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Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Politics

Will She Have Chappaqua’s Support?

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By Lucy Kaminsky

Chappaqua residents see her shopping on King Street, taking a walk with her husband by the First Congregational Church, and eating at Le Jardin Du Roi. She’s marched in the Memorial Day parade for years, and she’s a neighbor to dozens of Chappaqua families. On top of all that, she is the Democratic Nominee for president of the United States. Hillary Clinton has been a resident of Chappaqua for almost two decades, and, this month, Chappaqua can choose to support her in her biggest political endeavor yet.

She has an unwavering group of supporters, lovingly named “Chappaqua Friends of Hillary,” and an even larger group of supporters with Hillary for America shirts, bumper stickers, lawn signs and of course, votes in the New York primary.

Despite her pronounced following, she also faces a small but vocal opposition.That her popularity is questionable is especially when driving by a, for lack of a better word, monstrous, Trump sign on the way into downtown Chappaqua.

Kathy Thorsberg, a local mother, discussed that she sees a group of Republican women who, no matter the candidate, won’t go blue on election day, and she “thought more women would be on the [Hillary] bandwagon.”

When asked about the Trump sign, Thorsberg stated that she “wishes it were gone” and she “can’t believe” the local support for Trump.Thorsberg is a longtime Clinton supporter who once had the former secretary of state hold her then-infant, now nearly seventeen-year-old daughter, Katie, at her church.

What Thorsberg feels most Chappaqua residents who are voting for Trump criticize Clinton for her is her infamous email scandal, though she thinks it was “not that issue” that swayed them to vote Republican. Thorsberg estimates that around 60 percent of Chappaqua will vote for Clinton, and further says she doesn’t feel that is unique to Chappaqua, but that surrounding towns like Armonk and Briarcliff will have a similar turnout.

Rob Shepardson, local father and businessman, who was also named by Barack Obama to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, spoke about how he feels Clinton is perceived in Chappaqua. Shepardson explained that he thinks “that people really, really like Hillary, and really, really like Bill.” He also thinks that people in Chappaqua see Hillary as their neighbor, and even with the Trump Golf Course a few miles away, feel little allegiance to Trump.

An enthusiastic supporter of Hillary, Shepardson says there’s an “enormous pride”, towards Hillary in Chappaqua residents and particularly women residents. He estimates that eighty-five percent of Chappaqua will vote for her.

Shepardson and Thorsberg are not alone- Hillary may have a few loud opposers, but she seems to have the majority of her neighbors’ votes.

Lucy is a senior at Briarcliff High School, where she is co-editor of the Briarcliff Bulletin. She is passionate about various issues, including environmentalism, feminism, and political awareness in teens.

Editor’s Note: One of Seven Girls’ Essays featured in the November “If Our Neighbor Becomes President” Cover Story.  The girls were directed by Keri Walsh, Ph.D., who heads the Chappaqua Summer Writing Program for Girls at the Greeley House.

Hillary Clinton Cites Media Findings of Multiple Lies by Trump During the Debate

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The Hillary for America press campaign has unveiled a virtual laundry list of falsehoods from Donald Trump Monday night.  The campaign is citing the following corrections from independent fact checkers from a host of media outlets including AP, CBS News, Factcheck.org, the New York Times, The Washington Post, Voluntary Fact Check,  Bloomberg News and Politifact. — Grace

hillary-logoIndependent Fact Checkers Debunk Trump’s False Statements During Monday’s Debate

After the first presidential debate it’s clear there is only one candidate who is ready to be commander-in-chief: Hillary Clinton. On Monday night, Trump lied repeatedly, showing once again he lacks the knowledge, values and temperament to be president. There was so much inaccurate information during the debate that we decided to compile all the fact checks in one place.  There are quite a few.

