Picking Up From Where I Left Off

It seems funny now, but after documenting the last few weeks of what became a memorable and historic mid-term election I feared I wouldn’t have enough to write about for a post on the second half of my sophomore year…I was wrong.

First of all, I realized that apparently some people do in fact read this blog. My last post got picked up by a few local news outlets and I received some interesting emails from a diverse group of people about my last post.

The first week of my second semester I found myself with the Governor of New York for the third time that month. I had been asked if I would help the Governor’s office when he stops by the Hudson-Valley, and naturally his first stop was at Marist College…poetic really.

I found myself in a familiar place both literally and figuratively once again a camera draped around my neck at my college with a small group of volunteers. We were asked to go around and talk about the type of work we did. When we finished the representative from Cuomo’s office said, “We have over a hundred years of service and helping New Yorkers between us…I think we can get a few people in the doors to see the Governor.”

Working the doors was a lot more fun than I would ever have thought. I was ushering public officials I know and my college friends all in one big group. I often like the idea that I live two very different lives, one is rather political and the other is as a college student. Every now and then it appears I get some cross over. The Governor also sent me a signed letter thanking me for helping out.

I also got to see Assemblyman Marc Molinaro at the event. In my last post, I mentioned that Marc did not accept my Facebook friend request. Naturally within a few hours of that post going up he did accept my friend request. It is no secret that I am a Democrat and I lean to the left. However, I like Marc a lot and I think he has done a great job for his constituents and all of New York for that matter. I certainly don’t agree with Marc on a number of issues, but I think he is right for Dutchess County and will make a great County Executive.

I started work on Jon Sennett’s campaign for District Attorney in Ulster County. I launched his official Facebook page from my dorm room. Although this didn’t count as an official announcement, I have to wonder how many other college students can say they launched a county wide race from their dorm room. In 2007 when Jon first ran, I worked in his office. It was my first real summer job and my first introduction to anything political. I like to point out that I had been promised a job at a local bagel store that fell through and Jon offered me a job in his office. I wonder how different things would be if I worked in the bagel joint…I might have become a bagel prodigy! The world will never know I guess…

I got to attend a press conference held by Chuck Schumer also held on campus. What seemed like a calm and collected semester compared to my fall semester quickly changed in what literally was a matter of minutes…six to be exact.
It was Sunday, February 20^th and it seemed like a normal chilly day. I was appointed by the Student Body President to be elections commissioner for the school year. I guess he felt I knew a thing or two about elections.

This day in February was the deadline for petitions to be turned in to run in Marist’s elections. The deadline was at five and it was no secret that two candidates would be running for student body president and I happened to know both of them. As the deadline approached and the minutes ticked away I had only one candidate’s petitions in hand.

As the deadline drew near myself and other made frantic phone calls and sent text messages to the other candidate to remind him of the fast approaching deadline; then at 5:06 PM in he walked with his petitions and a large smile. The room had quickly filled with people to see if he would get there in time. I did what I was appointed to do. I saw to it that the candidates followed our Student Government Constitution and I didn’t accept his petitions. The deadline had clearly passed and it seemed like a no brainer to me.

The candidate didn’t think it was nearly as simple as I did though. Some felt that he was the more popular candidate. His running mate had been forced to return early from her semester abroad in Egypt due to the revolution (I can’t make this stuff up) and they had received some nice free press in the school paper for this. The candidate claimed his watch had been off, then he said he wasn’t sure what time they were due, and eventually it was because I liked the other candidate more. He felt that I ended the election over six minutes and a lot of his friends agreed. He appealed my decision to Marist’s judicial board which is made up of students. He felt that I had a biased and felt that I had not adequately informed the candidates of the due dates (despite the fact that everyone met the deadline but him). Never once, on that day or the days that followed did he take responsibility for being late.

For the first time in Marist College SGA history the elections were delayed by the administration so the judicial board could review the facts. I ended up meeting with Marist officials and doing interviews with the school paper and the chief justice at Marist College. In one meeting with administrators, I was told that the Marist by-laws made it possible for me to be removed as elections commissioner by the student body president and that he could then reinstate the candidate I had thrown out. I was told that changing my decisions would make the most parties happy. I ended up pointing out that I make tons of decisions that make some people unhappy. That I learned long ago that I need to make decisions because I know they are the right ones not because they will make some people happy. I found the question offensive, and I would be asked it from a multitude of people for days.

