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Democratic candidates gather on Clinton town green for rally
By Ben Katz ’20
September 22, 2016
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On Saturday, Sept. 17, Kirkland Democrats and Hamilton College Democrats co-hosted the 11th Annual “Gathering on the Green,” which serves as a rally and forum of sorts for Democratic Party candidates running for all levels of elected office. Officially named “The Town of Kirkland Democratic Committee,” Kirkland Democrats works to organize on behalf of Democratic candidates in the ten voting districts that make up the town of Kirkland (in which the village of Clinton sits).
At this edition of the “Gathering on the Green,” the headlining candidate was Kim Myers, who is the Democratic nominee for the 22nd Congressional District of New York. Ms. Myers’s father founded Dick’s Sporting Goods and is a member of the Broome County Legislature, and also previously served as the President of the Binghamton City School District Board. Myer’s remarks at the event focused on the importance of education, especially the importance of education in preparing people for a vastly changing job market that has deprived Upstate New York, and Oneida County in particular, of many well-paying manufacturing jobs.
Stretching from Binghamton in the south, the 22nd goes north to Rome and the southwestern edge of the Adirondack State Park. The district, formerly known as the 24th until redistricting in 2013, has been held by Rep. Richard Hanna, a moderate pro-choice and pro-gay marriage Republican from Utica who has held the seat since 2011. With Congressman Hanna retiring at the end of his term in January, the Republicans nominated Claudia Tenney, a New York State Assemblywoman and a resident of New Hartford, who has the backing of many Tea Party-affiliated groups and is considered out of touch with many of her would-be constituents.
This is one of the reasons that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believes that the 22nd can be flipped from red to blue. Cook Political Report, which rates competitiveness of congressional races across the country, ranked the race to replace Hanna as a pure tossup, a categorization which they applied to only 17 of the 435 House of Representative races. Charles Diringer Duns ’18, one of the co-Presidents of Hamilton College Democrats, remarked that “The 22nd district has been historically Republican, although the Republican has usually been a moderate. By nominating a hard-right candidate in Claudia Tenney, the GOP has opened the door to a potential Democratic upset in a district which should’ve theoretically been safely Republican.”
Other Democratic candidates also came out for the rally as well. Scott Delconte, a litigator from Oswego and a candidate from the 5th District for the New York State Supreme Court, showed up with his wife and three children in tow. Also in attendance was Michael Arcuri, who formerly served as a Congressman for the 24th District before being unseated by Richard Hanna in 2011, and who also formerly served as the Oneida County District Attorney, and who is now running for Oneida County Court. Perhaps most importantly, Milie, a real life donkey and the mascot for the Kirkland Democrats, was in attendance and was constantly munching on grass from the Green and carrots from her owners. Overall, the event was largely a success. Ian Baize ’18, the other co-president of Hamilton College Democrats, commented that “We would, of course, have liked some more student turnout, but it was great to see some more local politics in action, as those can often get lost in a (particularly) hectic general election season. We’re looking forward to working more closely with the Myers campaign to help out however we can in an exceptionally close Congressional race.” For anyone interested in College Democrats in the future, meetings are held on the second floor of Sadove starting at 7 p.m. on bi-weekly Mondays.