Campaign wordplay on a sunny day

Wappinger Supervisor Joe Ruggiero got the endorsement today of the Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council in his race for Dutchess County executive.

That's not entirely surprising given that labor traditionally is a Democratic constituency, and Ruggiero is a Democrat, though Council President Todd Diorio also said County Executive Bill Steinhaus, a Republican, hadn't attended union meetings or candidate interviews when asked.

As Diorio gave his brief speech, I followed along on his press release and was amused by this misspelling of the county executive's name: "Steinhouse."

I certainly don't bring this up to mock Diorio or his affiliated unions – more to highlight the idiosyncracies, for lack of a better term, between written and oral communication. (I'm hardly one to criticize someone's spelling, as I clutch my Webster's New World Dictionary like a security blanket.)

Perhaps a more relevant observation – though only slightly more relevant – was the way Ruggiero described Steinhaus in accepting the endorsement. As with many political candidates, he dispensed with the proper name altogether for the impersonal "my opponent."

Bill vs. Joe in November

It sounds like the past week has been eventful in county politics, with a Republican convention and slates coming together for county-wide elections this fall.

I guess I have some catching up to do. For now, here's some low-hanging fruit to pick. Wappinger Supervisor Joe Ruggiero, a Democrat, announced today he will challenge County Executive Bill Steinhaus, a Republican. This should be an interesting election.

Rail trails and campaign dollars

Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus was a key participant in a workshop Tuesday on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, which was the basis of a story in today's Journal. Another key participant in the workshop was Clough Harbour & Associates, the design firm that is working on the rail trail for the county.

Straw Poll footnote: Clough Harbour also is a contributor to Steinhaus' campaign committee – at least $2,000, according to online records maintained by the State Elections Board.

Is this notable? Maybe. Maybe not.

Clough Harbour, after all, has spread thousands of dollars in campaign cash all over New York's political landscape. Eliot Spitzer's successful campaign for governor last year benefited from the firm's donations. So did John Bonacic, the Republican state senator from Orange County.

As for Steinhaus, he hasn't limited his corporate donor pool to Clough Harbour, either. His January campaign finance disclosure includes the names of a major developer (Ginsburg), a fitness center chain (Arteaga) and a Hyde Park lab that tests well water (Smith).

This just in, from Wappinger

For all of you on Joe watch, here are a couple tidbits from the Wappinger town supervisor's State of the Town speech tonight that might fuel speculation.

Joe Ruggiero, a Democrat, is considering a run for Dutchess County executive this fall, but he also is considering staying put as Wappinger town supervisor. His hourlong speech, just completed at the Wappinger town hall, was mostly about the town, though he managed to get in a few jabs at incumbent County Executive William Steinhaus, a Republican.

Ruggiero refered to Steinhaus directly, though not by name, in talking about town-level efforts to promote affordable housing. He cited related comments in Steinhaus' State of the County speech earlier this year and described Steinhaus' ideas as unrealistic.

But the more pointed jab came when Ruggiero noted the recent collaboration between Wappinger, Fishkill and East Fishkill on private well-testing laws following Steinhaus' veto in February of a county-wide measure.

"Wappinger will join Fishkill and East Fishkill in protecting our resources, because it is obvious that Dutchess County doesn't care," Ruggiero said, rewriting the theme of Steinhaus' administration, "Dutchess County Government Cares."

Are Steinhaus and Ruggiero rivals? Maybe. (Ruggiero is chairman of the Dutchess County Democratic Committee, after all.) But Ruggiero said after the speech that he still hadn't made any decisions about his political future.

On Joe's mind: town or county?

One of the biggest questions leading up to county-wide elections this year in Dutchess is, who will the Democrats chose as their nominee for county executive?

Lately, the question has become, will they pick Joe Ruggiero?

Ruggiero, the Wappinger town supervisor since 2002, is one of the most prominent Democrats in the county, partly because of his role as chairman of the Dutchess County Democratic Committee. But he isn’t tipping his hand. He said he’s not sure yet if he will pursue the county executive nomination.

“It’s a huge decision, if I decide to do it,” Ruggiero said. “I’m thinking it through.”

You might say he’s taking a page from Barack Obama’s political playbook. Obama, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, fought back speculation last year about a possible candidacy for president in 2008 before finally admitting he was giving it some thought, mostly because so many people had been asking him about it.

Obama, a Democrat, now is a full-fledged candidate for president.

Ruggiero, 37, also has been fielding questions about his political ambitions while trying to tamp down the speculation. He said he doesn’t like what’s going on in county government under the watch of County Executive William Steinhaus, a Republican, but he also enjoys his work in the Town of Wappinger. If he stays put, he would have to run for re-election in November.

Town or county? Time will tell.