Mark Lungariello

mlungariel@lohud.com

An “almost presidential” museum should be built in Westchester County to recognize Hillary Clinton and other presidential candidates who won the popular vote but lost, Greenburgh’s town supervisor says.

Paul Feiner, a Democrat, said he isn’t suggesting using town or government funding for a museum or library, but wants a local college to take on the project, which he says would boost tourism in the area.

“Whether people like Hillary or don’t like Hillary, we should take advantage that she’s played an important role in American history and politics,” Feiner told The Journal News/lohud on Monday.

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Clinton has lived in Chappaqua, a few towns over from Greenburgh in the county, since her husband, former President Bill Clinton, left the White House. He said Westchester is part of “living history,” having the Clintons living here.

The museum, he said, could focus on documenting Clinton’s rise as the first female nominee for president of one of the major political parties. It could also gather the papers of other “almost presidents” and their contributions.

Clinton lost to Donald J. Trump in November, although totals later showed her winning the popular vote by more than 2.5 million votes. It was the fifth time in history that the popular vote winner didn’t end up president. Trump’s inauguration is Friday.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican who calls himself a friend of Trump's, laughed off the idea and called it "typical Paul Feiner."

"I don't think anybody would attend, and certainly nobody from around the world would come to an almost-presidential museum," he said, during an interview at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Tarrytown. "I think Paul's idea should go into a museum somewhere in Greenburgh," he joked.

Clinton is one of only five candidates who won the popular vote, but lost the election. The others are Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote and a plurality of electoral votes but still lost in 1824 to John Quincy Adams; New Yorker Samuel Tilden, who lost to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876; New Yorker Grover Cleveland, who lost to Benjamin Harrison in 1888 in between two terms as president; and Al Gore, who lost to George W. Bush in 2000.

Feiner had some unique pitches in his more than two decades in office, including a proposal to turn the Tappan Zee Bridge into a park when its replacement bridge is completed. He said he believed the "almost president" idea was something that would find supporters due to historical significance of Clinton and the others.

“People really shouldn’t look at this at a standpoint of the present, they should look at the value to the county and to history, 25, 50, 100 years from now,” Feiner said,

Twitter: @marklungariello