  1. AP: “Trump, denying Clinton’s accusation that he supported the Iraq war: ‘Wrong. Wrong.’ Later: ‘I was against the war in Iraq.’ […] THE FACTS: There is no evidence Trump expressed public opposition to the war before the U.S. invaded”
  2. AP: “TRUMP, when Clinton accused him of calling climate change a hoax invented by the Chinese: ‘I did not say that.’[…] THE FACTS: Yes he did, in the form of a 2012 tweet: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
  3. AP: “TRUMP: ‘I’ve been under audit for almost 15 years.’ […] THE FACTS: Trump hasnever provided evidence to the public that he is actually under audit. A letter released by his tax attorneys never used the word, merely describing his tax returns under continuous examination. Trump has declined to provide the IRS’ formal notice of audit to The Associated Press and other news outlets..”
  4. AP: “TRUMP to Clinton: ‘You’ve been fighting ISIS your entire adult life.’ […] THE FACTS: Hillary Clinton was born in 1947 and is 68 years old. She reached adulthood in 1965. The Islamic State group grew out of an al-Qaida spinoff, al-Qaida in Iraq in 2013, the year Clinton left the State Department.”
  5. AP:“TRUMP: ‘My father gave me a small loan in 1975.’ […] THE FACTS: Trump got a whole lot more than a small loan. Aside from $1 million in financing from his father, Trump received loan guarantees, bailouts and a drawdown from his future inheritance.”
  6. AP:“TRUMP: ‘You don’t learn a lot from tax returns.’ […] THE FACTS: Americans stand to learn plentyif he releases his tax returns like other presidential candidates have done.”
  7. AP: “TRUMP: ‘Our jobs are fleeing the country. They’re going to Mexico. They’re going to many other countries. … Ford is leaving, thousands of jobs leaving Michigan, leaving Ohio.” […] THE FACTS: There are no official data on job flows between countries.” However, the U.S. economy has added nearly 14.9 million jobs since 2010, when the economy bottomed out after the recession.
  8. AP: “TRUMP: President Barack Obama ‘has doubled (the national debt) in almost eight years.’ […] THE FACTS: Trump’s expressed concern about the national debt obscures that his own policies would increase it by much more than Clinton’s,according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.”
  9. AP: “TRUMP: ‘Had we taken the oil (in Iraq) — and we should have taken the oil — ISIS would not have been able to form.’ […] THE FACTS: Donald Trump’s assertion that the U.S. should have seized Iraq’s natural resources would have required that it also seize control of the country and at no point was the U.S. in a position to do so.”
  10. AP:“TRUMP: ‘The Fed, by keeping interest rates at this level, the Fed is doing political things. … The Fed is being more political than Secretary Clinton.’ […] THE FACTS: This is a recurrent claim by Trump with no evidence to back it up.”
  11. AP: “TRUMP on hacking of the Democratic National Committee: ‘I don’t think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC… I mean it could be Russia. But it could also be China. It could be lots of other people.’ […] Trump’s refusal to point the finger at Moscow is at odds with the prevailing position of the U.S. intelligence community.”
  12. AP: “TRUMP said a 1970s racial discrimination case against his real estate business was settled ‘with no admission of guilt’ and that the case was “brought against many real estate developers.” […] THE FACTS: The first claim is technically correct; the second is ”
  13. AP:“TRUMP: ‘Stop-and-frisk had a tremendous impact on the safety of New York City. Tremendous beyond belief.’ […] THE FACTS: Trump is correct that the murder rate has plummeted in New York in the last two decades. But the same could be said for many other large American cities during the same period, and there’s certainly no way to credit stop-and-frisk for the decline.”
  14. Bloomberg: On Trump denying Clinton’s accusation that he supported the Iraq war: Fact check: “When asked whether he supported going to war in Iraq in a 2002 appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show, Trump said, “Yeah, I guess so.”
  15. Bloomberg: “Trump: ‘So Ford is leaving. You see that, their small-car division leaving. Thousands of jobs leaving Michigan, leaving Ohio, they are all leaving.'” Fact check:”[T]he company is cutting ‘zero’ jobs in the U.S.”
  16. Bloomberg:When Clinton accused Trump of calling climate change a hoax created by the Chinese, Trump claimed: “I did not. I do not say that.” Fact check: “Trump has a history of questioning climate change.”
  17. CBS News: “TRUMP:  ISIS has ‘oil all over the place, including the oil, a lot of the oil, in Libya.’ [..] FACT CHECK: Claudia Gazzini, a Tripoli-based senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told the Washington Post that it was simply not true that the Islamic State has control of any Libyan oil.”
  18. CBS News:“Donald Trump claims ‘stop and frisk’ policies in New York City worked well and brought the crime rate ‘way down.’ […] FACT CHECK: Trump said murder is up in New York City, but murder is actually down 4.3 percent this year-to-date.”
  19. CBS News: “Donald Trump claims that Hillary Clinton started the ‘birther’ movement. […] FACT CHECK: This has been Trump’s line since the ‘birther’ issue resurfaced this fall, but Clinton’s campaign has repeatedly denied being involved.”
  20. CBS News: “Donald Trump claims that his lawyers have told him not to release his tax returns. […] FACT CHECK: In the letter from Trump’s lawyers released by his campaign, they do NOT say the taxes should not be released.”
