What a year!
State highway signs identify Chatham Dems as taking responsibility for cleaning up a two-mile section of Rte 66 betrween Crellin Park and Boice Road.
A year-end report by Chatham Dems president
Dear Friends,
With the first winter snowfall signaling the approach of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, I think back to 2022 and some of the events that have made it a good year for the Chatham Dems.
We have twelve people serving as members of the Columbia County Democratic Committee.
Chatham Dems worked hard to elect Democratic candidates to office at all levels of government, and we volunteered time to make life in the community better for all.
Most recently, we joined with ICNY to rent a campaign center in the Village of Chatham that served as a gathering place for the many volunteers who worked on the November 2022 election campaigns. The collaboration and work of so many local people and candidates’ campaign staff were impressive!
The focus on electing Democrats to office paid off for incumbent representatives for the districts served by State Senator Michelle Hinchey and State Assembly Member Didi Barrett. We also campaigned successfully for Governor Kathy Hochul, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, and US Senator Charles Schumer. In the contest for three seats on the NYS Supreme Court 3rd Judicial District, which includes Columbia County, Democrats Meagan K. Galligan and Sharon Graff were the top vote getters of four candidates. After a manual recount of votes due to a close margin, Republican Thomas Marcelle was declared the winner of the third seat, edging out the third Democrat, Heidi Thais Cochrane.
Even though the Town of Chatham and Columbia County supported Democrat Josh Riley for Congress, the district vote carried for Republican Marc Molinaro. Riley conceded graciously: “With the ballots cast, votes counted and campaign ended, let’s set aside our divisions and do our best to unite…It’s in that spirit that I wish Marc Molinaro much success as he goes to Congress to represent us.”
Locally, two Chatham Dems were sworn in as members of the five-person Town Board. Rick Werwaiss and Destiny Hallenbeck stepped into important committee assignments on finance, climate, housing, grants, broadband, and the Comprehensive Plan Update process.
In the larger community, members support the mission of the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen, working in the kitchen where meals are prepared or delivering meals to families in need around the county. Our organization, joining the NYS Adopt a Highway Program, has done a Spring and Fall cleanup on a 2-mile section of Route 66. We are regularly seen with shovels and rakes at Crellin Park, working on the Children’s Garden or working with Recreation staff to clear trails.
The third year of Covid-19 meant in-person meetings have been few, but we were able to hold some membership meetings at Crellin Park Pavilion, and we enjoyed a successful Chili Fest, which raised funds for the Chatham Area Silent Food Pantry.
All of this is possible because of the generosity, energy, and hard work of the Chatham Dems membership. We serve because there is plenty of work to do to create good government and to contribute to the local Chatham community.
You can join us now and in 2023. There will be more elections, and more community projects that need helping hands, time, and sustained effort. Please join us, sign up for our newsletter, come to see what we do, and support our work with your time and financial donations.
To each and every reader of our newsletter, I extent warm wishes to you and yours for the holiday season and the New Year.
Cindy Bobseine, President
Chatham Dems