- Meanwhile, competitive candidates were largely shunned
Almost all of the money spent by the Columbia County Democratic Committee in the 2019 election cycle went to races which the party’s favorite candidates lost by huge margins.
Meanwhile, Democrats who ran in close races either struggled to secure funding from the County committee, or were ignored; or ran their own campaigns—steering clear of the hapless CCDC. By this site’s count, based on Campaign Finance Disclosure reports, the County Dems blew some $23,500 on landslide losses, while donating as little as $500 to winning ones.
2018 records show that the Party’s largest direct expenditures on candidates and committees were:
- $12,500 to the District Attorney’s race, which Gene Keeler lost yet again, by 14%;
- $5,000 to the Chatham Democratic committee to back a Republican, Maria Lull, who lost for Supervisor by 19%; and
- $5,000 to the Committee to Elect Peter Bujanow, who lost for Supervisor in Kinderhook by 18%.
- $1,000 to the Stuyvesant Democratic Committee, whose candidates for Supervisor and Town Council lost by similarly wide margins.
In today’s electoral politics, where liberals and conservatives are roughly split, and voters more and more tend to vote party line, any race won or lost by 10% or more is effectively a landslide. Locally, the Dems have held a registration advantage over Republicans in Columbia County for nearly a decade, winning victories for most Federal candidates, while still trailing badly in Town and County representation.
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After donating $5K for Bujanow to run in Kinderhook, the County Dems then actually took $1,500 from that Town’s Democratic Committee, leaving the candidate more flush but the local organization more impoverished.
In addition, the Kinderhook Dems later reimbursed the County Dems for legal fees arising from incorrect caucus instructions given to them by Democratic Elections Commissioner Virginia Martin, who served at the pleasure of the County Committee. (The last few CCDC campaign finance filings show steady payments of between $700-$2,800 to Warner, Kopoovitz & Futerfas.)
Meanwhile, in races actually won by Democrats, the County Dems either provided the eventual winners no funding at all, or trifling amounts compared to what they expended on candidates like Keeler, Lull and Bujanow. Campaign finance disclosure repots who no contributions to successful Democratic candidates in towns such as Taghkanic and Hudson.
In New Lebanon, where the Democratic slate swept to victory, candidates there received a mere $500 toward that effort from the County, 1/10th the amounts donate to either Lull or Bujanow.
Indeed, it appears the soothsayers on the party’s Executive Committee mistakenly believed the New Lebs Dems were headed for a loss, according to minutes obtained by this site. Less than a week before Election Day, the Committee fretted that “Tistrya Houghtling is having a hard time against the opposition in New Lebanon.” In fact, Hougtaling destroyed her Republican opponent by nearly a 2:1 margin, 554-233.
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In general, the party’s spending decisions appear to have been driven more by emotional than strategic reasoning. Records show the CCDC spent more at Wal-Mart ($31.77) than on some of the most organized and compelling Democratic candidates.
Candidates or committees perceived to be aligned with the Democratic Committee leadership were more likely to receive funding, even if they had little chance of winning, or even if they held conservative views (as in the case of Lull, a registered Republican). Bujanow, for example, was formerly the CCDC Chair.
One of the Stuyvesant candidates whose committee received the $1,000 contribution noted above was a co-chair the CCDC’s own Candidates and Campaigns committee, Lee Jamison—a perpetual also-ran in the Town, and a similarly-perpetual defender of the County Committee’s status quo.
Candidates perceived to be more independent-minded were largely shunned, even if they held more liberal positions on important issues.
In Ghent, for example, the two winning candidates Koethi Zan and Patti Matheney asked for assistance raising money for legal representation in that Town’s hotly-contested absentee and affidavit ballot challenges. That ballot count ultimately decided the election in the two Democrats’ favor, with Zan prevailing by just 10 votes.
But the County party’s Executive Committee declined to help the eventual winners in Ghent, who had to raise funds for attorneys themselves, even as the two Dems relentlessly watchdogged the Board of Elections process to ensure that votes were preserved.
While snubbing Matheney and Zan’s request, the Party did provide a lawyer post-election for Copake Democrats locked in a similarly-tight absentee fight, whose votes were counted on the same day. The CCDC’s lawyer was apparently present when the GOP’s Ghent challenges, and was therefore available, yet did not participate.
The only obvious difference? Matheney (an incumbent) and Zan (who led an important land use fight, and has served on the Ghent Zoning Board) are often the targets of personal attacks from County Democratic leadership for having their own views on issues and tactics. The same Executive Committee minutes included an incorrect statement about the pair, which the candidates objected to at the most recent meeting.
Chair Keith Kanaga and Secretary Carole Peckham reportedly took that opportunity to bash Matheney and Zan again—rather than celebrating the pair turning Ghent Democratic for the first time in memory, if ever.
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Meanwhile, the County Republican Committee has yet to submit its 27-day post-general finance report. This site will also report on that once they do.
