April 13, 2007

Rep. Hall's seat sought early by potential Republican challenger
Kieran Michael Lalor 'exploring' 2008 run

By Greg Bruno

Peekskill — Rocker-turned-Rep. John Hall is barely 100 days into his first term, but an Iraq War veteran is already planning to serenade voters away from him in 2008.

Kieran Michael Lalor, 31, of Peekskill, has not filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. But in an interview this week, he said he was aggressively exploring a run for the 19th Congressional District now represented by Hall, D-Dover Plains.

Lalor, a Republican and ex-Marine who served in Iraq in 2003, said it was Hall's first speech in Washington, D.C., that convinced him to "give this guy the boot" next November.

"He went to the floor of the House and said we can't win," Lalor said of Hall's floor speech in February opposing plans for a troop buildup in Iraq.

"When an elected official — my only voice in the House — gives up in one of his first speeches, it's unconscionable," he said. "I can protect the people in this area and the people in this country better than John Hall."

It's too early to gauge whether that claim will resonate in 2008. But already Democratic Party operatives are circling the wagons.

Carrie James, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, defended Hall's brief record.

"Representative Hall has worked tirelessly to ensure our brave soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have proper armor and equipment, and as chair of one of the House Veterans Affairs subcommittees he has fought to ensure New York veterans have access to quality health care," James said in a statement.

Other Republicans may be gearing up to challenge Hall. One name on the rumor list as a potential challenger is Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary for President Bush. Another is Joseph J. DioGuardi, a Westchester County accountant who represented New York in the House during the late 1980s.

Republican Sue Kelly, whom Hall beat last year with 51 percent of the vote, has maintained a low profile since her loss and isn't expected to run again.

Pundits can't say whether a small fry like Lalor would have a shot if he officially entered the race. Gerald Benjamin, a SUNY New Paltz political scientist, said it will be a challenge to unseat Hall.

But other pollsters are predicting that Hall, the former Orleans frontman, will have a tough time reliving the lyrics of his hit song "Still the One." A recent slide show prepared for GOP strategist Karl Rove listed Hall as one of the White House's top 20 "2008 House Targets."

And that's music to Lalor's ears. So far, Lalor says he's pulled in about $20,000 in donations from friends, family and online supporters.

Lalor has no political experience. Instead, the Pace Law School student, recent father and Wappingers Falls native said his Republican values and commitment to winning the war on terror will make him the candidate to beat.

"All my siblings still live in the congressional district," he said. "It would be impossible to go to Washington and turn my back on them."