Caitlin Ogden has been chair of the Otsego County Democratic Committee since 2021. Now, she is making headlines in statewide politics after launching an insurgent campaign to oust the long-standing New York State Democratic Party Chair, Jay Jacobs. Ogden spoke with WAMC's David Guistina.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Editor's note: This has been lightly edited for clarity.
Guistina: The first question I have is an easy one, which is people listening around the state may not exactly know where Otsego County is and what it might be known for. Can you help us out with that?
Ogden: Yeah, that's pretty easy. If you have any baseball fans listening, I am sure they're familiar with the Baseball Hall of Fame, located in the beautiful village of Cooperstown, which is our big claim to fame. We're also home to two really amazing youth baseball parks. So, Otsego County is kind of all baseball all the time.
Guistina: I'm guessing the metaphor for this bid that you're taking is that you're hoping to hit a home run, but obviously you're in the ballpark, right? Because you and your fellow Democrats ... you're on a continuum, right? From sort of more centrist to conservative to progressive, and that's a very, very wide and deep pool, and you don't always agree, so why run? Is it part of it that some of the issues you feel aren't being heard in the Democratic Party?
Ogden: You know, I decided to toss my hat into the ring because I feel that New York State needs a party, you know, party structure that's really going to work for everybody. You mentioned the big tent that the Democrats have as a coalition, and it's incredibly important that we lift up and keep holding every single corner of that big tent. You know, Governor [Kathy] Hochul has rightly called for a stronger and more effective party infrastructure, and I'm honestly I'm the one running to deliver that, which would be a party that organizes every day, funds its mission transparently, and really genuinely engages with our state committee members, our elected representatives of our party, and our voters.
Guistina: Well, Caitlin Ogden, chair of the Otsego County Democratic Committee, when you decided, made your decision, and said, "I want to run for this position as to lead the Democratic Party in the state," was it because others asked you to? Was it because you just sort of felt what you've just told us, and more?
Ogden: It was multiple factors. Part of it was in 2024, I got involved with supporting Lieutenant Governor [Antonio] Delgado's bid to have equal ballot access at the state convention, and I did that not because I thought there was an issue necessarily with Governor Hochul, who, you know, is the the first female governor of New York, and I think is doing a, you know, a really solid job, but it was because I felt that the 2024 presidential election saw voters communicating that they wanted to have more of a choice in who winds up their party's nominee on the ballot. In the course of my support, I really got a more enhanced look at a lot of the bully policies that our party was using to make sure that there was not dissent in the ranks, and that was very frustrating. Additionally, from 2022 to now, I have seen different attempts at having a brief period of statewide organization around a certain high-profile election, but it waxes and wanes in its effectiveness. And as a county chair who is in a rural area and, you know, needs support, that has been a huge concern. And then finally, yes, I did have some folks after a speech that I gave at the state convention approach me and asked me if I was interested, and as I was already considering it, decided to move forward.
Guistina: Your bid is not without difficulty, right? I mean, Jay Jacobs is entrenched. The governor has doubled down on her support for him. So I read, I believe, you said this is kind of an interesting and unusual election because it's the leadership voting, and that may give you a closer path to victory.
Ogden: So it is. It's all a vote of the state committee members. So it's not something that goes to the voters in the state. Unfortunately, it's the way the structure works. And of course, it's an uphill battle. I can't tell you the number of people who, when I initially reached out with this idea to get their feedback, said, "You're going to be destroyed by Jacobs and other party leaders," and they didn't mean electorally. They meant, like, social and political consequences for my speaking out, and that just drove me, you know, even more to do it because we need to model the behavior that we want to see in the party, and I felt that, you know, we could start this conversation about our leadership and about whether or not we, as the elected members of the state committee, deserve to actually have a real voice, but since kind of getting past that stage, the support has just been absolutely amazing. People are aware that we need a change. They've shared a lot of my frustrations, whether they're in an incredibly rural county or they're in, you know, downstate in our urban areas; they know that we are leaving a ton on the table, and that we just can't afford that. And so I am, I'm really looking forward to the vote on Thursday. I think it's I think it's going to be a really interesting fall meeting for sure.
Guistina: She is Caitlin Ogden, the chair of the Otsego County Democratic Committee. She's running to be the head of the state party against Chair Jay Jacobs. Again, as she said, the vote is on Thursday, Oct. 1. Good luck, and I hope at some point we'll get to speak with you again.