The discussions of the elections became a topic in class rooms and made the cover of the schools newspapers for two consecutive weeks. In the end the chief justice felt that there were no grounds for my decision to even go before the judicial board and the decision stood.

In response to the decision a number of my peers threatened to demonstrate at SGA events I would be attending. They called it No Choice No Voice Rallies. These were protests that I believe were meant to emulate the events in Egypt. Personally I felt it was sad to compare protests for Democracy to someone who couldn’t hand in paper work on time but that was just me. Naturally not a single protester showed up to the two planned demonstrations. A handful of students did show up in support of me. They carried signs that read, “We Protest the Protest.” They may not have mobilized in the flesh but they did turn to the internet. I got to read some not so flattering things about me on a blog or two, got a few threats, and a number of people changed their profile pictures to this lovely graphic…(I liked the graphic idea…but we will come back to that)Traditionally I have kept this blog positive and this story may not sound very positive. In fact some reading this may not think six minutes was worth it. I realize for someone my age, I have been asked to make a lot of tough decisions. Some of my choices have been chastised, applauded, made a paper or two, and even the local news. Yet, this was one of the most meaningful. Never before had there been so much social and personal pressure on a decision I made. I have felt that people may not agree with the things I say behind a board table but they sure respect it. I didn’t feel that this time around and it felt different when the people who were upset were-for once-all my age.

You see in this instance I had to take everything I had learned after May 19, 2009. The things I have written about on this blog as well as the things I choose not to write about and everything in between. I realize that this choice didn’t make the papers or the local news as some of my other endeavors have but it was a true test of everything I had learned and I’m damn proud of the choice I made. The right thing isn’t always the easy thing. It’s about as cliché of a phrase as you can get, it was nice to see that I could live it and in the end become stronger for it.

During that debacle I set up a forum that to my understanding has never been undertaken by a school district. I based it off a forum I went to in Garrison. Myself and a fellow school board member got Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, SUNY New Paltz’s Gerald Benjamin and Frank Mauro from the Fiscal Policy Institute to talk about the pros and cons about a bill sponsored by Kevin Cahill that would move the funding of schools from property tax to an income tax. Then we opened the discussion to the nearly one-hundred fifty people who came. It ended up making the cover of the New Paltz Times. It was sort of funny that I made the cover of two papers that represented two very different parts of my life at nearly the same time for two very different things.

I also got to lend a hand in the Mayor’s race in the Village of New Paltz. My friend Jason West ran for the seat that he held from 2003-2007. I will never forget when I ran for school board as a senior in high school I got a lot of media attention and the question I would always get asked was, “Are you the next Jason West…” It honestly annoyed me and without even knowing Jason then, I almost resented him just because of it. I just answered that I was more interested in being the first Daniel Torres then the next Jason West. The first time I met Jason was my election day which seemed so poetic. He was covered in paint and pulled me aside to talk about what it means to be a young elected official. Interestingly enough I have found that I ended up using a lot of the advice that Jason gave me that day. I got to retell that story for the first time at Jason’s kickoff fundraiser too.

I spent a good part of Election Day working the phones. The day before someone sent out a cowardly attack mailing asking people to “Vote Against Jason West.” The mailer came with too little time for Jason to respond to what were lies and it had no return address. I often like to take the unique experiences I have and use what I learn in other parts of my life. I felt that the whole No Choice No Voice thing spread quickly and was an effective campaign in some ways. I really liked how they created a graphic and tagged their friends in it. This spread the news like wild fire. So I decided that we should do the same thing in this campaign…and we did with this logo!In the end the voters of New Paltz responded to Jason’s many door knocks, his social networking outreach, and even an attack ad by electing Jason West and asking him to complete many of the jobs he started during his first term.
I got a chance to see Congressman Hinchey without my camera for the first time. I got to be a part of a panel discussion on what Congress could do for public schools. The panel was made up of ten or so Superintendents from schools all around the Hudson-Valley. I filled in for my Superintendent who couldn’t make it. It was a bit funny seeing some of the faces as I sat down at a table with people who all had more years in education then I have been alive…I have started to get used to seeing those type of faces though. After a great meeting with the Congressman I got to head down to New York City’s Town Hall to see President Barack Obama announce he is running for re-election.

