Time to Set the Record Straight on James O’Toole for New Rochelle Mayor

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (April 12, 2023) — I would greatly prefer not to have to waste my time on James O’Toole, a man who once upon a time might have served a useful purpose in New Rochelle, but appears, based on his self-ascribed deteriorating memory, to have reduced himself from a happy drunk to a blackout drunk with a Facebook account, from a great friend to the police to a man who, in 2021, attempted to use that friendship to lie to a New York State Trooper.

It has been my hope for the past four years to simply move on from the truly bizarre behavior of James O’Toole, which first manifested itself in 2019. After all, I considered him a good friend, ran three of his campaigns and arranged financial credit for his campaigns based on my reputation, not his.

I was left with no choice but to cut him off.

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I have repeatedly asked him to stop contacting me. Despite this, he has contacted me more than a dozen times over the past few years, as recently as last night, this time to call me a liar both in a private text message at midnight and a public tweet thirty minutes later. O’Toole is the poster-child for the saying “no good deed goes unpunished.”

This fits a pattern of late night messages from O’Toole; those who know him can sort for themselves why he sends these unwanted communications between midnight and 4 am.

I have had enough.

It is one thing for James O’Toole to drunk-dial me in the wee hours of the morning (or drunk-text me) and quite another to publicly accuse me of lying.

I am left no choice but to defend myself against his scurrilous statements; not just directed against me but my entire family, all of whom worked for months on his 2015 Mayoral campaign, under my direction.

With that said, here we go.

In the first half of 2015, James O’Toole asked me to run his campaign for Mayor.

He said he would not run unless I agreed to manage his campaign. I agreed, on two conditions: (1) as his campaign manager he would act based on my direction, not freelance; (2) he would get a campaign treasurer as I would not be involved with his campaign funds. He agreed to both conditions.

To my knowledge, he never did get a treasurer and there are serious questions about money raised by the campaign — which to me validates my decision not to touch his campaign funds.

He did not offer, and I did not ask to be paid. I took on the position of campaign manager because he asked me, and he was, or so I thought, my friend.

To put that story in context requires getting a bit into O’Toole’s abortive 2019 campaign, which he also asked me to run. I also ran his 2016 school board campaign; altogether I ran three campaigns for James O’Toole, in 2015, 2016, 2018-19.

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The predicate for both the 2015 and 2019 Mayoral campaigns was that O’Toole could run for Mayor on a third-party line (Independence Party) while the Republicans would not run a candidate at all. This offered three major advantages: (1) the Independence Party was tiny, so he could get on the ballot without having to get many petition signatures — 65 signatures required so, to be safe, 130 signatures as a goal; (2) Republicans and Conservatives and many non-registered voters would never support a Democrat and certainly not Noam Bramson, so they would have no choice but James running on a third-party line; (3) After the 2013 Astorino-Bramson race for Westchester County Executive I had come to believe there was a substantial number of disaffected Bramson Democrats who might be receptive to an alternative so long as there was a focused “good government” message, and they did not have to vote on a Republican or Conservative line (and the final vote totals proved out this belief).

Even getting to just the minimum 65 signatures was a struggle for O’Toole, as he continually deviated from the “walking lists” I had prepared for him. One day, my assignment for him was to knock on doors in the Stephenson Boulevard area. After a couple of hours, I called to check his progress. He said he had not gotten to Stephenson Boulevard that he was on Weyman Avenue because “he knew a guy” who said he was “an independent” and would sign his petition. I asked for a name, looked him up in my voter database, then explained to O’Toole that “the guy” was not a member of the Independence Party and could not sign. After this sort of thing happened repeatedly, I had to ride along with him to keep him on task collecting signatures before the deadline.

History has a way of repeating itself, as O’Toole demonstrated in a Facebook post last month.

I said in my tweet earlier, O’Toole has no understanding of what a campaign entails. For example, in his Facebook post above, he claims he did not know that only people in his party can gather signatures or sign his petition. This is a fairly obvious and fundamental concept, and the exact issue I had to explain to him in 2015.

I also said he made little effort to get on the Democratic ballot. The idea that he collected “almost 675 signatures” in 2023 is laughable. He struggled to get 65 signatures in 2015 with me beating him like a rented mule.

