In Rockland’s latest intra-party power struggle, two Democratic candidates are vying for the Democratic county election commissioner position being vacated by Kathy Pietanza.
The county committee, made up of members from each of the five towns, meets Wednesday night to vote for either Pascale Jean-Gilles of Nyack or Allison “Ali” Weinraub of Haverstraw to be the party’s Board of Elections representative (Republicans get one too).
The committee’s recommendation then gets sent to the legislature, which typically appoints whoever the party has chosen to oversee the more than $6 million BOE budget and co-run the county’s elections for a four-year term.
Sounds simple enough. But in this case, that there is a vote at all reflects complex racial, religious, and political tensions in Rockland County. Wednesday’s vote also highlights concerns about poll access and the integrity of the democratic process if the Democratic Party has no true representative on the county’s Board of Elections, as some fear.
The past looms large over this latest power struggle.
From 2021 into 2022 there was what Lohud called a “divisive battle” that led to legal action over the position of county Democratic Party chair.
Nyack Democrat John Gromada became chair after the Ramapo-Haverstraw pick dropped out. Similarly, the current Democrats’ elections commissioner faced a challenge from within in 2021.
Then there is East Ramapo and the reverberations of what transpired on the school board a decade ago rippling through this contest.
Starting in 2009, school budgets were slashed and entire schools closed after the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community whose kids did not attend public schools were able to elect enough school board members to hold a majority.
Over 20% of teachers were cut and “nothing and noone was sacred” according to This American Life, which featured the school board wars in an episode called “A Not So Simple Majority” that detailed how kids were left with back-to-back lunch periods and study halls after public school budgets were gutted by private school parents.
Rockland County also has a long history of segregation that factors into the anxiety.
In fact, Thurgood Marshall — who helped dismantle discrimination in education through the Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision, argued a school desegregation case in Rockland first.
And as recently as 2020, The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Rockland County Board of Elections to “address long lines and inadequate accommodations for voters during early voting.”
The Candidates
Against all that backdrop, the Rockland Democrats have failed to come to a consensus about who to put forward as their representative on the Board of Elections.
Two relatively unknown women — each backed by a different group of Rockland Democrats — are vying for the position.
On one side is Jean-Giles. She is an attorney and elected Nyack Board of Trustees member with support of Democratic Party leaders from Orangetown, Clarkstown and Stony Point.
Jean-Giles has been working in government since 2018-2019. She got her start as a drug court clerk in Atlantic City and went on to work for elected officials including Assemblymember Ellen Jaffee and former state Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, according to Lohud.
She touts her experience in local and state government, her commitment to public service, and a deep understanding of election issues as well as local politics and dynamics (of which there are many).
“Given the type of times that we’re living in where we’re hearing people spreading misinformation about voting, I think it’s really critical to just have someone there whose ethos is about making sure that there’s access to the ballot,” she said. “You know, encouraging more people to register, explaining to people why we should be asking them for their vote.”
Weinraub is the village clerk for New Hempstead, which lies within the town of Ramapo. In that role, she has served as chief election officer over the past several election cycles, and she has the support of Haverstraw and Ramapo Democratic party leaders.
She listed her knowledge of the electoral process, a track record working with diverse communities and her relationships with key stakeholders as why she is best suited for the job.
“This combination of practical experience, ongoing education, and a commitment to public service uniquely positions me to effectively serve as the Democratic Commissioner of Elections, ensuring our electoral process is fair, transparent, and accessible for all,” she said in an email response to Nyack News and Views.
Weinraub’s opponents, however, have concerns that she and her supporters represent the needs of the Orthodox communities over the rest of the county — and that some are Democrats in Name Only.
While Weinraub insists that “everyone’s needs” are important to her and that she “take[s] pride in treating everyone fairly and equally,” it is true that party affiliation doesn’t always align with voting behavior in Rockland.
Data comparing the share of registered Democrats who voted in the 2020 presidential election to President Joe Biden’s vote count shows that certain Rockland districts with large numbers of Democrats did not vote for Biden.
Similar dynamics existed in the 2022 House race between GOP Rep. Mike Lawler and Democrat Sean Maloney, with many registered Democrats voting for Lawler.
The same phenomenon played out recently in a Working Families Primary. The GOP appeared to back a mystery candidate, Anthony Frascone, on the WFP line.
According to news reports, Frascone is a former legal client of Rockland County GOP chair Lawrence Garvey and has no history with the Working Families Party. He doesn’t give interviews or have a website – but he won the primary, and his name on the ballot will certainly complicate things for Lawler’s Democratic opponent, Mondaire Jones.
Religious Divide
Weinraub’s mother, Mona Montel, is “close with the potent Orthodox Jewish voting bloc,” according to Lohud, and is the chair of Ramapo Democrats. She has been actively campaigning for her daughter’s appointment.
The familial connection has not only spurred concerns about nepotism and undue influence, but also the expanding reach of one particular faction of the party at the expense of other voting blocs.
That has led to some very specific rumors — which Nyack News and Views could not substantiate — that certain poll sites in predominantly Black and Hispanic communities will be closed if Weinraub wins, and that there may already be a deal in the works to shutter them.
Weinraub told Nyack News and Views she would not close or relocate any sites and only aspires to open new ones.
“I want to assure everyone that I have no plans to close or move any existing polling sites,” she said. “In fact, I would look to possibly add polling places where needed and appropriate to ensure that access is improved for all voters. My goal is to enhance accessibility and ensure that every voice is heard in our elections.”
But even the hunt for a location large enough to hold the vote Wednesday night was a matter of contention and brought up the usual concerns about access and bias that plague so much of Rockland politics.
Ultimately it was decided that the vote will be held 7 p.m. Wednesday night at the Crown Plaza in Suffern, but check-in is at 6 p.m., and people are encouraged to arrive early. To be continued.
