Whitmer’s sister ditches school board for Congress.
Liz Whitmer Gereghty’s Early Departure Leaves Board Scrambling to Fill Position
Michigan Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer’s sister has made a sudden exit from her position on a New York school board in order to pursue a congressional run. This unexpected departure has left the board in a frenzy as they scramble to find a replacement before the new school year begins.
Liz Whitmer Gereghty announced her resignation from the Katonah-Lewisboro school board on June 15, according to meeting records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. Just a month prior, Gereghty had announced her candidacy for New York’s 19th Congressional District, a commitment that would prevent her from serving on the school board. This unexpected timing of her departure has created an awkward situation for her colleagues on the board, especially considering that the district had recently held an election. As a result, the district had only two weeks, as per the district bylaws, to find an unelected successor to fill the vacancy.
The resignation of Gereghty has sparked animosity and could lead to allegations that she does not truly represent the New York district, which is located just north of Manhattan. In the upcoming race, Gereghty will face a contentious primary against liberal former congressman Mondaire Jones, who previously represented the district from 2021 to 2023. Jones’s allies have already dismissed Gereghty as an outsider, with Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) stating in April that he was unaware of Whitmer’s sister living in the district and not knowing many people who know her.
So far, Gereghty has done little to counter these criticisms. She has sought support for her campaign from Michigan’s congressional delegation and hired a campaign manager who recently worked in the Great Lakes State. In April, Whitmer herself made the maximum contribution to her sister’s campaign, and Gereghty, as a school board member, has taken positions on the coronavirus that mirror those of Whitmer during her time as governor of Michigan.
Neither Gereghty’s campaign nor the Katonah-Lewisboro school board have responded to requests for comment.
Gereghty’s former board consists of seven members, meaning that her sudden departure has eliminated the tie-breaking vote. The board had two options to fill the vacancy: appoint an unelected candidate or spend at least $30,000 on a special election, which the district had already done just weeks before Gereghty’s resignation. Consequently, the board decided that it could not justify spending additional funds and chose to appoint a replacement.
In her resignation speech, Gereghty emphasized her efforts to change the mascot of a local high school from the “Indians” to the “Wolfpack.” She also highlighted her work during the pandemic, where she emerged as a vocal opponent of holding athletic competitions.
Gereghty is running to unseat freshman GOP lawmaker Mike Lawler, who caused an upset in 2022 by defeating then-Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Sean Patrick Maloney. Jones has complicated Gereghty’s efforts by announcing his own campaign for the same district, setting up a primary battle between the two prominent Democrats that is expected to be messy. In response to criticism from Jones’s allies, Gereghty has accused her opponent of moving districts in order to “chase a congressional seat,” referring to Jones’s decision to run in New York’s nearby 10th district in 2022. Jones lost the Democratic primary for that district, resulting in both him and Maloney losing their seats in January.
Gereghty is relatively unknown in New York and will face a challenging task of gaining recognition in the district. Currently, her campaign website does not include a policy page but instead criticizes “extremist Republicans” for “banning books,” “robbing women of their reproductive rights,” and “fearmongering about crime.”
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