O’Toole says he needed 1800–2000 signatures in two weeks. Actually, to get on the Democratic Party Mayoral ballot, 1,000 signatures were required. Damon Maher and Yadira Ramos-Herbert each submitted about 1,700 signatures. There are well over 20,000 registered Democrats in New Rochelle so plenty of available signers had he bothered to pursue them. Two weeks was plenty of time to get to 1,000 signatures, then try to push over that number to build a cushion to offset the challenges that were likely to come from at least one of his opponents. He did not try. He gave up. And he was only close if you believe he had 675 signatures, which is implausible.

He is free to prove me wrong by making public the petitions he gathered. I would be surprised to see even 100 valid signatures.

There is a limited window to obtain petition signatures, in 2023 that window opened on Tuesday, February 28 and closed Thursday, April 6 but later extended to Monday April 10. O’Toole gave up on March 19 — after 19 days only some of which he was in New York. There were three weeks left (not two as he claimed). He gave up before the halfway point.

Within this window there were 41 days including 6 weekends. Weekends are prime time for gathering signatures when people are more likely to be home. So, it did not help that O’Toole was in Florida when the petition window opened, or that he had not read the petition rules and was otherwise woefully unprepared to get signatures once he returned to New York. He left the state again for a weekend trip to Massachusetts.

O’Toole did have time to attend baseball games, rock concerts and pre-game (get drunk) at bars.

But it is not his fault he gave up after just 19 days.

He says, “trying to get the signatures is real hard especially when many people said they would help but couldn't because they are not in my party base.” So, is it that the “people said they would help” are to blame? Or, the rules that you have to be in a particular party to decide that party’s nominee are stupid or unfair.

It appears both: not many of his friends are Democrats, and the meanies in “the democratic machine” shut him down.

Seriously?

What did he expect?

He ran against Noam Bramson in 2015. He filed to join the Democratic Party only in 2018. He has never done a single thing to support the New Rochelle Democratic Party, he has never run to be or served as a District Leader and is not a major party donor.

Why on earth would he expect the Democratic Party to support a person who could not be bothered to attend the Democratic convention in February?

The simple explanation is that O’Toole is too lazy, too undisciplined and too unfocused to manage a campaign. In 2015, he had me providing that discipline and focus — kicking him in the ass as necessary — and he got on the ballot in June and got 38% of the vote in November. In 2019, his campaign blew up before it had been made public. In 2023, his “campaign” ended after 19 days. Need I say more?

As far as begging the GOP to put him on their ballot — above, he appeals to rank and file Republicans to “call your district leaders and say time for change. James O'Toole is for all people of our great city, no matter what party affiliation.” That is begging: namely, that Republican voters will lobby Republican District Leaders to pressure the county GOP chair to allow him to run as a Democrat on the Republican line, despite being told repeatedly the statewide GOP has already sent word down to the county organizations that this is no longer allowed. The GOP has made clear he is ineligible for the Republican ballot as he is a Democrat.

This sort of thing is what I mean by O’Toole engaging in magical thinking.

O’Toole references Democrat Ron Tocci running as a Republican against Noam Bramson. True, in 2002, more than two decades ago.

His begging has continued even after Lou Trangucci began collecting signatures to be on the Republican ballot for Mayor.

During the 2015 campaign, O’Toole said the Republican Party expressed an interest to put him on their line. I rejected that outright, pointing out there was limited upside as he would get Republican votes anyway but alienate Democrats who might vote for a third-party candidate. I did consider the Working Families Party, but that proved infeasible.

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 9:48 AM

Subject: Fwd: a few numbers on parties and registration

To: James O'Toole

1298 registered in Independence Party in NR, not 3,000 so 65 valid signatures needed, all witnessed by either an enrolled Indy Party member or a Notary.

Another opportunity we can explore is the Working Family Party: 98 registered so only need 5 signatures, maybe we can take that line away from Bramson.

Bob

I was with him on the day his campaign began, and I was with him on the day his campaign ended, in his apartment, when he called Mayor Noam Bramson to concede the race and receive congratulations from the incumbent on getting 38% of the vote. I took the photos above and in the header as O’Toole and I waited, alone, in his apartment before heading over to a “victory party” at Dudley’s.