I sat in line for well over an hour. The band The Roots opened for the President and they set the stage for what was a very exciting night. The President came on stage only hours after releasing his birth certificate. It is amazing to think that this is the second time I have seem President Obama and the second US President I saw during my sophomore year. This event was far different then the other times. The President responded to hecklers, addressed frustrations, and even pointed to a sign that had the famous Sheppard Fairy picture of him and responded, “That picture was never me…” Four days later the country felt a real jolt of Patriotism as the President announced that we had finally gotten Osama Bin Laden.

In the end the last six months were exciting and stressful; what college should be I suppose. I had the chance to learn a lot and use some of the skills I have learned both in and out of the classroom. It has been just over a week since my sophomore year ended and in that time I started work, passed a school budget, attended two graduations, saw Chuck Schumer, knocked on some doors with Jon Sennett, traveled to the city for work, and attended a few fundraisers in between. In many ways the school year ended just where it started. My sophomore year began with a surprise appearance by Pete Seeger at Marist and a number of elected officials joining him in singing This Land is Your Land and it ended with a surprise visit by Chuck Schumer at Marist. I began my summer by seeing President Obama at West Point and I started it again this year by seeing him in New York City. I guess I am just picking up from where I left off; and if history continues to repeat itself then I think it is safe to say I will have an exciting summer and maybe a few more stories to write about along the way.

Midterm Elections and Midterm Exams

There I stood, the first day of 2011. It was around noon and relatively quiet with the exception of the occasional sound of clapping that echoed down the hall and cut the silence in two. As I had so many times during the last few months I had my camera around my neck and I was ready for the unpredictable. After a few moments I was lead with a crew of media down the Capitols hall’s to see the new Governor himself Andrew Cuomo.

It isn’t how I envisioned spending the day after New Years but I was more than happy to take it. A few hours earlier I had been sent to the wrong room and got to be the only man not in uniform to witness Governor David Paterson entering the Capitol as Governor for the last time. Moments later Mario Cuomo came through the door and finally Andrew Cuomo came in holding a briefcase for his first day of work.

For as exciting as that all was a lot went on in the year before I got to that point and since I last wrote a blog post. I witnessed many amazing things in the last few months and I was blessed to be accompanied by my camera for most of it.

What feels like a lifetime ago, way back in May, I delivered a speech at the Ulster County Democratic Convention. That night really kicked off what would become a memorable election cycle. I realize now that as I walked to that stage I truly had no clue as to all that would happen in the next few months. Considering I hadn’t known I was going to be speaking until a few hours prior. Over the next few months I had some incredible experiences that usually came up with little to no notice, things I never thought I would get to do or see and I enjoyed it all.


Like when I ended up outside the DEC only a few weeks after the Convention to give another speech on the issue of hydrofracking or fracking. I had been asked only two days before if I would and could do it. For those who may not know fracking is a technique used to remove natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. The problem is the chemicals that are pumped into the ground don’t have to be disclosed; which is known as the Halliburton Loophole (thanks Dick Cheney). There have been a number of cases where these chemicals have leaked into the watershed and poisoned the water. If this at all seems scary to you get ready for this one. They also want to do it in New York! For more information I suggest checking out the Josh Fox film Gasland.



I got to run a table at the Clearwater Festival about fracking. My favorite memory of that day came when I went for a walk and accidently walked into a ceremony called “The Blessing of the River.” I stood behind the Native American chanters and spotted the one and only Pete Seeger. It was such a gift to see this man at ninety plus still humbly doing what he loves.

I spent the next few months working on Maurice Hinchey and Elliott Auerbach’s campaigns. I learned an immense amount about my community and my country working with both. One of my favorite moments with Elliott was at the simplest of all events. It took place up in the Woodstock Community Center one hot summer night. Elliott was fielding questions from a group of people who really only could assemble in a place like Woodstock. The questions often had nothing to do with Elliott’s position as the County Comptroller, yet he was able to handle each question with ease.

