By Gus Saltonstall
Election Day is once again upon us on the Upper West Side.
West Side Rag visited four polling sites on Tuesday morning throughout the neighborhood from West 106th to 76th streets.
The polling sites were relatively quiet, especially those farther uptown.
“So many people voted over the weekend,” Upper West Sider Lydia Buechler, who was handing out campaign literature outside of the voting site on Amsterdam Avenue, between West 103rd and 104th streets, told the Rag. “I wanted to support the Working Families Party. We wanted to come out and encourage people to vote on our ballot line. It also shows there is support for our positions, which maybe are a bit more progressive than some of Hochul’s positions.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul is running for re-election against Republican Bruce Blakeman. Other major statewide elections include Attorney General Letitia James’ race against Republican Saritha Komatireddy, and the New York Comptroller contest between incumbent Thomas DiNapoli and Republican Joseph Hernandez.
There was more action Tuesday morning outside of the polling site off the corner of West 84th Street and Columbus Avenue, including the mothers of two candidates running against each other for Congress in New York’s 12th District.
That included Caroyln Shinkle, who is the mother of Republican candidate Caroline Shinkle.
“I am so proud of Caroline. Caroline has been campaigning from morning until night, 12 hours a day at least, since February,” Shinkle told West Side Rag. “Caroline is for the people. All the people of NY-12. She understands the economy. Everything emanates from the economy, so people can live a better life and live their version of the American dream.”
“Has she always had a political nature?” West Side Rag asked.
“Since birth!” Shinkle responded.
Stephanie Lasher, Micah’s mother, was 20 feet away at the same polling site campaigning for her son as part of West Side Democrats.
“It’s exciting to see such a robust turnout, especially from younger people,” Lasher said.
At the same corner was Michael Zorek, who sells political buttons and magnets, a portion of which goes to voter turnout organizations.
“As it’s gotten closer to Election Day, I’ve seen people more and more involved, and more and more excited,” Zorek said. “People understand the importance of the midterm, and watching people get excited about getting out to vote makes me feel good about what I do.”
The Rag asked about his current most popular button.
“Is He Dead Yet?” was the response.
WSR did not find any candidates on our morning travels, but we did interview Shinkle over the phone.
“It’s been about 30 years since a Republican represented any part of the district. This is a massive political realignment,” Shinkle said, when asked about her experience as a Republican running in a district that generally elects Democratic officials. “Let’s remember, our district NY-12 did not vote for Zohran Mamdani last November; our district went for Andrew Cuomo. This is not a DSA district. This is not a socialist district. What it is is a common sense district. People here in NY-12 have been looking for a long time for a quality, reasonable, viable alternative to the failure we’ve been conditioned to accept. I represent that alternative. I think we’re going to get it done. We’ve built a massive cross-body coalition of support.”
“I hope all New Yorkers today will take a look at what I stand for, my record, my policy platform, and they’ll vote for me,” she added, when asked about her final message to voters. “I do truly believe I represent pro-New York City values, pro-USA values, and pro-Western civilization values. That’s what it’s all about it. This is not just a congressional campaign; it’s a fight to save our city and really save Western civilization.”
WSR will continue to update this story throughout the day.
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“Is He Dead Yet?”?!
Seriously? And you are preaching tolerance and acceptance?
This is a call for the opposition death!
Good to know where WSR stands re political violence