Your vote counts Tuesday

If the Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, True Choicers, Your Voice Hearders and Working Families — to say nothing of the colossal voting blocs of police, firefighters, first responders and seniors — have their way, Tuesday will be the most democratic election ever held in the Twin Counties.

The state’s early voting days have come and gone. It is now up to the rank-and-file voters who turn out each November to cast ballots and decide the future course of Greene and Columbia counties. The campaigning, some ruthless, some routine, is almost over. The three days before Election Day should be a period of rest and recreation. Tuesday, and maybe Wednesday, will be for triumph or dejection.

Candidates numbering 200 or more in the Twin Counties have fought hard since the spring caucuses and June primaries. But the future now rests on the choices made by the people they will serve.

If the political fates steer the course, and remember, that is never to be taken for granted, Hudson will have a new mayor and possibly a new common council president. Cairo will have a new town supervisor, as will Windham. Kinderhook has closely watched races for the town board. Pitch battles have been waged for the offices of Greene County sheriff and Columbia County district attorney. No matter how it goes, Greene County will wake up Wednesday morning with a new sheriff. A win here or a loss there could shift the balance of power in several towns for the next two or three years. Communication, sustainability and infrastructure were the three most-used words of the 2019 campaign.

These things could be the realities of 2020 and beyond. The task Nov. 5 is for voters to turn out in big numbers, make your voices heard and shape the future as you want it.