Sager rejects ‘elite’ tag

Local boy aims for Albany

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — Sullivan County Legislator David Sager shook up the local political landscape last week when he announced that he would switch parties and run for the state senate in the fall. The office of Senator John Bonacic, whom Sager will face if he secures the Democratic nomination, linked Sager to New York City “elites” because of his stand on gas drilling issues.

Sager responded to the remark saying, “For now, I want to focus on securing the Democratic nomination; we’re making tremendous progress in reaching out to committee people so they can understand the kind of leadership I can provide.”

Still, he added, “I think it’s a little sad and silly for him to say that. The reality is I’m a Sullivan County resident, born and raised; I grew up racing motorcycles here, I’m raising a family here in the middle of an agricultural community, and I wasn’t born in Hell’s Kitchen.”

Sager does not have the Democratic slot sewn up, though it seems possible he will succeed. Suzan Zimet, a Democratic legislator who ran against Bonacic in 2006, said she would not run again this time. Although, according to the Daily Freeman, Glenn Dannaham, a teaching assistant from Kerhonkson, is also interested in running.

Sager filed to have his party affiliation switched on April 28, but because of the timing, he won’t officially become a Democrat until January 1, 2011. Therefore, he needs the approval of the party leaders of the four county committees in the district in order to get on the ballot. The 42nd state senate district is comprised of all of Delaware and Sullivan and parts of Orange and Ulster counties.

Sager got some good news shortly after his announcement when the Democratic committee chairmen in Delaware County officially endorsed his candidacy, but analysts say the chairs of the other counties may be reluctant to support Sager if an already registered Democrat is also in the race.

Still, some gas-drilling opponents are reacting with enthusiasm to the announcement because of Sager’s stand on drilling. In his remarks he said, “I want to live in a society that has a government that encourages and respects citizens who come forward to say, ‘At what price do we sell out our health, quality of life, and long-term future for industrial degradation that is financially beneficial to only few and potentially lethal to all?’” Sager said that Bonacic is “misguided on the gas drilling issue.… The fact that there is no local control over what amounts to a major industrial activity in a state that traditionally values home rule is of no concern to Senator Bonacic.”

Bonacic’s spokesman Joeann Drake wrote in an email, “Mr. Sager is uninformed regarding Sen. Bonacic’s position on gas exploration. Senator Bonacic believes private property rights and environmental conservation can go together. Senator Bonacic has sought to give localities more power to regulate gas exploration, and introduced legislation to require the DEC do additional analysis on the potential for any damage to water supplies prior to permitting drilling. It is Mr. Sager’s newfound Democratic allies, who are in complete control of state government, who have blocked those reasonable ideas from becoming law.”

Still, Sager is hardly a one-issue candidate. He led the charge, for example, in the fight to keep Brooklyn residents, who stay at bungalow colonies in Bethel in the summer, from registering as voters in that town. The group Sager founded, Voters for Election Integrity, was ultimately successful in that battle.

In his remarks, Sager also touched on several subjects where he said he would have a different approach than Bonacic. He also mentioned areas that needed immediate attention such as ethics reform, sustainable economic development and taxes. He said, “I will join county treasurer Ira Cohen in demanding that statewide, we have an honest and open discussion on tax-exempt properties so that our tax system is fair.”