On the ground

This just in! Republicans are so worried about their chances in New York that they are starting to go pretty far afield to recruit candidates:

(Photo courtesy of the eagle-eyed Regina Baker.)

Those Democrats … they sure do know how to throw a party!

The 2010 Annual Dinner took place a week ago at the amazingly gorgeous Hanah Mountain Resort and Country Club in Margaretville. The venue was lovely, the vistas were breathtaking, the speakers were interesting, the food was tasty and a good time was had by all.

Many thanks to all who made the evening such a success, especially Dinner Chair Mary McKeon, DCDC Treasurer Andrea Paternoster, DCDC Secretary Lisa Tait, and of course, our lovely and talented Chairwoman, Cynthia Lockrow-Schimmerlig.

 

We’ve already introduced you to David Sager, the Republican-turned-Democrat who is challenging Senator John Bonacic for the 42nd Senate District seat.

The DCDC was the first committee to endorse David, back in April. He is such a great candidate that you wouldn’t think we’d have had any trouble at all getting the relevant county chairs to give the nod that would allow him to run as a Democrat.

In fact, he did have some trouble with that, precisely because he is such a terrific candidate.

Confused?

Let me step aside and allow Fritz Mayer of the River Reporter (Narrowsburg, NY) tell the tale (I’d just link to the story but it doesn’t seem to be archived anywhere on the River Reporter web site):

Now it seems likely that he will be the Democratic candidate, but that is not certain. Sager changed his party registration from Republican to Democrat last month and, because the change won’t officially take place until January 1, he needs a special authorization known as a Wilson Pakula from the county Democratic committees.

Even though the committees have voted for him, it is possible for two committee chairmen to block the nomination. Steve Wilkinson, chairman of the committee in Sullivan County, did not return an email asking if he would support Sager’s nomination.

Pressure to prevent the nomination has reportedly been strong over the past couple of weeks. According to multiple sources, various elected Democrats in the state have been contacted by Langdon Chapman, who works in Bonacic’s office and who is also a regional chairman of the Independence Party. Chapman has reportedly told the Democrats that if they support Sager’s candidacy or if he gains the nomination, the Democrats risk losing their place on the Independence Party line this fall.

In an email, Chapman did not directly deny the allegation but he did say this: “The type of rumor you are inquiring about, has been and is put out every single year—by candidates from both parties who think they will not receive the Independence Party endorsement, so they start rumors.” Independence Party endorsements come from the executive committee, which is made up of 22 people from across the state, including Chapman.

The only thing I’ll say about this setup — Chapman working for Bonacic, who allegedly uses the connection to attempt to dictate which candidate the Democrats field to challenge him — is that it is just about as slimy as what you’d expect from a 20 year veteran of Albany politics.

Delaware led the way (yay us!), but Sager won the approval of Ulster, his native Sullivan and, earlier this week, Orange. Assuming that none of those chairs will ignore the will of their respective committees, and given that the lone possible challenger withdrew, it looks like the 42nd SD Democratic candidate is ready to rock and roll.

In a couple of weeks, we will be carrying those Sager petitions. Taking bets on whether our buddy, Bonacic, will be spitting nails or chewing on them?

Here’s a shocking news development:

Andrew Cuomo has announced that he will run for the office of Governor of New York.

Isn’t that a big surprise?

I’ll say this for Mr. Cuomo. He wastes no time in giving us a taste of his plan for New York. But you don’t have to take my word for it because he says it all in the following video announcement.

So, now that the Democrats really have a candidate for governor … let the games begin!

Just in case you hadn’t noticed that note over there (in the sidebar) —->>
the Delaware County Democratic Committee will be celebrating our 2010 Annual Dinner on June 19th at the Hanah Mountain Resort & County Club on West Hubbell Hill Road in Margaretville. Gorgeous spot with reasonable parking located at a convenient distance from the facility.

This year, we will be honoring C. Peter Cordes as our Democrat of the Year. Pete hails from Sidney, where he has served on the Town Board for three full terms and was elected to his fourth term last year, making him one of the county’s longest-serving Democrats currently in public office.

As for our dinner speakers, we are expecting both our House Representatives — Scott Murphy (confirmed) and Maurice Hinchey — as well as Max Finberg, a local lad who wound up serving in the Obama Administration for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Max’s dad is Mike Finberg, a member of the DCDC from the town of Middletown.

Tickets for this year’s dinner are $45; you can purchase tickets from your local Town Chair or you can click here to buy them online right now.

This year’s celebration looks like it’ll be a great one, so be sure to get your tickets and come join us!