THE NAMES ON THE 102ND Assembly District ballot lines will look familiar to voters this November. Assemblyman Chris Tague, a Republican in his first, abbreviated, term once again faces Democrat Aiden O’Connor Jr. The two competed earlier this year in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Assemblyman Peter Lopez, a contest Mr. Tague won by 159 votes.

The only towns in Columbia County represented by the 102nd District are Stuyvesant and Stockport. But the district also includes all of Greene and Schoharie counties as well as parts of Albany, Delaware, Otsego and Ulster counties.

Both candidates have roots in the district and records of public service. Mr. Tague, 49, running on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform Party lines, and Mr. O’Connor, 30, running on the Democratic, Working Families and Women’s Equality lines, vow to fight state government corruption and each seems to grasp the limits of what a single member of the Assembly can accomplish.

What distinguishes Mr. O’Connor and makes him the choice, is the sense of optimism that accompanies his common sense ideas. He is a paramedic and a Greene County legislator. He knows that effective government depends on his ability to work across party lines. He support’s women’s rights and Planned Parenthood. It’s these positions coupled with his energy and his grasp of the issues that make him best suited to help shift more state resources upstate and to serve the people of the district and the state. Please vote for Aiden O’Connor on November 6.