Pat O’Dwyer, the former Goshen supervisor and political radio talk show host, formally announced to her supporters Sunday that she will give Ed Diana a hard run for the county executive seat.

“How do you ever say thank you to family?” O’Dwyer said at a campaign kickoff at the Harness Racing Museum. O’Dwyer was referring to her son, Brian, a Manhattan attorney who has supported her, as well as fellow Orange County Democrats.

“Yes, I say yes,” she said. “I will run for executive of Orange County.”

O’Dwyer’s candidacy had been widely talked about in Orange County Democratic circles, but she had not made a formal announcement as a candidate for the November election.

The announcement began with short statements by Noel Spencer, a sitting county legislator, and Harvey Weed, a county employee, who both dropped their candidacies for the position.

Ron Green, president of the Orange County Civil Service Employee Association, the union representing the county’s workers, said his thousands of members-strong union would be throwing its support behind O’Dwyer.

Brian O’Dwyer also introduced the candidate, comparing his mother with a horse that works hard and never breaks stride. The analogy was made in reference to the location of the event in Goshen, the site of historic races between North American trotters.

“She knows where she’s going, and she knows what she’s doing; she’s unflappable,” the son said.

O’Dwyer, 67, is a community organizer and activist who formerly worked as an assistant district attorney before serving as Goshen supervisor from 1994 to 1996.

Her weekly radio talk show can be heard on WTBQ. She lives in Chester.

She spoke about tough economic times and the need for better leadership.

“When it starts going south at the federal level, it’s going to eventually wind up at our kitchen tables,” she said.

The candidate fired off some opening salvos at Diana, who has kept taxes fairly stable but has been criticized by opponents as too absorbed with perks and executive pay.

“I have my own car; you can have your SUV back,” O’Dwyer said, referring to the controversy over Diana’s use of a county vehicle.

O’Dwyer continued, “I will not be in a race with Andy Spano in Westchester County (to be the highest paid executive in the Hudson Valley),” a challenge meant to highlight Diana’s relatively high pay.

Source: Record Online