Big Lead For Roach in 89th Assembly Primary

Although still not official, it is all but concluded that Thomas Roach will accept a victory in the Democratic Primary for the 89th Assembly District.

Roach has a large lead and is likely to defeat Mark Jaffe, based on unofficial tallies from the Westchester County Board of Elections. Roach will face incumbent Robert Castelli in the November general election.

Roach, who has served as the White Plains Common Council President for nine years, had captured 56 percent of the vote to Jaffe's 44 with 92 percent of districts reporting, essentially ensuring victory.

He thanked a group of about 25 supporters who gathered with him at Vintage Restaurant in White Plains Tuesday night.

"Tonight I look around this room and every single person I see had a major role in getting me to the place I am now," he said. "We had a very much volunteer driven campaign and we've worked very hard."

Although an endorsement from the Conservative party ensured that Roach would have appeared on the November ballot regardless of Tuesday's outcome, the expected victory will avoid what could have been a costly split of the Democratic vote during the general election. 

Jaffe, an attorney from West Harrison, had positioned himself as a political outsider seeking change in Albany. He called himself the best advocate for voters in the area because of his strong personality and lack of formal political experience. 

"He (Jaffe) ran a strong campaign," said Roach. "I'm happy that we were as successful as we were."

Jaffe did not immediately return a call for comment on Wednesday.

Roach said he was pleased with his victory, especially in White Plains, saying that it was a reflection of the work he had done while serving the city. He said Tuesday night that the comfortable margin of victory was a bit of surprise, but that he was confident entering the race.

"I didn't anticipate we would do this good, if these numbers hold up they are certainly better than I thought," he said.

Democratic supporters will now turn their focus toward defeating Castelli, the incumbent district representative, who has served for only seven months after winning a special election over Peter Harckham in February. Castelli won his seat on a platform that included reform in Albany and support for reaching across party lines to improve state government. 

Roach touched on both subjects Tuesday night.

"I think that there needs to be greater focus in Albany, accountability, passing real budgets that are based on facts and not shifting money around to make things look good," he said. "When you look at Albany you can focus on the parties or you can just say that the entire system needs to be changed."

District 89 encompasses Harrison, Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Castle, Pound Ridge and sections of White Plains.