City Council candidate Marion Anderson is running a partially separate campaign from the rest of her Democratic running mates, but party leaders say the ticket is fully aligned and the arrangement is strictly financial.
Anderson, 69, has chosen to have the Rye Democratic Committee manage her campaign efforts, breaking from the rest of the slate, which is being led by campaign manager Harry Brussel. She made the decision in May because of her busy work schedule, she said, running the White Plains-based nonprofit Heartsong, which provides creative arts therapies for people with disabilities.
She announced her political run in February alongside running mates James Ward, a council member, and Amy Kesavan. Councilman Josh Nathan is heading the Democratic ticket as its mayoral candidate. But Anderson has since launched her own campaign website, explaining that she prefers the unorthodox structure because it allows her to manage her campaign on her time.
Anderson said there is no conflict on the ticket, telling The Record that the slate is “pretty much simpatico” and aligned on policies.
“We all really pretty much share information,” she said. “In concept, we have it all … I’m just getting things done differently than they are, but we all meet and talk and share things.”
Yet, there was no mention of Anderson on the slate’s campaign website when The Record spoke with her on Sept. 3. Her name, headshot, and bio, however, soon appeared on the site. Internet archives also show that Anderson had not appeared on the Dems’ campaign website since it launched in May.
Rye City Democratic Committee Chairwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein admitted it is a “unique” and “different” arrangement, but said Anderson is a “one-woman show” as a business owner so the committee is helping take a lot of the burden of the campaign off her plate. She doesn’t have to worry about setting up a bank account or paying for a campaign manager or treasurer.
“Honestly, it’s a finance issue that separates the four of them,” Tagger-Epstein said about the candidates. “It’s strictly finance.”
Anderson is also a longtime Democratic district leader who has close ties to the committee, according to Tagger-Epstein.
Despite the arrangement, Tagger-Epstein said all four candidates believe in “the same vision for Rye” and the committee is working to elect the entire slate.
Anderson, a lifelong Rye resident, added that she is collaborating on key campaign activities and participating in joint efforts, including fundraising. She pointed to a Rye Democrats fundraiser this month that the entire slate attended as well as another event planned for Sept. 25.
There was, however, at least one fundraiser over the summer that Anderson was not involved in.
Nathan said the partially separate campaign was “completely irrelevant,” adding that Anderson had concerns about how the slate’s fundraising would work and decided it would be easier to raise funds directly through the committee. He reiterated that she’s aligned with the rest of the candidates.
“We formed a committee, she said, ‘I’ll raise money through the party.’ We said ‘fine,’ and that was the end of it,” Nathan said. “It’s really nothing to it.”
Mayoral candidate Bill Henderson, a current councilman, sits atop the Republican ticket, which has a big fundraising lead after the state Board of Elections Oct. 3 filing deadline. He is joined by James Fee, Robin Jovanovich, and Maria Shuck.
The general election takes place Nov. 4, with early voting beginning on Oct. 25.