In between, from the day he asked me to run his campaign until election day, I organized a campaign strategy for James O’Toole and managed all the logistics for the campaign.

Today, O’Toole said he could not remember what I did for his 2015 Mayoral campaign — a total blackout.

It would be easier to list what O’Toole did for the O’Toole campaign than list what I did.

O’Toole stood where I told him to stand during photo shoots and sat where I told him to sit during video shoots.

He read scripts that I wrote, made contact via mail and robocalls to voters I identified, cut radio ads based on scripts I wrote, worked from a personal biography I wrote, delivered a closing statement I prepared for him.

Everything else — printing and sending mailers, designing and printing palm cards, managing social media, promoting his only fundraiser, and much more was done by me without him involved at all.

James O’Toole did have responsibilities on the campaign: he attended an Independence Party cocktail event, he attended a Republican Party cocktail event (with me leading him around to shake hands and taking pictures). He was the point of contact with the Independence Party. He signed and delivered the petitions to the Westchester County Board of Elections. He debated Noam Bramson at a League of Women’s Voter’s candidate forum.

James ordered lawn signs (too cartoonish for my taste, but he liked them). My wife and me, along with our kids, not O’Toole, planted most of the signs, based on a map I used for the Echo Bay campaign.

As his own treasurer, he was supposed to manage a bank account, deposit contributions, pay vendors, and file campaign finance disclosure forms.

I arranged to shoot a video advertisement of high enough quality to air on News12, but that did not happen; James was supposed to reach out to his good friends at News12 and by the time he did there was, he said, no inventory available.

A good deal of my effort was leveraging my extensive, detailed voter database assembled over the previous four years in my own campaigns for school board in 2011 and 2013, and school board campaigns for two other candidates in 2014 and 2015, and the No Echo Bay campaign in 2014, all of which I ran.

My database included data well beyond that available from the Westchester County Board of Elections: additional government data about voters, names, addresses, phone numbers, cross-referenced voting history information and lists, by year, of every voter who participated in school board elections for the previous five years.

The database was a critical element of the campaign, from identifying potential signers of ballot petitions, to creating “walking lists” for the candidate to canvass neighborhoods, to mailing lists for sending campaign literature to voters, to maintaining a running voter contact status and more.

I had no involvement with campaign funds.

The campaign had a single fundraising event, held at Dudley’s where O’Toole worked. The owner made an in-kind contribution of all food and drink and the use of the facility (not sure if that was reported). O’Toole told me at the time, the amount raised — all profit — was $10,000. He has since claimed it was $12,000. He did not file his Campaign Finance disclosure information with the New York State Board of Elections, so who knows?

I do not know what he did with the money, but I do know that several years later, as I was readying a 2019 campaign for O’Toole, I learned that bills from his 2015 campaign were still unpaid. As he had been provided services at my request, I ended up paying the outstanding invoices out of my own pocket.

Having asked me in 2018 to run his 2019 campaign, I had various meetings and teleconferences with potential donors, supporters, and political operatives to lay the foundation for a campaign.

A major problem was that O’Toole had decided in 2018 to register as a Democrat. This was a difficulty for my strategy for his campaign, made far worse because he failed to file by the state deadline to be a Democrat by election day 2019. It was the worst of all worlds from a strategic perspective — no longer a Republican or “independent” but not a Democrat either. In so doing, he risked alienating voters across the spectrum. It ended up being moot.

I arranged a critical meeting for December 10, 2018. The meeting was productive. O’Toole could once again run on the Independence Party line, with no GOP Mayoral candidate.

Inexplicably, after that meeting, O’Toole ghosted me.

I called him and called him to no avail. He simply vanished unexpectedly. I have not spoken with him since, and never heard an explanation from him or anyone else as to why. His bizarre behavior left me holding the bag with commitments I had made on behalf of his campaign with the potential donors, supporters, and politicians operatives I had been meeting with — and the aforementioned unpaid bills. Quite frankly, it was tremendously embarrassing and damaged my reputation with them.

Two years later, O’Toole drunk-texted me at about 2 am to ask to reconnect. I was incredulous. I told him that ship had sailed. He appeared oblivious to his having ghosted me in late 2018, that the choice to disconnect had been his.

