By Matt Youngfrau
MONTICELLO — July 5, 2002 – With elections coming Tuesday, November 5, candidates will soon begin their campaigns including finalizing their petitions to run. Those petitions must be filed between July 22 and July 25.
This November, there will be races for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller, Attorney General, United States Congressman, New York State Senator, New York State Assemblyman, Sullivan County Legislators for Districts 3 and 4, and Sullivan County Family Court Judge.
Until recently, all of the races, except for two, had two opponents vying for the seats. Now, it appears that all will become races.
The races are for United States Congressman and Sullivan County Legislature District 4. The incumbents, Maurice Hinchey and Jonathan Rouis, respectively, are both Democrats. Until recently, the Republicans did not have candidates for those seats.
Wednesday morning, Sullivan County Republican Party officials confirmed to the Sullivan County Democrat that opponents had been found to run against Hinchey and Rouis.
Running for Congress will be Delaware County resident Eric Hall. To oppose Rouis in District 4 will be longtime Mamakating resident Donald Trotta.
Hall was born in Oneonta in 1970 and grew up in Delaware County. He was valedictorian of the Downsville High School Class of 1988 and he received numerous honors in high school. At West Point, Hall went on to become a United States Army Paratrooper Infantry Drill Instructor, and Cadet Company Commander.
Hall was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Aviation Corps and took part in many overseas missions. After his first tour, Hall was assigned to the National Capital Region. He also served as an intelligence and security officer.
Hall returned to service as an Army aviator in 1999 and served on the Multinational Force and Observers in Egypt. He left the service and moved to Washington to be near his fiancée, Margaret Judith Ann Peterlin. Now his wife, she is the Chief Counsel and National Security Policy Analyst for Representative Dick Armey.
"He is a young, bright gentleman," remarked Sullivan County Republican Party Chairman Greg Goldstein. "He has strong ties in Washington. He realizes it will be an uphill battle, but we will get his name out. He will be a very visible, hardworking candidate."
Don Trotta has an extensive background in Sullivan County. He was a State Police investigator for 20 years and served many administration functions at the hospital in Harris for 20 years. Trotta was also a Mamakating town justice for 17 years and served a stint as the town supervisor.
"The Mamakating Republican Committee has unanimously nominated Donald P. Trotta for the District 4 seat," stated Trotta Campaign Manager Joe Hershel. "He has all the experience and qualifications. He knows that is happening. His philosophy will be that he will vote on issues and not politics. He stands on his own two feet and fights for what he believes is right."
Nether Hall nor Trotta could be reached at press time. More formal announcements are expected in the next few weeks.