Suffolk Democratic Party votes tonight whether Rich Schaffer or Kathryn Casey Quigley will lead it

Hundreds of Suffolk Democratic Committee members are set to converge in Melville this evening to decide their party leader ahead of November’s general election.

Committee members will vote on whether to keep longtime county party chairman Rich Schaffer in power, or hand it over to insurgent challenger Kathryn Casey Quigley, the Southold Town Democratic chairwoman.

The winner of the two-year term will wield influence over the county's largest political party, which is composed of some 370,000 registered Democrats. The leader also can mobilize volunteers and use funds to strengthen campaigns of preferred candidates, while also having influence in filling patronage positions.

The meeting at 6 p.m. at the Huntington Hilton in Melville caps months of tension within Suffolk’s Democratic Party. Tom Garry, counsel and law chair for the New York State Democratic Party, was brought in to help oversee the meeting at the request of Jay Jacobs, the state and Nassau County party chairman.

Schaffer, who also serves as the Babylon Town supervisor and town Democratic chairman, has been in power since 2000. Casey Quigley has vowed to reform and rebuild the party, saying she'd end cross endorsement deals.

Schaffer has defended his record as Suffolk’s Democratic chair, saying there have been "significant victories and elected strong Democratic leaders" during his tenure, pointing to wins last November of a county legislature district and seats in three towns previously held by Republicans.

Casey Quigley announced her candidacy for party boss in December, launching a grassroots campaign in what many in the party along with political experts viewed as a longshot to take down an established incumbent.

She said she decided to run for party leader because Schaffer, who’s also Babylon Town supervisor and chair of the Babylon Democratic Committee, had been “horse trading” judicial candidates with the Republican Party and relying too often on paper candidates, or token opposition.

When Schaffer became party leader in 2000, his supporters said he could help attract young people and build town party organizations, according to Newsday archives, echoing similar talking points that emerged from his challenger 26 years later.

In the run-up to the election, both sides sought to rally support and recruit new members to the party. That recruitment effort results in a higher-than-usual volume of committee primaries in June as backers of both sides sought positions in an election district.

Voters overwhelmingly supported members who backed Casey Quigley in the primaries. 

"People in the party are hungry for change," she said at the time.

Schaffer at the time said he believed he already had enough support within the party to keep his position, regardless of how the primaries went.

Leigh-Ann Barde, the chair of the Islip Dems, was one of the Schaffer supporters who switched allegiance to Casey Quigley. Barde called for Schaffer’s resignation in a social media post Monday and publicly announced her support for his challenger.

She cited Schaffer pressuring the county clerk candidate, Anthony Portesy, to drop out of the race as part of a deal with the Republican and Conservative parties.