  21. CBS News: “Donald Trump says Ford is ‘thousands of jobs’ are leaving Michigan and Ohio. […] FACT CHECK: “Their small car division is leaving” – This part is true, but Ford says it will affect “zero” U.S. jobs.”
  22. CNN: “Trump claimed that New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy was not ruled unconstitutional — but it was.”
  23. CNN: “Trump claimed that a false conspiracy theory about President Barack Obama’s birthplace began with Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.”  Rating: “FALSE”
  24. CNN: “Trump: “Murders are up” in NYC” Rating: “FALSE”
  25. CNN: “Trump: Stop-and-frisk wasn’t ruled unconstitutional” Rating: “FALSE”
  26. CNN: “Trump: ‘She was involved’ in spreading birtherism’ REALITY CHECK: FALSE”
  27. CNN: “Trump: ‘I did not support the war in Iraq.’ REALITY CHECK: FALSE”
  28. CNN: “Trump: ‘I am going to cut taxes big league and you are going to raise taxes big league. End of story.’ REALITY CHECK: MOSTLY FALSE”
  29. CNN: “Trump: ‘You’ve been fighting ISIS your entire adult life’ REALITY CHECK: FALSE”
  30. CNN: “Trump: ‘Ford is leaving. Their small car division — thousands of jobs, leaving Michigan, leaving Ohio.’ REALITY CHECK: FALSE”
  31. CNN: “Trump denies calling pregnancy ‘an inconvenience’ to employers REALITY CHECK: FALSE”
  32. org: “Trump was right in saying that Ford is moving its small-car division overseas, but wrong in claiming that as a result, thousands of jobs are leaving Michigan and Ohio. Ford’s CEO insists not a single job will be lost in the U.S.”
  33. org: “Trump left the false impression that the Obama administration failed to disclose the full amount paid to Iran in January to settle a long outstanding claim.”
  34. org: “Clinton said Trump thinks ‘climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.’ Trump denied it. In 2012, he tweeted that the Chinese had created global warming but later said he was joking.”
  35. org:  “Trump claimed without evidence that the Clinton campaign in 2008 was pushing ‘very hard’ the false story that President Obama was born in Kenya, not in Hawaii.”
  36. org: “Trump claimed ‘the record shows’ he was opposed to the Iraq War before it started… but there is no record of that.”
  37. org: “Clinton said Trump’s businesses had filed for bankruptcy six times; he said it was four. Clinton is right.”
  38. org: “Trump on Father’s Loan — Trump claimed his father gave him a ‘very small loan in 1975’ of $1 million, from which he built his real estate company. But Clinton claimed it was $14 million. Clinton was right and Trump was wrong.”
  39. org: “Trump on Trade Deficit — Trump said the U.S. has ‘a trade deficit with all of the countries that we do business with, of almost $800 billion a year.’ Trump has made this claim over and over again, but it’s not true.”
  40. org: “Trump claimed that ‘you don’t learn that much from tax returns.’ But experts disagree. As we’ve written, tax returns could provide information on overseas income, foreign bank accounts, effective tax rates and charitable giving habits. Conflicts of interest could also be exposed, as well as how Trump’s individual tax policy squares with his proposals.”
  41. org: “Trump said that President Bill Clinton ‘approved NAFTA, which is the single worst trade deal ever approved in this country.’ Actually, the North American Free Trade Agreement was negotiated and signed by President George H.W. Bush.”
  42. org: “Trump on ISIS and Oil in Libya — Trump said that ISIS has ‘oil all over the place, including … a lot of the oil in Libya, which was another one of [Clinton’s] disasters.’ That’s wrong.”
  43. org: “Trump on Chicago Murders — Trump claimed that ‘almost 4,000 have been killed [in Chicago] since Barack Obama became president.’  That’s missing context. Like the nation overall, Chicago has seen a drop over the last several decades in the number of homicides, as we wrote in July.”
  44. New York Times: “Donald J. Trump attacked the Federal Reserve on Monday night, telling the millions of people watching the first presidential debate that the nation’s central bank is acting as an arm of the Democratic Party at the expense of the economy. It is an extraordinary accusation, backed by no evidence, that plows across a bipartisan line.”
  45. New York Times: “Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, said that Janet L. Yellen, the Fed’s chairwoman, was ‘doing political things’ by holding interest rates at low levels.” […] This accusation, which Mr. Trump has leveled several times in recent weeks, is roundly rejected by Fed officials — including those who agree it is time to raise interest rates. It is also rejected by a wide range of independent observers.”
  46. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump saying Mrs. Clinton had been ‘fighting ISIS your entire adult life.’ In reality, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, began as an Al Qaeda affiliate that sprang up in Iraq as the Sunni insurgency amid the power vacuum created by the American invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s government in 2003.”
  47. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump saying the Islamic State would never have come into power if the United States had stayed in Iraq. The assertion is impossible to disprove, but it’s unlikely that 10,000 troops remaining in Iraq would have made much of a difference — especially in Syria and Libya, where the United States never had troops.”
