FIVE QUESTIONS WITH PEEKSKILL DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN DARREN RIGGER….UNEDITED

Hi Andy – I am Chairman of The Peekskill Democratic Party

A.B.)I met you when you were in a democratic primary for the 19 congressional district in 2006. You were one of six candidates in which John Hall eventually won. What was that experience like? Do you still keep in touch with your campaign staff?

D.R.)Running for Congress was one of the best things I ever did. The experience of having been a candidate has made me a much better consultant. Running for office in reality is very different from theory. And it was an invaluable learning experience. It also made me a better husband. You really cannot do these things with out the help and support of your family. My wife Katria was and continues to be the most amazing thing in my life.

When we started running, many people did not think a Democrat could win. But the six of us; John Hall, Judy Aydelott, Ben Shuldiner, Jim Martorano, Gary Suraci and I, all knew it was doable. During the campaign we would all cross paths at events and forums. It was a very cordial race and we all tried hard to never attack a fellow Democrat. I think we all stayed focused on defeating Sue Kelly.

During the race I met and made friends all over the Hudson Valley. I visited the cheese festival in Orange County, worshiped in a Baptist church in Beacon, canoed the Great Swap of Putnam County, spoke at the Putnam Valley Oktoberfest and toured the Montrose Veterans facility. I even traveled to Afghanistan and met with soldiers and government officials. I learned a tremendous amount about our communities, their concerns and also their many sources of pride.

Some people fear primaries may be divisive and hurt candidates, but in this case, I think the primary was a contributing factor to the ultimate Democratic victory. The primary helped raise our name recognition, built up a grassroots army of supporters and forced us to practice and improve the way we communicate our message. I am certain that John Hall was a better prepared candidate for the general election because of the primary.

I am still in touch with the whole staff, although life gets in the way of us seeing each other as often as we would like. Most are still involved in politics. My campaign manager Allison Epstein is now one of Governor Paterson’s regional representatives. And Mike Kane, who was my Westchester county coordinator, is the vice-chair of the Peekskill Democrats and a major force to recon with.

2) You have had a varied career in politics. You have worked for presidential candidates.
You work for Congressman Rangel. You have worked for County executives, governors and now you head the Peekskill Democratic Party. How did you get started in politics? Tell us who you worked for and what it was like.

D.R.)I was raised and lived most of my life in Putnam Valley which has some wild politics. Maybe it is in the water. When I was about 8 years old I ran for and won an elementary school election to be town supervisor for the day. While that must have been the official start, politics was always discussed around the dinner table. My father and brother were union members and always taught me to care deeply about policies that affect working families. My mom was the Democrat and social activist who shaped most of my views and probably still does today.

I was very lucky in that I graduated from Georgetown University into a Presidential election year. It was 1991 and my first job was working for Ron Brown at the Democratic National Committee in Washington, DC. That winter I joined my first campaign. I worked for Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa on his Presidential campaign. I went door to door through the snow in New Hampshire. We lost in the primary to Bill Clinton but by then I was hooked. I have worked on campaigns every single year since – over 100 races in the past 18 years.

Some years were really hard and Democrats were in decline. I worked for Mayor Dinkins in 1993 and Gov. Cuomo in 1994. I was in the room both times when they made their concession speeches. Things started to really turn around by 1999. I was back in DC working as a consultant and by that time I was working with President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Minority Leader Dick Gephardt and Congressman Charlie Rangel. In 2000, I was an election observer in Florida during the recount and finished the year by celebrating New Year’s Eve with my wife at the White House Millennium Celebration.

I came back to New York in 2001 and was by then very focused on Congressman Rangel and the efforts to win the Majority in the House of Representatives. I have had the honor to meet and work with most of the Democratic elected officials in NY. The best moments I have had in the past 8 years include: in 2006 watching John Hall become Congressman, Nancy Pelosi Speaker and Charlie Rangel Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. In 2007, I worked for Eliot Spitzer when he was overwhelmingly elected as Governor and this year in 2009, when the Peekskill Democrats not only re-elected Mary Foster but also picked up the last republican held seat in the city.

A.B.) Is your resume why Congressman John Hall picked you as his aide during his first days as congressman? What were your duties? What are you duties now with the congressman?

D.R.)I love Congressman Hall. I think he is doing a great job and because he is doing so well I think he will be re-elected this year. He has a terrific chief of staff and surrounds himself with good people. I am not currently working on his staff but I will help him anyway I can between now and Election Day. I am extremely confident that he wakes up each day and works tirelessly for what he believes is best for the people he represents.

During our primary campaign for Congress, I got to know John pretty well. We must have appeared together at dozens of forums and events. His politics is very close to my own and I grew to respect him greatly as a candidate. After he won the primary, I supported him wholeheartedly in the race against Sue Kelly. Kelly really had become a rubber stamp for George Bush’s agenda and was not an effective Representative.

