An enthusiastic group of forty Democrats (and one self-identified Republican) gathered at the Pine Plains Community Center on Saturday, July 26, to meet Dutchess County Comptroller Dan Aymar-Blair and the five County Legislature candidates whose districts include all or parts of the nine municipalities that make up the NDD—Eric Alexander (Millbrook), Emma Arnoff (Pleasant Valley), Chris Drago (Stanford), Brennan Kearney (Rhinebeck), and Tricia Prunty (Poughkeepsie).

Moderator Anthony Sarnicola set the tone for the event in his stirring introduction, stressing that this year Dutchess Democrats have a rare opportunity to make major changes in county government by electing a Democratic majority in the County Legislature. Democrats currently hold ten seats in the County Legislature; thirteen seats constitute a majority and are well within reach.

Aymar-Blair spoke eloquently about the importance of establishing a collegial working relationship between the Comptroller’s office and the County Legislature. He pointed out that he regularly meets with the Democratic caucus but that Republicans have not taken him up on his invitation to meet with them. He also sketched out his accomplishments in the first six months of his term, including eliminating $45 million in waste.

Following Aymar-Blair each of the five legislature candidates spoke about his or her individual agendas. Kearney made an impassioned plea for increasing county support for Dutchess Community College to keep it viable and affordable for students. Drago spoke about the lack of county-wide planning in the Republican-dominated legislature and welcomed the “invaluable partnership” between the Democrats in the legislature and the county comptroller. Arnoff focused on her work in mental health and affordable housing. Prunty emphasized waste in county government and the county’s responsibility to spend money ethically and wisely. And Alexander decried the lack of imagination on the part of county government and the Republican focus on “broadsides and billboards” instead of creativity and hard work.

Although the candidates approached the question from different perspectives and interests, they shared a common concern. How can we motivate Democrats to turn out in the upcoming election? The consensus of the candidates (and the attendees) was that 2025 is a watershed election in Dutchess County, and that a strong Democratic turnout is critical to implementing the County Democrats’ five-year plan to expand our footprint in county government.