By Dan Murphy
The most closely watched Westchester Board of Legislators race this year is a rematch between Legislator James Nolan and former Legislator Ruth Walter, in the 15th district, East Yonkers, Bronxville. The two candidates held a LWV online debate on Oct. 5.
While Legislator Nolan and Walter both expressed their views, accomplishments, and criticisms of each other, the debate turned sour with Walter calling Nolan a “MAGA candidate,” and Nolan saying “I’m not a liar, I’m not a racist, and I’m not an elitist. but my opponent does have that type of a pattern.”
The debate was a difficult one for the LWV Rivertown’s to moderate, and on more than one occasion the moderator told Walter to stop the personal attacks against Nolan. Walter claims that the so-called personal attacks were legitimate policy differences that the two have, but the moderator called the exchange “not a civil debate.”
The best parts of this very contentious debate were when Nolan defended his work as a sanitation worker for the Yonkers Department of Public Works. “She (Walter) has attacked me for double dipping. I work every single day for my family.”
Walter said that Nolan “has a thin record of accomplishment,” and accused him of trying to take credit for projects completed by a democratic supermajority on the BOL and by democrat County Executive George Latimer.”
But the debate quickly turned negative again, with Walter saying that Nolan’s heroes are “Lee Zeldin, Mike Lawler and Trump,” while Nolan said Walter’s heroes are Congressman Jamaal Bowman, before he got cut off.
The two clearly do not like each other, and this debate was symbolic of the angry political discourse we see across the country, with both sides supporting their candidate, and a small number of independent voters in between.
The debate can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TZgB5pEbNs
