The other night I went out to my truck and there was Tim Merrick for State Senate bumper sticker under the whiper blade. We've met on many occassions and I like him personally. Yet, I have to wonder if I really want to put his bumper sticker on my truck. I guess the same could be said about Brian Keeler whose running for State Senate in Steve Saland's district further downstate.

He like many other Democrats running for the State Senate are really great people, and I can understand their fustration with the Senate being the lonely man out and blocking things. On the other hand, I'm not sure if we really want to see a State Senate controlled by Democrats. We need that check on state government.

We are going to have a Democratic governor and the Assembly will continue to have the super-majority of Democrats and then some. I really hope we pick up some new Assembly seats, particularly with having great candidates like Andy Brockway for Assembly and Judy Hunter out in Western New York. Getting new Democrats in the Assembly will ensure that many rural areas will get the representation they deserve.

Yet, I'm not sure if we want a state senate controlled by Democrats. Republicans provide a check on Democrats, and the Republicans that control the Senate have shown their willingness to go along with Democrats on important policy initatives in the past. They have supported raising the minimum wage, adding new workers protections, and the alike. They may have blocked Fair Share for Health Care and Timothy's Law but that was out incorrect concerns of the impact of these bills on small business.

If we had a Democratic controlled Senate we would pass those bills and many other ones that probably haven't gotten the attention they probably should have gotten. One would be the ban on backyard trash burning, the bill I have real problems with. We are the last state in the Northeast to ban burn barrels, but I really don't like people in Albany telling what people can do in their backyards. If we had Democrats in the Senate we would also probably have a number of other laws that would make it tougher and farmers and crack down on other troublesome environmental pratices like Vermont already has.

It seems silly that I would choose smoldering burn barrels and run-off pollution from farms over giving health care for working families. Yet I think we need balance in our policies. We need somebody to stop unwise laws, and to ensure that Democrats remain honest brokers in the state policy realm. I think we need to protect Joesph Bruno's majority in the Senate. I don't particularly treasure that, but I think that's our best choice to ensure good government in New York.

I put the Tim Merrick bumpersticker on my truck with a sigh. I like that man and I particularly like Brian Keeler for the Senate. Yet I know what it means if Democrats control the State Senate. I'm not supporting Betty Little or Steve Saland, but I'm not actively going to oppose them. On November 7th, I won't be voting for my State Senator up in Plattsburgh despite being to registered to vot here. I also won't be working for Merrick though I will be devoting a lot of time to ensuring Brockway defeats Duprey in the Assembly race.