By Dan Murphy
The 2018 mid-term elections across the country resulted in the election of two members of the House of Representatives who grew up in Westchester; Sean Casten and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.
Sean Casten, a graduate of Woodlands High School in Greenburgh, is now a United States Congressman-elect from the sixth district of Illinois. One of Casten’s classmates from Woodlands class of 1989, remembered Sean.
“I grew up with Sean in Greenburgh and have known him since we were students together at RJ Bailey. We played Dad’s Club Soccer together for years and became good friends in High School. In the 7th grade, we were both in the Junior High School Booster Club, and in what may have been his first foray into elected office, Sean defeated me for the position of club treasurer. His very brief statement before the election was a perfect illustration of how he would end up on the campaign trail: To the point, and very funny.
“Funny” is really an understatement. Sean has, without a doubt, what I consider to be the quickest wit of anybody I know. Yet it goes deeper than simple slapstick comedy. His retorts, his witticisms, they always reflect his incredible knowledge not only of pop culture, but of history, philosophy, science, music and the arts, and a plethora of other pursuits. While one comment may refer to “The Blues Brothers,” the next bon mot could be a reference to Lincoln or Einstein.
“Growing up in Greenburgh was probably best illustrated by late summer afternoons and early evening basketball games in the driveway of his parent’s house. His brother Damien was a regular participant, as were me, our friends Mike Scott, Boris Libman, and a few other friends. In what was usually a game of 3-on-3, if you looked at the court, it was a classic Greenburgh scene- teenagers of different races and backgrounds, vastly different ethnicities, all together, all friends since grade school, playing a very hard-nosed “no blood no foul” game that was above all else, punctuated by brotherhood. Tom and Judy’s kitchen and refrigerator were always open to us, and we took full advantage. Their kindness sometimes even extended into a dinner invitation, illustrating that they considered all of Sean’s friends to be part of their family.
“Sean’s interests are as diverse as one can imagine, and that was evident when growing up. At Woodlands, you might find him on the soccer field, riding his bike, playing Beethoven concertos on the piano, or studying. What’s remarkable is, none of those pursuits have cooled as he has aged. He still runs marathons, still plays keyboards in a band, still loves to study science. He’s the same person he’s always been. Even his love for music is a microcosm of his personality. His passion for Beethoven is no less than his passion for Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, or Bruce Springsteen. He appreciates quality. As he heads to Congress, I’m confident he’ll take these qualities with him. He hasn’t changed in the 35 years I’ve known him, and I don’t expect him to start now,” writes Andrew Kessler, Woodlands High School, Class of ’89.
Another former classmate of Casten, Susan Morissey Mackle said “Sean Casten, best known to his classmates as Boze, was recently elected to the United States Congress, representing the Sixth District of Illinois. Boze was a member of the Woodlands Class of ’89, graduating in the top of his class. He played for the soccer team, was a member of the National Honor Society, and was involved in many after school clubs and activities.
“Boze was known for his love of travel. He biked across the United States, and then Europe during his summers in High School, sending his friends post cards along the way. Music was also a passion – his Senior WISE project was focused on writing an original piece of music for the piano. He was a loyal friend with a wry sense of humor and an easy-going attitude – all attributes that should serve him well as a United States Congressman. The people of the Sixth District of Illinois have made an excellent choice.”
Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner said, “Sean is one of many outstanding graduates who are doing great things for their profession and the country. I have invited the Congressman-elect to participate at an upcoming Town Board meeting via skype —it would be great if he could talk about his experiences living in Greenburgh.”
Sean Casten is a scientist, clean energy entrepreneur and father and husband who lives in Downers Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He attended Middlebury College, obtaining a B.A. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and received his Masters of Engineering Management and a M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.
