Pearl River Attorney Jim Riley Named New Chair; Ramapo & Haverstraw Sit Out Vote In Protest
By Tina Traster
In the lead up to the Rockland County Democratic Committee’s (RCDC) 2026 biennial organization meeting Monday, some delegates expected a contentious dust-up between the party’s two factions.
Instead, a Pearl River attorney James Riley was named Committee Chair without a contest, nor a heated battle. Not because the feuding parties decided to engage in a Kumbaya – rather the Ramapo and Haverstraw committees knew they were outnumbered and decided to protest the vote by staying home.
For years, the RCDC has been fraught with division and disagreement over representation and loyalty. A contentious 2024 meeting that disenfranchised delegates in Clarkstown, Orangetown and Stony Point led to an effort to shore up their committees. The efforts paid off. Representatives from the three towns now comprise the RCDC’s leadership.
“It’s always been about power and patronage,” said one committee member who asked to remain anonymous. “Howie (Phillips) always says if you want to get anything done you have to work with Ramapo.”
The party’s split deepened two years ago after a fight over who was allowed to cast votes. The fight, which landed in court, hinged on whether only committee members who had collected petition signatures to join the committee would be allowed to vote or if members appointed by their towns without petitioning could vote too. The Ramapo-Haverstraw faction sought to bar the appointed members and prevailed in court.
This left a bitter feeling over process as well as priorities.
Several committee members who spoke to RCBJ said Clarkstown, Orangetown and Stony Point’s committees shored up their bases to wrest control from Ramapo and Haverstraw.
“We went behind the scenes, we got everyone petitioned, we worked hard all year long and hoped people would show up,” said the committee member. “And last night they did.”
A week ago, Mona Montal, who chairs the Ramapo committee, called a meeting with all five towns and elected officials to sow unity. The offer on the table was to unite around keeping Lawrence Toole as chair, while giving the rest of the towns more representation on the board.
The triumvirate of towns, tired of feeling neutered, balked.
“There was resistance,” said the committee member. “He’s done a crappy job. Why would we have him come back and do it again?”
They point out that the RCDC has a negative cash balance of $3,356.11, while the Republicans are flush with a reported $242,000 cash on hand, according to its Oct. 1 filing.
Several committee members RCBJ spoke with said Toole has done nothing to unite, promote or further the interests for the party’s Democratic goals. They say the committee was on life support. No regular schedule of meetings was held. The committee had no website, no social media, no fundraising, no real support of candidates.
What’s more, some committee members believe that the powerbrokers of the Ramapo and Haverstraw committees, Mona Montal and Howard Phillips, had steered the RCDC to supporting Republican interests, including the backing of Congressman Mike Lawler of District 17, and President Trump in the 2024 election.
Rather than capitulate, the committees of Clarkstown, Orangetown and Stony Point doubled down, believing the groundwork they had laid would give them the votes they needed.
On Monday, several committee members seemed confident they’d win the day. Some said they thought that Ramapo and Haverstraw absented themselves to deprive the organizational meeting of a needed quorum.
But the three towns had the numbers.
“We have a quorum,” Toole said to applause.
“We have 457 in attendance with proxies,” said Toole, addressing delegates at the Joseph T. St. Lawrence Community Center in Hillburn. Apologizing for the long wait for votes to be taken, he added, “we are spending the time to get things right.”
Toole, who represents the Ramapo-Haverstraw faction, is also the Rockland County Legislative clerk.
“We have full representation from three towns,” he said. “Earlier in the day I was advised by the chairs of two towns that they will not be participating. We are taking actions to ensure the most favorable election outcome for candidates running Nov. 3rd. We want victories on Nov. 3rd.”
But grumbles rippled through the crowd when Toole said the absent town leaders had been making lengthy attempts to foster a Unity Slate “with shared goals for all five towns.”
“There have been lengthy attempts to work collectively for unity, shared goals but they have not been successful,” Toole said. He added that due to the committee’s “divisive tenor,” it was “not an option” to hold a joint convention.
Then Toole announced he was removing himself from the slate. Some in the audience cheered. Ralph Kirshkel of the Haverstraw delegation also withdrew from the slate.
The newly elected slate includes Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, First Vice Chair, County Legislator Beth Davidson, Second Vice Chair, Recording Secretary Patsy Wooters, Corresponding Secretary Nelcy Garcia and Treasurer Paul Franz.
RCDC’s new chair is hopeful that the party can be put together again.
Riley, who jumped into the contest at the eleventh hour, said he tossed his hat in the ring, partly because of what happened in 2024. A lifelong attorney and advocate for civil rights and environmental issues, Riley said the disenfranchisement motivated him and others to “get up and walk and be enthusiastic” to bring equity back to the party.
“I was angry and concerned with ‘bossism,’ but I’m also concerned about getting Cait Conley elected,” said Riley, the day after the election.
Riley, however, believes that his long years of working in the county and forging relationships will be an asset for a road forward to heal the rift between the party factions. He said many in the rank-and-file of Ramapo and Haverstraw align with the rest of the committee’s goals.
“Over the next 30 days, I’m hoping we can begin picking up the pieces. I’d like to see a website within the next couple of weeks.”
Ultimately, Riley said he’s also thinking about forging loftier goals like loyalty and accountability. And fun.
“If the Democrats have fun, we can accomplish excellence,” he said. “We have to make this a joyful experience.”
He’s hoping to bring Ramapo and Haverstraw back to the table.
“If they refuse to participate, they may not want to be Democrats anymore,” he added, wistfully.
