incumbent’s blessing

Warren County Chairman Dan Stec speaks with people during the Essex County Republican Committee meeting March 21 in Elizabethtown. Photo by Tim Follos.

By Keith Lobdell, Thom Randall

As of Thursday, April 12, 2012 -10:14 a.m.

Elizabethtown — At the moment, only two candidates remain to replace Teresa Sayward in the New York State Assembly.

After retiring 113th District Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward threw her support behind Warren County Board of Supervisors Chair and fellow Republican Dan Stec of Queensbury for what will now be the 114th District, Thurman Supervisor Evelyn Wood announced that she would no longer be seeking the seat.

The announcement narrowed the once large field to Stec and former Glens Falls Mayor Robert Regan, who is also a Republican.

Stec momentum

Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, a Republican, has announced she will not seek re-election.

Sayward said that she felt Stec would be the candidate to best represent the interests of the district, which now includes all of Essex and Washington counties and well as parts of Warren and Saratoga counties.

“I have every confidence that he will carry on the important fight for families across Essex, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties to ensure Albany remains responsive to our community’s needs,” Sayward said. “He knows the issues, knows our region, and knows how crucial it is that our next assembly member be a strong, passionate and outspoken advocate for North Country families.”

Stec has picked up his party’s backing in each of the four counties represented by the new 114th, as well as several Conservative party endorsements.

Wood out

Photo by Thom Randall

Thurman Supervisor Evelyn Wood examines a document distributed at a recent Warren County committee meeting. Wood, who had been pursuing a state Assembly seat, announced Tuesday April 3 she was withdrawing her candidacy.

Wood sent a notice April 3 to the Warren County Republican chairman officially declaring that she’d dropped out of the race.

The momentum of Stec’s candidacy and a variety of other factors, she said, prompted her to withdraw her candidacy.

Stec has been in public office for 16 years, compared to 15 months for Wood, who had run based on her deep local heritage and experience with Adirondack issues. She lives on a farm that has been worked by her family since the late 1700s, prior to the formation of Warren County.

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