Casten is the former CEO of Recycled Energy Development, a green energy -recycling company. “I have dedicated my career to fighting climate change and, more specifically, to building projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I would continue this focus in Congress. Climate change is the existential threat of our time and we need more representatives who are willing to make it a top priority. Once elected, I look forward to working to make green business the business of America, as well as working on some more immediate solutions to climate change,” said Casten, who defeated a six-term republican Peter Roskam in one of the most closely watched House races in the midterms.
Casten also ran against President Trump in his race for Congress, and for expanding access to health care “We find ourselves at a period in history when the fabric of our electoral system, norms of democracy and public trust in government is being eroded by a President who doesn’t respect the office. This requires protecting and completing the Mueller investigation as well as acting on any evidence it provides about Trump campaign or Trump administration culpability in the manipulation of our election process.”
This was Casten’s first run for public office. “It wasn’t the party that won. It was our values.”
The other Congressmember -elect who grew up in Westchester is a more familiar name but has not embraced her Westchester roots. Ocasio-Cortez shocked the political world in June when she defeated Congressman Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary in Queens and the Bronx, and easily defeated her republican opponent last month to become the youngest female member of Congress when she takes the oath of office next month at age 28.
But Ocasio-Cortez did not grow up on the streets of the Bronx or Queens, a narrative that better fits her progressive socialist persona that has turned her into a national democratic rock star. In fact, she attended the Yorktown schools in Northern Westchester and graduated from Yorktown High School in 2007.
Ocasio-Cortez likes to explain her years in middle school and high school as After being confronted with her Yorktown history, Ocasio-Cortez responded by saying: “A major part of my story, and what I’ve shared with my neighbors throughout this campaign, is that I grew up between two worlds. At a young age, my entire extended family (aunts, grandparents, etc.) chipped in on a down payment for a small home in Yorktown so I could go to public school there. My mom was as a house cleaner for other people in the town, so we could get by.”
Because of the hard work of her parents and family, Ocasio-Cortez was able to live the American dream. That is the experience that most of us had growing up in Yorktown, and most of us freely admit it. You don’t have to be embarrassed because your family worked their rear ends off to give you a better life. There are many progressive democrats who proudly call Westchester home.
Previously, Ocasio-Cortez’s biography stated: “She ended up attending public school 40 minutes north in Yorktown, and much of her life was defined by the 40-minute commute between school and her family in the Bronx.”
But Ocasio-Cortez didn’t commute to school in Yorktown; she lived there with her mother in a house purchased for $150,000 in 1992. Like many families, her family pooled their resources and were able to come up with the down payment for a home with the help of family.
“Your attempt to strip me of my family, my story, my home, and my identity is exemplary of how scared you are of the power of all four of those things. It was clear to her, even then, that the zip code a child was born in determined much of their destiny. The 40-minute drive represented a vastly different quality of available schooling, economic opportunity and health outcomes. It is nice (Yorktown). Growing up, it was a good town for working people,” said an angry Ocasio-Cortez once reporters began to challenge her biography that stated she grew up in the Bronx.
Yorktown High School science teacher Michael Blueglass called Ocasio-Cortez “extremely gifted and amazing. She’s always wanted to make a difference,” he said. “She cares about other people tremendously, always did. She was always friendly with all different groups of students and she always cared about doing the right thing.”
Another Yorktown alum in the Class of 2007, Jose Alvarado, became an unofficial photographer-videographer for Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional campaign. “Her story is unique, inspiring and historical, and she is only an election away from getting into Congress and being the first woman of color to represent her native Bronx neighborhood and district of NY-14,” he said.
Politics appears to have always been in her blood. While at BU she worked in Sen. Ted Kennedy’s office. After volunteering for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in 2016, Ocasio-Cortez moved to New York City and began part-time work to make ends meet, including bartending, before making her legendary run for Congress.
How did she do it? Hard work and by getting nontraditional voters out to vote on a nontraditional voting day. “People (pollsters) try to identify who is the most likely person to turn out. What we did is we changed who turns out,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who had many millennials and indivisible voters cast a vote for her.
