Three Democrats — Thomas Boomhower, Mary Finneran, and Janet Tweed — are gearing up to represent New York State Assembly District 102 as Republican Chris Tague, who has represented the district since 2018, is running for State Senate.

The primary is on June 23.

In February, Republican Marc Molinaro announced he would leave the Trump administration to run for the seat. A former Dutchess County executive, Congressman, and 2024 gubernatorial candidate, Molinaro has served as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration under Trump — and is endorsed by Tague.

The 102nd Assembly District comprises all of Greene and Schoharie counties, along with parts of Albany, Otsego, and Delaware counties, and is primarily rural. In Albany County, it includes the towns of Coeymans, Berne, Knox, Rensselaerville, and Westerlo.

Assembly members serve two-year terms; the post pays $142,000 annually.

Thomas Boomhower

Boomhower, who serves as a trustee for the village of Catskill, works as the senior director of program management for Upstate Capital Association of New York, and formerly was an economic development specialist for Greene County. 

“Having the opportunity to help lead small business support programs, workforce development initiatives, and strategic industry attraction efforts in the place I grew up, was truly incredible, and it showed me just how hard things are for our rural communities in Upstate New York,” Boomhower said in a campaign post. “That’s why my work now is focused on supporting the next wave of entrepreneurs and the innovation economy in Upstate.”

He has a bachelor’s degree from Sage College of Albany and a master’s degree in history from the University at Albany where he says his studies “centered on race and gender in American history, as well as settler colonialism, and Indigenous American history.”

He said he is running “because I believe that my combination of experience in economic development, public service and governance, have given me the skillset we need to tackle the challenges facing our region. We need a comprehensive approach that centers our communities and is rooted in public service.”

Mary Finneran

Finneran and Tweed have faced off before, in the 2024 Democratic primary for the 102nd District, which Tweed won by a narrow margin. She then lost to Tague, who garnered nearly two-thirds of the vote.

Finneran, of Cairo, is a retired art teacher, environmental and social justice advocate, and former member of the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter’s executive committee.

A Democrat, she also has been endorsed by the Working Families Party. Commenting on that endorsement, Finneran said in a statement, “The Working Family Party’s determination to make affordability and quality in housing, childcare, healthcare and more a standard for all working people, along with their stalwart defense of immigrants and all people being oppressed, makes me beyond proud of this endorsement. I am very inspired and energized to help the WFP achieve their goals.”

In the speech she made to launch her campaign, Finneran said, “Today is the first day of Irish Spring, midway between the solstice and the equinox, the day when the light starts to win against the darkness. It’s also the night of the Snow Moon.This day is full of light.”

She went on to focus on human rights, human needs, and a habitable planet.

Finneran’s campaign website says she stands for: people’s needs over corporate greed; the absolute necessity of stopping climate chaos; the right to clean air, water, soil, and food; the rights of all women and genders; the right to adequate and affordable, if not free, health care; the right to affordable and decent housing for all; the right to fair criminal justice that is restorative and rehabilitative vs. punitive; and all the people and concur with the United Nations declaration of Human Rights.

Janet Tweed

Tweed, of Delhi, is a physical therapist who serves on the Delhi Village Board and was formerly a member of the Delhi Town Board; the village is in the town of the same name. She has also been an election inspector and a member of local Democratic committees.

“There is a real hunger for leaders who have lived and worked in this district and understand the challenges around increasing electricity costs, healthcare accessibility, supporting sustainable infrastructure, and more,” Tweed said in a statement. “We do not need or want another career politician like Marc Molinaro who has spent his entire adult life in politics.”

Tweed’s platform includes an emphasis on improving affordability and accessibility, especially in health care. Her goals include expanding free, school-based healthcare, incentivizing providers to serve in rural areas through tuition reimbursement programs, and passing the New York Health Act, which is a single-payer, universal healthcare program similar to “Medicare for All,” but at a state level.

She also advocates for addressing rising energy bills, more carefully regulating energy-intensive AI data centers, and expanding renewable energy infrastructure in New York so energy prices are not dictated “by global political shocks like the current war in Iran.” 

Whichever Democrat wins in the June primary will face an uphill battle in the general election since the rural district is largely Republican.