It’s always difficult to gauge the mood of the electorate. Pollsters try all the time. In the end, the only poll that counts is conducted on Election Day, now only hours away.

Having had some experience in these matters, I would judge that mood to be decidedly pessimistic. And I’m an optimist.

The deadlock in Washington over feeding hungry, poor people, most of them children and women, has raised levels of frustration and anger I haven’t seen since Vietnam days.

More than a few would put all 535 members of Congress on a boat, with elected members from the executive in the brig. Would a whole new crew do any better? Could they be any worse?

To say that the goings-on in Washington and Albany have no effect on our local elections would be either naïve or ignorant, but we’re beyond that conversation.

This has been a season of distraction, what with New York City-based TV stations bombarding us with attack ads in races for Gotham mayor and Jersey governor.

Can’t say I’m all that interested in who wins in Jersey. The city is another story. For better or worse, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani will have a profound effect on how the city is governed. And taxed. New York City is the engine that drives New York State. To put it another way, when Gotham sneezes, upstate catches cold. And upstate has been in decline for most of this century.

As for choices, former governor Andrew Cuomo is one of those “take a deep breath and hold your nose” candidates. Down by almost double digits in most polls days before the election, his chances border on hopeless.

One of a handful of Democratic Socialists of America in the state legislature, if Mamdani goes DSA all the way, we could be in trouble. Maybe I’ll wear a red beret on Election Day.

This being a local election, perhaps the last we’ll see like it, let’s get local.

There are three county-wide candidates, all featuring unopposed Democrats. Comptroller March Gallagher is seeking a third term. Acting Clerk Taylor Bruck will be elected to probably the first of many terms. Laura Olivieri survived the Democrat Party nominating process and will be elected to a 10-year term on Family Court. All are young and ambitious; they’ll need to show impressive numbers on Tuesday.

And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon

If unopposed candidates for county legislature were to run against each other, Democrats would prevail 9-2. The legislature voted itself a salary increase this year in order, they said, to attract more candidates. How’s that working out?

Earlier in my career I covered Republican-dominated government. It wasn’t much better. It’s almost as if our “two-party system” was designed to deny voters a choice in candidates.

Democrats rule. They hold a huge majority among the county’s 130,000 registered voters, are well-funded and well-organized and publicized. Republicans surface on specific issues from time to time, but theirs are voices in the wilderness. They seem to like It that way.

The entire 23-member county legislature is on the ballot, giving the illusion that all or even some of those seats are in play. They’re not. Democrats might even increase their 14-9 majority. Two more members would constitute a “veto-proof” legislature, another illusion. Democrats, except for the occasional outlander or two, would never attempt to override a veto by their Democratic county executive even if they had the votes.

If Republicans in Kingston elect a member of the nine-member all-Democratic Common Council, cows will jump over the moon. Little boys will laugh. Hey, diddle diddle.

Out in the Towns

Town races are as local as it gets. Neighbor for neighbor or against, brother for brother or against. It’s almost like the Civil War in some towns.

Three places caught my eye as this piece went to press.

In Marlborough, it’s a family affair, what with brothers Tom Corcoran and Scott Corcoran running for county legislature and town supervisor, respectively. With a cloud of allegations hanging over the brothers, residents might be careful about extending the supervisor’s term to four years before blue skies return.

The Town of Ulster is always a hotbed of political intrigue and there’s some big projects on the agenda.

Democrat Laura Hartmann’s election to the town board could tip the majority in her party’s favor and give Republican Supervisor Jim Quigley headaches he hasn’t seen in years.

In Saugerties, retired mental health specialist Gaetana Ciarlante might be just the ticket in a town that’s gone a little crazy in recent years. Alas, Democratic incumbent Supervisor Fred Costello remains popular, despite town turmoil. Can Ciarlante win on just the Conservative Party line? It’s a long shot, but perhaps overdue.

As we depart the local scene, let’s drop in one more time of this business of holding local elections in even-numbered years when state and federal officials are on the ballot.

Seen by Republicans as a Democratic get-out-their-vote maneuver, the controversial legislation the governor signed has been upheld by the state’s highest court.

Never say die. Republicans are now petitioning the federal courts. Even in a state’s-rights Supreme Court, chances of that succeeding are slim.

There is a local remedy, however. If voters turn out in huge numbers on Tuesday, it could send a signal to the judiciary that independence matters. So, vote.