Although I had been to dozens of events with Elliott and heard relatively similar messages over and over I found myself learning a lot at this event. I was amazed at all the social programs the County had for the poor and for the hungry. In a political season that was marked with so much cynicism it was a great reminder to hear all the good that government does do for people.

Going to events with my Congressman felt like a completely different ballgame. I was watching the Country politically change and it was clear that not even New York’s 22nd Congressional District was spared. It was a shift that few of us could have really imagined. I have always been blown away at how much Maurice means to the community. From the County Fair to simple fundraisers, it amazes me to see how many people have a story about Maurice. I witnessed a parent thank Maurice for helping their son get into West Point. I saw a man literally stop the bus he was driving in another Congressional district to thank Maurice for all he has done, and this all transpired in the middle of a street.

One of my favorite events with Maurice happened about a week before I started my sophomore year at Marist College and interestingly enough it happened at Marist. The college was hosting an event called “The American Great Outdoors.” It was an open forum for federal officials to tell regular citizens about some of the things the government is doing to help farmers and other local producers. Only a few places in the country were selected to host these events and the Hudson Valley was one.

It was also a bit controversial at the time as it was one of the first public events for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack who had just made a controversial firing. We were piled into a private dining hall. I had found out about the event the day before so I was shocked to see some of the people I was now in a small room with. I was taking pictures of Assemblyman Marc Molinaro, Congressman John Hall, Tom Vilsack, and a number of other Obama cabinet members. At one point a man stepped in front of me while I was taking photos which seriously annoyed me. I think he may have noticed and he turned to introduce himself. Before he could tell me his name and put out his hand I noticed the pin that read “U.S. House of Representatives.” I failed to recognize that the man was in fact Congressman Paul Tonko. That was not one of my prouder moments but it certainly is an amusing one.
Due to Vilsack’s recent actions we had Secret Service for the day as well. The Secret Service cleared the room and asked everyone but the government officials to take their seats. I sat in the second row and witnessed one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It felt like a scene straight out of the hit show Glee. Secret Service members lined the front of stage and three people who looked about my age walked to the stage and started to sing. They sang This Land Is Your Land and asked the crowd to sing along. No one joined in and it was a bit awkward at first. Then I saw a flashbulb go off down at the other side of the row I was sitting in and there I saw one man singing along. It was again folk legend Pete Seeger!

He had shown up unannounced and the crowd of a few hundred started to sing along. Then in the middle of a verse the Congressman walked on stage and started to sing along. This of course included John Hall who had once been the lead singer of the group The Orleans (for those who may not know). Once that happened the whole place broke out into spontaneous song. As quickly as it started it ended. I sat in my seat and realized I just saw Obama cabinet members, a former Governor, Congressman, a rock star, Pete Seeger, and a small crowd, sing together an American folk classic. To say it was a moment that gave me goosebumps doesn’t seem to give it the full credit it deserves.

Sometimes the most amazing things in events like these are the unexpected or the moments you take for granted. I met a lot of amazing people over those months. I got to photograph and talk to so many people from so many different walks of life. I saw everyone from Democrat House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to hundreds of regular everyday citizens at the County Fair. Out of each instance, I felt I learned something new and interesting even if I didn’t necessarily agree with the person I was talking to.

I got to co-organize an event for then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The most exciting aspect about the event was that it was in New Paltz. One of the best parts was simply bringing the future Governor to my home essentially. I like even more that the event was put on by me and my friend Ashley Dittus. We are both very young and it was great getting to throw an event for the “adults.” I also got a pretty good hand from the home crowd when my name was announced with the other elected officials. In fact it was loud enough that the Attorney General who was sitting right in front of me turned, looked at me, and simply smiled.

