Their constituencies are often spread across many miles, but that has not stopped the next generation of New York State’s elected leaders from making themselves known and prompting intense speculation into their political futures.
The Capitol has identified five of the most promising up-and-comers in each of the state’s seven regions outside of New York City and will profile each in this ongoing series. Ages were not taken into account in the development of these lists. What matters here is potential, which everyone in this group has in abundance.

REGION DE scri ptION:
Albany is the hub of the Capital Region. Politics fuels the city and its suburbs, with state government the largest employer. As the rest of the upstate economy declined as the manufacturing industry fell by the wayside, Albany has managed to keep afloat based on its role as the state capital. Huge swathes of farmland surrounding the city have been transformed to ready suburbs, giving civil servants and lobbyists a place to sleep at night. While Albany and its environs have leaned on the government for support, other areas, including nearby Schenectady, have seen economic decay, as companies have moved on for greener pastures. Strong party machines have dominated the political landscape, with the storied Albany County Democratic machine holding sway on one side of the Hudson, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno controlling the Republicans on the other side.

Photos by Barry Sloan


George Amedore
Assembly Member (R)
Age: 38

Following Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s appointment of longtime Assembly Member Paul Tonko (D) to head the state energy authority last year, Democrats expected to easily retain Tonko’s Albany-area Assembly seat. Republican George Amedore, a local businessman, surprised them, taking the seat in the July 31 special election.
Amedore’s election has been the talk of state Republican circles since last summer, with his name often mentioned for higher office. Amedore has been crediting his success based on his work as a businessman, which he said was able to swing voters in his direction during the special election. Regarding his work in the Assembly, Amedore discusses wanting to change the culture of Albany and bring a citizen’s approach to government. He noted that he has been trying to increase visibility in his district in order to listen to constituent concerns.
Downplaying his role as a politician, and playing up his business roots, Amedore sounds like a polished Albany politician when asked about the speculation that Republican leaders are looking to run him for a higher office in the future, given his win last year.
“I am here to serve the people in my district and the people of New York State,” he said. “When opportunities come up, I consider them. If there is an opportunity to go higher and do this for the long term, I would consider it. It’s up to the people I represent.”

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “It has to be the balancing of my business, my family and my duties in the Assembly.”

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “My biggest goal is to follow through on the message of my campaign. The voters did not want a politician. They wanted a change. I am spending a lot of time working to stop the toll increases on the Thruway.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now? Regulatory Reform, Reducing Taxes and Fees


William Hoblock
Albany County Legislator (R)
Age: 38

By the time Republican William Hoblock got the chance to take his seat in the Albany County Legislature, his term was half over. Following a federal court’s redistricting of the county and postponing of the regular 2003 election to the spring of 2004, Hoblock looked like he was about to pick up the seat. But with his opponent disputing which absentee ballots should be counted because of the delays, the votes remained sealed and the seat vacant, while the case worked its way through the state courts. After the state Court of Appeals punted to the federal courts, a ruling from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the ballots opened, which confirmed the original machine count of 2006. Taking his seat, Hoblock immediately had to start planning what would ultimately be his successful re-election bid last year.
Hoblock comes from a mini-Albany County political dynasty. His father is on the executive committee of the Colonie Town Republicans, his great-uncle was Colonie Town Clerk, and his cousin, Michael, was Albany County’s only Republican county executive, as well as a state senator and Assembly member. Michael Hoblock currently serves as a state racing and wagering commissioner.
In office, Hoblock said he has been focused on studying the county budget and county operations in order to develop plans to streamline county government. He noted that he is looking to cut back on county departments, and wants to stop the Democratic majority from expanding county government.
As a part of a political family, Hoblock’s name is mentioned for future offices. Coming off his contested 2004 race, he remains coy about any future race.
“Any way I can continue to be a good public servant, I will,” he said.

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “As a conference, we have dug through the budget and figured out what’s been going wrong. This is the year we will bring it forward.”

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “To me, I live on the motto that good government is good politics. If I can make Albany County more efficient and streamlined, that would be good politics.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now? Upstate Economic Development, Property Tax Relief, Shrinking State Government


Ryan Horstmyer
Albany County Legislator (D)
Age: 25
When a Republican county legislator from Colonie was killed in a car accident last year, it fell to the chamber’s Democratic majority to fill the seat. The party turned to then 24-year-old Ryan Horstmyer, a law student at Albany Law School, to take the seat and defend it for a full four-year term last November. Already a political veteran, Horstmyer had lost a bid for Colonie Town Board just after graduating high school in 2001. He entered the fall campaign with an enrollment disadvantage and a Republican Party united to regain the seat.
Horstmyer’s career has benefited from the historic Republican dominance of suburban Colonie, with the dearth of Democrats in town allowing the young politician to rise quickly within his local organization.
Taking his seat last year, Horstmyer used a project from law school to put his first marks on the body. Having done research into the state’s local government ethics law for school, Horstmyer developed legislation to tighten the county’s ethics rules. The bill died at the end of last year, but Horstmyer was upbeat about the proposal’s chances this year, noting that it was debated in committee extensively last year.
Having previously worked as a law clerk in the State Legislature, Horstmyer said he enjoys his work in county government, but would like to move back to the state level in the future. Stopping short of declaring his candidacy for a future office, Horstmyer said he would consider a race for the state legislature.
“My interest is in state government, and there is a lot to do there,” he said. “All local governments are creatures of the state. State government is where it’s at.”

