Rich Schaffer

Introduction

Rich Schaffer is a Long Island Democratic power broker who has chaired the Suffolk County Democratic Committee for roughly a quarter century while serving as Babylon Town supervisor — and who was re-elected to the party’s top job on September 22, 2026, days after allegations surfaced that he tried to pay committee members for their votes in that very contest. The New York Attorney General’s Office has confirmed it is reviewing complaints regarding the Suffolk County Democratic Committee over the conduct alleged in the fight, though no charges have been filed against Schaffer and he has publicly denied the bribery allegations. On October 15, 2026, the New York Post reported — citing party members and local government officials who said they had been contacted by federal agents — that the FBI is now investigating Schaffer over the vote-buying claims. Governor Kathy Hochul has since dismissed the federal probe as a “political hit job,” while fellow Democrats told the Post they were disappointed by her characterization of an investigation her own party’s members had surfaced.

Background Information

Schaffer has led the Suffolk County Democratic Committee since 2000 — 26 years at its head — while simultaneously serving as supervisor of the Town of Babylon. His party’s September 22, 2026 convention at the Hilton Long Island in Melville was the first time in his tenure that his chairmanship drew a contested race.

His challenger was Kathryn Casey Quigley, chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee, who argued that a decade of losses — the county executive’s office, the county legislature and the district attorney’s office have all flipped Republican under his watch — showed the party needed a new approach. Critics including former congressional nominee Perry Gershon have accused Schaffer of a longstanding practice of striking cross-endorsement deals with the opposing party, and Newsday reported allegations that party leadership pressured the Democratic comptroller candidate to withdraw and that the county clerk candidate abandoned his campaign after similar pressure.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The conduct described in this section is alleged by fellow Democrats, supported by text messages and videos reviewed by City & State and the New York Post, and is the subject of an FBI investigation and a state Attorney General’s Office review. Nothing has been charged, Schaffer denies the bribery allegations, and nothing described here has been adjudicated in court.

According to text messages viewed by the New York Post, Schaffer allegedly texted one committee member “Can we pay him to miss work?” about getting the member’s father to skip his night shift as a security guard and come vote for Schaffer instead. City & State reported that it verified a September 9 text from a number matching Schaffer’s publicly shared cellphone, received by Ken Colón, a former Islip town supervisor candidate who works on the county party payroll, offering money to ensure a committee member showed up to vote; Colón said he was later contacted by investigators.

City & State also reviewed a video taken at the Suffolk County Board of Elections in which Democratic Elections Commissioner John Alberts tells four patronage employees — all county committee members — that it is “imperative” they attend the convention “to vote for Rich to keep him chairman so you still have jobs.” Leigh-Ann Barde, the Islip Town Democratic chairwoman who shared that video, had been one of Schaffer’s staunchest loyalists before turning on him in an editorial days before the vote, calling his effort a “Mafia-style reelection campaign” and demanding his resignation over alleged backdoor deals with the local GOP.

Derek Stein, a staffer for County Legislator Greg Doroski, posted a video laying out the allegations and claiming the state Attorney General’s Office and the FBI were looking into the matter; the Attorney General’s Office — under Letitia James — confirmed only that it has received and is reviewing complaints regarding the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, while the FBI did not respond to a request for comment.

On October 15, 2026, the New York Post reported that the FBI is investigating Schaffer after claims from party insiders that he tried to buy votes to guarantee his reelection; the FBI declined to comment, but several party members and local government officials said they had been contacted by federal agents to discuss the party boss. The Post further reported that text messages it reviewed show Schaffer allegedly offered payments to at least three committee members in exchange for their attendance and vote, and that audio secretly taped at a meeting in party headquarters before the September election captured an ally of Schaffer pressuring members to fall in line with the boss or lose their jobs — including, per Islip Town Democratic Chairwoman Leigh-Ann Barde, an alleged threat against her husband Roc Romain, a committee member whose job at the Suffolk County Board of Elections depends on the party. Barde, who said she once considered Schaffer her “political father figure,” turned on him over the tape.

