Democrats are running a Republican/Conservative in Cortlandt on the Democratic ticket. In Rye City, Democrats are running a Republican, an Independent and a Democrat on their ticket. In Pleasantville, Democrats are trying to knock off Conservative County Legislator Sue Swanson, who has been elected on the Republican line, but initially had been supported by the Democrats. Few candidates identify what party they represent. They just print their names in the colors of their respective parties and are quick to tell you, they’re independents. Going back to Spano and DiFiore,both are trying to save themselves from hard-fought campaigns, because when they get the nomination, Democratic district leaders will take their petitions out and they (Spano and DiFiore) won’t have to spend a whole lot of money collecting signatures. And the Republican Party is so weak, that unless the Democrats challenge them in a primary, they will be home free. It is time for the real Democrats to step up to the plate and show the leaders of the Democratic Party that they don’t like what’s happening in the party. Real Democrats have to let the party leadership know we have principles and we will fight to preserve them. We need to start organizing now, just as we did in the sixties, when a liberal part of the party challenged the old guard. We should make sure that Michael Spano is in a Democratic primary and find a good qualified candidate to put Ms. DiFiore in a primary as well. She said that the DA’s office is not political. If she really believed that, why did she change to a Democrat? It really means that she has no confidence in the Westchester voters and has insulted our intelligence by not being able to distinguish the best candidate running. Another very important contest in the county where Republicans are invading the Democratic Party is in a race for Family Court. Charles Delvin, a Republican/Conservative judge who was appointed by former governor George Pataki, has decided that he cannot win on the Republican line alone. Judge Delvin has now filed petitions to run on the Democratic line for Family Court. The Democratic Party nominee is an African American named Janet Jordan. Ms. Jordan fought hard for the Democratic nomination, beating out several other candidates, especially one who was supposed to have the nomination, due to an agreement made last year. Ms. Jordan campaigned throughout Westchester County, in all of the cities, towns and villages. Now when she was supposed to be concentrating on her Republican opponent in the November election, she is faced with fighting off a Republican opponent in a Democratic primary in September. We cannot afford to let this happen. As I have said before, blacks have enough problems fighting the Democrats to be on the Democratic ticket without having the Republicans trying to knock us off. It is going to be very interesting to see how the Democrats vote on Tuesday, September 18th because they know who the true Democrats are, but it will be up to the party chairs to make sure that message gets out. We are being threatened like we have never been threatened before and the time has passed for Democrats to sit on the sidelines and let the Republicans take over our part.
...AND, THAT’S ONE MAN’S OPINION...
Republicans Continue to Invade the Democratic Party
M. Paul Tells All
By M. Paul Redd, Sr.
Republicans used to boast that they held the top three political posts in Westchester County for the last 75 years. But now Democrats hold all of the countywide positions - county executive, district attorney and county clerk - for the first time in history, at least on paper. Democrats, with a one hundred thousand enrollment edge over the Republicans, were prone to win all three seats the old fashioned way, until Republicans came up with a new strategy to invade the Democratic Party, both judicially and legislatively. First, in 2003 Republican Joseph Alessandro raided the Democratic Party by forcing a Democratic primary where he reportedly spent a half million dollars and won a county judgeship. The Democrats rewarded the County Judge Alessandro in 2004 with a cross-endorsement to the state supreme court in exchange for a cross-endorsement of Court of Claims Judge Jonathan Lippman, whom the powers-to-be in Albany, both Democrats and Republicans, wanted on the state supreme court. Judge Lippman was and is administrative judge of all courts in the state, but had been afraid to run for supreme court only on the Democratic ticket, so the Democrats sold their souls to Judge Lippman. I might say, many in the County Democratic Party were not happy about the cross-endorsement. A few months ago we predicted some high profile Republicans might switch parties and now, just recently Republican/Conservative Michael Spano donned a Democratic jacket and is calling himself a Democrat. Following behind him is everybody’s DA, Republican/Conservative District Attorney Janet DiFiore, who has put on the Democratic jacket. Now I know that people over the years change their thinking. Some who used to be conservative, have become liberal and vice versa, but give me a break! DiFiore and Spano were just elected as Republicans two years ago and the only reason they are changing to Democrats now is to save their political behinds. I wonder if the Democrats asked them if they would still accept the Conservative nomination. Both said they feel more comfortable with the Democrats and our Democratic leaders happily welcomed them aboard. Of course, the Democratic leaders had no choice in the matter, but to promise them the Democratic nomination for reelection is premature. There are a good number of Democrats waiting for the opportunity to take the Michael Spano seat in the Assembly and a few more Democrats who want to run for district attorney if the leaders of the Democratic Party would support them instead of giving Janet DiFiore a free ride, as they did former Republican/Conservative DA, Janine Pirro. The leadership in both parties doesn’t seem to understand that switching parties and cross-endorsements are just the things turning off the American voters that believe there is very little difference between the parties and that candidates and politicians will do or say anything to win.