Is 2020 the Year of Democratic Women in Westchester
By Dan Murphy
Editor’s Note: This is a combination of two stories we wrote about the race to replace Nita Lowey in Congress from Westchester and Rockland in 2002
Eleven democrats have stepped forward to announce their candidacies for Congress to replace Rep. Nita Lowey in the 17th District, which includes mid-northern Westchester and Rockland County.
Ten of the 11 announced democrats are from Westchester, proving the prediction of one of our democratic friends who said, “Before this race begins in the spring of 2020, look for everyone and their cousin to announce for Congress. It is a once-in-a-generation chance for a number of democrats to replace Nita.”
So the announcement last month by County Legislator Catherine Parker that she is joining the race to replace Lowey could have been just another elected official from Westchester running for Congress. But several Westchester democrats have commented that Parker stands out from many of the other announced candidates to replace Lowey, and has a unique set of qualifications and experience to both replace Lowey and give the democratic front-runner, Assemblyman David Buchwald, a run for his money.
Parker is touting her experience in government both as a former Rye city councilwoman and as a Westchester County legislator, as a qualification that separates her from many of the other announced candidates. Parker currently serves as majority leader on the County Board of Legislators.
“We’ve learned that, unfortunately, when people have gone to Washington as sort of their first step, there’s a very steep learning curve,” Parker told the Journal News/lohud. “I don’t know that our country at this point in time can really afford those kinds of errors and time for somebody to sort of grow into the job.”
Parker, 54, who operated a small business in Rye for more than a decade, points to her record on the environment and her views on health care as two major issues that she plans on highlighting during her campaign.
Parker said she supports the Green New Deal, an ambitious initiative proposed by Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, which calls on the federal government to wean the U.S. from fossil fuels and curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions across the economy, and to guarantee high-paying jobs in the new energy economy.
As a Rye councilwoman, Parker worked on a plastic bag ban and on providing tax credits and subsidies to incentivize energy efficiency. On health care, Parker said she supported a path toward universal health care for everyone, including Medicare for all.
“Whether it’s Medicare or it is another public package that is open to everyone, I see that as the right direction,” she said. “I think ultimately where we should end up is to have a system where it’s universal basic health care.”
So why has Parker quickly become the choice of some Westchester Democrats, and what separates her from the other democratic hopefuls?
First, Parker has a connection to Lowey. She lives in Rye, and in the Rye-Harrison neighborhoods where Lowey lives and where her support has come from for more than 30 years. Parker also has a connection, through family marriage, to Nita’s husband Stephen Lowey, that goes back to 1988 when Parker was in her 20s and at the Lowey victory party when she defeated republican incumbent Congressman Joe Dioguardi.
Some Westchester district leaders see some of Lowey’s qualities and characteristics in Parker.
“In some ways, I see a young Catherine Parker very much in the same way we all saw and noticed a young Nita Lowey in the 1980s,” said a Sound Shore democrat. “Catherine is smart and dedicated, and articulate, and makes you feel at home and that she wants to hear from you and nobody else, even though there may be 500 people in the room. Most of my local democratic committee has already come out for David (Buchwald), but Catherine is the one candidate, out of all the dozen other democrats, that could make people think twice about supporting Buchwald.”
Parker brings an interesting life history to her run for Congress. “I’m Catherine Parker, Westchester native, democratic majority leader, county legislator, small business owner, mom, activist, and I’m running to be your next congresswoman,” she says in her campaign video. “I grew up in Mt. Kisco, raised by a single mother who was a science teacher, and my grandmother who was a nurse .
“Nita Lowey has been a trailblazer in Congress, and I’m stepping up to continue her legacy and be the strong leader this district deserves. For the last 12 years as an elected official, I have worked to ensure that Westchester County is at the forefront of environmental policy. The climate crisis is the most critically urgent matter of our time because it is a social justice issue, an economic issue, a housing issue and a health care issue.
“I’m ready to take my legislative record and experience to Capitol Hill,” continues Parker. “We have marched, we have organized and we have voted like never before. Now is the time to take back our country from those who have said ‘no’ to science and ‘yes’ to greed.”
Another Westchester democrat who supports Parker said: “Catherine can raise the money needed for this race, from some of the same people in the district who have supported Nita. I respect all of the other democrats who have announced, but they don’t bring the gravitas that Catherine brings to the race. She is the one candidate who excites many of our fellow democrats in Westchester, and more than David Buchwald.”
If you read deeper into what Parker said in her opening video and what some democrats have said about her campaign, the question now becomes: Will Westchester democrats nominate a candidate to replace Nita Lowey who is not a woman?
Parker’s quest to succeed Lowey, along with cable television news legal analyst Mimi Rocah’s announcement that she will challenge Westchester District Attorney Anthony Scarpino this year, points to a continued trend of democratic women stepping forward and running for office, regardless of whether there is a democratic incumbent in their way.
Four other democratic women have announced for Lowey’s seat: Asha Castleberry-Hernandez, an educator from Elmsford; Evelyn Farkas, former deputy assistant secretary of defense under President Barak Obama, of Chappaqua; Allison Fine, former chairwoman of the national board of NARAL Pro Choice America Foundation, from Sleepy Hollow; and County Legislator Catherine Borgia.
Westchester Assemblyman David Buchwald has been able to solidify the support of local democratic committees in Westchester and also get the endorsement from local elected officials including Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and County Clerk Tim Idoni in his quest to replace Congresswoman Nita Lowey in Washington, D.C., in 2020. Lowey announced her retirement earlier this year.
So far, more than 40 local leaders across the 17th congressional district have announced their support for Buchwald for Congress.
The 41 elected and former elected leaders join previously announced Buchwald supporters Paulin, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach, Mt. Kisco Mayor Gina Picinich, and Town Supervisors Gary Zuckerman of Rye and Michael Schiliro of North Castle, as momentum is building for Buchwald’s candidacy. The North Castle Democratic Committee has also unanimously endorsed him, and additional Democratic committee endorsements are expected in upcoming days.
Buchwald said he is proud to have the support of a group of respected leaders across the district.
“I believe that working together is critical to making change happen, and I’ve worked hard throughout my career to build relationships across Westchester and Rockland,” he said. “From climate change solutions to health care access, to lowering our taxes by fighting to reinstate our SALT deductions, I am committed to delivering for our communities in Congress.”
Buchwald, first elected to the State Assembly in 2012, gained particular renown this year for his successful push to adopt a law allowing the sharing of the New York State tax returns of top elected officials, which Donald Trump is now suing to block.
Other Westchester Democrats supporting Buchwald include Harrison Town Board member Frank Gordon, Peekskill City Council member and County Legislator-Elect Colin Smith, Rye Town Supervisor Gary Zuckerman, Yorktown Town Board member Vishnu Patel, and Town Board member Alice Roker.
Buchwald has also received endorsements from five Westchester democratic committees, including the New Castle and Mt. Kisco democratic committees.
To many, the announcement by County Legislator Catherine Borgia that she is entering the already-crowded democratic primary for Congress’ 17th district came as a surprise. Borgia quietly announced her congressional campaign entrance earlier this month.
Democratic supporters of Buchwald admitted that Borgia’s announcement was not expected.
“David has wrapped up a lot of democratic support in Westchester, so I don’t know what Catherine’s rationale for running is,” said a Westchester democratic district leader. “There are three elected democrats running in the same lane, as an elected incumbent – Buchwald, Borgia and State Sen. David Carlucci. It looks like only one of those three makes it to the primary.”