Newly elected Congressional members get to bring one person with them down to “Freshman Orientation” and I was greatly flattered when on election night, just after John won the election, he asked if I would attend with him. I served as his personal aide during the orientation. It is like a one week crash course on how to be a Congressman with the emphasis on the nuts and bolts of opening up and running a Congressional office. We had meetings with all the Democratic leadership, discussed committee assignments, attended briefings and even choose carpets and drapes. It was an amazing experience.

A.B.) You are Chairman of the Peekskill Democratic Party. Since you took over in 2007, your entire tickets have swept the elections. What do you attribute that to? Where do you go form here? Do you see yourself running for elective office?

I am retired from being a candidate … for now. I am very happy helping others. I did not take over as much as inherit a wonderful committee. I also had big shoes to fill in that Mike Morey was a terrific Chair. He had to step down as Chair when he started working for Senator Schumer. The executive committee: vice-chair Mike Kane, treasurer Ruth Wells and secretary Linda Wildman were already in office. They taught me a great deal and have been an absolute joy to work with. The big change in Peekskill started 8 years ago with the election of Drew Claxton to the Common Council. Drew showed that Democrats could win and that having them in office would not lead to the decline of our civilization. In each election since, the Democrats picked up seats – first Don Bennett and then Mary Foster. 2007 was a great year because we were able to not only elect the first Democratic Mayor in more than 40 years, Mayor Foster, but we were also able to elect Joe Schuder and Patricia Riley, who gave us the first Majority on the council in that same period of time.

This year, while Democrats and incumbents were being swept out of office all over Westchester, we not only re-elected the Mayor and two incumbent council members (Claxton and Andy Torres) but we picked up the final seat on the Common Council by electing newcomer Marybeth McGowan. Today, every single elected official in Peekskill is a Democrat.

The secret to our success, in my opinion was three parts. First, we had the best candidates, who were intelligent, articulate and hard working. Second, we ran a positive campaign based on forward thinking ideas reflecting we would like to see in the future for our city. Lastly, the Democratic District leaders and the families and friends worked very, very hard. For example, in 2008 they orchestrated massive voter registration drives and the results were stunning. Of the approximately 1500 newly registered voters in 2008, 1100 registered as Democrats and only 200 choose the GOP. The work in 2008 truly laid the groundwork for victory in 2009.

5) It is being said that this year will not be a good year for Democrats state wide in the senate and on the national level also. As I have said in the past, you are one of my most regarded teachers about the political scene, let me pick your brain. Regarding New York State, how do you view the 90 & 99 Assembly races? What are your thoughts about Assemblyman Greg Ball intention to run for the 40 Senate district? Do you see any Democrat strong enough to beat him? What are you thoughts about the 19 congressional district?

D.R.)Greg Ball …ugh. I do not want Greg Ball to be my State Senator.

Let’s start with my Assembly district. I think Sandy Galef will be fine. She is popular, very competent and I really consider her a friend. She is not a “party person” and really sees herself as a non-partisan elected official who can work across the aisle. Sometimes she works too closely with her Republican counterparts and she is not comfortable campaigning against them. That frustrates the Democratic Party officials like me but at the end of the day, I really think that it works with the voters and she is a strong vote getter.

Ah, Greg Ball. What can you say about a megalomaniacal demagogue? I think he is literally dangerous. He is very divisive and damaging to a community. His style of take no prisoners’ politics pits one group of citizens against another and fans the flames of voter anger and resentment. The worst part about it is while he points out all the failings in our society – he has never successfully implemented a single solution. The guy said he was going to Albany to make a difference … well, Albany got even worse. Then, after swearing in for only his second term in January of 2009, he announced a month later that he was running for Congress. We tax payers then paid his salary for over a year while he gallivanted about Orange County, ranting about immigrants, only to realize that he could not beat John Hall. So Ball takes the $300,000 that he raised for the Congressional run and announces he is running for State Senate.

Frankly, I don’t know if he will see it through and may drop out like he did the Congressional race. We have seen this movie before. There is always speculation that Putnam County Executive Bondi will retire and that State Senator Leibell will run for his position. This will open up the 40th Senate Seat. Maybe this is the year it happens. If not, then I think Ball would have to run a primary against Leibell. Ball has the money for now but he might be pressured to give it back. The money was given to his campaign under the assumption that it was going to be used against Hall in a battle of federal issues. I don’t think Ball would win against Leibell and I gather from his past behavior that if Ball gets that same sense then he will not run. Maybe Ball will just run for Re-election to his own Assembly Seat.

In the 19th Congressional District, I think John Hall will do very well and get re-elected. But his supporters have got to step up and help him. They have to make contributions to his campaign, write letters to the editor and start organizing now.

The Republican running against John Hall is a very wealthy doctor. Her husband is also a doctor and they own an entire medical center. She was a consultant for pharmaceutical companies. And she is running against health care reform. I get it. She has made millions off of a broken health care system and now that we are on the brink of change, she will do anything to try and stop it. I have never seen a more self-serving reason to run for office.

I think that once health care reform passes and the debate moves toward creating jobs, protecting the environment, improving education and protecting social security, people will see that she does not have much to offer other then the same old republican talking points.

Hall has been working hard for his constituents and I think people know that. I look forward to voting for him in November.