Officials from the Biden for President campaign have tapped a group of New York veterans to launch an organizing group aimed at engaging the more than 830,000 veterans and their families in the state to support Joe Biden for President. A Hudson Valley county executive is one who helped with the launch.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, both Army veterans, along with other area veterans, launched “New York State Veterans and Military Families for Biden.” They say they’re concerned about the Trump Administration’s attempts to use the U.S. military in political ways, including against U.S. citizens peaceably demonstrating. Ryan called for ending the militarization of local police forces after he encountered a military-grade armored vehicle while participating in a peaceful protest against systemic racism on the Mid-Hudson Bridge in June. The group plans to hold a virtual kick-off rally next month to energize their canvassing efforts in Pennsylvania.