He did not know that I knew that months after that December 2018 meeting he had, in a foreshadowing of 2023, asked the Republican Party to put him on the ballot for 2019. Like now, the Republican Party already had a candidate (Brendan Conroy in 2019, Lou Trangucci in 2023).

All his Facebook followers knew is the limited information he posted.

Again, more O’Toole revisionist history from 2019. It is not that he asked me in 2018 to run his campaign then destroyed his relationship with me by ghosting me, the person who ran the most successful third-party campaign in New Rochelle history. It is not that he registered as a Democrat then asked the Republican Party to put him on their ballot — a month after they had an announced candidate. It is not because all the key players knew he had stiffed vendors from his last campaign and he had become radioactive in Westchester political circles. Nope.

He did not run in 2019 because he decided not to run and he made the decision out of the goodness of his heart: “I think New Rochelle is in a middle of a major change and to disrupt that might be tragic.”

Apparently, this was another blackout where he forgot a major plank of his 2015 campaign against Bramson was opposition to high rise tax-abated rental apartments that drain essential services and clog our schools.

He ran against Bramson and downtown development in 2015 but by 2019 wants to leave Bramson in office because he does not want to disrupt “major change”, referring to downtown development.

At some point, I made him aware of the unpaid campaign invoices. He said he did not pay because he had never received the invoices. As I was copied on the emails with the invoices, I knew that to be untrue. He then offered to reimburse me in $25 increments. I told him not to bother.

He did it anyway. His first $25.00 payment was sent on May 29, 2020. I replied immediately in this redacted email.

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Fri, May 29, 2020, at 12:09 PM

Subject: Fwd: James Otoole paid you $25.00

To: James O'Toole

I no longer have a line of credit with — because he still has an unpaid invoice from your last campaign. I offered to advance that money to him in Dec 2018 on your behalf but you INSISTED you would pay it. Obviously you never did so now I have to front $5000 for this current mailer.

I seem to recall you owed him $700?

Given all this I am not sure how you imagine $25 is helpful. I suggest if you really want to be helpful you pay — . You should have had no trouble doing that as I helped you raise plenty of money which begs the question if you were not paying the campaign expenses what happened to the money?

You asked a few months ago “what happened”?” that I disassociated myself from you.

You asked me to run your campaign for Mayor. I put in a bunch of work. I convinced — to not run a GOP candidate to clear the way for you. Then you disappeared for months. Then I find out after the NR GOP went with Conroy you approached — weeks later asking to be the GOP candidate. Since them I was sent a FB post on how you ran for Mayor in 2015 all by yourself with no help from anyone. Needless to say I and my family recall things very differently.

Until you settle with — I do not want your $25 or to hear from you period.

Bob Cox

When I write, “I offered to advance that money to him in Dec 2018 on your behalf but you INSISTED you would pay it” that is a reference to the meeting on December 10, 2018,  before O’Toole ghosted me.

Despite the above email, O’Toole subsequently made 11 more payments totaling $325.00.

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Sun, May 31, 2020 at 12:36 AM

Subject: Fwd: Re: James Otoole paid you $25.00

To: James O'Toole

I am not reading whatever it is you wrote or anything else in the future.

I was content to accept your bizarre behavior since Dec 7, 2018 and just move on yet you have continued to contact me. Why, I do not know. As I told you, “that ship sailed”. We are done.

I am asking you to stop. Do not text me while I am asleep or email me or call me or send a venmo payment or anything else.

I am not looking to be rude. If I bump into you on the street I am not going to yell at you. I will be courteous but nothing more.

Relationships end. As a result of what happened I do not trust you. As trust is the basis of having a relationship there is no basis for me to have a relationship with you. Sometimes in life this happens. I accept it. You should as well.

On Monday, I am going to pay whatever money you owe to — not for your sake but for mine. I will then tear up the invoice and forget about it. Please do the same.

