[C]HAPPAQUA – Roughly 40 miles outside Manhattan – just north of Pleasantville – sits Chappaqua, a commuter community brimming with beauty and wealth.
In Chappaqua, the grass is green, and mowed often. The houses are big, the picket fences are white and the cars are luxurious.
In a 2015 ranking, Forbes listed the town as the 317th wealthiest place in America.
A town founded in the 1730s by the famously cordial Quakers, nearly everyone is polite, even when they are refusing to be interviewed. It’s a community where cars will stop for you, even if you are jaywalking, and wave. Store clerks will allow access to the bathroom, even for non-customers.
Upon meeting the Chappaqua fire chief, you may even be told that you have the appropriate attitude and physique to join the department’s rank of dedicated volunteers.
The town has beautiful parks, historic buildings and sweeping forests. The Algonquian translation of Chappaqua means “a place where nothing is heard but the rustling of the wind in the leaves.”
Chappaqua’s 1,500 residents include a number of New York notables: CNN President Jonathan Klein, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
But in interviews Tuesday with folks around town, it was clear the most heralded neighbors in town are Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The Clintons moved to Chappaqua in 1999, as Bill ended his presidency and Hillary eyed a U.S. Senate seat in the Empire State. While the Clinton’s were at first seen as carpetbaggers, the community has broadly embraced them.
In fact, praise of the Clintons was the first thing I heard as I stepped off the train on Tuesday.
Steve Goldenberg, who was handing out campaign literature at the train station and urging travelers to vote for Hillary Clinton, said, “Please don’t forget to vote for Hillary today,” as commuters walked by.
Goldenberg said he woke up at 5 a.m. on Tuesday to canvass for Clinton around Chappaqua. Then, at eight, he ventured to the Douglas Grafflin Elementary School to watch the Clintons vote. He spent the afternoon making calls for Clinton before heading to the train station.
Wearing a white polo shirt emblazoned with the words “Secret Service 1996” and “Bill Clinton,” Goldenberg said the shirt was a souvenir from working for the former president’s second presidential campaign as an advance staffer organizing events.
After praising Bill’s presidential tenure, Goldenberg moved on to the 2016 race.
“Hillary’s done good for the town and I think she will make a great president,” he said. “She’s got good support in Chappaqua.”
Of the nearly 20 voters in Chappaqua interviewed for this story, the overwhelming majority said they voted for Hillary in the New York primary.
This anecdotal support bore out in Tuesday’s results, where Clinton smashed Bernie Sanders in the town’s county seat of Westchester, winning her home district 67 percent to 37 percent.
On Tuesday, residents praised Hillary’s foreign policy experience, and political pragmatism. There were also kind words for Sanders, though some of the upper crusters scoffed at the Vermont senator’s promise to tax the rich and give to the poor.
“I’m not a fan of wealth redistribution,” one man said after voting.
Beyond the political compliments for the Clintons, residents of Chappaqua also shared flattering personal stories about the former first couple.
The Clintons walk in the Memorial Day parade nearly every year, citizens said. They love to talk to neighbors, and eat out around town regularly.
One woman fondly recounted that Bill judged a pie contest at the farmer’s market last fall, and Hillary recently dropped in on her daughter’s civics class at the highly esteemed Horace Greeley High School.
“They are so generous with their time and physical presence, they are a charming couple,” said Lori Morton, a 10-year resident of Chappaqua who had homemade Hillary signs posted on her fence. “They pay attention to people, it’s really incredible.”
Residents generally agreed that Bill was more gregarious around town, and seemed to be at home more than his wife.
“Bill loves the crowd,” Morton said. “When he’s out, it’s really to interact with as many people as possible.”
Another longtime resident and Hillary voter, Ellen Cooper, had a half-dozen photos on her iPhone that she took with the Clintons.
“Bill is always getting coffee somewhere, he just loves to talk,” she said.
Cooper said she often sees Bill walking his dogs, and that she uses the same groomer as he does.
“I once made a mistake talking to Bill with a conversation stopper,” she said. “I asked Bill ‘How’s your dog? I haven’t seen you in a while walking your dog.’”
Cooper paused, and squirmed a bit. Then, in a southern drawl impersonating Bill’s tone, she said the former president informed her that “He’s dead.”
Patti Ettinger spoke about Bill and Hillary’s photographic memories, and their ability to remember names of neighbors.
“They even remember the names of people’s grandkids,” Ettinger said. “It’s impressive.”
Residents also pushed back against criticism that Hillary was a cold or stern candidate, insisting she radiates warmth with town members.
“You interact with her and she really makes eye contact, she leans into you so you are like ‘Oh gosh, I better say something good because she is really paying attention,’” Morton said. “She is investing in you and what you have to say, even in a short moment.”
Cooper said Hillary was always willing to talk about issues, or chat during a chance encounter.
“She is special and awesome and amazing,” Cooper said.
Four Chappaqua residents VTDigger spoke to voted for Sanders.
Ilisa Pliskow, who has lived 14 years in Chappaqua, cited Sanders’ push for universal health coverage and genuine demeanor as her reasons for support.
“We see Bill Clinton all over the place, Hillary not so much,” Pliskow said. “But their presence here didn’t sway me.”
A professor at the City University of New York, Rita Tobin cast a ballot for Sanders because of his bold agenda.
“I fall into Hillary’s demographic of an older female,” Tobin said. “However I’ve been a lifelong progressive, I admire Bernie, I admire his positions. Bernie is someone who is committed to making sure that his platform is achieved without huge compromises. I don’t like Hillary’s pragmatism.”
Pointing to her car bumper, Tobin said, “It’s probably better not to advertise about Bernie, though we do with our bumper sticker.”
“Nobody’s driven me off the road yet,” she added, laughing.
The Sanders supporters held off any real criticism of the former secretary of state, except for Peter Berkman, a hardcore 27-year-old Sanderista.
“Do I think Hillary Clinton is a good neighbor and do I believe in her message that it takes a village to raise a child? No, I don’t,” Berkman said. “I think that she’s a disgrace, and I would never want her to be representing my community, let alone my state, let alone my country in any way shape or form.”
Wanting to catch a moment with Bill or Hillary — perhaps to talk about pie or foreign policy — a VTDigger reporter walked to the outskirts of town, up Old House Lane to the couple’s abode.
A beautiful multi-million dollar mansion, only a slice of the house can be seen from the street. Trees tower over most of the building, and a tall white fence surrounds the property. There was a blacked out SUV parked in the driveway, and multiple cameras were surveying the surroundings. A small “Hillary” lawn sign was stuck in the ground, near the front gate.
The Clintons were likely home, perhaps relaxing in the hours before a Times Square party celebrating Clinton’s blowout victory in New York. But there was no plausible way to get in, or ask any questions.
“Hello?” VTDigger asked to no one particular. Sadly, no response.
Still, the silence surrounding the house was fitting. Because, as the Algonquians rightly observed, Chappaqua is a place where “nothing is heard but the rustling of the wind in the leaves.”
