A Year in Review: North Country Politics

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – 2021 was a year in which we didn’t elect a president or send someone to congress, and yet politics was never more important.

Three things shaped politics this year more than anything else – Among them, the riots of January 6th. Some supporters of President Trump tried to overturn the results of November’s election by stopping Congress from certifying the results.

North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik was trapped in the Capitol with other members of Congress.

“This was certainly unprecedented, and this was not a normal day.”

Yet only hours after the rioters were cleared from the Capitol, Stefanik would take to the floor of Congress to continue objecting to the election.

“Tens of millions of Americans are concerned that the 2020 election featured unconstitutional overreach by unelected state officials,” said Stefanik.

“I want to congratulate Elise Stefanik, and welcome her to the leadership team.”

It took a few months, but Stefanik won a Republican leadership position in the house.

Republicans drummed out Liz Cheney, because she refused to go along with President Trump’s claim the election was stolen.

Stefanik has made it clear where her loyalties are:

“I support President Trump. Voters support President Trump. He is an important voice in our Republican party,” said Stefanik.

The downfall of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, also shaped our politics.

“I thought ‘he’s trying to sleep with me. The governor’s trying to sleep with me.’”

Cuomo’s political career died at the hands of 11 women who came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment.

Cuomo tried toughing it out:

“I never touched anyone inappropriately, or made inappropriate sexual advances,” said Cuomo.

But a report by the Attorney General was damning:

“The investigation found that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed current and former New York State employees,” said Attorney General Letitia James.

And a few days later, Cuomo was out and Kathy Hochul was in.

“We’ll focus on open, ethical governing that New Yorkers will trust,” said Hochul.

Hochul would accept the resignation of Cuomo’s top health advisor, after months of revelations about the state under-reporting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

And COVID was the third force shaping politics. Nobody wanted another year of restrictions, even as the Delta variant threatened to overwhelm health care workers and hospitals.

When Jefferson County Legislature Chair Scott Gray declared a mask requirement at the end of the year, he briefly faced rebellion from more than half the legislature.

Gray and two other veterans of the county legislature, District 7 Legislator John Peck and District 3 Legislator Phil Reed, faced primary challenges earlier in the year. They won, but the primaries exposed division on the legislature.

The Watertown City Council is changing. Lisa Ruggiero was re-elected, but she’ll be joined by Cliff Olney, a newcomer to the council and Pat Hickey, also a newcomer to the council. This shifts the balance of power away from Mayor Jeff Smith.

The Ogdensburg City Council is not changing. Incumbent council members Dan Scamperle, Nichole Kennedy, and Mike Powers were all re-elected, keeping the deeply divided council, deeply divided.

And St. Lawrence County voters picked Andrew Moses as the county’s new family court judge.

That’s 2021.

In 2022, we’re electing a governor, some key local offices, state representatives and a member of congress.

Stefanik already has four Democrats and a Republican challenging her.

And the political maps are all being redrawn, so your local assembly man or congress person could be changing. It will be a busy, busy year.

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