I set his email address to auto-archive so I would never see any further emails from him but can now see he sent this email:

From: James O'Toole

Date: On May 30, 2020, 9:56 PM -0400

Subject: Fwd: Re: James Otoole paid you $25.00

To: Robert Cox

Number one — is full of shit.and the Republican Party is to in New Rochelle.The last time I saw — was at his wife’s wake and before that was at aBruce Bendish fundraiser at the crown plaza. I did’nt owe him 700.00 it was 309.28 for Reno calls.? He said to me at his wife’s wake I enjoy seeing you. Be the way you owe me money? I told him send me invoice which he never did.

You are questioning me about money raised for school board election? I’m in debt from that campaign I put over a 1000.00 into it and put Another 700.00 into it for flyers mailers and signs.

I never approached anyone in the Republican Party about running for Mayor as a matter of fact the Republican Party reached out to me. I never answered. The Facebook post was about the Independece party not helping me for Mayor.

Bob I think your a great person and you do great things for New Rochelle and beyond. I’m sorry I got you in the wrong way. Obviously there is nothing I can do to correct this so as you are I’m done.

In O’Toole’s revisionist history, anything positive is because of him and him alone, nothing is his fault, and everyone else is to blame for his many failures.

In this, even though he was repeatedly invoiced in 2015 and 2016 (I was cc’d on the emails) O’Toole claims he was not invoiced. His unpaid 2015 invoices were raised in emails, phone calls, text messages and in person, even at a wake, for four years, starting almost immediately after election day 2015 as this email exchange shows:

From: —

Date: On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 8:55 AM

Subject: Fwd: Re: Exec star invoice

To: Robert Cox

Bob,

Thanks for your check. However, I never received the O'Toole payment.

Thanks

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 9:06 AM

Subject: Fwd: Re: Exec star invoice

To: —

Ugh. He told me he was paying you a couple weeks ago. If he does not pay you immediately I will pay it myself.

I just texted him and made it clear that I am extremely displeased with him.

In 2018, O’Toole showed up at a wake, uninvited and unwelcome, owing money to the vendor, now a bereaved husband. When the man reminded O’Toole he owed him money (another way of saying how dare you show up at my wife’s wake) O’Toole said he told the man to send him an invoice (which he already had, multiple times). In 2020, O’Toole had still not paid the invoice and justified that to me on grounds that he told a bereaved husband at a wake to send him an invoice and, according to O’Toole, the man did not. Over this four-year period, O’Toole never denied owing the money but repeatedly blamed the vendor for not invoicing him (false).

This is a good illustration of O’Toole blaming others for his own failure — to pay the invoice — and an incredible lack of empathy for a man who just lost his wife.

I found O’Toole’s behavior revolting.

I paid his bill for him in June 2020, and advised him of that (never mind what happened to the $12,000 he says he raised in 2015 — and it was more because I observed him accepting cash donations).

From: Robert Cox

Date: Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Subject: robocall invoice $344.44

To: James O'Toole

James

I paid you bill.

Attached is the invoice with a balance due of $369.44 less the $25 you sent via Venmo for a balance of $344.44

-- is now satisfied on this. For my part, I consider the matter closed.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Robert Cox

In his May 30, 2020 email I only read today, O’Toole goes on to complain how he spent money on his own school board campaign (again, no treasurer and no financials so who knows).

Spending money on your own campaign is normal and not a reason not to pay vendors, and certainly not a reason for me to go out of pocket because O’Toole refused to pay his campaign’s bills for more than four years.

What follows are a few examples of work I did as campaign manager to craft messaging, write scripts for radio spots, video spots and robocalls.

Closing Statement

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 9:49 PM

Subject: Fwd: draft "closing argument"

To: James O'Toole

James,

I wrote a first draft then solicited input from — and — and accepted almost all of their edits.

That said this is meant to reflect what I understood you want your campaign to be about. This document is not meant to put words in your mouth but to take the words from your mouth and put them on paper. So, its your job to make whatever changes you think best and even junk the entire thing.

But you DO need a “closing argument”. These are words you can pull from in interviews and speeches over the coming days. I would suggest a robocall go out Monday based on such a document as well. I have about 3800 numbers to call. Its about $100.

==============

STATEMENT

I have met, spoken with and addressed thousands of New Rochelle voters during this campaign and I can tell you that enthusiasm is high for my campaign and many people will be casting their votes for me on Election Day. There are many others however who say they want to vote for me -- either because they support me or simply want to send a message that they have had enough after 20 years of Noam Bramson -- but are concerned that I do not have experience running a City like New Rochelle.

