NORTH EAST — No longer is the town of North East predominantly Republican, and the same can be said for the whole of Dutchess County, according to Jon Arnason, head of the North East Democratic Party.
“Democratic registrations in Dutchess exceeded Republican registrations for the first time,� he said. “I think what we’re seeing in the county is a shift to the Democrats. I am particularly impressed by the turnout in North East. I am aware that it is always higher than the national turnout, but still, you can’t do much better than we are doing in voter turnout.�
That’s considering numbers showing 75 percent of registered voters in North East made it to the polls on Election Day. The county followed closely with 73.3 percent of registered voters voting on Nov. 4.
The breakdown of party members is interesting. According to Dutchess County Board of Elections numbers from 2007, in the town of North East there were 472 registered Democrats (27.4 percent) versus 700 registered Republicans (40.2 percent), 100 Independents (5.7 percent), 420 NOP (24.2 percent) and roughly 50 others (around 3 percent).
Yet in this year’s elections, despite party enrollment figures, large percentages of North East voters voted Democratic. In fact, 58.6 percent of voters in North East voted for Democrat Barack Obama for president; 63.3 percent voted for Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand for Congress; 58.3 percent voted for Democrat Joan Posner for family court judge; and 41.1 percent voted for Democrat Anne Rubin for state Assembly (who did not win but fared very well).
“It makes me feel great,� Arnason said. “I believe that we can say the Democratic Party in the town of North East has been more active in trying to get the vote out this year than has been the case in previous years, and that will continue and increase. We will [also] focus heavily on getting out the vote efforts in future elections.�
Town Supervisor, County Republican Committee member and North East Republican Committee Chair Dave Sherman said while support for his party remains true, it has suffered somewhat as a result of the national political scene.
“There are obviously some things that have occurred in national politics, and I think what may be occurring in the last election is what’s occurring nationally to some degree, due to the national administration and its unpopularity,� he said. “I think the problem has been the national ticket and the administration and the general polling relative to the favor of the president, and consequently I think it’s been hurtful to the Republican Party label.�
Certainly the role of national politics has an impact on the local scene. According to Arnason, North East made a change following John Kerry’s run for the presidency in 2004.
“I know Kerry carried North East, and I believe that North East has been Democratic since,� he said. “There has also been a change in the demographics in Dutchess County as people move north and as it becomes more of a suburban county, and that is an important fact in the changing of party affiliations.�
Sherman, however, said that often it has more to do with the candidate than with the party.
“I think in the last few years, generally speaking, people in our community have voted for a candidate they felt was best for the job for whatever position was being sought,� he said, adding that the number of people who are not enrolled with any political party is increasing. “Consequently, I think the people are getting further away from voting along party lines of any kind. It’s a matter of both the candidate and the choice of the people who are voting. Myself, I’ve run both as a Republican and as a Democrat in a number of elections.�
This year, however, Arnason said the majority of voters joined together to express their hope for the country’s future through their presidential pick.
“I have never seen a kind of public outpouring of emotions such as the case with Obama’s election. I think first of all he is clearly the most exciting politician in terms of his oratory and in general since Jack Kennedy,� he said. “Second, and this is something — the election of an African-American president is an enormous step forward for us in race relations. Third, this has to do with his enormous appeal, he energized the young people in an extraordinary way, which showed up in the polls.�
Sherman agreed, there was something Obama offered voters that motivated them to pull the levers in his favor.
“I would say for this year, there were a lot of people who felt the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, truly offered a significant change from what we have had to date in the national administration,� he said. “And consequently, people from many parties voted for [Obama and other Democrats] and of course people not enrolled in any party; there was certainly a groundswell in his favor that occurred.�
