The Final Countdown

Monday, October 30th

Dear Friends:

We had some wonderful GOTV events this past Saturday in Beacon, Poughkeepsie, and Stanfordville! It was great to see so many people turn out to knock on doors, share their energy, and do the work to make sure we win this election. Even with all the buzz and commotion that day, my countywide teammates and I found moments to reflect on all the work we’ve done over the last eight months. In a way, we felt a little sad because we’d become so close and we realized the end of the road was only a few days away.

It’s hard to believe we’re almost to the end of our journey together. What a long, strange trip it’s been! We’ve worked so hard to finally put an end to the culture of fear that has plagued the Dutchess County government for the last 32 years. But it’s not over yet. We need everyone to take a deep breath and work to the final bell.

This election is going to be close, and the difference will come down to these last few days. I urge you to knock on more doors. Keep talking to your neighbors. Call the older folks you know and make sure they have a ride to the polls. Attend the GOTV event in your hometown and share your energy with the rest of us. If we all work together, I know we will have a historic election on our hands.

How historic? We will have the first Black woman ever as Mayor of Poughkeepsie in Yvonne Flowers. We will have the first Black woman ever as Dutchess County Clerk in Kenya Gadsden. We will have the first Latina ever to be Majority Leader of the Dutchess County Legislature when Yvette Valdés Smith wins re-election. And that’s just for starters. So many local candidates will be enjoying firsts as well! All this is within our grasp if we just keep working to get out the vote.

Honestly, it’s so obvious that our opponents are running scared. They’re desperate, and it shows. They weren’t prepared for the election being so close and now they’re reaching deep into their old bag of dirty tricks by running lewd attack ads, flat-out lying in debates, and stealing more lawn signs. By the way, did you hear about the Republican in Fishkill who was arrested for stealing lawn signs?

And that’s not even the worst of it. My opponent Sue Serino didn’t even show up to our NAACP debate last week. Talk about disrespect and desperation.

Their fear tactics aren’t going to work this year. We’re just not scared anymore. We’re too busy being tired of the constant shady backroom deals. We’re tired of politicians giving away $25 million of our county funds to outside corporations while our kids don’t have enough to eat and our seniors can’t afford to stay in their homes. And we’re tired of county leaders who see nothing wrong with stuffing our homeless folks into the jail.

This is the final countdown. We have one week to bring real change to Dutchess. Let’s not waste a moment of that time. Let’s not wake up on November 8th thinking we could have done more. We have a real chance to change Dutchess County for good. Let’s not waste it. I hope I get the chance to meet you in person at one of our GOTV events during the next week so we can talk more in person!

If you are able, please consider donating to our campaign using the secure Act Blue link below. We are working hard right up until that final bell and we could use your support to keep going. Any amount would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. Together, we have another journey waiting for us after we win this election. I’m already excited to begin that work to make Dutchess a better place for our kids, our seniors, our veterans, and our families.

Thank you for your support.

Respectfully,

Tommy