Cuomo left behind a small foot stand from the event. It was old and broken with tape on it. I was a bit surprised that someone who was running for Governor couldn’t get something a bit nicer. I received calls for about a week asking for the stand. Each time the campaign wanted me to drive an exuberant amount to return the stand. I sort of wondered if it had some kind of sentimental value as the thing itself was a piece of garbage. Finally a poor intern drove up from the city to retrieve it. I noticed that there was writing scribbled on the bottom, most of which I couldn’t read. However, there was one thing clearly legible, two letters, “DT” not sure how that got there…

Going back to school and working on campaigns was not as easy as I first thought it would be. At times it worked out well. In my Political Communication class we had to keep a blog and write about a political thing of our choosing. I have a feeling that my posts may have been just a tad bit more exciting than my other classmates.

There was a bit of a struggle between midterms and Midterm Elections. In fact I did a lot of balancing during midterm week. When I had envisioned the week I knew I would be taking pictures at a debate in Saugerties and at an event at SUNY New Paltz. However, I ended up doing a lot more than that.

That Monday I had one of the most amazing moments of the campaign season. I found myself sitting in a Holiday Inn hours away from campus in Binghamton. I stood in an empty room leaning up against a protective barricade only a few feet away from the stage. The stage had a large American flag draped behind it. In a few seconds I knew hundreds of people would flood the room to see the forty second President of the United States, Bill Clinton.
Yet, I stood there and all I could do was think and wonder how I even ended up here. While my friends were back on campus, doing who knows what, I found myself waiting for a former President of the United States in what had clearly become at this point one of the most heated election cycles this country has seen in a long time. Campaigns become so fast moving, we always talk about the next event, raising more money, responding to this, or wondering what the other guy is doing that I think we rarely get to stop and take it all in. It seems odd that I was able to do just that, right when I knew this campaign was about to climax. I guess for me sitting and waiting for the President was really the eye of the storm for the moment. I think Clinton put it best when he said, “There is nothing wrong with this country that can’t be fixed by what’s right with it.”

The next day I found myself at SUNY New Paltz taking picture of Maurice in a tad bit less exciting setting, but one no less important. I was told moments before I left that Carl Paladino was about to make a stop in New Paltz. I knew I couldn’t miss this one and I ran right over to the site. I was one of the first people there and I was still dressed up from the previous event. Apparently wearing a dress shirt and dress pants makes you look like a Republican. Enough so that I was told by his staff when and exactly where he would be coming, they even told me with enough time to text my friends in Kingston as they got ready to stage a protest. You see Paladino had just made controversial remarks at a synagogue in the city and decided that his next campaign stop should be in a liberal area. One could be shocked by this move, but after the disastrous campaign he ran I can’t say that I am.

The next day I found myself in another Holiday Inn. The room was only a fraction of the size though. The room was filled with Republicans to hear Ed Koch speak about Maurice Hinchey’s opponent and why he is supporting him. I came in to the event feeling uncomfortable. A few hours earlier I had just been told that the Karl Rove group was going to spend nearly half a million dollars in an attempt to take out Maurice. I went back to campus and ran into State Senator Steve Saland at the Marist College Republicans meeting. He asked if anyone had a question and my hand shot up first.

At the time I wondered if he remembered that only a few weeks earlier I had been called on at an event he was moderating on the Hudson Estuary Program. Luckily for me, this event was also held at Marist College and conveniently after I got out of my final class for the day. I ended up slamming him and other State lawmakers for cuts in education and increases in unfunded mandates. Right before I spoke it was announced that there would be no applause allowed. As Marc Molinaro put it, “We are like a family here and when people tell stories at a dinner table you don’t applaud.” After I finished a man said, “I am sorry but I have to clap for that…”I left to a large ovation and I think I even saw Assemblyman Molinaro crack a smile. Although, he didn’t accept my Facebook friend request so who knows…I still like him anyway though. With all of that Saland called on me and I got to ask him about New York’s Race to the Top Program. I don’t think he was expecting a real question and he asked if I knew what a charter school was, when I said yes, he decided to spend the next ten minutes talking about charter schools and never answered the question.
There are certainly many disadvantages to being young and involved in politics. Every now and then though it does have its advantages and I try to take advantage of them when I can. I knew no one would know my political involvement at ether of the events Saland was at. I choose to wear a t-shirt and jeans to both events. I like creating the illusion that I am a regular kid who maybe is sitting at this event for class credit and then coming out with a hard unexpected question.

