Rockland County's divided Democratic Party is set to hold a contested leadership vote with just four weeks to go in a tight congressional race in which Rockland voters will play a large role.
The party is split along town lines into two factions, and its last chairman election two years ago devolved into a court fight between the two sides over who was allowed to cast votes. Now Rockland County Democratic Committee members are set to meet on Monday, Oct. 5, for another biennial vote for chairman and other officers that will mark the latest struggle for control of the party.
Looming in the backdrop of their internal tussle is the nationally watched race between Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Cait Conley for a swing district
that's crucial to both parties on Nov. 3. Rockland voters make up 40% of the electorate in New York's 17th Congressional District, which also takes in the northern half of Westchester County, all of Putnam County and a slice of Dutchess.
Rockland Democrats have been led for the last two years by Laurence Toole, who is aligned with the faction that wields control and whose members come from the towns of Ramapo and Haverstraw. Stepping up to compete with him for the chairmanship just a week before the vote was James Riley, an attorney from Orangetown. Orangetown, Clarkstown and Stony Point form the rival faction that lost the 2024 court fight over voting eligibility.
What to know about Rockland Democratic Party leadership showdown
Riley, in an interview with the USA TODAY Network, said he hopes to revitalize and strengthen the party by expanding its activities, fundraising and media outreach. His immediate goal if elected, he said, is to redouble efforts to elect Conley in the campaign's last weeks.
In a statement announcing his candidacy to fellow committee members on Sept. 29, Riley described himself as a "lifelong Democrat who is passionate about fair play, ethics, and integrity." He said he was running "to help ensure the Rockland Democratic Party functions in support of full-throated democracy."
Toole didn't respond to requests for comment on the leadership vote.
Rockland Democrats trail far behind their GOP counterparts in party funding. The Republican Committee, led by Lawler as its chairman since 2024, reported $242,000 in its coffers in its last public filing on Oct. 1. The Democratic Committee account, meanwhile, was in arrears, reporting a negative cash balance of $3,356.11.
The Democrats' court fight in 2024 turned on whether only committee members who had collected petition signatures to join the committee would be allowed to vote, or if members appointed by their towns without petitioning could vote too. The Ramapo-Haverstraw faction sought to bar the appointed members and prevailed in court.
One anomaly for Rockland Democrats is that many Democratic voters in Ramapo cast ballots for Republicans instead of their own party's candidates. As the USA TODAY Network reported in May, there are thousands of registered Democrats in largely Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish areas of the town that voted almost unanimously for Lawler and President Donald Trump in 2024.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Split Rockland Dems to hold leadership vote amid NY-17 House race
