Ten of 22 New Paltz Democratic committee members are worried that the vote to endorse a candidate for the 20th county legislative district will be affected by the weather. Last Saturday’s Ulster County Democratic convention was postponed until this Saturday, February 22 because of weather. Due to work and personal commitments, three members of the New Paltz committee cannot attend on the new date. There is no way to cast a vote through a proxy in the committee bylaws, and there is no option for attending virtually, as has been the case for some other meetings.
According to Dawn Winchester, chair of the New Paltz town committee, the issue is that there are only seven members eligible to vote on whether to nominate Stana Weisburd or fellow village trustee William Wheeler Murray to be the party’s candidate, which means that the absence of those three could very possibly change the outcome. “A small number of voters could have some big effects on who gets endorsements.”
Limina Grace Harmon, the outgoing legislator, had been planning on nominating Weisburd. Harmon said that “not being able to have people who’d planned to be at the convention causes real problems for our constituents—unnecessary problems.” It’s not just the weather, either: while Harmon recognizes that there are many advantages to gathering in person, the committee member points out that requiring bodily attendance discriminates against anyone with mobility issues.
“We can’t know the impact,” said county chair Barbara Graves-Poller. “Our priority was keeping people safe. To the extent that some may perceive a different outcome, I can’t speak to that.” Graves-Poller noted that committee members were notified of both dates by mail and email. “The procedures were plain to everyone from the outset.”
Having received the Working Families party endorsement, Weisburd intends on continuing in the race no matter what happens at the Democratic convention.
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