NY-19 — Meet the Candidates Tonight in Peekskill
Back in the comments of my previous NY-19 post, there is a debate brewing about the bona-fides of one of the candidates. I think the purveyors of take19 have some great advice:
If you want to see Ben and the other four candidates vying for Sue’s seat, they’ll all be at the Peekskill Democratic meeting tonight (12/15) which begins at 7 p.m. in a room at the Field Library in downtown Peekskill.
As a group — we formed Take19 last year to take back the 19th district — we’ve met with all five of the candidates and each has their plusses and minuses. Though we don’t plan to endorse anyone right now, we’re more than a bit concerned with some of the misinformation being pumped out into the blogosphere about Ben, primarily on DailyKos and primarily by some of the same people who have posted here.
So if you’re tired of being spun by a few posters, come to tonight’s event — there’s more info on the Peekskill Dems site — and make up your own mind about the candidates. Clogging the blogosphere with misinformation about the candidates only helps Sue Kelly. Many of us are working way too hard to see that happen yet again. (emph. mine)
I don’t think I will be able to make it tonight, but hopefully others will, and can see the candidates for themselves. I hope there are more events like this one.
One thing I would really hate to see is this primary become a circular firing squad resulting in a politically wounded Democratic candidate. Obviously, people are going to have primary favorites, and they should talk up the strengths of their preferred candidate, but attacks on the other Democratic candidates benefit no one. I think it would be better for people to keep the focus of the race on where it should be — defeating Sue Kelly. After all, each of the candidates running would be an improvement over the current congressperson.
Last night I attended an event in Peekskill NY that marked the first time all 5 congressional candidates in District 19 got together to speak. While this event, hosted by the Peekskill Democrats, was not a formal debate, it gave the candidates the opportunity to state their case and answer questions from the public.
Of the five candidates, Ben Shuldiner was the shining star of the night. I’m leaning towards supporting him at this point. He was a far more informative and inspirational speaker than the other four and actually kept his speech to about 8 mins while the others went on for 15 minutes (which often seemed like an eternity). He was also the only candidate that didn’t end the discussion at “what needs to get done”, as he went into “what I will do for you”.
I wish Darren Rigger had taken the opportunity to speak. Unfortunately, he passed. He seems very energetic and like he has some good ideas. The only thing i didn’t like about him was how many times he he brought up being arrested for protesting the war in Iraq. It seemed a little inappropriate given the audience (Peekskill committee members). I want to see more from Darren in the future - he seems like he can motivate people.
Jim Martorano did well, but seemed rather timid. He is clearly the candidate with legislative experience, but had a hard time tying that in to what he will do for us if elected. Jim also made the blunder of the night. When asked why he is should be the one to get elected, Jim ended with “I am for good and against bad. Well I’m not always against bad. Sometimes bad is good.” It made him seem a little ridiculous.
John Hall was an excellent speaker in my opinion. He has a commanding voice and posture and can relate a lot of the issues facing NY-19 to personal experiences. I think he lost people in going on for too long about windsurfing in the Hudson River and sitting on some school board in Dover Plains. His speech was very tangential.
The biggest disappointment of the night for me, though, was Judy Aydelott. It turns out Judy is a bad speaker (sounds nervous, gets off-topic, and goes for breadth over depth on the issues). This struck me as odd given her career as a trial lawyer.
So the rankings are…
1) Ben Shuldiner
2) John Hall
3) Jim Martorano
4) Judy Aydelott
- Darren Rigger (didn’t speak. if he did, he seems like he’d place somewhere in the top 3)
Comment by ajm | 12/16/2005
I had the opportunity to be at that event, and Darren Rigger did speak. In my opinion, he is the best bet in order to beat Sue Kelly in November. He has the energy, skills and enthusiasum needed for this election. I have to disagree with the author on Ben, I feel that while he may be a semi-decent speaker, he really lacks in experience and doesn’t seem well-qualified for the job. Maybe in a few years and a few more races, he should come back and try again. Jim Martorano is my second choice (after Darren) in this primary. Finally, I agree with the author, that Judy Aydelott does lack critical speaking skills. It strikes me as odd too, her being a trial lawyer. Maybe it is because she really is a Republican. I even heard a rumor that she was related to Sue Kelly. I know that she gave money to Kelly’s campaign in the past. Is that someone we want representing our Democratic ideals?
Comment by Danni | 12/22/2005