  48. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump’s assertion that many NATO countries do not contribute their full share to NATO. […] [H]e was wrongabout NATO failing to fight terrorism. NATO was in Afghanistan starting in 2003 — part of the battle against Al Qaeda.”
  49. New York Times: “ Mr. Trump said he opposed the war in Iraq before it began. But during the buildup to the war, he expressed his support in an interview with Howard Stern, according to audio unearthed by BuzzFeed.”
  50. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump’s claim that the United States is “not updating” its nuclear arsenal and the Iran nuclear deal. Mr. Trump is wrong.”
  51. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump’s claim that Ford is leaving the United States and taking ‘thousands of jobs’ with it. […] [T]he move will not result in job losses in the United States.”
  52. New York Times: “Mr. Trump said that the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, ‘is the worst trade deal’ in American history, and possibly in world history. […] [T]he Congressional Research Service concluded in 2015 that the ‘net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest.’”
  53. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump’s claim that ‘we have a trade deficit of almost $800 billion a year,’ blaming trade deals for this. He has the number wrong.”
  54. New York Times: “Mr. Trump said the Federal Reserve is ‘doing political things’ by holding interest rates at a low level. He charged that the Fed would raise rates as soon as Mr. Obama left office. This is a baseless accusation.”
  55. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump’s loan from his father. […] Mr. Trump owed his father and his father’s company about $14 million.”
  56. New York Times: “On Mr. Trump’s claims that murders are up in New York City. Mrs. Clinton said they are down. Mrs. Clinton is correct.”
  57. Politifact: “Trump told Clinton, ‘You heard what I said about (the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal), and all of a sudden you were against it.” Ruling: “FALSE”
  58. Politifact: “Trump said, ‘NATO is opening up a major terror division. … I’m sure I’m not going to get credit for it, but that was largely because of what I was saying and my criticism of NATO.” Ruling: “FALSE”
  59. Politifact: “Trump says Clinton’s energy agenda ‘will cost the U.S. economy over $5 trillion.'” Ruling: “FALSE”
  60. Politifact: Trump “[s]ays top Clinton advisers ‘were pressing’ birther movement stories ‘very hard.'” Ruling: “FALSE”
  61. Politifact: Trump: “‘I did not — I did not — I do not say that. I do not say that’ climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.’” Ruling: “MOSTLY FALSE”
  62. Politifact: Trump: “‘You will learn more about Donald Trump by going down to the Federal Elections’ to see the financial disclosure form than by looking at tax returns.” Ruling: “FALSE”
  63. Vox: “Trump touted [stop and frisk’s] effectiveness in reducing murders and other crime in the nation’s most populated city…. [But] stop and frisk didn’t have much, if any, of an effect on crime, despite Trump’s claims.”
  64. Washington Post Fact Checker: “When Hillary Clinton raised a 1973 racial discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Justice Department against Trump’s company, Trump dismissed it as a run-of-the-mill action.” Ruling: “Four Pinocchios”
  65. Washington Post Fact Checker:Trump: “On November 1 … new [Obamacare premium] numbers are coming out which will show 40, 50, 60 percent increases. They want to delay it until after the election.” Ruling: “Four Pinocchios”
  66. Washington Post Fact Checker: Trump: “‘Under my plan I will be reducing taxes tremendously.’ […] Trump’s tax plan would raise federal income taxes on more than half of America’s single parents and one-fifth of families with children.”
  67. Washington Post Fact Checker: “Trump cites an Internal Revenue Service audit as his justification for not releasing his federal income tax returns, but the audit does not prohibit from releasing the returns.
  68. Washington Post Fact Checker: Trump: “‘As far as tax return, you don’t learn that much’ from tax returns. […]Trump is being misleading.Tax experts say that tax returns provide insight about a person’s finances in several key areas.”
  69. Washington Post Fact Checker:Trump: “‘In Chicago, they’ve had thousands of shootings. … Stop and frisk worked very well … it brought the crime way down [in New York City].’ […] While Trump says stop-and-frisk policies should be enacted in Chicago as it was implemented in New York City, those policies have not been correlated with crime.”
  70. Washington Post Fact Checker: Trump: “‘I did not support the war in Iraq.’ […] This is just totally false.We have found no evidence of his early opposition to the invasion.”
  71. Washington Post Fact Checker: Trump: “‘In addition, I was just endorsed by ICE.’ […] Trump is actually referring to the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, which is the union representing ICE officers.”
  72. Washington Post Fact Checker: Trump: “‘President Obama and Secretary Clinton created a vacuum the way they got out of Iraq…’ […] As Clinton noted in her response, the terms of departure from Iraq were set by the George W. Bush administration.”
  73. Washington Post Fact Checker: Trump: “‘I said it to you once, had we taken the oil — and we should have taken the oil — ISIS would not have been able to form either, because the oil was their primary source of income.’ […] Trump has been called out before on this point, but he keeps saying this false claim.“

