By Dan Murphy
Tomorrow night, Feb. 22, Westchester democrats from the 92nd Assembly District will be holding a mini-convention to make their nomination for the Assembly seat held by Assemblymember Tom Abinanti. Abinanti is completing his 6th term representing the 92nd district, which includes Mt. Pleasant, Greenburgh and a part of Yonkers.
Abinanti is running for re-election but is being challenged by County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, in what most political observers in Westchester say will be a very close democratic primary in June. But the results of this mini-primary tomorrow don’t really mean anything because whoever loses will still be moving on to a primary.
So the two questions in this campaign are, why have this mini-convention and why is there a concerted effort to take this Assembly seat away from Tom Abinanti.
That is a question that Abinanti can’t answer. “The leaders of the Westchester Democratic party want to take me out without any explanation. My best guess is that I didn’t get out of the way for their preferred candidate.
Abinanti points out that everyone in the Westchester democratic party, including Shimsky, supported him two years ago. And in other contested democratic primaries this year, for example, Assemblymember Gary Pretlow is being primaried, and three democrats are seeking to replace Sandy Galef, but in both instances, there is no mini-convention being held.
“Why all of a sudden are we having a convention in the 92 Assembly District, and only here” asked Abinanti. “I said No I didn’t want it, and the democratic chair from Mt. Pleasant said no, but we will all be together on zoom tomorrow night at 7pm.”
“There is no purpose to this convention, other than they are targeting me and only me. It’s going to divide the party, not unite it. Some democrats are very angry,” said Abinanti. “I obejct to this convention because it won’t serve any purpose. I’m not going anywhere but to a democratic primary.”
When asked why there is such a serious challenge from a fellow democrat, Abinanti surmised, “This is an effort by the party leader to make room for their friend. The democratic chair (Suzanne Berger) has forfeited her role as a neutral arbiter in intraparty politics and is staging a coronation under the guise of a convention.”
Abinanti will be attending and the outcome is still in doubt, with Mt. Pleasant going for Abinanti, Yonkers for Shimsky and Greenburgh split. “They are doing this to give their favorite candidate a public rationale for opposing an effective, progressive democrat,” said Abinanti, who recently received the endorsement from Assembly Speaker Carl Heasite, Assemblymembers Amy Paulin and Sandy Galef, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner.
He is rated 100% by League of Conservation Voters, 100% by Planned Parenthood and a 2020 Gun Sense Candidate by Moms Demand Action.
When Shimsky made her announcement three months ago, (Dec. 2021) she alluded to Abinanti’s stance on vaccinations. “As we continue to battle the resurgent pandemic, we need progressive, proactive leadership to advocate and deliver for us, from infrastructure to public health to resiliency… following the facts and science. We deserve an Assemblymember who believes in our progressive values, stands up for immigrants and tenants, supports and believes scientists.”
Abinanti pushed back on the accusation that he is anti-Vax. “Nothing can be further from the truth. I have acted to promote vaccinations and make them available. I have voted for all appropriations to make sure vaccinations are available, and I voted for legislation to allow pharmacies to administer vaccinations,” said Abinanti, who did vote in the Assembly to support a small number of religious exemptions from vaccinations, and personally is not vaccinated “following my doctor’s advice to delay.”
But vaccinations do not appear to be the reason for what will be a hotly contented democratic primary.