Public Reaction and Consequences

At the September 22 convention in Melville, Schaffer coasted to another term with over 57% of the weighted votes of county district leaders, defeating Quigley despite the allegations. Barde told the New York Post, “It pains me greatly as someone who has supported, defended, and looked up to Chairman Richard Schaffer and considered him a friend — I have no choice but to call on Richard Schaffer to resign.”

Schaffer has publicly denied the bribery allegations, and no criminal charge has been filed against him. The New York Post reported the story was shared nearly 12,000 times within hours, and the episode has left one of the state’s most entrenched county organizations openly divided weeks before the November general election.

The governor’s own party supplied the newest flashpoint. Speaking to reporters in Midtown Manhattan on Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul defended Schaffer and dismissed the FBI probe as a “political hit job” — “Anything coming out of the Trump administration days before an election… is calculated as a political hit job,” she said, while conceding she did not know the details of the allegations and would “wait for the investigation” before judging his conduct. Fellow Democrats told the Post they were “disappointed” with her classification of the investigation, and Barde — Schaffer’s one-time loyalist turned whistleblower — said the governor “was caught off guard and hasn’t been briefed on the matter”: “I have full faith in [Attorney General Letitia James’] office and the FBI doing their due diligence.”

Current Status

As of October 25, 2026, Schaffer remains under FBI investigation, per the New York Post’s reporting from party members and local officials contacted by federal agents; the FBI has declined to comment, and the Post has confirmed that multiple sources have received secure invites to virtual interviews sent from federal investigators with subject lines referencing the county Democratic boss. The New York State Attorney General’s Office previously confirmed it was reviewing the whistleblower complaints against him. Schaffer has called the allegations “baseless” and said he had not been contacted by law enforcement as of Wednesday; no charges have been filed, and he remains Suffolk County Democratic Committee chairman and Babylon Town supervisor. “Anyone that knows the reality of Long Island politics understands that Rich Schaffer is the model of professionalism and ethics,” his attorney Mark Lesko said. “We are confident in the facts and will not give these politically motivated allegations any credence.”

The intra-party civil war he survived in September continues: his challenger pledged to end a “culture of patronage and corruption,” a fellow party chair has publicly demanded his resignation, and the inquiries now span a state review and a federal one — though neither the Attorney General’s Office nor the FBI has accused Schaffer personally of a crime.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The immediate electoral verdict was defiant: the party’s district leaders gave Schaffer a sixth two-year term by a 57% weighted-vote majority within days of the pay-for-votes texts becoming public, suggesting his machine’s grip held even as its methods drew official scrutiny. His standing outside the room looks different — a former ally now leads a public resignation campaign, the party’s brand heads into a November election shadowed by an Attorney General review, and the patronage system at the Board of Elections that critics say anchors his power is now the subject of published recordings.

Whether the scandal costs Schaffer anything durable now depends on two investigations instead of one: the state Attorney General’s review of the committee’s conduct and an FBI probe that, as of mid-October 2026, had drawn contacts from federal agents to party members and local officials. No charge, ethics referral, or town-level consequence for him personally had been reported, and his dual role as county party chairman and Babylon Town supervisor — the combination critics say concentrates too much power — remains intact.

Sources

• New York Post, “Hochul calls FBI probe a ‘hit job’ as Dem boss accused of trying to buy votes,” October 25, 2026 — source
• New York Post, “Exclusive | FBI probes Long Island Dem party boss after claims he tried to buy votes for reelection,” October 15, 2026 — source
• New York Post, “Long Island Dems re-elect party boss Rich Schaffer after accusations he tried to pay for votes,” September 23, 2026 — source
• City & State New York, “Inside Rich Schaffer’s ‘hardball’ campaign to keep power in Suffolk County,” September 21, 2026 — source
• East Hampton Star, “County Democratic Chairman Under Fire,” September 3, 2026 — source