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Democrats in 95th Assembly race shrinks

May 14, 2008

The race for the 95th Assembly District seat has thinned out considerably since January, when five local Democrats said they were considering a challenge to the incumbent.

Now only one, Ramapo Town Clerk Chris Sampson, has confirmed he plans to run in a primary against Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern.

Sampson said his candidacy is less about unseating Jaffee than it is about improving things in Albany.

“It’s not an easy decision to come to, to challenge an incumbent in your own party,” he said.

Former Legislators Patrick Withers and David Fried and Suffern Mayor John Keegan have said they are no longer considering a run for the seat.

The fifth would-be candidate is Legislature Vice Chairman William Darden, D-Hillcrest, and he’s still undecided.

“I’ll make a decision before petition time,” he said yesterday.

The Democrats are just a few weeks away from the nominating convention, which has not yet been finalized.

Rockland Democratic Committee Chairman Vincent Monte said yesterday that no matter how crowded this race gets, he’s supporting Jaffee, a former county legislator who is finishing her first term in the Assembly.

“I don’t like to discourage primaries, but I don’t think this is a good one,” he said, calling Jaffee “Rockland’s answer to Hillary (Rodham Clinton).”

Sampson said Jaffee’s record in Albany was “okay.” Like Jaffee two years ago, Sampson is running on a platform of changing the way education is funded in the state.

“I would say she’s gone along with the crowd,” Sampson said of Jaffee’s education agenda.

The assemblywoman strongly disagreed with that, noting her strong commitment to property tax reform and the hundreds of thousands of dollars she’s brought back for Rockland schools.

“I think I’ve been a strong voice for Rockland County,” she said.

Jaffee said her priority was not who may or may not challenge her in September.

“What’s important is continuing to do my work and being responsible to the constituents in my Assembly district,” she said.

Five months ago, some of the prospective candidates said they had heard that some in the party were disappointed with Jaffee’s reputation.

But yesterday Keegan said he thought Jaffee was “doing a pretty good job.”

Fried and Keegan cited work responsibilities as their reasons for deciding not to run. Fried, who lost to Jaffee in the primary for the seat two years ago, is still fairly new to his job as a public safety advocate with the Sheriff’s Department.

“I’ve got a lot of things going on in Suffern and want to keep the ball rolling,” Keegan said.

Withers, who lost last year’s election bid to the Legislature, said being elected to the Assembly was simply not feasible right now, especially with the amount of time he’d need to be in Albany.

“But maybe one day,” he said.

Withers owns Ireland’s 32, a Suffern bar and restaurant, and has two daughters.

“You can’t make that time up when your children are young,” he said.

Rockland Republican Committee Chairman Vincent Reda said yesterday that the party would be running a candidate and that interviews were ongoing.

“Certainly it always helps if the Democrats are divided,” he said. “I don’t think she’s done such a great job that we shouldn’t field a candidate.”

The 95th District includes all of Orangetown and parts of Ramapo.

Source: LoHud

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