By HEATHER NELLIS

For the C-S-E

Montgomery County Democrats go to the polls today to determine which of three candidates will appear on that line in November’s election for a senator of the newly created 46th Senate District.

Monica Arias Miranda of Duanesburg, Tom Dolan of Coeymans, and Cecilia Tkaczyk of Duanesburg are the Democratic contenders vying to face George Amedore, the Republican assemblyman, in the general election.

The 46th Senate District represents all of Montgomery County, all of Ulster County, and parts of Albany, Schenectady and Greene counties.

There are few thematic differences between the candidates’ platforms, which highlight issues like hydrofracking, economic development, and financial reform, but they vary in their reasons for running.

Tkaczyk said the foremost reason she jumped in the ring is she wants to champion reform in the arena of public education funding.

As the vice president of the Duanesburg Central School District Board of Education, Tkaczyk said the state isn’t adequately funding rural schools.

Tkaczyk said her main contention is the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which was formulated to reduce education aid to all the state’s public schools.

“The formula doesn’t work for rural schools,” she said. “I want to help change the formula so it’s not disproportionately hurting rural schools when [the state enacts] across the board cuts. Every rural school similar to mine is not getting enough funding.”

“That’s the reason I got into the race,” Tkaczyk continued. “I want to advocate for adequately funded education, and I can’t find that champion, so I want to get in and fight for this myself.”

Education is also of concern to Miranda, noting the recent string of widespread cuts to educational programming like music programs, foreign language, arts, and sports.

“I tie it all back to wasteful spending at the state level,” Miranda said. “All of my issues relate to funding, and I tie it into my experience with pork money.”

For six years, as a budget analyst for the state Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, Miranda said she personally administered $500 million a year in discretionary spending for just one region of the state.

“I’m not allowed to talk about what I did, but people talk about three men in a room — yes, they meet — and then a budget analyst like me just gives orders for a decision that have already been made. And it just trickles down,” Miranda said.

She pointed to the recent allegations state Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera directed funds to a Bronx non-profit organization run by her ex-boyfriend, who claims she siphoned money from the group.

“We’ve seen in the recent news how money really gets wasted, yet the state continues to cut funds for things like public education,” she said.

Dolan, a councilman of the Coeymans town board, said he was drawn to the race because of the newly-created district, “and the circumstances and drama surrounding it.”

“It seemed highly political and unfair how it was broken up,” he said.

Dolan said he wants to push to reform campaign finance policies. He thinks elected officials’ actions in office are predetermined by campaign contributions.

He made note of the saying “We ought to make politicians wear NASCAR patches, then we would know exactly who they are really representing.”

“Politicians give preferential treatment to large campaign donors, and access to officials should not be determined who can raise the most amount of money for their election,” he said.

Dolan said he thinks the hydrofracking issue is being driven by campaign contributions.

“Fracking is a distraction from where we should be moving,” he said. “It’s a diversion to economic development. They’re being told in the Southern Tier, a depressed area, that their only answer is fracking, and it’s the same of the distressed upstate areas. But the state Senate and the governor should be working on grand plans that can move us forward.”

Dolan, Miranda and Tkaczyk all expressed support for bans on hydrofracking in favor of clean energy development, and the “green” jobs that can come from it.

Polls in Montgomery County are open from noon to 9 p.m. today.