Hall Rivals for '08 are Lining Up

Gannett News Service
May 23, 2007

Six months after winning the 19th Congressional District seat, Democrat John Hall faces Republican challenges from two declared opponents while a freshman state assemblyman is weighing his chances.

On the offensive for the seat Hall wrested by a 2 percentage- point margin from 12-year incumbent Sue Kelly are Andrew Saul, 60, a Katonah businessman with appointments by the Bush White House and former Gov. George Pataki, and Kieran Lalor, 31, of Peekskill, an Iraq war veteran and a recent graduate of Pace University Law School.

Saul, a veteran of the fashion industry with seats on a number of philanthropic and government boards, filed a statement of candidacy last month with the Federal Election Commission.

"For the last several weeks I have been traveling the district, talking to the voters and learning about the issues that are important to them," said Saul, a former board chairman of Caché Inc., a women's apparel retailer, who manages his family's investments. "In the next two to three months I'll talk about the issues, but right now it is about the voters and understanding their needs first."

His first priorities, Saul said, would be to assemble a campaign staff and open an office. He expects to open one soon in Katonah or elsewhere in Bedford.

Lalor, a Marine Corps reservist whose law school studies were interrupted by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and again in 2003 by a six-month stint in Iraq, said despite his financial disadvantage, his anti-abortion, pro-Iraq war platform make him more in tune with the district's voters than Hall or Saul.

"Andrew Saul is John Hall in a business suit," Lalor said. "He's wrong on the war, on national security, immigration, abortion. He's Sue Kelly all over again."

Lalor said support from veterans would help him restore the district to Republicans.

Assemblyman has interest

And Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Carmel and an Air Force veteran, won't rule out a run for Hall's seat.

"In the future, near or far, I'm interested in running for Congress," said Ball, 29, who defeated longtime Assemblyman Willis Stephens with a platform highlighting illegal immigration.

But Hall, who serves on two Veterans Affairs subcommittees, has courted and won much veteran support since taking office.

"John Hall has done an excellent job on veterans affairs," said Bill Mangieri, a Persian Gulf War veteran and Republican candidate for mayor of Brewster. "He's sent legislation to stop senior-level VA managers from giving themselves bonuses when there are 600,000 backlogged veterans (disability) claims. John Hall has been proactive in supporting veterans."

Daughter won't run

Saul began eyeing the congressional seat in 1993, when Kelly won a crowded and contentious Republican primary. Now, Saul said, he would have liked to see his daughter, Jennifer Saul Yaffa, who is chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party, pick up the challenge, but she's too busy looking after her 5-year-old daughter.

"I have the time, the commitment and the ability to do a good job," he said.

Saul has already garnered accolades from the National Republican Congressional Committee. He attended a two-day candidates' school this month in Washington, where participants got advice from high-profile Republicans, including Karl Rove, the president's deputy chief of staff.

"He's an incredibly strong candidate," NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said. "He's considered a top recruit."

Lynne Eckardt, chairwoman of the Putnam County Democratic Committee, said Republicans have to start campaigning early because Hall has been doing "such a good job on the environment" and on bonuses for VA officials.

"He's been working so hard," she said. "He's everywhere. He shows what it takes to be a good congressman."

The district covers Putnam and northern Westchester counties, and portions of Rockland, Orange and Dutchess, where Hall lives in Dover.

Meaghan Smith, Hall's press secretary, said the congressman has spent his first five months in office "fighting to get veterans the health care and benefits they have earned, end our country's dependence on foreign oil, bring our troops home from Iraq, rein in the Bush administration's reckless spending, and make good health care available to all Americans."