POUGHKEEPSIE – Democratic Councilwoman Natasha Cherry is being shut out by the city’s Democratic Committee, drawing the ire of her council colleague, Matthew McNamara.
Cherry is being criticized for not campaigning for mayoral candidate Joash Ward. McNamara is fully supporting Rolison, including having a campaign sign for the Republican in his yard.
Allegedly the Democratic candidate for mayor has filed charges of disloyalty with the Democratic Committee claiming that Cherry should be removed from the committee for supporting Rolison. Cherry said that she has not been officially informed of the charges and doesn’t want to “dedicate my energy” discussing it.
A mailer sent to voters in Poughkeepsie this past week, paid for by the New York State Democratic Committee, lists every Democratic running to represent the city, including county legislature seats. Every Democrat seeking office is on the mailing with the exception of Natasha Cherry. When asked about omitting Cherry from the mailing, Jane Barber-Smith, chairwoman of the City Democratic Committee, had “no comment.” When an inquiry was made about the disloyalty charges, Barber-Smith said, “That is party business and I am not going to discuss it.”
A letter from McNamara to Barber-Smith, questions the charges against Cherry. In the letter, McNamara points out that he is supporting Rolison because working to better the city includes working with the Republican mayor.
McNamara’s letter also describes his relationship with Rolison saying “I have worked very hard for this city and the eighth ward and have done it in a way that I am proud of. The residents of the eighth ward want that from their elected officials and we have done that in a bipartisan manner. When we disagree we do so civilly and have always tried to work towards a solution. I am proud to be a Democrat but to do this to respected members of our party is wrong.”
As for the mailing, McNamara said, “I was not asked to be a part of this mailer prior to it going out. Had I known Councilmember Cherry was going to be excluded I would’ve asked to be excluded as well.”
This is not the first time Cherry has been the subject of internal politics within the Democratic committee. Recently a faction of Democrats unsuccessfully tried to replace Cherry with another Democrat. Cherry won the battle and retained her seat on the committee.
