CROTON-ON-HUDSON—Two Democrats vying for the office of Westchester County executive addressed a church full of potential voters on Sunday, discussing their plans to unseat Republican incumbent Rob Astorino and urging them to participate in November’s election.
County Legislator Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat, and state Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat, took aim at Astorino—who has held the county’s top office since 2010—hoping to invigorate a Democratic Party still reeling from the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. And even though Democrats in Westchester outnumber Republican voters by 2-1, Astorino has already prevailed twice at the polls.
His two potential challengers have already begun debating the issues in various communities ahead of a May 10 Democratic nominating convention to pick the party’s candidate.
Both Democrats challenged the county executive’s reputation for passing seven consecutive budgets in which taxes have been cut or remained flat, calling his budget practices shortsighted and irresponsible, and often comparing him to President Donald Trump.
“Rob Astorino wants to run on taxes, taxes and taxes,” Jenkins, 55, said, adding that social services and long-term budgeting practices suffer as a result of flat tax rates. Jenkins said the only time the county truly cut taxes was when he was chairman of the Board of Legislators, from 2010 to 2013. Latimer added that seven years of no tax increases would likely set Westchester up for future financial hardship.
Photos/Andrew Dapolite
“What we’re seeing now is an ideological approach that says, ‘We are going to do anything in order to put forth no tax increase,’” the senator said.
Both candidates also chastised Astorino for the way his administration has operated the county Human Rights Commission. Latimer, who during his lengthy political career was chairman of the Board of Legislators when the commission was first instituted in the 1990s, said that it was created to allow residents to report instances of discrimination without going through the state system.
“The [Republican] party’s moved so far to the right, they can’t even accept anti-discrimination efforts in the Human Rights Commission,” Latimer, 63, said, adding that as county executive he would fire everyone currently on the commission and employ a new team.
Meanwhile, Jenkins said he was responsible for saving the commission from being disbanded. Jenkins added that while he has been on the Board of Legislators, the board has overridden 260 of 267 vetoes made by Astorino. One of those overrides stopped the county executive from eliminating the commission altogether. But Jenkins lamented that the commission, now full of Astorino political appointees, is not acting proactively as it was intended to, lacks a full-time executive director and added that he would work to re-establish advocacy offices for minority groups, which, he said, have also been marginalized under the Astorino administration.
“We will reimplement the offices of advocacy and make sure that we stand up for the people’s rights in Westchester County,” he said to a packed house.
Although the two candidates agreed on most issues, pitting themselves against the Republican incumbent, the biggest difference in philosophy between the two centered on the results of the party’s nominating convention at the County Center.
Latimer, now serving in his third term as senator, renewed his intention to honor the results of the nominating convention, saying that if he does not receive the nomination, he will throw his support behind the nominee. “If Ken is the nominee, I’m going to put the same energy into retail on his behalf as I would on my own behalf,” he said. The senator added that he thought it would be harmful to the party’s unity and fundraising to force a September primary, and suggested that the Republican Party could manipulate the primary process to damage the Democrats.
“The cause is more important than the career,” Latimer said.
Conversely, Jenkins, who bowed out of the 2013 race for county executive after losing the nomination to New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson—who was soundly defeated by Astorino in the general election—said that he will petition for a primary if the party does not back him this time around. He added that he wants his nomination to come from the people he would represent as the county executive, not necessarily the district leaders responsible for choosing a nominee. “If I am not the winner of that primary that came from the people—from the voters—we will be locked hand in hand,” he said, referencing his support for Latimer in such a scenario.
Whichever candidate ultimately takes on Astorino in the general election will be shorthanded in a financial race against the county executive, who reported a $2.5 million campaign fund balance in January. Latimer, who estimated that his Republican opponent could raise as much as $4 million by November, said he has had experience winning against financially superior campaigns. In 2012, in his first race for Senate, Latimer ran against Bob Cohen, of New Rochelle, who spent approximately $4 million during the campaign.
The organizers had originally planned to also host state Assemblyman Thomas Abananti, a Greenburgh Democrat who had considered running. According to Bruce Campbell, the debate moderator, Abananti pulled out of the event after withdrawing from the race.
David Spano, the son of former County Executive Andy Spano, has also announced plans to seek the Democratic nomination. Spano, however, was not invited to participate.
