They call the West Point Class of 1915 “The class the stars fell on.” (Thanks to World War II.) And now another Military Academy grad, Pat Ryan, Class of ’04, finds the stars falling all over him.

In just under three weeks, in the final stages of his third campaign for Congress, Ryan, D-Gardiner, has hosted former president Bill Clinton and Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a.k.a. AOC. A nice boost from Gov. Kathy Hochul on a press release regarding lead pipe removal was icing on the cake.

AOC, a congressional lighting rod, started the conga line in joining Ryan for a river cleanup photo-op on the banks of the Rondout in Kingston. That photo made it into The New York Times.

Clinton, who campaigned here for former Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Saugerties, two dozen years ago, dropped in at a storefront in Middletown for a rah-rah with the candidate.

Hochul, who hands out grant money like the state lottery — they call it “governor’s pork” in Albany — piggy-backed Ryan on a press release about a $12 million grant to treat lead in old pipes in Poughkeepsie.

To pundits, like the one I keep locked up in the cellar for just these late-election purposes, timely endorsements like these can cut two ways.

From 1,000 feet in the air, Ryan, with a huge lead in fundraising and plenty more in the pipeline and a five-point lead, should be on cruise control at this point. So why the heavy guns leading the charge down the home stretch? Does somebody smell concern, even fear?

Meanwhile, his Republican opponent, Alison Esposito of Walden, after being thoroughly demonized by the Ryan campaign and its surrogates, seems to have come to life down the stretch. Does somebody from the other side detect a trend?

As for the big-name endorsements, that rascal Bubba, for all his sins, remains one of the more popular retired presidents since Eisenhower (USMC ’15). Like chicken soup, Clinton can’t hurt Ryan and he might drag out some old-time Democrats who remember the glory days. Hillary Clinton, who’s also available for these whistlestops, not so much.

That Ryan staged his one-shot Clinton endorsement in Orange County, as opposed to Ulster, confirms where this election will be decided.

AOC, depicted by her enemies as a wild-eyed “way left radical,” could in this progressive district be considered an asset. Her endorsement has been used as a bludgeon against former congressman Mondaire Jones, in a tight race with U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler in the 17th. For reference, watch the next 40 ads that will run on district TV screens.

As for the bottom line, there’s always been conjecture, even by political insiders, on whether endorsements of candidates really matter all that much. Again, from up in the air, these celebrity pit stops probably can’t hurt, but then there is no shortage of locals who just don’t like the notion of outsiders telling them how to vote.

More About Pat Ryan

I heard from a top-ranking Ryan aide that my column about the controversial exchange between Ryan and Me and Mario radio cohost Mario Catalano had been posted on the web and they’re not happy. Particularly galling, he said, was a headline that calls the congressman “Punk-ass Ryan.”

That wasn’t us, I told him. We don’t call people names. And for sure, Catalano, a former Navy lieutenant, has respect for the office.

“What about complaints that you guys cut off Pat without a chance to make closing remarks and thank the audience?” he asked me.

Again, not us. WGHQ goes dark on the dot of 9 a.m. on all its morning shows, regardless who’s talking.

To Vote or Not to Vote: That Is the Question

A neighbor dropped by my “office” (my front lawn) earlier this week to discuss voting.

The exchange went like this:

“Mr. political editor, do you think it is a duty to vote?” (It was in reference to his college-age daughter who had declared she didn’t like either presidential candidate and would not be voting for anyone.)

“Duty? I think it’s a privilege, not necessarily a duty.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s not an obligation. We’re free to vote and we’re free not to vote. We always have three choices. We can vote for one candidate or the other, or we don’t have to vote at all. I would hope that most people participate in the process, but suppose they can’t support either candidate? Not voting sends a message that the system isn’t producing the kinds of candidates we can support. Of course, then you have to live with the results.”

“So, you’re telling people not to vote?”

“Not at all. I hope people vote in record numbers on Tuesday. It’s their choice.”

Gallagher Under the Gun

Election Day poll inspectors are worried that the three propositions on the back of Tuesday’s ballot could slow traffic to a crawl. “If people stop to read all those propositions it could be a long day/night at the polls,” one told me.

But there are things that go bump in the night in those three propositions.

Even if voters read Prop 2, for instance, they would hardly realize that it’s recommending some onerous rules on the County Comptroller’s Office that would apply to no other county elected official.

County Comptroller March Gallagher laid out her objections last week in a strongly worded op-ed on Kingston Wire.

Prop 2, she asserts, not only differentiates against the comptroller’s office but also renders its watchdog function virtually toothless. (My word, not hers.) Could it be that somebodies in county government don’t like watchdogs with teeth?

This conflict between the comptroller and the legislature dates to the earliest days of the executive form of government. At one point shortly into his administration, former executive Mike Hein opined that the county didn’t need a comptroller at all. His office had plenty of people schooled in finance, he said, who could carry out its duties. Like former finance commissioner Burt Gulnick, currently finishing a hitch in the county jail for embezzlement?

Gallagher’s opposition may sound self-serving to some, but she is in fact advocating for the office and future comptrollers.

For me, the deliberate vagueness of the wording on Prop 2 was reason enough to vote against it. Gallagher’s insights add substance.

And a safe, fun, Halloween for everyone.