After a less then memorable debate in Saugerties it was clear that for the first time in years Maurice was going to have his first real challenge. I couldn’t help but wonder if we were having trouble here, what is must be like in other places around the country. For me it all turned around the weekend before the election. I was in Poughkeepsie with Maurice who was scheduled to address a group of volunteers. Before the event started I saw Maurice walk out and start to talk to people on the street. He didn’t know I could see him and yet there he was by himself with no camera, no staff, just himself, listening to there concerns, answering there questions, and telling them why they needed to send him back to Congress. He was simply asking people what was on their mind. I could see in his face that he also really cared what they had to say as well.

As volunteers started to fill the room I heard them talk about what it would mean if Maurice didn’t go back Washington. I heard one woman talk about her neighbor and how her life would be negatively impacted if some of the social programs Maurice had fought years for would suddenly disappear. I think sometimes campaigns become a war of words. I had someone once tell me politics was simply “gentleman war.” Moments like that remind you though that there is an importance behind the rhetoric. It seemed only fitting that while I sat there thinking about this Jon Stewart was telling it to hundreds of thousands of people in Washington that very day.

It seemed that I never was able to tell anyone exactly what my weekend plans were. They always seemed to change on a fly. The best example of this is when I had planned on going to a Marist football game until I woke up with a text message asking if I wanted to come to Saugerties to help walk around then State Senator Eric Schneiderman. Now our Attorney General, I felt then and I do know that he is by far one of the most exciting people to run for state wide office in New York in a long time. I first got to meet him when he spoke at the County Convention. I fell in love with his progressive politics then and I am so thrilled that he was elected. Even more impressive is that I can now say I spoke at an event with Eric Schneiderman…sort of.

One weekend I got to help throw an event for United State Senator Chuck Schumer at Marist College. The gathering was for students and community members before Schumer went into what was the only debate he partook. A good number of citizens and candidates showed up. Congressman Hall even came and spoke. He read off of a note card and seemed scared. I don’t even recall what he said. My biggest memory of that moment was turning to Jon Sennett who stood next to me and pointing out how fitting it was that the sun was setting right behind him, both physically and metaphorically.

For as stressful as those months were there was also so much fun that went on. I won tickets to see the band OneRepublic on the Today Show, saw Jakob Dylan, hung out with friends, and took some great classes and some not so great classes, I even got interviewed by WWE on the Midterm Election...go figure. One of the best moments was going up to Woodstock and seeing the Levon Helm Band. I will never forget watching seventy plus year old Levon perform the best show I have ever seen and end with his hit The Weight.

All my work would have felt like wasted time if it did not work out at the polls. Voting was very different this time around and not just because they changed the machines. As I filled in the bubbles I realized I had partaken in the democratic process in ways that went so beyond my one vote. I knew the country was going through a real shift and that the night probably wouldn’t end well nationally, but I did know I could go to sleep that night having done everything I could. I didn’t just sit down and let the twenty four hour news cycle take me in. I got up and did something I believed in, and I knew no matter what the results showed I personally had done my job.

I sat and waited with a few hundred people for the election results to come in. We watched the country slowly become red. In fact every neighboring Congressional district around us became red! The power had gone out in Broome County, the Ulster numbers were closer then they had been in years, and the Sullivan County website wasn’t updating the results. Finally we got the numbers in from Tompkins County. Maurice ended up taking around 80% of the vote. Anyway a single news outlet had yet to call it; Maurice came out and made his victory speech in what turned out to be one of the closest elections in his political life. He thanked everyone and immediately talked about the colleagues he had lost and the challenges that lay ahead for him and the new Congress.

As I sit here in a brand new year I once again realize I live a rather unique life. I guess I am not your average college sophomore, school board member, photographer, and sort of political consultant, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. In the end I get to live two very different lives, and I can’t tell you which one I necessarily like more. I can only hope that 2011 will be at least as exciting as its predecessor. For the time being I have enjoyed the wild ride and I appreciate getting to learn so much more than just the sixteen credits a semester I take.