State Assemblyman Billy Jones highlighted several aspects of Sen. Gillibrand’s bill while speaking at the Lake Placid Beachhouse in July 2023. (Enterprise photo — Arthur Maiorella)

The special election to fill the vacancy left by state Assemblyman Billy Jones’ resignation earlier this month will be held on Nov. 4, the same day as the general election.

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued the proclamation calling for the election on Tuesday afternoon.

Jones’ fifth term in the Assembly was set to last through the end of 2026, but in July, he announced plans to resign halfway through his term.

“Assemblyman Jones served the people of the 115th District with distinction, and we wish him well in his next chapter,” Hochul said in a statement. “I look forward to working with his successor.”

Special elections are not run like normal elections. They do not have primaries.

Instead, the parties select their nominees based on votes from the party chairs in the three counties within the district — essentially a primary of three voters.

Both major parties have preemptively indicated who they plan to select as candidates, saying with the truncated campaign season, they wanted their candidates to have the most time possible to hit the streets around the district.

The chairs have their votes weighted based on how many party members their county contributes to the district. In both major parties, Clinton County carries more than 50% of the vote by itself, meaning, theoretically, the Clinton County chairs hold all the cards on who the candidates are.

Hochul’s announcement of the election just 50 days away kicks off the much-anticipated special election, which has already unofficially gotten underway.

Jones was the region’s only state representative in the Democratic party.

Democrats want to hold this seat in their party’s control. Republicans see Jones vacating it as an opportunity to secure the seat back into GOP hands.

Last month, State Police Troop B Commander Maj. Brent Davison got a “full endorsement” from Clinton County Republican Committee Chair Jerika Manning.

Last month the Clinton, Franklin and Essex Democratic county chairs announced their unanimous intention to select Plattsburgh Town Supervisor Michael Cashman as their candidate.

The 115th Assembly District includes all of Franklin and Clinton counties, and part of Essex County. It covers from St. Regis Falls east to the shores of Lake Champlain and from the border of Canada down to the center of the High Peaks Wilderness.

Jones has endorsed Cashman as the “only person” he considered for a candidate to refill his seat.

To read more about Cashman, go to tinyurl.com/4r3fkcu2.

To read more about Davison, go to tinyurl.com/29d4wk6t.