T.J. Clemente
DAN'S PAPERS, July 17, 2009 Page 27 www.danshamptons.com
Gillibrand Visiting Junior Senator Does the Tour from Riverhead to East Hampton By T.J. Clemente Being assigned to cover a Hampton’s appearance of Kirsten E. Gillibrand, the newly appointed United States Senator from New York, I didn’t know what to expect. In fact, I had no idea what she looked like. Then-Representative Gillibrand was appointed to replace Hillary Clinton when the latter became U.S. Secretary of State. She was not even one of the favorites when speculation had the appointment going to either Andrew Cuomo or Caroline Kennedy. But Governor Paterson chose 42-year old Up-stater Gillibrand, and now she’s off and running for re-election as a sitting U.S. Senator. The location of the appearance
was the popular Weigley-Babinski Farmstand on Wainscott Main and Beach Streets in on Sunday July 12, at 2:15 PM. She came with some staff and her husband Jonathon, a British national from Preston in Northern England near Manchester. They have two sons, both under six years old. Dressed in a peacock blue silk suit that actually matched her eyes, she was approachable, warm and genuine. Her visit to the area started at the Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach at 8:45 Saturday morning, then a fundraiser in Riverhead to raise money and “see the effects of the rainfall on the farm lands in Suffolk County.” Later that day she and Governor
Paterson attended the Empire State Pride Agenda fundraiser in East Hampton, with 1500 members of the gay and lesbian community in attendance. On Sunday she stopped off at the farm stand for a “free” appearance in between events at private homes that demanded thousands to attend. The Senator is a sturdy, confident woman whose facts of the national situation were honed during her service as a U.S. Representative in Congress representing the Albany region, where her family has strong, long-term political ties. However she is not the typical Democrat, as she is a supporter of hunting and the right to (continued on page 44)
THIELE THROWS LEFT, BATS RIGHT, LANDS WHERE? By T.J. Clemente At the moment, the personable New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele is the belle of the ball, with everyone asking him if he is going to switch affiliations from the Republican to Democratic party. When I had a chance to talk with him at the dedication of a baseball field at Stony Brook Southampton, former Southampton Supervisor Thiele said, “I have always been sort of an independent. Party labels really don’t mean that much locally.” Or do they? Talks with Suffolk County Representative Jay Schneiderman, who also was a Town Supervisor (in East Hampton) proved Thiele perhaps incorrect — Schneiderman is now in a four-man race for his county seat that he used
to win handedly. Now former Republican Party friends of his are working and financing a Republican candidate to take away Schneiderman’s job. He smiles, but you know it must be awkward to see people who worked hard to get you elected working as hard to get you defeated. Thiele said his issues are not with local party leaders but with “the State and National Republican Party” leaders and direction. But Thiele must realize that while he is popular, he’s also the standard bearer of a strong local organization that has made him more popular. If he leaves the party, people whom he calls very good friends will work to defeat him. In 1969, I watched zealous incumbent New York City Mayor John Vliet Lindsay lose a may-
oral primary as a Republican, then run in the Liberal Party against a Republican and Democrat to win re-election. Then he switched to Democrat, only to go into political oblivion. He later said in an interview that he had more cachet as a progressive Republican than he did as an unnatural Democrat, even though his philosophy was where it was. Perhaps Thiele believes that all of the “way to go Fred” remarks he hears are more important than local party affiliation, or perhaps he’s positioning himself for possible higher office, where being a Republican in New York State is not that helpful these days. In fact at the moment the State Assembly, State Attorney General and Governor — as well as both United States (continued on page 30)