Contentious Suffolk Democratic leadership vote set for Tuesday as Rich Schaffer, Kathryn Casey Quigley face off

Hundreds of Suffolk Democratic Committee members will convene in Melville on Tuesday for a contentious party chair election that could change the local party's trajectory.

Rich Schaffer, the Babylon Town supervisor and longtime county party leader, is facing mounting pressure from critics and even some of his longtime supporters who said they have become disillusioned with his tactics.

His challenger, Kathryn Casey Quigley, chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee, has vowed to reform and rebuild the party. In his 26-year tenure as party chairman, Schaffer — who's also chairman of the Babylon Town Democratic Committee — has never faced as intense a challenge that's led to an adversarial election. The county committee will hold its biennial meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Huntington Hilton.

What's at stake

The election caps a fractious period for the party, where some members have reeled over recent losses across the county, blaming the current leadership. The winner will wield influence over the county's largest political party, which is composed of some 370,000 registered Democrats. The leader also can mobilize manpower and use funds that can strengthen the campaigns of preferred candidates while having influence in filling patronage positions within county government.

In recent weeks, both candidates have been working the phones and their allies to garner support. They even encouraged residents to become voting members, resulting in a higher-than-usual volume of committee primaries in June as backers of both sides sought positions in an election district.

In a letter to committee members, Schaffer said he’s “listened carefully” to their ideas and concerns in conversations with “hundreds” of members. He said the party has seen “significant victories and elected strong Democratic leaders” during his tenure, and he pointed to wins last November of a county legislature district and seats in three towns previously held by Republicans.

In an interview with Newsday, Casey Quigley said she’s optimistic members will support her for a “more transparent and trustworthy party” that will lead to “more wins and growth in the future.” She has campaigned on her success in Southold Town of electing more Democrats to public office, ending cross endorsements and helping build town committees.

Both sides expressed confidence in how the vote will be conducted and expect to have results that night.

Jon Schneider, spokesman for the Suffolk Democrats, said the committee has tried to ensure the vote is conducted with “no hiccups” and “full transparency.”

Deep divisions

The race has caused deep-seated divisions within the party, as Schaffer allies express reservations about his leadership.

Leigh-Ann Barde, chair of the Islip Town Democratic Party, was a strong supporter of Schaffer when Casey Quigley announced her campaign in December. That changed after Anthony Portesy, a close ally who was the Democratic candidate for Suffolk County clerk, withdrew from the race. Committee members previously told Newsday that Portesy's withdrawal came at the behest of Schaffer, who initially supported his run.

“It hurt a lot of us,” she said. “These are the people in the trenches with you year in and year out.”

She said she’s concerned her husband, Waquel Romain, a Suffolk County Board of Elections worker, could lose his job for going against Schaffer.

Bryan Sokolowski, political director for the county Democratic committee, said in a statement that "Schaffer has been the model for political ethics for well over 30 years."

The Suffolk County Legislature took the rare step of bypassing the typical committee process this month to reappoint the Democratic and Republican elections commissioners before their terms expire. Should Casey Quigley win, that would prevent her from making her own appointment of a commissioner, which typically has influence over patronage hiring.

Casey Quigley said she was surprised by that decision and said she had no plans to replace current Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner John Alberts, but added, "The connection between the committee and the BOE is a cause for concern."

Members of the nonprofit Islip Forward, led by Ahmad Perez, have organized a rally along with other groups outside the hotel at 5 p.m. to support Casey Quigley and call for new leadership, saying she can steer the party to one “that answers to its communities again.”

“Sept. 22 is bigger than one internal party vote," they wrote. "It is a chance to decide what kind of politics Suffolk County will accept. We can continue with backroom deals, cross-endorsements, intimidation, and a system built to preserve power, or we can choose something better.”

'Confidence in outcome'

Tom Garry, counsel and law chair for the New York State Democratic Party, will help oversee the organizational meeting at the request of Jay Jacobs, the state and Nassau County party chairman.

Jacobs, a Schaffer supporter, said the vote will be done according to the bylaws of the county committee and his responsibility is to help ensure it’s done fairly.

“At the end of the day, everyone has to have confidence in the outcome,” he said.

Voters will be separated into 12 voting blocs for the roll call as each member individually casts a ballot, Casey Quigley said. The tally will be displayed on a screen and updated after each voting bloc, she said.

There will be shuttles to help people who park far from the entrance and designated areas where people can socialize when not in a voting bloc, she added. “It all seems really well put together," she said.

The vote could take between three and 3½ hours, both sides have estimated.

“We expect, I think, a very healthy turnout of the committee,” Schneider said.

Jacobs said while there are different methods to hold a vote, from paper ballot, voice vote or electronic vote, it must be public.

Casey Quigley and some of her supporters had argued the roll call vote could lead some members with patronage jobs or ties to Schaffer to feel pressured to vote for him.

Schaffer has denied pressuring anyone. “Anybody who knows me for 40 years knows I don't pressure anybody,” he previously told Newsday.