DNC: A Magic Kingdom in the Heart of Philadelphia

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DNC.SusanHEADSHOTBy Susan Youngwood

Attending the Democratic National Convention reminded me of my trips to Disney World.

The choices were dizzying. Instead of deciding among different amusement rides, I had to choose which events to attend. The Women’s Caucus or the New York state delegation breakfast? LGBT karaoke, the Working Families Party or the Climate Hawks party (or sleep). It seemed that every hour there were multiple choices.

Both locations had long lines and shuttle busses. Instead of crying babies and toddlers having tantrums, the DNC had protestors decrying fracking and proclaiming “Bernie or Bust!”

Goofy shirts and Mickey Mouse ears are popular all over Disney world; the DNC featured a panoply of Hillary buttons, flag costumes and patriotic headgear (although these parallel universes merged when I saw a striking blonde lady dressed in a pale blue ball gown who looked remarkably like Elsa from Frozen).

Both the DNC and Disney are sheltered bubbles. The outside world fades away; at the DNC, everyone around you is a Democrat with similar beliefs.

Patriotism was palpable in Philadelphia. Speakers told us again and again that America is great, that the Democratic Party holds the key to the nation’s future success.

For years, Democrats have been the party of negativity, cataloguing the countries’ woes from income inequality to racism to global warming. All these issues were mentioned, but sotto voce. The main message conveyed optimism in what Americans can achieve–just like Disney is the happiest place on earth. The crowds loved it. Their enthusiasm was electric.

And then, there are the leading ladies. Disney has Belle and Ariel and Cinderella and Snow White. The DNC had Elizabeth Warren and Michelle Obama, Katy Perry and Meryl Streep, and the headliner: the presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Of course, Clinton defies the stereotype of a Disney princess. She doesn’t wear a sparkly dress or a tiara. She’s certainly not waiting around for a prince to save her.

After all the balloons and confetti falls, reality awaits. After a Disney vacation, dirty streets and unpleasant service providers are jolting. After the thrill of a convention, the crassness of everyday politics is just as shocking. Not everyone is a Democrat anymore.

As much as the convention was stagecraft, at its heart it is carrying out the promise of our Constitution, written 229 years ago. The peaceful change of power in a democracy. Our nation’s first black president passing the mantle of power to what could be our first woman president. That was historic.

I shared that history with some Chappaqua residents who traveled to the convention–their stories are on these pages.

