Briefing Book: A tea party’s defining moments

Thursday, 12 November 2009 00:00

In politics, a “defining moment” can be a phrase, a picture, an off-hand comment — any event that creates a lasting image of a political candidate or a political party in the mind of the voter.

The townwide tea party that ended Lewisboro’s 2009 election had several defining moments. Some came on the campaign trail, others in The Ledger’s Town Board debate. Many voters saw these moments; even more talked about them. Each moment reinforced the image that the Democratic ticket wanted higher taxes and bigger government.

The tea partiers here at Briefing Book live for defining moments like these:

The “No” heard ’round the town. When Republican Town Board member Peter DeLucia voted against Democratic Town Supervisor Edward Brancati’s tax increase, he did more than shatter the stale old “if you want to get along, you have to go along” mind-set of Lewisboro politics. From then on, the 2009 election was fought on the issue of taxes. Mr. DeLucia made the Republican position clear — if you want higher taxes, Mr. Brancati is your man.

The Democrats botch the ballot — again and again and again. When putative Democratic nominee P.J. Rossi withdrew from the race, he left Democratic leaders with a hole in their ticket that they never filled. In a public display of political ineptitude that hasn’t been seen since Jimmy Carter, Democratic leaders repeatedly failed at the simple task of putting another candidate on the ballot. They nominated Bob Goett — only to see him disqualified. They tried filing a third-party candidacy — and missed a deadline. They hoped to win an appeal — and failed to file one. In 1988, Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis said, “This election is not about ideology, it’s about competence.” The Lewisboro Democratic leadership made the 2009 election about ideology and competence. If they couldn’t run their own campaign, how could they run the town?

One number — 29%. Ed Brancati’s proposed 29% tax increase definitively defined the Democrats as the party of higher taxes. Democrats Maureen Maguire and Bob Goett had a tough time defending the 29% tax increase during The Ledger’s Town Board debate. Republicans solidified the image when they put out a mailer featuring the number 29% and a red “No” circle through it.

“You ask Ed that question.” The Democrats’ campaign Web site boasted that Mr. Brancati “literally saved the town from bankruptcy.” His running mates didn’t get the memo. Asked to defend that claim, both Ms. Maguire and Mr. Goett responded by saying, “You ask Ed that question.” That’s hardly the kind of answer that teammates give when they’re all on the same page.

Maureen Maguire endorses Edward Brancati — eventually. Maybe she didn’t hear the question the first time, maybe she was too focused on her talking points — whatever the reason, when Ms. Maguire had to be asked twice if she was going to vote for Mr. Brancati, she contributed to the image of a Democratic ticket in disarray. Republican candidate and trial lawyer Frank Kelly wasted no time with that testimony. His effusive and unprompted endorsement of Charlie Duffy (“I’m glad to be running with Charlie Duffy for town supervisor”) made Ms. Maguire’s grudging support of Mr. Brancati (“Yes, I am”) look tepid and lukewarm in comparison.

Bob Goett endorses the budget expertise — of Peter DeLucia. In the midst of answering a question on the town budget, Mr. Goett gestured to the other end of the table where Mr. DeLucia was sitting and casually offered this tribute: “I don’t have Peter’s intimate knowledge of the budget.” What made it even worse was that sitting right next to Mr. Goett was Ms. Maguire, who was arguing that her background as an economist gave her credibility on the budget. The Democrat team would have looked like one had Mr. Goett acknowledged Ms. Maguire instead of praising her opponent.

Not-so-affordable housing. The Democrats in White Plains gave voters the ultimate defining moment. Just weeks before Election Day, Democratic Westchester County Executive Andy Spano caved in to the federal government and settled a controversial lawsuit over low-income housing. The settlement trampled home rule on housing development, forcing Mr. Brancati to straddle the line between town supervisor and loyal Democrat. As the Manhattan Institute noted, government-subsidized housing imposes higher costs on municipalities without any offsetting property tax revenue. Voters quickly figured out who would make up the difference.

Together, these moments defined the fractious Democratic ticket as the candidates of big government and higher taxes. The result was a tea party in Lewisboro voting booths — and a Republican landslide.

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