There’s only two problems with that: nobody knows how reapportionment will play out and Hinchey, 73 with health issues, hasn’t formally announced his intentions. I’m guessing that with the prospects of a new, unfamiliar district and a generous (full pay) federal pension looming, Hinchey is already half-way out the door. But who knows?
Engel, a former federal prosecutor, told a recent meeting of the county Republican Committee that he’s prepared to raise “twice” what Hinchey raises, upwards of $2 million. So far, he said he’s secured $100,000 from contributors and has loaned his campaign another hundred grand. In the high-stakes game of congressional politics, they call that seed money.
Waiting in the wings watching all this is two-time Hinchey punching bag, the chronically under-funded George Phillips of Broome County. The pro-life school teacher got to within 10,000 votes in 2010 only to be buried in a late avalanche of Hinchey negative advertising.
Hinchey’s less-than-impressive showing last time will no doubt result in his district being again targeted by Washington Republican strategists. The wolves are circling.
Signs of age
I’m starting to do weird things in my dotage, like going shopping at 4 a.m. on Black Friday (couldn’t sleep) and attending a Chamber of Commerce mixer in Saugerties in heavy rain and fog.
Curiosity got the cat in both cases. I always wondered what Black Friday was like. Now I know. At JC Penney’s one frantic woman was dragging her teenage daughters through the pre-dawn mob of frantic shoppers.
“But there’s no room in the car for us, Mommy,” one wailed. “Shut up and sit on top of the packages,” she snarled. “Next year I’m renting a U-Haul.”
The unofficial “grand opening” of the Diamond Mills hotel and convention center in Saugerties last week was a must see, and not just for nosey reporters. Chamber of Commerce President Ward Todd said 500 people attended, in frightful weather.
I think Diamond Mills, sometimes called “Hotel Mo” for the congressman’s former partnership in the project, looks better from the inside. From the road, it strikes me as some kind of late Victorian fortress. Inside is awesome, the biggest gathering space in Ulster County.
Do not miss the Esopus Falls to the rear of the building, even if it’s disgusting, muddy water plunging into the gorge. County Executive Hein says he’s going to try to do something about this prolonged murky water situation, the worst anybody can remember. I’ll believe it when I can stick my toe into a pristine Esopus again.
