WPCNR BACKROOM BULLETIN. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2008: WPCNR has learned and Democratic leaders confirmed today that there is revolution in the air in the White Plains Democratic Party.
Councilman Glen Hockley speaking at Flag Day Thursday morning in White Plains, a city celebration which he helped inaugurate.
Supporters of Councilman Glen Hockley are fanning out across the city, carrying petitions door to door in an effort to sign up enough registered Democratic voters in White Plains 43 Districts so that a new cadre of district leaders supporting Mr. Hockley can unseat the current district leaders.
The effort WPCNR has learned, is an organized strategy by Councilman Glen Hockley to orchestrate his being nominated for Mayor to run on the Democratic ticket in the fall of 2009.
WPCNR was informed of this today by a district leader who became aware one of the Hockley supporters carrying a petition seeking to challenge their district leadership position. A highly placed member of the Democratic City Committee told WPCNR he was aware of the Hockley campaign, but did not know the extent of it.
The district leader who informed WPCNR, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strategy is for Mr. Hockley supporters to gather enough signatures to unseat current district leaders in enough “weighted” districts to sway the nomination for Mayor to Mr. Hockley next spring.
Cracking the Lineup, Securing "Delegates"
With Mayor Joseph Delfino possibly not running in 2009, the lineup of Democratic personalities to take his job (and nomination assures election in Democrat-heavy White Plains), is long: Councilpersons Benjamin Boykin, Rita Malmud and Dennis Power are ready to go. Bill Ryan, despite current public relations problems, could go. Assemblyman Adam Bradley could decide to run. The only name not on Democrats’ leaders lips is that of Mr. Hockley.
New district leaders favorable to him would assure Mr. Hockley of either being renominated for Common Council in 2009 or ultimately, the Mayor position, and make him a player rather than a discard like Mr. Bernstein was in the spring of 2007.
The more populated districts in White Plains are being targeted by the Hockley Intitiative. In 2001, the late Councilman Robert Greer, denied the Mayoral nomination by the party nominating committee which recommended Bill Ryan to district leaders, was able to win the nomination on the floor by secret ballot over the chosen nominee, Bill Ryan, by winning the more populated districts to his side.
WPCNR attempted to reach Mr. Hockley to confirm this Hockley grass roots effort, but was unable to leave a message.
As WPCNR’s source explains it, on the floor of the Party caucus next September, when district leaders are elected, anyone living in a district, a registered Democrat, who has the amount of petition signatures more than the present District leader can win that leadership position by presenting the petitions.
Disillusioned with District Leadership in Spring 2007
District leaders fell in line behind party leadership, much to the unhappiness of challengers for Common Council seats last year. Claire Eisenstadt, Don Hughes, Robert Levine, and Robert Stackpole challenged the party nominees for Common Council: Milagros Lecouna, Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power.
Despite being told by District Leaders that the district leaders supported them, the actual floor vote fell in line overwhelmingly for the party line nominees: Boykin, Lecouna and Power. Incumbent Arnold Bernstein denied renomination for a seat he was elected to, challenged in the Democrat primary only to lose. Mr. Stackpole and Mr. Levine elected to challenge the party trio of Boykin, Lecouna and Power in the November general council 2007 election and lost.
Preempting a Preemption
Our armchair analyst of the Democratic Party sees that Councilman Hockley – who has for months incurred the wrath of party leadership for his support of Mayor Joseph Delfino positions, as did Mr. Bernstein – sees he has no possibility of winning the Mayoral nomination unless he can take over the party leadership. His strategy is to change the leadership district by district. Our source notes that the Hockley Initiative has about three months to make their play.
Our source dismisses the possibility of Mr. Hockley changing parties and running on the Republican ticket : “He knows his only chance is to change the leadership of the party.”
