by Susan Hellauer
Singer-songwriter Carole King with Nyack Mayor Jen Laird White at 8 North Broadway.
“Gender aside, she’s the best person to do the job,” said King. “When Hillary Clinton was a senator, she put one foot in front of the other and got to work.” Previously, King supported Clinton during her 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. She spoke of her admiration for Clinton and stressed the former Secretary of State’s readiness to “do the job.”
Between 1955 and 1999, King wrote or co-wrote 118 hits that made the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She has recorded 25 solo albums during her career including the 1971 release Tapestry, which stayed on the Billboard Magazine record charts for six years.
King’s natural smile and youthful demeanor belied her 74 years as she spoke to the Hillary hopefuls in Nyack. She said she had been out in her native Brooklyn yesterday, knocking on doors for Hillary, and met some Bernie Sanders supporters as she campaigned. King says Clinton’s experience gives her an edge over the Vermont senator in actually making change. “Senator Sanders has ideas and positions that could lead to a better tomorrow, but Hillary Clinton can make such ideas a reality,” she said.
Nyack’s Mayor Jen Laird White hosted the event and Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell (D-Rockland) was tasked with introducing the star guest. “We’re so excited about Hillary Clinton, who will be the first woman to be our president.”
State Assemblymember Ellen Jaffee (D-Rockland) said New York State was well served during Clinton’s term as US Senator before she became Secretary of State during President Obama’s first term. “She was devoted to Rockland County. She makes friendships and she keeps those friendships. That’s who she is. She’s real,” said Jaffee.
Although entertainment wasn’t on the agenda, King ended her remarks with a chorus of “You’ve Got a Friend.” In her unmistakable throaty voice, she began singing, joined by the enthusiastic baby boomer audience, singing right along with the songstress, the crowd delivering a remarkably true pitch.
On her way out, King graciously signed autographs for the polite scrum of fans.
“This is — not could be but is — the most important election of your life. Remember: the Supreme Court!” said Rockland Democratic chair Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky, asking for volunteers to make phone calls and knock on doors. “We have to come together as a county and as a country. Don’t just talk and argue about the issues, get out and vote,” Stavisky said.
Photo Credit: Paul Adler (via Facebook)