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “In a local legislative body, what I’ve noticed is that you don’t have the same workload as a member of Congress. When you find a priority, you work on it. I found an ethics law that would change a lot. I would say that’s my biggest accomplishment.”

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “I want to get the ethics law passed. I also am interested in government consolidation and shared services.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now? Property Tax Relief, Affordable Access to Higher Education & Investment in the SUNY System, Affordable and Increased Access to Health Care


Kathy Jimino
Rensselaer County Executive (R)
Age: 51

Rensselaer is Joe Bruno country. Sometimes the existence of other elected officials in the county can be forgotten, given the State Senate majority leader’s dominance of local politics for the past few decades.
Not so for Kathy Jimino, a career government official who has been the county’s chief executive since her appointment to an unexpired term in 2001.
Jimino started out in county government after college, working her way up to county data processing commissioner before becoming Troy’s city manager. Following a defeat for mayor of Troy, Jimino worked as a budget analyst for the State Senate and served as a county legislator before taking the county executive’s office.
A former president of the state county executives’ association, Jimino quickly became an advocate for unfunded mandate relief in the state. While not as high profile as some county executives, like Nassau’s Tom Suozzi, Jimino has been pushing the issue in the halls of Albany and to groups in the region. Outside of crusading against unfunded mandates, Jimino has dedicated much time to the development of a comprehensive program to reduce teen alcohol and drug use, including the creation of two annual youth summits to focus on these issues.
With her activity on issues with statewide impact, the county executive has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Congress or statewide office, and as a possible lieutenant governor pick, like Mary Donohue, another female Republican who helped make a winning statewide ticket. Jimino instantly downplayed anything other than her plans to seek a third term in 2009.
“It’s always flattering to hear my name mentioned as a possible candidate for higher office,” she said. “I love my job and there is so much more to accomplish.”

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “The collaborative effort to show the children in our community the dangers of alcohol and drugs.”

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically? “I want to continue to focus on county government spending and continue to cut spending. We’ve cut $30 million over the last seven budgets. We need to continue to fight state unfunded mandates. The other issue is to focus on making our county more business friendly. Another large component is agriculture. We’ve worked hard to be agricultural business friendly.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now?
End State Unfunded Mandates on Counties


Kyle Kotary
Bethlehem Town Board Member (D)
Age: 38

The Albany region is littered with political professionals who have moved from the halls of state government to public affairs firms. Most do not make the jump into elective office themselves. Then there is Kyle Kotary, a veteran Democratic communications strategist, who got elected to the Bethlehem Town Board in 2005.
A veteran of the Clinton Administration and various state government positions, Kotary is developing his own public affairs firm, Empire Public Affairs, representing the Home Care Association of New York, amongst other clients. Democrats were once a rare breed in Bethlehem, making a showing in local races but not winning. The party began its march to dominance in 2003, accomplishing its mission last year, capturing all the seats on the Town Board.
Kotary is quick to discuss being part of a team on the Town Board, focusing on such issues as the development of new land use plans for the town, preserving open space, and promoting economic development. These include developing new plans to link the town’s far flung neighborhoods closer together, a popular idea in suburban towns across the state.
Having worked in the state and federal government, and having a high profile in state Democratic circles, there is speculation that Kotary would consider moving past the town level and would seek to settle into a higher office. While announcing his re-election bid for 2009 and talking enthusiastically about his plans for Bethlehem’s future, Kotary did let his ambition peek through when discussing the future.
“As far as higher office, I do enjoy working at all levels , and I am open to opportunities that may come,” he said. “I don’t have my sights set on any particular office or career path. If the opportunity presents itself, I would take the opportunity.”

What is your biggest accomplishment in office so far? “I would say the two to three things I’ve taken the leadership role on are the creation of the town’s first comprehensive plan, saving Colonial Acres golf course and hundreds more acres, and efforts to improve our town’s technology and communications.”

What do you want to accomplish in the next two years, governmentally and politically?
“Over the next two years we hope to continue implementing our comprehensive plan, like our 2020 plan.”

What are the top challenges facing New York State right now?
Property Tax Relief, Upstate Economic Development, Expanding Access to Health Care, Local Government Reform