Rich Schaffer wins re-election for Suffolk Democratic Party chair, fending off challenge from Kathryn Casey Quigley

Suffolk County Democratic Chairman Rich Schaffer repelled an insurgent campaign that sought to topple his power as party leader by rallying enough support among committee members to defeat challenger Kathryn Casey Quigley.

Late Tuesday evening at the committee’s biennial organizational meeting in Melville, Schaffer emerged as the winner to retain the chairman position he’s held since 2000.

Schaffer tallied a score of 113,010 compared with 84,234 for Casey Quigley, chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee.

At the podium following the vote, Schaffer thanked Casey Quigley for the “spirited, hard fought challenge” and for “making me a better person" and called for the party to unite ahead of November's election.

"I'm looking forward to working with her, all the new committee people over the next several months so we can put together an effort that is going to beat the Republicans in November," he said.

He ended his brief acceptance speech by saying, "Are we ready to go?" as the remaining crowd cheered.

Casey Quigley congratulated Schaffer at the podium and said she's committed to continuing to work in the party.

"While this race has been very hard fought, I continue to believe that this challenge left our party stronger than when it began," she said.

It was the first time in his 26-year tenure Schaffer faced such strong opposition culminating in a contentious vote. He now faces the task of reconciling a party that grew more fractious in recent weeks, particularly around controversy related to the county comptroller and county clerk races.

More than 1,000 committee members gathered in a ballroom at the Huntington Hilton for the meticulous process of a vocal roll call to cast ballots for Schaffer or Casey Quigley.

Schaffer separated himself after the ninth round of voting that featured members of his own town in Babylon. Many of the Babylon voters rose for a standing ovation during the roll call when Schaffer's name was called. Casey Quigley swept her hometown of Southold, but Schaffer's district is far larger.

Tom Garry, counsel and law chair for the New York State Democratic Party, oversaw the meeting and read the name of each member, who responded by naming their choice aloud. Some yelled their choice triumphantly. At least one member sang her selection.  

Schaffer's win grants him another two-year term, wielding influence over the county's largest political party, which is composed of about 370,000 registered Democrats. The leader also can mobilize volunteers and use funds to strengthen campaigns of preferred candidates, while also having influence in filling patronage positions.

Schaffer, who’s also Babylon Town supervisor and chair of the Babylon Town Democratic party, remains as one of only two leaders of the county party in the last 60 years since he succeeded Dominic Baranello, who held the post for 34 years, according to Newsday archives.

The race became more intense in the final weeks, with Casey Quigley supporters accusing Schaffer and his supporters of hardball tactics. That includes using leverage over patronage jobs, and sending messages to supporters offering to compensate them for missing work to show up to the meeting, according to video and messages reviewed by Newsday.

The two candidates, and their slate, were introduced with nominations that both drew loud applause in the room from their supporters.

Terryl Dozier, of Huntington, a new committee member, nominated Casey Quigley, whom he said has inspired people and showed "ordinary people working together can still change things."

He urged people to vote "not to preserve what has been, but for what we believe we can become."

Derek Stein seconded the nomination and said Casey Quigley "has worked tirelessly to support Democrats up and down the ballot to defeat the Republican and Conservative parties that stand against everything we hold dear."

State Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) nominated Schaffer and spoke of how under his leadership the party has "achieved important and historic milestones" of electing African Americans, Latinos, women and "people from communities that, for generations, were told to sit down and wait their turn."

She cited the work prominent Democrats have achieved like Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. and DuWayne Gregory, a Babylon Town councilman who was the first African American to serve as presiding officer of the Suffolk Legislature.

She said when the election ends, the Democrats must unite with a focus on November.

"We can disagree, we can debate, we can fight passionately for the direction of our party," she said. "That is what Democrats do. But when the votes are counted tonight we have to come back together as Suffolk County Democratic Party." 

Anthony Portesy, the chair of the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee, who had been at the center of a controversy surrounding his decision to withdraw from the county clerk race, seconded the nomination for Schaffer, drawing some groans from the crowd.

"This interparty fight is distracting us from a much bigger fight happening around us," he said. "Donald Trump has us looking left and right, but we should be looking forward. So, if you need a villain in your story, it isn't me. It isn't Rich. It's the politics that tells us to fear our neighbors, to turn our backs on each other, and forget what we're actually fighting for."

Brookhaven Town members, the first voting bloc of the night, entered the hotel hallway after casting their ballots, some chatting with residents of other towns waiting to vote, others joining the growing bathroom lines.

Many who voted for Schaffer pointed to his more than two decades as chairman as hope that he can help more Democratic candidates win.

"Rich gives us a fighting chance," Michael Paolucci, 36, of Stony Brook, said. "Kathryn seems nice enough, and we’re probably aligned on most things. ... But countywide, I think we need Rich’s leadership."

Al Penna, 71, of Lake Grove, cast his vote for Casey Quigley because he said he supports "term limits" for all offices, noting Schaffer's long tenure as chair.

Schaffer, who also serves as the Babylon Town supervisor and town Democratic chairman, has been in power since 2000. Casey Quigley has vowed to reform and rebuild the party, saying she'd end cross-endorsement deals.

Schaffer has defended his record as Suffolk’s Democratic chair, saying there have been "significant victories and elected strong Democratic leaders" during his tenure, pointing to wins last November of a county legislature district and seats in three towns previously held by Republicans.

Casey Quigley announced her candidacy for party boss in December, launching a grassroots campaign in what many in the party along with political experts viewed as a long shot to take down an established incumbent.

She said she decided to run for party leader because Schaffer had been "horse trading" judicial candidates with the Republican Party and relying too often on paper candidates, or token opposition.

When Schaffer became party leader, his supporters said he could help attract young people and build town party organizations, according to Newsday archives, echoing similar talking points that emerged from his challenger 26 years later.

In the runup to the election, both sides sought to rally support and recruit new members to the party. That recruitment effort resulted in a higher-than-usual volume of committee primaries in June as backers of both sides sought positions in an election district.

Voters overwhelmingly supported members who backed Casey Quigley in the primaries. 

"People in the party are hungry for change," she said at the time.

Schaffer at the time said he believed he already had enough support within the party to keep his position, regardless of how the primaries went.