Meet and Greet

A table of homemade vegetarian food, fresh picked berries and upside down cakes. Folding chairs laid out in the living room with guests holding cups of iced tea and lemon seltzer. A stack of business cards with the campaign slogan "The Change We Need," casually spread across the coffee table.

And the candidate, Susan Savage, standing nonchalantly among a small crowd of Schenectady residents who were gathered to meet and greet the future State Senator of the 44th Senate District.

The informal gathering, held at a local home near Schenectady’s Central Park, included AARP community organizers, public policy researchers, small business owners, a local pastor, human services and mental health advocates, school board members and students from Schenectady County Community College.

The conversation was relaxed and causal yet hardly what you’d expect at a mid-summer after work dinner party: the dangers of political incumbency, the prospects of job creation and economic revitalization, the role of media in shaping public discourse, the state of health care, the extent of homelessness and overall, the need for positive change.

“I’ve encountered many people whose main reason for avoiding change is that it’s never been done before,” Savage shared when describing the stalemate which has plagued State government for years.

Decision making takes on an all together different approach with Savage, the current Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. She seeks out all sides of the equation, is willing to change her position when confronted with new information and is prepared to stand up to falsehoods where they exist.

And this is all done with a sense of grace and joviality which makes her accessible and trustworthy. Savage’s former child care provider even notes that “She is one of those people who, when you meet her, you swear you’ve known her all your life.”

Although her Senate campaign has only just begun, Savage is confident that it will be a successful race. With long time Republicans vowing to vote for her instead of re-electing Senator Hugh Farley for a 19th consecutive term, it’s clear that the public is ready for a new face. And at 48, Savage says it feels good to be considered young again.

With no challenger in the Democratic primary and a growing mass of die-hard supporters, not to mention the backing of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, Savage has a promising race ahead of her.

As the mid-week “Meet and Greet” drew to an end, it seemed appropriate that one of the guests called attention to the six glass candle holders resting on the window sill in the host’s kitchen. Each had a golf-ball-sized avocado seed resting in water. Tooth picks poked into the surface and rested on the rim of each glass, allowing only the base of the seed to be submerged.

Eventually, from that base, roots will emerge and the seed can be planted in the earth, in order to support the growth of a sturdy and enduring tree.

And while Schenectady may not be accustomed to growing avocado trees, or seeing a new face in the district’s Senate seat, it seems to be a necessary and exciting change for those who care deeply about this community.