After much speculation, Rockland County Legislators Ed Day and Ilan Schoenberger confirmed they are seeking the post of county executive. Both had indicated previously they were considering entering the race. Schoenberger said C. Scott Vanderhoef’s decision not to run for another term as county executive accelerated the timeline.
“I was really putting off making a decision till January, February, March of next year,” said Schoenberger.
Day said he was originally planning to speak about his intentions at a fundraiser scheduled for Nov. 14, which was postponed because of Hurricane Sandy until Dec. 11.
Both said they have received considerable support from throughout the county already.
“We do have a large group of people already organized,” said Day. “We have a full county committee of 30 to 35. These are members of the community whether civic associations or business groups.”
Day (R-NewCity/Pomona), explained a bi-partisan group of 150 volunteers from all towns is in place and he expects that number to swell now that his candidacy is official.
Schoenberger (D-Suffern) said his decision was prompted by outreach of residents of all walks of life from throughout the county.
“At the urging of those people I decided I should run,” he said. “I’m working on putting together the campaign committee now.”
Schoenberger and Day plan to formally announce their candidacy at fundraisers next month and to detail their plans for the county’s future.
Day said, “They need to hear what direction that person is going to try to take us. This is truly about the support of the people in the community and what they want to see happen.”
“I would like to rewrite the way county government operates,” said Schoenberger, adding that includes consolidating services and coordinating programs with towns and villages.
Schoenberger’s fundraiser will be held on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the New York County Club. Day’s fundraiser will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at the Nyack Seaport.