I would like to address those voters.

Mayor Bramson recently compared himself to the President of the United States, complaining that his having just one vote among seven on City Council was somehow wrong, that it was like the President having just one vote in Congress. He wants all 7 votes.

This might explain why Mr. Bramson has raised and spent over two and a half million dollars trying to win elective office OUTSIDE of New Rochelle - and failing miserably each time. He wants a job where he mandates all the decisions and does not have to consider the views of those who might disagree with him. Put simply, the Mayor does not want to be Mayor, at least as the role is defined under our charter.

That's the fundamental difference between me and Noam, I want the job of Mayor of New Rochelle as the job really is while he wants the job to be something that it is not or some other job altogether.

New Rochelle residents have repeatedly demonstrated at the ballot box their belief in a City Manager form of government where a professional stuff runs the day-to-day operations and the Council sets overall policy. The job of Mayor under our charter is limited BY DESIGN to prevent precisely the sort of personal political considerations influencing operations, meddling that has defined Mr. Bramson's political career.

Every since he was a young man he has had ambitions to be a Senator or a Governor or Congressman. In middle age he sought to be County Executive. Having failed in all that, he now says he wants to be Mayor again - at least until something "better" comes along. In every case, the title of Mayor for him is just a stepping stone for a career politician, a line on his resume.

I want to be your Mayor and only your Mayor where I devote all of my energy towards making New Rochelle great again not currying favor with fat cat developers to bankroll another race for higher office beyond New Rochelle.

The job of Mayor of New Rochelle as defined under our charter is to serve as the chairperson at City Council meetings, cast tie-breaker votes, officiate at ceremonies and otherwise serve as a goodwill ambassador for New Rochelle. It is a job that I have dreamed of all my life and I am prepared to do it well.

That is the job I seek.

This has been the focus of my campaign – from the bottom of my heart, I pledge that a vote for James O'Toole is a vote to restore a professional manager ceremonial mayor form of government as mandated in New Rochelle’s charter while a vote for my opponent is a vote to continue the politically-driven interference and stagnation that Noam Bramson has fostered for the last two decades.

Robocalls

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 12:28 PM

Subject: Fwd: James O'Toole phone numbers for robocalls

To: —

Cc:

Attached is 3300 numbers from my school board list of supporters.

Add in whatever good numbers you have for GOP, Conservative, Independent, Non-Registered and De-Dupe.

Send me the instructions and I will work with James to record a message.

If possible, one today and one for monday. You are the expert so the exact time of day to start them I leave to your good judgement.

Let me pre-approve up to $1,000 for these calls. If it gets to me more than that just give me a heads up.

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 3:31 PM

Subject: Fwd: FINAL FINAL Robo-call

To: James O’Toole

Call (888) 880-6354 Enter User Name and PIN: User: 15940 PIN: 1234

Press 1 to Record, # when finished

Press 1 to re-record, or Press 2 to listen or Press 3 to save.

At this point it will ask you for a recording ID number. OR, If you press # it will assign a recording ID to you at random

Press # and listen to the random recording ID Number. Write it down so I can match the right audio to the right number.

=========================

Hello. This is James O'Toole, candidate for Mayor of New Rochelle in this Tuesday's election.

I believe New Rochelle needs a Mayor who actually wants to be your Mayor not someone who aspires to higher office outside New Rochelle.

If elected, I will put my heart and soul into promoting New Rochelle; focusing on retail-oriented development, not adding more high rise tax-abated rental apartments that drain essential services and clog our schools.

We need a mayor who understands the job is a charter-mandated ceremonial position; who will not needlessly meddle in day-to-day operations.

We need a mayor who will be a champion for the city we all love and leave the delivery of municipal services to the professionals.

If elected, I will put the taxpayer first by cutting my salary in half, eliminating other perks not befitting a part-time position, starting with life-time medical benefits for short-term, part-time elected officials.

I am James O'Toole and I would be honored to receive your vote for Mayor of New Rochelle on Tuesday.