Susan Youngwood is a writer, editor and graphic designer who has been watching political conventions on television since 1972. 

DNC: The Capacity to Love

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Grace convention shotBy Grace Bennett

As the publisher of a hometown magazine for Hillary Clinton, and a life-long Democrat, I was proud to attend the Democratic National Convention as press. I was as excited as any friend, family or delegate visitor to Philly’s Wells Fargo Arena to witness first the all-star line-up of our nation’s Democrat Superstars throw their full weight squarely, and often, ever so eloquently into our hometown candidate’s corner. And then, of course, etched in my mind forever…witnessing Hillary Clinton make her way to the mic, waving to the crowds in every which direction, and fully embracing her historical nomination.

Grace Bennett Photo
Grace Bennett Photo

Midway through her speech, it was no surprise to me that Hillary extended her accomplishment from family to, well, everyone else: “Standing here as my mother’s daughter, and my daughter’s mother, I’m so happy this day has come. I’m happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between. I’m happy for boys and men–because when any barrier falls in America, it clears the way for everyone. After all, when there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit.”

Susan Youngwood Photo
Susan Youngwood Photo

I remember too: the abundance of heartfelt hugs–Hillary hugs. To me, they symbolize Hillary’s ubiquitous “Love Trumps Hate” campaign slogan…hugs for Bill, for Chelsea, for her running mate Tim Kaine, and on the night before, for and from President Obama. And countless other ones for those closest to her and seemingly always plenty to spare for her fans too. When hate gets thrown at her, Hillary Clinton doubles down on her capacity to tap into a bottomless reservoir of love–and hugs!

And daily, inside the Philadelphia Convention Center: dozens of public service organizations promoted their missions via buttons, literature and animated conversation; at a daily breakfast briefing, caucuses and roundtables, open primarily to press and delegates, speakers delved into issues near and dear to their hearts. The general public attended rallies or packed “PoliticalFest,” a fun, interactive festival related to American history and politics.

Grace Bennett Photo
Grace Bennett Photo

Hillary Clinton’s official nomination represents a huge historical milestone for Chappaqua too. I learned at one point that Hillary Clinton really appreciates the nights on the campaign trail when she can sleep in her own bed. So learning of a surprise celebration for her at the Kittle House on the very night following Roll Call in the arena was very touching; Chappaqua really is home, sweet home to Hillary.

I was also glad to head to Philly with my long-time friend and former classmate at Columbia’s ‘J-school,’ Susan Youngwood, a self-described ‘political junkie.’ We were both first time press covering a political convention for either party. We independently mapped our days, posting in social media, writing, taking pictures and editing. We stayed in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, about 15 miles away in the lovely home of Joan and Barry Swirsky, old friends of Susan’s, gracious, helpful and excited-for-us hosts.

I was happy for the chance to ask Governor Martin O’Malley for his reaction immediately following Michelle Obama’s much lauded endorsement of Hillary Clinton. He said the First Lady’s words “summed up in a beautiful way why our country is already great.”
I was happy for the chance to ask Governor Martin O’Malley for his reaction immediately following Michelle Obama’s much lauded endorsement of Hillary Clinton. He said the First Lady’s words “summed up in a beautiful way why our country is already great.”

Next, Susan reflects on her experience. From the outset, we agreed that we would focus much less on national-style coverage of the major speeches which our readers would turn to national media for. Instead, we set out to capture an eclectic array of stories that you might not see in other press, particularly anything that could qualify as having a local angle.

With that goal in mind, Susan captured such stories, and in particular the activities of two groups founded by long time Chappaqua residents who are collaborating more and more, too: Chappaqua Friends of Hill and Tim (CFOH) and Executive Women for Hillary, and those are the stories I chose to reprint from the net in part in our print edition to call your attention to them. The CFOH’s Hillapalooza barbeque party that took place shortly after the convention was a wonderful way to bring together many more residents to celebrate too. — Grace

The Art of Winning Hearts and Minds for Hillary

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Executive Women for Hillary Emphasizes “Curious, Creative and Collaborative” Listening

By Susan Youngwood

About 40 women crammed into the living room of a townhouse in Philadelphia last week, taking up every imaginable seating and floor space. All were eager to learn an effective method for persuading undecided voters to support Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“Our job is not to turn people who will happily vote for Donald Trump,” said Carol Evans, recent Chappaqua resident and a national co-chair of Executive Women for Hillary, who led this training. “Our job is to talk to independents, unenthusiastic Democrats and disaffected Republicans. Save your energy for the real fence sitters.”

