2025 UCDC Endorsement Convention

February 16, 2026

Prepared Remarks by outgoing Chair Barbara Graves-Poller:

On February 16th, UCDC's voting members convened for our 2026 Endorsement Convention. Shortly before that event, President Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric about "nationalizing" elections. In his quest to transform the presidency into precisely the monarchial role George Washington opposed, Trump urged Republicans to "take over the voting in 15 places," end mail-in voting, and impose voter identification requirements that we do not need to keep our elections secure.

It appears that the President has the full support of US Attorney General Pam Bondi — the same person who has no remorse about Americans getting gunned down in our streets just for exercising their First Amendment rights. U.S. Attorney General Bondi has demanded "access to voter rolls" from numerous states. This same Department of Justice that should be fighting to protect voting rights has completely abandoned that mission — a sad reality we're living through right here in Ulster County.

At this moment, when so much in our country feels cruel and crass, UCDC's members gathered to participate in an endorsement process that is both sacred and essential for our democracy. Our program, like the US Constitution itself, began by evaluating potential candidates for the House of Representatives. From there, we endorsed members of our State Legislature, Sheriff, Surrogate's Court Judge, County Legislature, and local party positions. While our Congressional Representatives have specific duties set forth in the Constitution, everyone seeking an endorsement today has a role to play in promoting the order, improvement, and prosperity of Ulster County. This is what James Madison explained so many years ago in Federalist 45.

Our members include current and former elected officials, individuals who have served on community boards, commissions, and task forces. Others among our ranks have advised public officials on policy matters, helping people to transition from being candidates into responsible public servants. Still others have gone door to door, carried petitions, and talked to neighbors about what issues matter to them. All of these experiences impart rare knowledge about what matters, how real problems get solved, and how we do it together in accordance with Democratic values. Our members bring valuable insight about how to serve our communities to the endorsement process.

This cycle, our message will center on three key issues: Affordability, Decency, and Safety.

UCDC continues endorsing candidates because we understand how important it is for people — voters from very different public service backgrounds, demographic groups, with divergent views on particular policy positions — to forge consensus on who can best do the job of improving affordability, decency, and safety in this County. Not every voter who desires and deserves effective government has the time to serve on a municipal committee or even educate themselves about each political office on the ballot. But when we endorse, our process gives voters peace of mind that some important candidate assessment has occurred. This is not to say that unendorsed candidates are bad people or unworthy of public office. But it does mean that the community of diverse Democrats came together and forged consensus on a candidate who could do the job well. That, my friends, matters more now than ever.

Running for office is about more than popularity — it's a job application process. And to do the job right, our elected officials must serve ALL of their constituents — ones who supported them and others who did not. That process of figuring out who can serve the most people begins with the endorsement process, by seeing who can bring together the most people from different experiences and perspectives within our party leadership.

To be fair, there are rare occasions when a municipal committee might decide not to endorse in order to keep the peace at the town level, where a hyper-local, hotly-contested race involving committee members threatens to irreparably divide the committee. That is the rare exception to the rule that we as local leaders within the Democratic Party have a duty to evaluate and vet people elected as Democrats.

Our communities suffer when we become too focused on the sport and individualism of campaigns in a way that leaves us ignorant about what it takes to collectively solve problems. Individuals can successfully run on problems, but it takes the hard, often under-the-radar work of governing to actually solve them in office. Much of that work isn't flashy or easily reduced to a slogan. Some solutions take years to fully implement — but that is the work of responsible government.

When I watched the incredible Super Bowl halftime show with my family, I couldn't help thinking about how that message of love conquering hate applies to how we should fight for the soul of our country right now. At this moment — when a president is sending out racist images of the Obamas on Black History Month, taunting the woman he assaulted on Valentine's Day, and doing everything in his power to stop voters from having a say — we must overcome that hate with love for all of this country's promise. Our love is strengthened by the hope for a better life as Americans that has fueled everything from the Great Migration to the immigration of families who have left their homelands to become citizens of this land. That is the energy and love our democratic coalition needs to turn this country around in November and in the many years to come.

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