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What Do Nov. 2 Election Results Mean for Musicians?

Volume CX, No. 12December, 2010

What will the results of the Nov. 2 general election mean for musicians? Perhaps the answer is “too soon to tell.” After all, at the time of this writing, the election results are not in for every race yet. At the federal level, Democrats took a huge hit, losing 60 seats in the House of Representatives (53 Democrats lost their races and Republicans picked up seven open seats) and six Senate seats. It was the biggest loss for the Democrats since 1938, when they lost 71 seats due to dissatisfaction over President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.

In New York, the controversial new voting machines are being recanvassed in a number of races. As a result, no one knows for certain which party will have control of the State Senate, although there is wide speculation that it will be the Democrats.

At Local 802, the Executive Board endorsed 25 candidates/incumbents and 23 of them won (Congressman and Local 802 member John Hall lost his re-election bid and New York State Assembly candidate Gregg Lundahl was defeated in the September 14th primary election).