Rich Schaffer, supervisor of the Town of Babylon, has chaired the Suffolk County Democratic Committee for 26 years, mostly unchallenged.
But Southold Town Democratic chair Kathryn Casey Quigley thinks she has a shot at taking down not just Schaffer, but a party system she said isn’t working, during the county party’s convention next Tuesday. Suffolk County Democrats vote for its next leader on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Long Island/Huntington in Melville.
“Nationwide, Democrats are calling for a change,” Casey Quigley said. “They want to see more action and more fight from their party. They want to see new leadership, and I want to be responding to that.”
“I’m trying to pull back the curtain on the inner-workings of interparty politics,” Casey Quigley said. “[And] encourage our elected officials to fight and to really build party infrastructure.”
Casey Quigley said she launched her campaign after witnessing Suffolk Democrats lose seats in the Legislature and Congress, while failing to recruit candidates, running “paper candidates” in potentially competitive seats, and making deals with the Conservative Party to selectively run candidates together.
The deal-making issue came to light when Anthony Portesy, Brookhaven Town Democratic Party chair, left his race for county clerk to take a Conservative Party judgeship, which Casey Quigley claims was a deal to keep incumbent county clerk Vincent Puleo, a Conservative, in power. Portesy did not respond to a request for comment.
“If we want to recruit the best, most capable winning candidates, we have to build the best organization,” Casey Quigley said.
Suffolk County Democratic Committee members are chosen by winning the position within their local election district. With 1,070 election districts across the county, and up to two committee members per district, the Suffolk County Democratic Committee can be as large as 2,140 members. Earlier this year, Casey Quigley said she recruited about 400 new committee members, with 73 of those winning contested primaries in June. Casey Quigley estimated the committee was only 60 percent full before campaigning.
Despite her campaign’s energy, Casey Quigley’s leadership fight won’t be easy. Elected officials including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Suffolk County sheriff Errol Toulon, state attorney general Letitia James, and various town party officials endorsed Schaffer earlier this year.
On Sept. 22, Suffolk Democrats will vote for their chair by rollcall, making them announce their loyalties before every committee member. The lack of anonymous voting, Casey Quigley said, is a disadvantage for her. Casey Quigley said her team has also heard reports of “pressure campaigns” in county offices for committee members to vote for Schaffer.
The election isn’t won by a simple-majority, or plurality vote, though. Like the Electoral College that decides the presidency, votes from more heavily Democratic and populated areas of Suffolk County are weighted more heavily than less-populated and Democratic areas. So, the winning candidate must receive a higher “gubernatorial score,” which can occur even if they receive fewer individual votes, committee members confirmed.
Leigh-Ann Barde, Islip Town Democrats chair, is voting for Schaffer, and said her election district has a large gubernatorial score. Barde said the leadership fight has divided the party county and townwide. While she’s supporting Schaffer, Barde said, “there’s going to be lessons learned on both sides,” with the standard playbook needing to change, while realizing the different needs of residents across the county.
Based on her team’s calculations, Casey Quigley said she believes it will be a tight race. Schaffer’s team disagrees.
“Rich Schaffer has an unmatched record of winning elections in Suffolk County and feels confident that Suffolk Democrats will continue to allow him to do that work,” said Jon Schneider, spokesperson for the Suffolk County Democrats. “That work is not always easy. Suffolk County voted for Donald Trump by 10 points in the 2024 election. But Rich Schaffer understands how to run winning campaigns in Suffolk County, which means communicating with independents and moderate Republicans to form winning coalitions.”
Schneider pointed to Democratic victories in three town races, and a flipped legislature seat on the East End in 2025.
Schneider also denied Schaffer pressuring any county employees to vote for him, or face consequences with their employment, saying that the allegation “sounds like a desperate excuse from someone looking to explain why they’re about to lose.”
Schaffer was not available for an interview.
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