Musings on the Campaign Trail Part 2: Local Leaders Head to Kingston
Layla Law-Gisiko, a local Democratic leader in Chelsea’ A.D. 75, gives a sense of the battle in one of the contested Congressional seats north of the city where incumbent Pat Ryan is being challenged by Republican Allison Esposito. City elected officials joined volunteers in the weeks before the Nov. 5 election.
| 04 Nov 2024 | 03:30
Local Democratic political leaders from Manhattan joined campaign workers in the northern suburbs before election day, campaigning for incumbent Pat Ryan in a race against Republican challenger Allison Esposito. (
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The incumbent Rep. Pat Ryan faces Republican challenger Allison Esposito in a competitive Congressional district north of the city. Local democratic politicians were spending time campaigning in the northern suburbs in the weeks before the Nov. 5 election. (
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Layla Law Gisiko, a Democratic leader from Assembly District 75 in Chelsea, joined other city politicians on the campaign trail campaigning for Congressman Pat Ryan in Kingston in the weeks before the election. (
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Kingston was the first capital of New York State. Located in Ulster County, it is now a sleepy town with a penchant for gentrification. A critical congressional race is playing out here, the epicenter of the fierce battle for control of the House of Representatives. Held by Pat Ryan, moderate Democrat and combat veteran, NY18 is turning out to be the most hotly contested congressional race in the country. Republicans have vowed to defeat the one-term incumbent and the NY Democratic machine has called for all volunteers to help him get reelected. The road to the House majority runs through NYCD18.
The Pat Ryan makeshift campaign office is large and surprisingly tidy. Senior campaign operatives, who have worked on other prominent campaigns, including the Suozzi special election, are on deck to coach volunteers, who took a bus from Manhattan to help Pat Ryan and other democratic candidates. No sight of the Congressman this morning, but Michelle Hinchey, the state senator for the area, who is also running for reelection, is on site to get our group revved up. Wearing a camo hunter cap with her name on it, a tweed gentleman farmer tailored jacket, and a pair of hipster jeans, she exhorts our group to hit the ground.
October when we campaign saw the Hudson valley with all its mesmerizing hues. Second summer on full display. Kingston’s historic Victorian architecture displays the mild opulence of a long-gone wealthy bourgeoisie who were particularly fond of Decorative Arts. In the 1970s, the town grappled with widespread drug problems, and poverty rates soared. In recent years, Kingston has experienced a revival, largely driven by gentrification.
So, what does a turf war look like? Paired up with my partner, we hit the very quiet streets of Kingston. Before we reach our first door, we strike a conversation with a middle-aged woman. She is walking her dog and is eager to chat, while parading a cranky smile. She interrupts every sentence we start with a peremptory “I know”. “I know Pat Ryan, I know Michelle Hinchey, I know Prop 1.” “Are you also supporting Prop 4?” She asked us. We admitted ignorance on Prop 4, a ballot proposal specific to the town of Kingston. “I wrote it” she adds. Have we unexpectedly bumped into a Kingston political pundit? Or are Kingstonians especially politically savvy?
A guy in his fifties, topless, is standing in the doorframe. Tall, with short-cropped hair, chest covered in tattoos, he greets us after the initial jolt of mutual surprise. “I know Pat Ryan. He’s great. Public safety has improved here, especially with the crackdown on drugs”, he explains. “You see the house next door? This used to be a meth lab. There was a raid four years ago, they brough in helicopters. Sixty people were arrested. The neighborhood is safer. But now every house has been bought, fixed up and flipped. Every house seems to go for $800,000 these days. Speculation is out of control.”
In the tiny front yards dotting the neighborhood, we see signs supporting Pat Ryan, Proposition 1 (the Equal Rights Amendment that would enshrine anti-discrimination in New York Constitution), and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. But no sign of a Republican effort in sight. No Trump posters, no MAGA lawn signs, no canvassers. No literature for Esposito, the Republican challenger, other than a couple of unopened discarded mailings littering the streets.
With the weather far too pleasant to expect many voters at home, we resolve to take to the streets and seek out foot traffic. In Kingston, the beard is fashionable. A bearded man, you see, takes on a whole different character depending on where he hangs his hat—whether it’s the artsy streets of Williamsburg, the swamps of the Louisiana bayou, or the sprawling outskirts of Kabul. It resists the quick assumptions of stereotypes. Bearded men of Kingston are not Talibans, of course, but whether they are hipster Democrats or big-game-tracking Republicans is not immediately obvious. Yet, as it turns out, these men are staunch Democrats, politically astute, well-versed in both candidates and issues on the ballot.
If Kingston serves as a microcosm of the entire district, then the contest in this battleground appears securely in the hands of the popular and good-looking Pat Ryan. But the district is a sprawling 1,690 square miles, with almost 800,000 inhabitants. Pat Ryan won his 2022 race by less that 4,000 votes. Bearded men may be hipsters or hunters. It would be foolish to take any of them for granted at the ballot box.