Southold Democratic Party Chair Kathryn Casey-Quigley has launched a challenge to longtime Suffolk County Democratic Chairman Rich Schaffer, with a promise to bring her grassroots organizing skills to bear on a role that she says has become stagnant in recent years.
Mr. Schaffer, who also serves as Town Supervisor in the Town of Babylon, has chaired the Suffolk County Democratic Committee since September of 2000.
Pictured: Kathryn Casey-Quigley (right) on Election Night this year. All the candidates in this photo were elected that evening.
Ms. Casey-Quigley, whose work changed the political landscape in Southold, where town government had dominated by Republicans for decades before she began reorganizing town Democrats in 2018, also served as the Second Vice Chair of the county Democrats until 2024.
She says that there could potentially be more than 2,000 voting members of the county committee, but are currently only 747, and she is building an operation to train people to run for seats on the county committee this spring, with the hopes they will become voting members in time for the committee’s organizational meeting this fall.
She said Mr. Schaffer has a history of cutting deals with the Conservative and Republican parties and not running Democratic candidates, and his Babylon campaign gave money this past election cycle to County and Town Conservatives — the same party that ran attack ads against Southold Councilman Greg Doroski, a Democrat, in his campaign for Suffolk County Legislature.
“This is about Rich, not anybody else,” said Ms. Casey-Quigley, pointing out that Mr. Schaffer, who was recently reelected Babylon Supervisor on both the Democratic and Conservative party lines, is able to occupy both the county party leadership position and the town supervisor position due to a lack of ethical rules at the county level.
She said that, in January of 2024, she had been opposed by other executive committee members when she questioned Mr. Schaffer’s plan to give himself a raise as party chairman, on top of his salary as Town Supervisor and his private legal work.
“There’s a reason that towns have laws in place that you can’t be both an elected and on a committee — and that’s with volunteer committee positions, not paid positions,” she said. “We cannot message an opposition to ethical challenges when our actual party chair has those ethical challenges. When we look at what’s happening nationwide, and the level of corruption, Democrats need to be the party of integrity.”
“It is my absolute honor to serve as the Chairman of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, and I look forward to earning the support of the Committee once again in 2026,” said Mr. Schaffer in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “We as a party are at our best when we work towards our shared goals, rather than get distracted by internal division. I will continue to focus on what I’ve dedicated my entire life to: building a strong, inclusive, and resilient Democratic Party.”
Mr. Schaffer also provided a statement of support from East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.
“At a moment when working families across the county are facing real challenges, our priority must be delivering results, not fueling division that distracts from the work at hand,” said Ms. Burke-Gonzalez in the statement. “Suffolk residents deserve leaders who put our neighbors first and work collaboratively for the common good. Rich Schaffer has proven time and again to be precisely that kind of leader, one that I am proud to call both a colleague and a friend. I look forward to supporting Rich once again this coming fall and to seeing him continue his outstanding work as Chair of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee.”
“Debate isn’t always comfortable, but it’s essential,” said Southold Town Councilman Greg Doroski when asked for comment this week. “It sharpens ideas, strengthens leadership, and ultimately makes us stronger — both as individuals and as institutions. Honest, spirited debate is a cornerstone of our democracy. I welcome the public discussion between Kathryn and Rich as they lay out their visions and plans for the future of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee.”
“The Suffolk County Democratic Party has lost the confidence of town committees and the voters,” said Southold Town Democrats Chair Emeritus and Communications Director Sandra Benedetto. “Under Rich Schaffer’s leadership, we have seen significant losses at the County Legislature and failures to run Democrats for key positions, like County and Supreme Court Justice. Instead he chooses to cross-endorse Conservatives and Republicans. Over 20 years of such practices have set the County Dems into a downward trajectory. It’s time for a change and Kathryn Casey Quigley represents that change. She has the experience, energy, and vision to build coalitions to renew the party, engage potential candidates and excite the voters.”
Ms. Casey-Quigley, who cut her political teeth as a volunteer and then campaign worker with former President Barack Obama’s ground campaign during his first run for president in 2008, has launched a website for her campaign, teamkcq.com, and is holding virtual meetups, including one next Sunday, Dec. 21, to explain how her campaign will work.
It will be a massive effort on the ground, looking to fill the two county committee seats in each Election District throughout Suffolk County, she said. Candidates must carry petitions in their home Election District by this March, collecting signatures from at least five percent of the registered Democrats in that Election District. If more than two people receive enough signatures, there will be a vote on the positions on the Primary Day ballot in June.
While county committee members can be appointed by town party chairs, only committee members who carry petitions can vote for party chair.
Mr. Schaffer is required to call a bi-annual organizational meeting between Sept. 17 and Oct. 6 of 2026, at which time a vote on the party chair would be held.
“Obama ’08 changed my life,” said Ms. Casey-Quigley. “I went to Obama Camp, which trained all the organizers, and I was blown away. It took what Obama learned as a community organizer, and applied it to campaigns. All the work I’ve done in Southold is based on that organizing model, and it works.”
Ms. Casey-Quigley, who launched her campaign on Thursday, Dec. 11, said that evening 66 people attended a popup online informational session.
“A lot of people have wanted to see this change for a while,” she said. “People write off Suffolk County as if it is not flippable, but the party is not even trying. They’re not putting up candidates, and they’re cross-endorsing Conservative and Republican Party candidates. My goal is to build the party, and build the committee.”
If she were to become the county chair, Ms. Casey-Quigley would resign as the Southold Town Party chair, a role she’s held, with a brief hiatus in 2023, since 2018. She is also planning to step down as a director of the Peconic Community School in Cutchogue, which she and her sister, Liz Casey, founded in 2012, at the end of this school year.
She will remain on the board of the school, she said, and Southold Democrats can expect to still have her ear.
“I love this work. I love organizing and seeing the hope that happens,” she said. “I believe in democracy — I believe in the model. The party structure is all built there for us. We just have to use it.”
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