Looking at the Greenburgh Supervisor Primary - Part I

The Greenburgh Supervisor’s Primary - Part I

Feiner is Mr. Greenburgh

Paul Feiner, who was first elected Greenburgh Town Supervisor in November 1991, is seeking a 16^th two-year term.  Feiner’s electoral career in Greenburgh stretches back to his September 1983 Democratic primary upset of Tom Abinanti for a county legislature seat that represented most of Greenburgh.  Feiner has been running for office in Greenburgh for so long that the results of many of his primaries can’t be found on the internet.  You would have to be born before 1965 to have voted in a Greenburgh election where Feiner was not on the ballot or holding office.  

While this record is astounding, Feiner, however, has not always been successful.  The few times his ambition stretched beyond Greenburgh’s borders did not go well:  according to https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=2036, Feiner ran for Congress (twice) and the NY state senate (once).  These forays for higher office, however, came during even- numbered years, allowing Feiner to retain elected positions in Greenburgh.  

If my counting is right, Feiner is in his 23^rd campaign for elected office.  Many of those years Feiner was unopposed, both in Democratic primaries and general elections, but even I can’t figure out how many nights he has stayed up waiting for primary or general election results – a dozen, two dozen nights, more?   He has prevailed by wide margins in his most recent challenges:  winning 68% against Independent Lucas Cioffi from Edgemont in the 2019 general election, taking 64% in the 2013 Democratic primary challenge from Bob Bernstein, and 67% in the 2007 Democratic primary challenge from Suzanne Berger.  It has been sixteen years since Feiner faced a nail-biter when his political life flashed before his eyes as he squeaked by Hartsdale’s Bill Greenawalt in 2005 with barely 52%.    

It is safe to say that Feiner has 100% name recognition among Greenburgh voters.  It’s also very likely that the large majority of voters have had a personal interaction with the perpetually accessible problem solver. 

A challenger and change in the Democratic Party  

Tasha Young is challenging Feiner in the June 2021 Democratic primary.  While Young grew up in Greenburgh and has a background in the New York City council, this is Young's first campaign for elected office.  In light of Feiner’s history, Young’s bid for Greenburgh’s supervisor may appear quixotic or even hopeless.   But Young can find inspiration - and Feiner reasons for concern - in the 2020 Democratic Party primaries.

  

These results show that something different happened in the June 2020 Democratic primaries.   First time candidate Mimi Rocah crushed incumbent Anthony Scarpino Jr. in her run for Westchester District Attorney and did exceptionally well in Greenburgh, outperforming her countywide total of 72%.  In the southern-third of Greenburgh that lies in the 16th Congressional district, political novice Jamaal Bowman upset Elliot Engel who hadn't lost an election in his 43 year political career.  Within Greenburgh, Bowman took 68% of the primary vote in Hastings, while narrowly losing Ardsley and Edgemont.  In the 17th Congressional district, thirty-two year old newcomer Mondaire Jones easily prevailed over a raft of opponents who included state legislators David Buchwald and David Carlucci, foreign affairs veteran and cable-TV pundit Evelyn Farkas, and highly self-financed Regeneron-heir Adam Schleifer.   Only Tom Abinanti, who has been running for office in and around Greenburgh as long as Feiner, defied this trend by pushing back the unexpectedly strong challenge from Irvington's Jen Williams, another first time candidate, to hold onto his state assembly seat.  

On the face of these recent examples, Feiner has to hope that he resembles Tom Abinanti and not Elliot Engel or Tony Scarpino.  Tasha Young, on the other hand, can find inspiration in the recent success of Mimi Rocah, Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones in upsetting incumbents and opponents who entered the 2020 campaign with much greater name recognition.   

While Young can certainly find reassurance in the 2020 Democratic primary results, she should not get overconfident.  The June 2020 primary was singular for many reasons and it is not imaginable that the turnout for the 2021 town supervisor's race will  approach the 14,000+ Greenburgh voters who came out for the 2020 District Attorney and state assembly contests.  

Next: I'll look at turnout trends - and offer some guesses for their implications for this race.