There was a telling moment four years ago during a debate in the crowded race for the Democratic state Senate nomination in the 22nd District. Asked whom he would vote for if not himself, each of the candidates pointed to John Blake.

Because most of the candidates had held some local public office, they knew Mr. Blake to be a master of public policy and an accomplished navigator of the state government labyrinth. He had been a regional and state leader of the state Department of Community and Economic Development and had established a reputation as someone who could cut across political and bureaucratic boundaries to get things done.

Mr. Blake won that election and furthered that reputation during his first term in office. The Times-Tribune editorial board strongly endorses him for re-election over Republican challenger Joe Albert of Scranton.

Mr. Albert, a former Army officer and longtime insurance broker, contends that it would be wiser for the region to have a senator of the majority party in the chamber.

But Mr. Blake’s role has been more than a matter of numbers. He has been in the forefront of several major legislative initiatives despite being a member of the minority, most notably revisions to the state’s distressed municipalities law that are particularly important to Scranton. He stepped across the aisle to work with Republican Rep. Glen. R. Grell on a pension plan that did not pass, but which remains a reasonable template for reform.

At the same time, he has been a strong voice against the worst policies of the Corbett administration, including its refusal to fairly tax natural gas extraction, its diminished public education funding and its refusal to embrace health-care reform as a means not just to increase access but to help revive the economy.

Mr. Albert has campaigned in favor of eliminating the school property tax, an issue on which Mr. Blake has been on the fence. He voted to move it from committee but acknowledged that he might vote against it if the state formula for replacing it produces inadequate revenue.

In any case, Mr. Blake’s performance in office warrants a second term.

CORRECTION: An Oct. 27 editorial included an incorrect age for Nick Troiano, independent candidate in the 10th Congressional District. He is 25.