Peter Chatzky
By Dan Murphy
Peter Chatzky, democratic candidate for Congress in NY-17, suspended his campaign on April 9, hours before a scheduled candidates forum with five other democrats seeking to win the June primary and take on Congressman Mike Lawler in November.
Chatzky,who has served as both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Briarcliff Manor, issued the following statement:
“Ten months ago, I launched my campaign for Congress here in NY-17. I did so after months of deliberation and with the encouragement of my wife, my kids, my fellow Briarcliff trustees, and many others whom I respect.
“Today, I am announcing the suspension of my campaign.
“I have lived in Westchester my entire adult life. My wife Susan and I raised four great kids here, we’ve made awesome friends, we’ve even found a perfect plumber. We love it here and it’s important to us, vital even, to give back to this community. That’s why we’ve been deeply involved in so many local charities. It’s why I ran for Mayor more than twenty years ago, why I’ve served as Deputy Mayor since 2019, and why I chose to run for Congress.
“I vowed that my campaign would be one hundred percent authentic. I would speak honestly and never pander. I would rely only on small dollar donations and wouldn’t accept money from special interest groups or tainted donors. I drew upon my own retirement savings to kickstart my campaign.
“All polls indicate that I am one of three candidates that can win the primary in June. But polls should not be the final answer. Only you, the voters, should be. And no one should take that power away from you.
“With an insider’s perspective, I’ve seen time and time again the machinery of the Democratic party place their heavy weight on the scale of this election. Last year, party bosses held candidate forums featuring only four of the seven announced candidates. In January, the national party reached out to several influential PACs encouraging them to fund their pre-chosen candidate. Four county chairs recently publicly condemned a candidate for appearing on a widely watched podcast, even before seeing her interview. Tonight, another debate will be held that denies voters the opportunity to hear from all the candidates.
“Were I to continue my campaign, the party establishment and my competitors would need to spend significant effort and money to defeat me, resources that would be better used to defeat Mike Lawler.
“This race has, for the most part, been exhilarating. I have met so many great people, drank so much coffee, and will forever appreciate the opportunity I had to participate in it as a candidate. I do plan to stay involved and will put my knowledge and resources to a use in a way that I hope will achieve the one goal on which we all of us agree: ending the Trump regime and getting America back on the right track.
“I am deeply grateful for the encouragement, energy, and commitment that so many of you brought to this effort. I am incredibly proud of the conversations we started and the connections I made along the way. Many thanks to all of you who supported me. I strongly believe that, together, we can create a better future for all.”
The NY Times wrote a negative story on Chatzky and social media posts which he claimed were tongue in cheek, but women’s groups and democratic leaders thought were bad enough to warrant his exit.
Chatzky also vowed to spend $5 Million in his congressional campaign, but FEC forms show that he spent far less.
