Thiele Quietly Makes Switch To Democratic Party

State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who has caucused with Democrats for the past 13 years, finally has officially joined the party.

Thiele, who had been a member of the Independence Party since 2009 and a Republican before that, said he changed his registration to the Democratic Party in February.

A public official who typically weighs in with press releases every time he sponsors a new piece of legislation or a major political event happens on the state or national stage was uncommonly silent this time.

“I didn’t think it was that big a deal,” Thiele said. “The people know who I am and what I stand for. To me, the party label is of lesser importance.”

Thiele’s switch in party allegiance was first reported this week by Julie Lane of The Shelter Island Reporter and The Suffolk Times.

Thiele said he would have been happy to remain a member of the Independence Party, but that party was knocked off the ballot, along with the Green and Libertarian parties, when former Governor Andrew Cuomo succeeded in having a provision added to the state budget process in 2020 that raised the threshold from 50,000 votes to 130,000 for a party to remain on the state ballot.

“I wasn’t looking to make any changes, but the Independence Party disappeared because it didn’t meet that threshold,” Thiele said, adding that his decision was simply “a logical extension of that.”

“I’m happy to join the Democrats because I share their views on almost everything,” he continued, “certainly on the major issues of the day.”

Two examples he cited were gun safety and women’s health care.

“When I started, there were about 15 pro-choice Republicans in the Assembly,” said Thiele, who was first elected in 1995. “That number is zero today. They don’t exist.”

Thiele added that he switched from the Republican Party to the Independence Party when the Tea Party movement began to dominate the GOP. “The march toward extremism in the Republican Party started with the Tea Party, and that’s when I changed,” he said.

He said over the years he has enjoyed a good relationship with the Democratic leadership and was appointed the chairman of the Assembly’s Local Government Committee. He serves on several other committees, including the Environmental Conservation, Rules, and Transportation committees.

Thiele said he had tried to be consistent in his positions, supporting the environment and education while maintaining fiscal discipline.

Thiele ran as a Republican when he was elected to the Suffolk County Legislature in 1987 and 1989. In 1991, he founded the Southampton Party and ran a successful race for Southampton Town supervisor. The new party won a majority on the Town Board, but fell apart when Thiele left to replace Republican Assemblyman John Behan in Albany.

Thiele said third parties were viable options on the town level at that time, pointing to successes they had in both Southold and Riverhead towns, as well as Southampton.

“They can be catalysts for change — that’s what the Southampton Party did,” he said. “Both parties became pro-environment. Before that, the Republicans were perceived as more pro-development.”

Thiele served as town chairman of the Independence Party for several years and said as party leader he tried to steer the party’s support behind qualified candidates.

Thiele weighed a run for Congress in 2020, but dropped the idea, reasoning that his seniority in Albany would pay greater dividends to his constituents than starting anew in Washington, D.C.