New York State Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney
Derek Hyra, associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech
At least two Colgate alumni are running for U.S. Congress: State Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney ’83 is running in New York’s 22nd District, and Derek Hyra ’96 is running in Virginia’s 8th District.
Tenney announced last week that she will challenge U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna in the Republican primary. She is a two-term legislator who represents New York’s 101st Assembly District, which stretches from Oneida County to Orange County.
Read the Colgate Scene feature about how Tenney — a political science major at Colgate who earned her JD at the University of Cincinnati — won her last election in a tough battle drawn by controversial redistricting.
Hyra, currently one of 11 Democrats in the June primary, is an associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria campus. He majored in psychology at Colgate before earning his MA and PhD at the University of Chicago.
Hyra previously worked at the U.S. Treasury and Housing and Urban Development departments. He chairs the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority and is a member of the Alexandria Planning Commission. In addition, he is author of The New Urban Renewal: The Economic Transformation of Harlem and Bronzeville (The University of Chicago Press).
Know of any other alumni running for office? Share with us in the comments section below.