Westcheter, Rockland and Putnam Counties
“We cannot fight fascists in the Republican Party with failed leadership in the Democratic Party.”
State Senator Allesandra Biaggi
By Dan Murphy
The wild ride that is the 2022 election cycle in NY State and Westchester County just got a little wilder when State Senator Allesandra Biaggi announced her challenge to Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney in a democratic primary in the 17th District, which includes parts of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.
The wild ride, is also confusing, but here’s out attempt. Sen. Biaggi, who lives in Pelham, had been running for Congress in the 3rd District of NY, which included the sound shore of Westchester and Long Island. But that district was changed last week to include just Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island, pushing Biaggi out of the district.
Congressman Maloney’s home in Putnam was also drawn out of the 18th Congressional district that he currently represents. Maloney’s home is now in the 17th district, and immediately after the new boundaries were announced, Maloney announced his campaign to represent district 17.
The only problem was that the current member of Congress from NY 17 is progressive democrat, Rep. Mondaire Jones. Maloney, who is also the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, (DCCC), did not confer with Jones before making his announcement.
Jones has decided to run in a NYC congressional district against former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, but many progressive democrats are upset at Maloney for ‘Big Footing’ Jones. Part of this progressive anger at Maloney is what caused Biaggi to announce her run against him.
Calling Maloney a “a selfish corporate Democrat,” Biaggi made it official on May 24. “People are outraged, straight up. He (Maloney) did not even give the current representative the courtesy of calling and saying, ‘Hey, let’s have a conversation about this.’ He just decided to do it without any regard. Instead of thinking about the party, he thought about himself.”
“It sends a terrible message to other Democrats. This race will have a clear contrast for Democrats. They can vote for a progressive Democrat who knows how to get things done. Or they can vote for a corporate, selfish Democrat,” said Biaggi, who plans on moving into another part of Westchester in the 17th district soon. “This is a stand for the fact that we deserve better in this party. We cannot fight fascists in the Republican Party with failed leadership in the Democratic Party.”
“I am sure that he will say, ‘This is hurting the party, she doesn’t care about being a Democrat,’ But what hurt the party was having the head of the campaign arm not stay in his district, not maximize the number of seats New York can have to hold the majority,” said Biaggi, echoing what many democrats had wondered, that Maloney should have run in the 18th District, which will be a contest that can be won by a republican, but may be needed if democrats are to hold onto their slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Maloney received the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the days after his announcement. Pelosi said Maloney was “doing an excellent job,” as head of the DCC. That show of support may be the reason why Jones didn’t challenge Maloney. Others believe that Jones “was promised something,” if he loses to de Blasio in NY-10, Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.
Speaking out against Maloney was Westchester Congressman Jamaal Bowman. “Biaggi has been a voice for justice since she entered the State Senate. She’s also been a voice for accountability and pushing our party to do better,” said Bowman, who called Maloney’s decision to bail on NY-18, “completely unacceptable for a leader of our party whose job it is to make sure that we maintain the majority. Leadership requires sacrifice and leadership requires selflessness.” Bowman did not endorse Biaggi but…
Sochie Nnaemeka, the director of the Working Families Party of New York, said, “For the head of the D.C.C.C., whose role is to lead electoral strategy that creates an equitable and representative Democratic Party, to position himself at the expense of his colleagues — in particular two Black men — seems deeply cynical, unstrategic and self-serving.”
