New York’s 20th Congressional District, whose boundaries include the economically depressed areas around Albany and the affluent Lake Placid region, has been reliably Republican for generations. Last November, however, the District’s four-term Republican Congressman John Sweeney was defeated by political neophyte, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.  Analysts claim that Sweeney’s loss was self-inflicted.  Allegations of reckless behavior, [...]