Castelli in Primary Challenge for 40th Senate District Seat
Former Assemblyman Robert Castelli made it official last Tuesday announcing that he will challenge Yorktown Councilman Terrence Murphy for the Republican nomination for the 40th state Senate District seat being vacated by Sen. Greg Ball.
Castelli, 64, of Goldens Bridge, said he is running to give Republican voters in the district a choice of who they want to represent the party in the November election rather than have that selection made by party bosses. The winner of the Sept. 9 primary will take on Democrat Justin Wagner.
“We believed the voice of the people was taken and it should be returned to them,” said Castelli, who made his comments outside the Lewisboro Public Library on June 17 accompanied by about a dozen supporters. “If I’m not their choice, okay, but I want them to have a choice.”
As of last week, the Republican committees in Westchester and Putnam counties had already endorsed Murphy. However, Castelli said his campaign is in the midst of collecting about 2,000 signatures on the petition to get him on the primary ballot. About 1,000 valid signatures from registered Republicans in the district must be submitted to the Board of Elections by July 10.
Castelli, who called Murphy a friend, said Ball’s late announcement last month left the party in a bind because it limited potential challengers who would have little time to plan an effective campaign. He suggested that strategy was no coincidence.
“It appears to everyone that it was made with the purpose of forcing out any other candidates other than (Ball’s) handpicked candidate,” Castelli said.
Three days after Ball’s announce he would bow out and search for opportunities in the private sector, the Westchester nominating convention was held, he said. Despite Republican representatives from five towns–Mount Pleasant, New Castle, Pound Ridge, Lewisboro and North Salem–having requested a postponement, the decision was made to hastily back Murphy, Castelli said.
Reached last week, Murphy said he and Castelli had ample opportunity to present themselves to the Westchester GOP, although he would have been fine with a week’s delay.
While Murphy said he respects Castelli and vowed not to take him lightly in the primary, he mentioned that the former assemblyman was “hell-bent on what he was going to do.”
“It’s a bump in the road that I’m not going to take lightly and I’m moving forward,” he said.
Murphy noted he had received GOP, Conservative and Independence party backing in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess.
For a while last weekend, it appeared Murphy and Castelli might have company in the primary. Westchester County Executive Rob Astortorino’s political strategist William O’Reilly had been approached to throw his hat in the ring but announced on Sunday that he would concentrate on Astorino’s gubernatorial campaign.
Castelli, a Vietnam veteran, retired state trooper and former criminal justice professor, acknowledged that he has eyed this seat for a couple of years but had promised Ball that he would not challenge him.
Castelli, who defeated County Legislator Peter Harckham in a February 2010 special election for his Assembly seat before defeating current White Plains Mayor Tom Roach for a full two-year term later that year, said that he has the experience to navigate Albany more effectively than either Murphy or Wagner.
In his nearly three years in the Assembly, he said he worked effectively with Democrats and has earned the admiration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his bipartisanship.
“I’ve been up there, I swam with the sharks. I understand the culture of Albany and the corruption of Albany,” Castelli said. “I have been a reformer, I’ll continue to be a reformer.”
Castelli lost to Assemblyman David Buchwald in 2012.
Rick Pezzullo contributed to this article.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