Evans, who was founder and president of Working Mother Media, helped launch Executive Women for Hillary four months before Clinton declared her candidacy. “We started really early,” Evans explained. “We were just guessing and praying that she would run.”

Executive Women for Hillary is a national coalition of executive, entrepreneur and professional women who stand behind, support and advocate for Clinton to become the first woman president of the United States. It has about 1,450 members, all volunteer.

“We think that using our skills, networks and influence on getting Hillary elected is a winning formula,” Evans said. They call their approach Winning Hearts and Minds.

At the DNC: Co-founders of Executive Women for Hillary: Carol Evans (left) and Jennifer Allyn
At the DNC: Co-founders of Executive Women for Hillary: Carol Evans (left) and Jennifer Allyn

“We found our voice very early on” by focusing on training methodology that they rewrote for the Clinton campaign,, said Evans. “Like all executive women, we created a powerpoint.”

The group calls its training sessions salons, and they are usually held in someone’s private home. The one in Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention was a typical gathering — it started with a social hour, as women chatted over cheese, crackers and cookies. After the group moved from the kitchen to the living room, the training began.

“The best thing is to start with an open-ended question,” Evans began. Ask, ‘How are you feeling about Hillary?’ You’ll get a lot of different responses.”

The most likely response is either ambivalence or negativity. The next step is to ask the person to talk about his or her concerns — and the key is to listen.

“Listening is not active,” instructed co-founder and national co-chair Jennifer Allyn, head of diversity for Price Waterhouse. “It’s curious, creative, collaborative.” Don’t interrupt, don’t disagree, don’t discuss their concerns one-by-one — just listen and be curious.

Then, engage them in a conversation by asking a lot of questions — questions that begin with either who, what, when, where, why or how. If the person is worried that Clinton isn’t trustworthy, ask, ‘Who do you trust? Why do you trust them. What qualities make someone trustworthy? How has trust been a factor in the past in your voting decisions? What is the one thing you do trust about Hillary?’”

“By asking those questions you are building a relationship – even if only for five minutes,” Evans said.

Then, pivot–explain why you are supporting Hillary. And finally, ask them their concerns about Donald Trump.

The goal is not to convince someone to love Hillary, but to get them to support her in November. “It’s a one-on-one game to get people to vote for Clinton,” said Evans.

This method works, said women who used it effectively in the primaries.

“I did this on my mother — who never voted Democrat in her life,” said Allyn. Allyn listened to her mother’s concerns, explained why she liked Hillary and was concerned about Trump, and convinced her mother to commit to vote for Clinton. “She even gave money!” Allyn added.

Mosemarie Boyd, an attorney from Arkansas, attended the Philadelphia session. “I met these women in Iowa in January,” she said, and signed up, becoming the co-chair for Ohio. “It brings in talented women who are top in their careers and teaches them to engage in the political process.”

The training is concise, which is attractive to women busy holding down jobs and raising families. Women busy. It also works to women’s strengths. “The most important part is to listen,” she explained.

Lisa Levey, the New Hampshire co-chair, is an organizational development consultant who has never been politically active before. The historic nature of Clinton’s campaign is a big motivating factor for her. “This is a huge deal; I can’t tell you how much that inspires me.”

She plans to organize movie screenings and debate parties for Executive Women in New Hampshire, and organize phone banks and canvassing. The key to this strategy, she said, “is understanding what the other person cares about.”

Engaging and training new members: Mosemarie Boyd (left), an attorney from Arkansas and Ohio co-chair.
Engaging members: Mosemarie Boyd (left), an attorney from Arkansas and Ohio co-chair

Twenty-eight members traveled to Philadelphia to attend the DNC, coming from around the country — Oklahoma, New Jersey, California, Washington, Virginia, to name a few places. The group plans to hold training salons in all 50 states (“We have a 50-state strategy,” Evans said), offer voter protection advice from its lawyer members, work on voter access and voter registration, and getting out the vote.

For more information on Executive Women for Hillary, go to www.executivewomenforhillary.com and follow them on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ExecutiveWomenforHillary/