Democrats Take All in White Plains and Surrounding Districts
By David Propper and Pat Casey
On election night in White Plains there were three major gatherings. A jubilant congregation at Vintage Bar and Restaurant on Main Street hosted by the White Plains Democratic City Committee supported White Plains Councilman David Buchwald and incumbent Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, both running for New York State Assembly.
Just a few blocks away at the Coliseum on South Broadway another Democratic group had gathered to cheer on State Assemblyman George Latimer and incumbent State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, both running for State Senate. The groups kept tabs on each other’s progress through the night and followed the results for Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who was celebrating in Rockland County.
By the end of the night all Democratic candidates in the local election districts affecting White Plains had either kept their seats or won over Republican incumbents and were celebrating.
Down the hill from the Democrats, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, there was a larger collection of Republican candidates including Rye Town Supervisor Joe Carvin challenging Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Robert Cohen against George Latimer for State Senate, and Robert Castelli, incumbent State Assemblyman challenged by David Buchwald. This gathering was more somber and the night ended early with a series concessions showing how difficult it is for Republicans to win in the local districts.
Sub Head: United States 17th Congressional District
With 64 percent of the votes, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D/Harrison) was reelected to a 13th term in the 17th District, defeating Republican Rye Supervisor Joe Carvin and independent candidate Francis Morganthaler.
Carvin called it a “disappointing loss. … It was the kind of campaign we need. It was an issued based campaign. I’m very proud of the campaign we ran,” he said. “At the end of the day the voters made the decision.”
Carvin’s primary platform was to alleviate what he calls the crushing debt the government is facing at every level. With 30 years of business experience, he thought he was the right candidate for the job.
Independent Francis Morganthaler got only 1 percent of the vote, but Carvin said a third party candidate didn’t help his chances of winning, though not significantly.
Lowey, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations and a member of the subcommittee on Homeland Security and subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, went through election week in high gear working to get Westchester and Rockland Counties qualified as disaster areas after Hurricane Sandy. Unavailable for further election comment, she has continued with storm related work trying to ensure power is restored to damaged areas.
Lowey spent a large portion of her campaign in the new areas covered by the redrawn 17th Congressional District which includes Peekskill, Cortlandt, part of Yorktown, Ossining, part of New Castle, Mount Pleasant, Greenburgh, White Plains, Harrison, Rye, Scarsdale and parts of Rockland County.
She received support from the local Democratic leadership for her stance on closing the nuclear power facility at Indian Point at some future date as well as for her endorsement of the Affordable Heath Care Act and her commitment to bring federal money to the lower Hudson Valley for bus rapid transit on the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Lowey’s reelection to Congress mirrored a similar desire on the part of area voters to continue the work initiated by the Obama administration.
Sub Head: New York State Senate 37th District
State Assemblyman George Latimer (D/Rye) will be moving up to the Senate after defeating Republican Bob Cohen in a tough fought race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Senator Suzi Oppenheimer in the 37th District.
According to unofficial results, Latimer received 55 percent of the votes cast to Cohen’s 45 percent in a heated race filled with controversial campaign mailings and several rulings of unfair campaign practices on both sides.
Cohen who lives in New Rochelle, is a businessman and volunteer firefighter. He conceded to Latimer shortly after midnight although at one point it was uncertain if the race would be called at a later date after opponent George Latimer got a judge to impound several voting machines.
“People have voted,” Cohen said afterward. “They have chosen Mr. Latimer over Bob Cohen.”
Cohen said he was hoping to work with incumbent State Assemblyman Robert Castelli, but instead both lost. With Westchester Republicans taking a beating, they’re left figuring out how to win elections in a mostly Democratic county.
Cohen said to supporters that “here in Westchester County, we need to build the Republican Party” and in order to do so, they must work with conservatives, and independent voters not necessarily affiliated with one party.
“In a presidential year a lot of voters come out, they tend to vote just the party line. We have to educate those voters,” Cohen said. “We have to work harder going forward next year and the year after to educate voters on what’s important, on how to grow our economy, how to grow New York.”
Following his speech in an interview, Cohen said he didn’t mean to imply that voters were uneducated. “I think we need to educate voters on the issues to a pro-business economy and that’s what we need to,” Cohen said.
Latimer, standing beside State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins and surrounded by cheering supporters, said he and all of the team are proud to be Democrats.
“I am proud to be working with Senator Stewart-Cousins. We can govern intelligently and compassionately. We stick to our principles. We stick to what we believe in,” Latimer said. “My opponent Bob Cohen has conceded and I have accepted. This has not been a pretty race and I have been called many things. You know what? You can call me senator from now on.”
In an e-mail following the election, Brian Hegt, Latimer’s campaign manager said: “From the President on down, voters showed that they want elected officials that have real, first hand experiences in government and know how to solve problems. George Latimer has shown over time that he understands government at every level, the services they deliver and how to pay for them without unfairly burdening Westchester taxpayers. Priority number 1 is undoubtedly mandate relief and during the campaign, George’s message of specific prescriptions that would eliminate unfunded mandates and lower taxes clearly resonated more with the voters of Westchester.”
Latimer has been an assemblyman since 2004. He previously served on the Westchester County Board of Legislators.
The 37th Senate District covers many municipalities in Westchester, including Bedford, North Castle and parts of White Plains.
Sub Head: New York State Assembly 93rd District
Challenger David Buchwald (D/White Plains) topped incumbent Republican Robert Castelli with 53 percent of the votes to Castelli’s 47 percent. There were reports that two voting machines in White Plains were broken, but with more than 80 percent of all votes in, Castelli conceded to Buchwald before midnight on election day.
Buchwald, a member of the White Plains Common Council, was particularly pleased at the show of local support and said many people had come up to him during the course of election day to let him know they had voted for him.
Buchwald spent much of his time campaigning in municipalities north of White Plains where he was less known and said if he won he would move the assembly office to Mount Kisco.
Castelli was first elected to the Assembly in 2010 in a special election to replace Adam Bradley. He quickly became well-known for his efforts to reach across the aisle and to co-sponsor legislation with Democratic colleagues. “Remember, no one had held this seat as a Republican for more than 20 years [until 2010], there’s a reason for that,” Castelli said. “The fact that I won it twice was a tremendous honor and my belief was if I won it would be by a hair’s breath.”
Castelli further said it was a ‘perfect storm’ for Buchwald to take the seat. “It was a gerrymandered district, Buchwald had a financial advantage and it was a presidential election year in a mostly Democratic district,” he contended.
Castelli believes it would have helped to have more money, but he thought he used what finances he had well and was satisfied with the message he conveyed.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo was also supportive of Castelli, which he said helped. Castelli admits if he ran as a Democrat, he “probably” would have won the seat again. He wasn’t sure if this was the end of his political career and said he had nothing to be ashamed of.
“At the end of the day, my opponent won, I harbor no resentment on that and I will do everything in my power to help him transition into this seat,” Castelli said. “Because if you believe in good governance then it’s my job to make sure he succeeds.”
“It has nothing to do with party,” Castelli added. “It has everything to do with public service.”
In looking back over the local and national elections, Greg Julian, a political science professor at Pace University, said there was a “bankruptcy of ideas from the Republican Party.”
Referring specifically to Cohen, Julian said he never offered voters concrete solutions to problems. Overall: “It’s not only a bad job of educating people, they don’t know the lesson,” Julian said. “And the lesson really needs to be government does have a role in the health, education, safety, and well being of its constituency.”
In State Senate District 35, incumbent Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins ran uncontested and maintained her seat. In State Assembly District 88, incumbent Democrat Amy Paulin also ran uncontested and kept her seat.
