They don’t call politics a contact sport for nothing. Dylan Skriloff over at the Rockland County Times takes no prisoners when reporting a story. Skriloff’s journalistic stock is rising as a source of breaking news and inside information. The young editor and associate publisher of the Rockland Times has just landed a new radio gig as host of the Thursday edition of WRCR 1300 AM’s show — the Raymour & Flanigan Community News Hour.
Skriloff’s first show is February 7.
Skriloff broke the news on the “SpyText” story of Suffern Mayor Dagan Lacorte (D), who shot himself in the foot with some Rockland County Executive campaign tomfoolery last week. Other news outlets such as LoHud and New York Newsday reported on the incident as well and the story bounced around the Twittersphere.
In an effort to get actionable information on his fellow RCE candidate, former County Legislator and Spring Valley Justice David Fried (D), Lacorte banged out a text to his campaign manager Cristobal Slobodzian but then sent the darn thing to Judge Fried instead. Results: Dagan – lose. David – win. Or rather win-win, as each received a lot of press.
Lacorte’s campaign reported that the mayor personally called David Fried to apologize about the text and further addressed the matter Thursday evening at a previously scheduled house party in support of his campaign in New City. Lacorte stood before the hometown audience and publicly, and metaphorically speaking, ate crow.
“I want to address a significant error I made this weekend. I wrote a text to my campaign manager asking him to approach one of my opponents, David Fried, and record his responses to questions about his stance on marriage equality and the proposed United Water desalination plant. I also told him not to identify himself as my Campaign Manager when asking these questions,” said Lacorte in a statement on Thursday night, as reported by Dave Zornow at Nyack News.
“He was rightfully shocked and disappointed in what I wrote. And so am I,” said Lacorte. “I made a mistake and I take responsibility for it. I violated my own standards of conduct and compromised the issues based campaign I aspire to lead. There is no excuse, explanation or justification, and I’m very sorry.”
Rockland County Republican Party Chairman Vincent Reda called for Lacorte to end his campaign effort. Of course, that would certainly help the lone Republican in the arena – Ed Day. Reda’s response might itself be overreaction.
As any sixteen year old will tell you, texts are typically abbreviated language. It’s essentially like reading tea leaves to take a text message related to a candidate’s aggressive on-the-fly reconnaissance effort and blow it up into a fundamental example of character. At least Lacorte is technologically media savvy.
LoHud writer Laura Incalcaterra reported that Fried “understood how someone could make a mistake and send a text to the wrong person” and that Fried was not calling for Lacorte to drop out of the race.
“My issue is with the essence and tone of the message,” Fried said, suggesting that Lacorte was, well, trying to get ahead.
Which of Lacorte’s transgressions is worse — giving text talk campaign instructions and then sending them to your opponent or misspelling the word marriage?
Lacorte has gotten out of the gate fast, recently reporting a $375,000 campaign fundraising haul. The Suffern Mayor is young but demonstrates a veteran’s touch as a campaigner, using both Facebook and Twitter as advanced communication tools. Lacorte was most recently in Sloatsburg when he attended the Sloatsburg Senior Center holiday party, where he briefly spoke.
This SpyText incident could prove to be just a Rt. 17 pothole, where you bang and bounce and move right along. Or may have lasting consequences, like a drive up and down Council Crest Road in Pine Grove Lakes.
The Rockland County Executive field is filled with candidates right now as the county continues to sink into a financial quagmire. There are four clear RCE candidates: Ed Day (R) and current Rockland County Legislator, David Fried (D), Dagan Lacorte (D), and Ilan Schoenberger (D), who has spent 17 years as a Rockland County Legislator. All of the candidates must collect signatures and officially file to run.
The Democrats look like they might be heading for a primary this spring. Unless, of course, one of them commits a bigger political sin than an errant text message.
Photos courtesy of Rockland County Times and Solutions2013.
This article was updated on Friday, January 25.
