Albany

Democratic Palatine Town Supervisor Sara Niccoli, known in Albany for her advocacy work as director of the state Labor-Religion Coalition, has emerged as a challenger to Republican state Sen. George Amedore, who won the 46th Senate District seat less than two years ago.

Niccoli was set to send out a fundraising appeal by email Monday morning as she is "exploring" a bid to unseat Amedore. In a Sunday afternoon interview, Niccoli painted herself as someone who can relate to residents of the largely rural district, which runs from Montgomery County eastward, cutting in at the Guilderland-Albany border and extending south to Ulster County.

"Although the district is very much gerrymandered for George Amedore, it's also my kind of people," she said. "It's small cities, it's rural. ... In the true sense of democracy your representatives are supposed to represent people like you, and I feel very much like I am. The people of the 46th district live lives that I understand and that are also my life."

Niccoli's fundraising appeal hits Albany's "pay-to-play culture" and punches at Amedore as exemplifying "everything that's wrong with Albany."

"His campaigns are funded by the same wealthy downstate developers at the heart of recent corruption scandals," the appeal states, a nod to contributions Amedore has received in the past from Glenwood Management, the prominent real estate company at the heart of the cases against former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif retorted that Amedore "has been a trusted and independent voice for his district who has worked in a bipartisan manner to move our state forward."

"His focus right now is exactly where it should be — securing another record increase for upstate schools, building on his successful record of protecting taxpayers, helping businesses create new jobs and assisting families devastated by the heroin epidemic," Reif said.

Niccoli has served as Palatine supervisor since 2014, calling herself "a fighter" as a Democrat against five Republican Town Council members in her first year. She ran on a "responsible government slate" in the 2015 election with two Republicans and another Democrat, all of whom won the council seats they challenged for.

Niccoli's statewide advocacy work prominently has included the push for a $15 minimum wage in the past year.

She emerges as a candidate in an election year that will further define the 46th district's political identity.

Drawn in 2012, it was thought to be perfect for a GOP representative, but Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk bucked expectations with a razor-thin victory over Amedore. In 2014, a gubernatorial election year in which voter turnout statewide was anemic, Amedore unseated Tkaczyk in more convincing fashion.

The elections of 2016 present a presidential year, during which Democrats, who outnumber Republicans 2-to-1 statewide, are expected to come out to vote in droves in November, potentially boosting the chances of Democratic candidates down the ballot. Democratic enrollment in the 46th district is about 8,600 active voters higher than Republican enrollment.

The Niccoli-Amedore matchup emerges less than a week after Democrat Chad Putman, Schenectady's deputy city clerk, announced in the Daily Gazette his intention to challenge longtime Republican state Sen. Hugh Farley in the 49th district this year. Farley also faces challenges on the right from Christian Klueg and Nancy Nugent.

mhamilton@timesunion.com • 518-454-5449 • @matt_hamilton10