By Dan Murphy
WESTCHESTER, NY — New York Republicans are still looking for a viable candidate to run for governor, three months after Robert Astorino’s loss to George Latimer for Westchester County executive, and two months after businessman Harry Wilson decided not to challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo, seeking a third term in November.
Several relatively unknown Republicans have dipped their toe in the water for governor. Republican Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb was in the race for a few months but recently dropped out. Twenty-year State Sen. John Francisco is now the front-runner for the Republican nomination, but as upstate Republican Assemblyman Ray Walter said: “If there’s going to be an alternative to Cuomo, it’s not going to be someone who’s been here for as long as John DeFrancisco’s been here. This is going to be a referendum on Andrew Cuomo, and the alternative is going to have to be somebody who is different enough that the public can accept.”
With the clock ticking and the election only eight months away, Republicans are still searching, or scrambling, for a candidate to stand up to Cuomo. Two names from Westchester are either being considered or urged to run, and they are not named Astorino or Wilson.
Joe Holland, a former state senator who served as co-chairman of George Pataki’s campaign for governor in 1994 and as Pataki’s housing commissioner, announced earlier this month that he is running for governor. Holland, if nominated by the Republican and Conservative parties, would be the first African-American Republican candidate for governor in New York history.
Holland, 60, grew up in Yonkers, attended Cornell University and Harvard Law School, returned to Westchester, and now lives in Harlem. He is an ordained minister who has been out of politics for more than 20 years.
Holland recently sent out an email to Republican county chairmen, writing:
“I am writing just to remove any doubt or uncertainty as to the fact of my candidacy (for governor). I will be formally announcing my candidacy in newsworthy fashion (details soon forthcoming) before the end of the month.
“I also have a track record of service of making a difference in the New York City area and out of that comes a network of supporters that I can cultivate to vote for me move the numbers in a positive direction and put me over the top in November.
“As I looked at the environment at this point, I got motivated that it was time for me to get back engaged with the goal of bringing some new ideas and new direction to the political discourse,” said Holland.
The argument in nominating Holland is for Republicans to try something different by running an African-American, and to hope to make inroads in New York City, where Republicans usually lose in all races by an 80 to 20 percent margin. The traditional Republican statewide political playbook calls for winning upstate and the suburbs of New York City.
Republican chairpersons from the Hudson Valley are said to be supporting Holland for governor.
Some Republican chairpersons are still searching for a candidate and are urging Westchester resident John Cahill to run for governor. Cahill served as Gov. Pataki’s chief of staff and ran for attorney general four years ago. Running as a Republican statewide four years ago, he got a taste of the challenges, losing by a 53 to 40 percent margin to Eric Schneiderman (5 percent didn’t vote for AG and 2 percent voted libertarian).
While Cahill has been rumored and wooed for several months, he has made no public declaration that he is running. He also skipped a recent Conservative Party gathering in Albany, at which Conservative leaders admitted, “If John (Cahill) were interested, he would have reached out to us.” Several party chairpersons from upstate and NYC are urging Cahill to get into the race.
Right now, DeFrancisco, from Syracuse, is the front runner. Serving as the number-two Republican in the State Senate as deputy majority leader, he has received the endorsements from Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and from other GOP Senate colleagues. Erie County Executive Joel Giambra is the other announced Republican candidate for governor.
Editor’s Note: A Politico story about the New York governor’s race by Jimmy Vielkind starts with, “Some people are even floating the name of George Pataki,” referencing the fact that former Gov. Pataki might enter this year’s race for governor. While the story shows how disorganized and late to the dance the New York GOP is this year, the Pataki reference is nonsense. Pataki has no desire to run. If he does, this reporter will jump off the Tappan Zee-Mario Cuomo Bridge.
