Members of the New Paltz Democratic Committee have selected Evan Holland-Shepler as chair, a decision that reflects a resurgence of interest and energy in this political group, and cements the youngest party leadership team in the state.
In a college town where longevity might be seen as a proxy for other qualities, Holland-Shepler’s 16 years of residency is dwarfed by operatives who have lived in New Paltz for 60, 70, 80 years or more. If the quality of those years is considered, it’s possible to see the new chair in a different light. Holland-Shepler has spent more than half of those years working on political campaigns, culminating in running Manny Nneji’s successful bid to become district attorney in last year’s election.
Holland-Shepler was recruited as an intern for Zephyr Teachout’s congressional campaign by a friend, Eli Duncan-Gilmour. “I didn’t know the difference between the house and the senate” at that point, Holland-Shepler said, but that soon changed. “We knocked on thousands of doors, and made tens of thousands of calls . . . we recruited two dozen high school students for get-out-the-vote [efforts]. We were captains” in the campaign structure.
That was in 2016, and the election results that year had an impact on this newly-minted campaign worker. Teachout lost to John Faso, and Hillary Clinton lost the presidency to Donald Trump. “I was begging my mom to take me to the Women’s March on January 21, 2017. We drove down to the National Mall, and all I saw was a sea of pink hats.” That last was thanks to the Pussyhat Project, through which a knitting pattern for a pink hat with cat ears was disseminated to express a reclamation of women’s sovereignty in light of derogatory statements the new president had once made about the entire gender.
Maybe it was the energy of that march, but Holland-Shepler didn’t give up on politics after that first foray, despite the results. There have been multiple campaigns since, including work for Jen Metzger and Pat Ryan. The interview with Nneji occurred during a semester studying abroad, and the two quickly decided that Holland-Shepler was the right fit to be Nneji’s campaign manager.
Four years ago, in a tense political moment that was soon eclipsed by a pandemic, nine members of New Paltz’s Democratic committee resigned; their letter explaining the decision revealed that the perception of age discrimination weighed heavily. Holland-Shepler, who joined in the wake of that change and soon became treasurer, is well aware that tension between generations is always an issue. While being asked to participate as an adult by some — including the aforementioned Ryan and Metzger as well as Kelleigh McKenzie, who runs the county committee — Holland-Shepler has also been reminded, “I’ve never paid property tax before.” Being dismissed for being young cuts as deep as being sidelined for advanced age. “I love working with older, wiser people. I’ve spent a lot of time talking with people double my age,” and those relationships have influenced “my morality and beliefs through the lessons they’ve taught me.”
Holland-Shepler sees the Democratic party as the only one that’s welcoming to all; the fact that there were no other candidates to become committee chair could be evidence of that. It might also be true that other members recognized that having a chair with time, energy, and experience would be a valuable asset. At a recent committee meeting, the new chair navigated a tricky political question: when is the right time for a committee to endorse a candidate, before or after a primary? Passions can rise during a discussion like that, and Holland-Shepler showed an ability to firmly but respectfully remind much older and more experienced committee members when they were entitled to speak, and when they needed to give another the floor. Not everyone was pleased with the decision not to endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary for a town council seat, but no one complained about being treated unfairly during the discussion, either.
In the same meeting, five members were appointed to serve until their names can also be put on the ballot. Elections are the preferred way to fill a political committee, but vacancies can be filled for the interim. This gives Holland-Shepler a full committee of 20 members to work on getting people to the polls in November.
Pushing back against the notion that there is not a unifying Democratic party message, Holland-Shepler summarizes is thus: “Jobs, Dobbs, and democracy.” The economic disaster that self-identified experts have predicted is showing no signs of coming to pass, for one; credit should be given to the party in power. The Dobbs decision to roll back a 50-year-old precedent holding that the constitution provides a right to choose when to have a child has had massive impacts around the country, and when given the chance voters have consistently rejected the most restrictive measures being proposed in various states in response. Lastly, Holland-Shepler believes that the fundamentals of this democratic republic are on the line in the 2024 election, comparing the present-day United States climate to that of the Weimar Republic of Germany, 1918-1933. “It feels like we are on the precipice” of similarly descending into fascism. “I’m not being hyperbolic.”
New Paltz voters skew heavily Democratic, and it’s true that Democratic state and federal candidates have little difficulty winning these election districts. However, Holland-Shepler wants to see more people voting. “We can really help Pat Ryan” in a congressional district that’s one of the few in the country that hasn’t been gerrymandered for one major party or the other. Drawing district lines like that isn’t something the new local chair supports, though.
State legislators pushed through a plan to shift local elections to the even-numbered years in an effort to turn out more voters. Holland-Shepler thinks it will do harm to local candidates, though. For one, the election year for district attorneys are set in the Constitution and now may suffer from lower turnout than before. This could skew results in those elections to candidates favored by the most dedicated voters. Holland-Shepler also believes that, while some local candidates might get more votes based on party registration alone, it’s going to be much harder to get through any message about local issues and concerns with a backdrop of congressional and presidential politics.
Enticing younger voters is also important. “It’s incredibly hard to volunteer as a young person,” due to long hours one must work to pay rent, for example, but the cost of rent is one of the issues that hits younger adults hard. Moreover, renters tend to move more often and may not update their voter registrations. “I see that as an opportunity. If you feel disaffected, I get it — I supported Sanders, and felt appalled” by how that candidate was treated by Democrats in 2016, “but today we have a bigger tent, that’s more inclusive. Email me, evanhollandshepler@gmail.com. I share your values.”
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