Dear Editor,
Last week, a reader blamed a local candidate’s recent loss in the 23rd Congressional Democratic primary on alleged failures of Democratic Party leadership. As Chair of the Party, I would like to respond to the reader’s concerns.
Notwithstanding personal endorsements, the Tioga County Democratic Committee (TCDC) chooses not to endorse candidates in contested races. This is a long held policy of the committee and it has never been our practice to make an exception based solely on a candidate’s residency. As proud as we were to have a “native son” in the mix, we felt it was important not to squelch the incredible level of interest shown to our entire slate of candidates.
That said; our policy certainly did not require members to sit on the sidelines. In fact, each primary candidate had an opportunity to meet with the committee and recruit volunteers. As a result, TCDC members were engaged in campaign activities for a variety of candidates, and together with fellow Democrats and activists across the district, succeeded in building a foundation of support that will have tangible results for the winner, Tracy Mitrano. They can and should be proud of their hard work.
Finally, while I would certainly love to see more Democrats step up and run for office, and while I am never happy to see a candidate in either party run unopposed, we have fielded some wonderful Democratic candidates for various town and county offices since my election in 2014. Those include candidates for County Legislature, County Clerk, Town Supervisor, Town Clerk, Highway Supervisor, Town Justice and Town Council. This year, in addition to our congressional candidates, I am happy to say we have candidates for Candor Town Council, Richford Town Justice and County Legislature, District 1.
The recruitment of qualified candidates has always been a priority for our committee and despite the county’s relatively small population and the committee’s limited financial resources, our leadership has a proud history of offering assistance to local, state and federal campaigns.
While Mr. Della Pia’s loss was surely disappointing to his dedicated and hard-working supporters, it is important to understand our efforts in 2018 were no exception.
Sincerely,
Diane Lechner
Chairwoman
Tioga County Democratic Committee
I personally know that the TCDC has welcomed and supported anyone who wishes to run for office on the Democratic line. I know of two exceptions in the past 20 years: both had credible allegations of serious physical and emotional abuse of women. I also know that many, if not most, of those making negative allegations have not run for office nor assisted those who were/are trying. The members of TCDC work hard to keep our message out there. We assist those who wish to run for office and/or serve on the committee in ways many counties do not. There are election districts where one could run unopposed and individuals chose not to bother. We welcome new energy all the time. Take over getting signatures! Take over getting yard signs out! Take over fund raising for candidates! Take over getting candidates and supporting them! Join the sub committees handling all this! Learn the law, use the law, communicate within the structure. We welcome this.