Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Very New World When Mayor Walked Into Enemy Territory

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - When Kiryas Joel Mayor Abe Wieder and his top lieutenant, Szegedin, walked into John Hall's victory party on election night, it was as though they had entered a new dimension.

Their longtime courtroom antagonist, Michael Sussman, could hardly contain himself: He startled Szegedin with a hearty bear hug. Other giddy Democrats greeted their black-hatted, Republican visitors with handshakes and "thank you's."
"All of a sudden," Szegedin recalled, "I walked into enemy territory, and it was like I was an old friend."
"It was wild," Sussman agreed.

Why the friendliness? As everyone now knows, Wieder & Co. had dropped Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah and endorsed her Democratic challenger, giving Hall just enough votes to win in a squeaker. And that was more than enough, at least for one jubilant, night, to forget past battles with the Wieder regime.

So add this saying to the book of political wisdom: Contenders hate a voting bloc until it gets behind them. Then they love it.