END

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Sat, Oct 31, 2015 at 9:02 AM

Subject: Fwd: Stats on calls

To: James O’Toole

Below is me forwarding a robocall invoice to O’Toole in the days after the campaign ended, the one he said he never got.

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 8:39 AM

Subject: Fwd: INVOICE - James O'Toole phone

To: James O'Toole

Begin forwarded message:

From: —

Date: November 13, 2015 at 4:59:04 AM EST

To: Robert Cox

Subject: Fwd: INVOICE - James O'Toole phon

From: —

To: Robert Cox

Sent: 11/5/2015 7:06:13 A.M. Eastern Standard Time

Subj: INVOICE - James O'Toole phone

Bob,

The invoice for the automated calls is attached.

Thanks

Radio Ad

From: Robert Cox

Date: On Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 9:14 AM

Subject: Fwd: FINAL 30 SEC AD / READ BY JAMES / SHEILA CLOSE

To: James O’Toole

This is James O'Toole.

I believe New Rochelle needs a Mayor who actually wants to be your Mayor not someone who aspires to higher office outside New Rochelle, a Mayor who knows the job under our charter is largely ceremonial, a Mayor who will not meddle as our able professional staff perform the everyday tasks of municipal government.

If elected, I will promote New Rochelle by focusing on RETAIL ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT that puts the taxpayer first.

I am James O'Toole and I would be honored to receive your vote for Mayor of New Rochelle on Tuesday.

END

Paid for by the Friends of James O'Toole campaign committee.

END

Unlike James O’Toole, I have gigabytes of material in photos, video, PDF files, Word documents, emails, and text messages. I have communications with many people I had working on the campaign that O’Toole has never seen. Now, why would a “volunteer” have so much information about O’Toole’s 2015 campaign, and why would O’Toole not have much of that information? Simple, as campaign manager, my role is always to take on any complex or arduous work to free up my candidate to focus on interacting with voters, and to develop a database so my candidate is always talking to the right voters — people with a history of showing up on election day who are deemed likely to vote for my candidate.

You do not win elections by convincing your opponents’ supporters to vote for you; you win elections by getting your supporters to the polls. That requires knowing who your supporters are and that requires a sophisticated voter database (and someone who knows how to use it). You must have a clear message and communicate that message consistently across multiple platforms, especially in targeted communications. An appearance with a gushing Phil Reisman on WVOX and a handful of whining Facebook posts is not a campaign.

In his party, the Democratic Party of New York State, there is no support for a right-wing, xenophobic, pro-police, MAGA Republican who extols the good old days wisdom of racist characters like Archie Bunker; who supports Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, Rob Astorino and opposes George Latimer, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Magical thinking.

There was no conspiracy among Democrats to keep him from getting signatures just as there was no conspiracy among Republicans in dismissing his demands they put a Democrat at the top of their ticket. There is just a guy who put no thought into an actual campaign, announced on a lark, and then made no sustained effort (19 days) to see that “campaign” through.

With the case laid out to my readers as to who is lying and who is telling the truth, a Facebook post from 4 years ago is worth a look in retrospect.

I'm asked almost every day why I didn't run again in this next election...I can honestly say I just wasn't up to it and if your not ready to give 100% then don't do it.

This claim does not jibe with the fact that he asked me to again run his 2019 campaign in 2018, having previously run his 2015 campaign (which he denies) and his school board campaign in 2016 (which he admits), which was built on my 2015 campaign to defeat the $49 million school bond (which he fails to mention at all)

It also does not jibe with his asking the Republican Party for them to make him their Mayoral candidate after he had double-crossed them weeks earlier.

I am grateful to many who supported me for my run for Mayor of New Rochelle.

This is particularly galling as there is no one who did more work on his 2015 campaign, including O’Toole himself. The entire campaign operation was me with help from my family.

I was a independence candidate and ran a 10 week campaign with little money and no campaign manager or committee I basically took it by my self to run.

With the information in this article, readers can judge for themselves if James O’Toole was a solo act in 2015.

If James remains convinced his memory is reliable, that he was his own campaign manager and did everything by himself, I am prepared to publish Part II and Part III and as many parts as needed to jog his memory as to who ran his campaign in 2015.

That would be me.