And that, fellow citizens, is how The New York Times describes Democrat Cecilia F. Tkaczyk, (KAT-chik), who was declared the winner in the race to become state senator for New York's District 46, only 73 long days after election day. In an incredibly tight race Ms. Tkaczyk defeated Republican George A. Amedore Jr., a state assemblyman and businessman, after an appeals court ruled that 99 additional disputed ballots should be counted. Also? District 46 had been gerrymandered for Republican success.
“It was especially gratifying for the school board member and farmer to defeat the exceedingly wealthy assemblyman for whom the district was tailor-made,” said Dan Cantor, the executive director of the Working Families Party, which backed Ms. Tkaczyk. “David beat Goliath on this one, and that’s always a satisfying feeling for everyone involved.”
But now, back to the spinning and weaving.
Ms. Tkaczyk, from Schenectady County, is a third-generation farmer, and among her hobbies is spinning wool from her flock of Jacob sheep.
Interesting breed, the Jacob. According to the Jacob Sheep Conservancy
A Jacob sheep is a primitive, domestic, multi-horned, black or lilac (deep gray or blue/purple cast) sheep with white spots. The Jacob is an ancient breed, sometimes referred to as a primitive breed. They are small in stature, with mature ewes weighing 80-120 pounds, and rams weighing 120-180 pounds. Seen from a distance or after shearing, observers often remark that Jacobs look like goats.....The Jacob fleece is open, soft and light with little grease (lanolin). The white and black wool may be blended before spinning to form various shades of gray and brown. The colors may also be separated after shearing to produce various shades of yarn from a single fleece. The fleece generally weighs 3-6 pounds and varies in crimp and fineness.
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What a treat! I love to spin Jacob wool. The calming effect of spinning yarn should help her keep centered when dealing with Republican members of the House.
Lovely, Jacob sheep are quite wonderful. Good for her!
This is just precious. She is no farmer. And her district is majority Democrat. Any more fairy tales for us Mr Benen?
http://www.ceciliatkaczyk.com/bio/
The Republicans drew the district specifically for Amedore to run in and win.
Even Wikipedia understands that
As to farming - this from the NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/nyregion/cecilia-tkaczyk-democrat-ekes-out-win-in-republican-senate-district.html?_r=0
Although, seeing as they're sheep, maybe she would be a shepherd. Hahahaha!
Snakeboy - why do you even try?
Dang - forgot the first two links.
Drawing the special district:
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/It-s-a-season-of-hope-for-Assembly-Senate-3460250.php
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Tkaczyk
Another blank shot to add to the (already impressive) collection: the article was not written by "Mr Benen"...
Shooter,
Did you have a stroke or something? Your posts the last few days have been imbecilic even for you!! I'm worried about you.....
I'd like to get some more information about the "Working Families Party" mentioned in passing.
Are they a third party or something different?
What is their record of backing candidates?
That would be very interesting to know.
http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/
Third party in NYS.
She seems to be true to her surname; "Tkaczyk" means "little weaver" in Polish.
Weaving & spinning both require patience & dedication. Sounds like good ( & rare) traits for a politician to possess.
Multi-horned, spotted sheep?
Cool!
Both rams and ewes are horned. They can have one to three pair of horns. The ewes' horns are more delicate than the rams' horns. That picture is of a ram. And each sheep's pattern of spots is unique. They are really nice sheep.
So glad it's possible for Dems to win even in a gerrymanded district. If I had a farm I'd love to have these sheep. they look so cool!!
Oh, it is absolutely possible for Democrats to win in gerrymandered districts! Those people who are "traditional" Republicans aren't really happy with the bunch of yahoos they've chosen and they are now "thinking".
The big problem is that the Democratic Party doesn't think they can win in these districts and so won't fully support their Democratic candidates. Time for that kind of thinking to STOP!! Ms. Tkaczyk is proof!!
Will someone alert Ralph Nader?
When has the NY Times EVER not backed a Democratic candidate? Something must be wrong with her!
When my dad was a little kid (this would be the early '40's, mind you), his family had a little farm, some horses, chickens, and some goats. Whenever he was out on the farm, he'd pick things off the vine and eat them, which upset his mom quite a bit, because it would spoil his appetite for dinner. But she wasn't about to explain that to a little kid. So she told him, "don't you be picking those apples, or the Devil will get you!"
This seemed to upset my dad quite a bit, so he asked the neighbor, "What does the Devil look like?" The neighbor told him, "The devil has a long beard and two horns."
Well a week later my dad didn't listen to his mom, and he climbed up on a old rickety ladder to pick some apples. The ladder tipped, and he fell off, and rolled down a hill. He looked up and there was one of the goats looking right down at him, making a "baaaahhhh" noise.
To tell ya the truth, goats have always kinda creeped me out.
CeCe Tkaczyk is the real thing-farmer, weaver, community activist and now, politician. I worked for her at the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition for many years, and believe me, she will fight (and negotiate with her colleagues) with what is fair and just for her constituents. She is not about politics for politics sake and she knows her constituents. Other electeds could learn from her example....