State Democratic Party Co-Chair Pollak Out

View Story On One Page

Print This Story

Share This Story

By Azi Paybarah

April 4, 2008 | 5:46 p.m

More on Politics >>

State Democratic Party co-chair Dave Pollak is leaving his position, the party announced a few minutes ago (right when most people are heading out the door for the weekend).

Pollak had previously run the group Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, which brought political leaders in front of young professionals and provided a place for those leaders to recruit campaign operatives and legislative employees.

Pollak, along with chair June O’Neill, was hand-picked by Eliot Spitzer to run the party after the departure of former chair Herman Denny Farrell. Pollak was charged (naturally) with bringing the party into the 21st century.

The departure comes amid a number of personnel changes David Paterson has made to replace Eliot Spitzer's hires with his own.

Here is the official statement:

New York State Democratic Party Announces Leadership Change

Today Dave Pollak, Co-Chair of the NYS Democratic Party, announced he is resigning from his party post. Pollak will continue to play a role as the director of new voter outreach for the party.

June O’Neill has agreed to stay on and serve as the sole chair of the party. Reginald Lafayette, Executive Chair of the Party will remain in that post.

“It’s been an honor to be part of building a strong Democratic Party in New York and I’m excited to continue to play a role in recruiting new Democrats to our party. I am excited about David Paterson’s leadership and his vision for New York and am looking forward to working with a growing community of grassroots and online activists to engage them in our party,” said Pollak.

Governor Paterson thanked Pollak for his service, saying “Dave Pollak has been a key player in our effort to build a stronger Democratic Party in New York and across the country. I look forward to continuing to work with Dave in new and different ways.”

“Dave has been my partner over the past year and a half in our effort to elect more Democrats up and down the ballot. I’m thrilled that he’s agreed to continue to spearhead our work engaging new voters,” said O’Neill.

“Governor Paterson promises to be an extraordinary leader for all New Yorkers. Already he is making progress on the issues that matter to working families – like increasing aid for public schools and expanding access to health care for our children. He has expressed to me his desire that we have a single strong chair who will lead our effort up and down the ballot in November. I am honored by the challenge and look forward to recruiting good Democrats and winning elections in every region of New York State,” said O’Neill.