By Dan Murphy
The $5 Million dollar congressional campaign of Briarcliff Manor Deputy Mayor Peter Chatzky is on life support, after a New York Times story found dozens of social media posts by Chatzky which featured an objectified fascination with sex and his objectification of women.
Chatzky’s posts were sent to the NYT and reporter, Nicholas Fandos, who decided to run a story (The Wealthy House Candidate With a History of Bawdy Facebook Posts) The New York Post also wrote about it Mike Lawler’s millionaire Dem rival Peter Chatzky jokes about teen sex in vulgar resurfaced posts)
Both the NYT and NY Post reported an assortment of examples including “speculat[ing] about how much he would have to pay Melania Trump, the first lady, to have sex with him”, “whether he was too old to have an intimate relationship with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, then in their 20s”, how to “enhanc[e] breasts in photoshop”, and “jokes about sperm, masturbation and sexual arousal”. He even solicited responses from his Facebook friends.
The result of the Times story are calls for Chatzky to get out of the race for the Democratic Primary in NY-17 in June, with the winner facing off against Congressman Mike Lawler.
The calls came from one of Chatzky’s opponents, the Chair of the Democratic Pary in Westchester, and one of the most powerful democratic interest groups.
Suzanne Berger, Chair of the Westchester Democratic Party is quoted in the NYT story, “He may be attempting humor, but red lights should flash when objectifying women or girls in service of a joke.”
Effie Phillips-Staley, one of six democrats seeking to challenge Lawler, called for Chatzky to end his campaign.
“The sexually-charged and misogynistic posts by Peter Chatzky reveal a troubling lack of judgment and a crass objectification of women and girls. His statements are difficult to laugh off, especially when the Epstein scandal, Trump’s own past statements and the rise of toxic influencers like Andrew Tate are normalizing sexist and sexually abusive rhetoric.
“I have always maintained that while we are competing in the Democratic primary for NY-17, we must ultimately unite as a party to defeat the GOP in November. However, given the information that has come to light, I cannot in good conscience support or unite behind Mr. Chatzky as our nominee, should he win the Democratic primary.
“Furthermore, as part of the progressive movement, we have seen in recent congressional races how multiple progressive candidates have split votes, enabling corporate-backed, pro-war candidates to win. I believe it is incumbent on all progressive candidates to push for the optimal conditions that advance the electoral success of our movement for affordability, working people, social justice and equality.
“For all of these reasons, I am calling on Peter Chatzky to end his campaign for Congress.” said Phillips-Staley, who recently received the endorsement from the NYS Working Families Party.
WCLA-Choice Matters has been fighting to protect reproductive rights and supporting Pro Choice candidates since 1984, and their newsletter and voting guide, is sent to over 90,000 individuals. Their email blast, sent on March 24, reads,
Dear Friends,
In the over two decades that I have been at the helm of WCLA – Choice Matters, I have never before witnessed any Democratic candidate for any office so shamelessly and publicly sexualize and degrade women – until now.
Last week, the New York Times printed a scandalous exposé about New York’s Congressional District 17 Democratic candidate, Peter Chatzky and his fascination with sex and his objectification of women on his Facebook page. Now, as Chatzky plays the victim, issuing a pathetic apology, his friends and wife continue to dismiss his actions as boys-will-be-boys humor.
Peter Chatzky is another multi-millionaire who is self-funding his congressional campaign. He is the Briarcliff Manor Deputy Mayor – and he is also the man who has single-handedly put the #MeToo movement and the Epstein Files front and center in the race to flip CD 17.
This is chronic male misogyny – not simply bad judgment. This man is running for Congress claiming to be a “progressive”. How is dehumanizing and sexualizing women “progressive”? How is talking about big breasts and sex with teenage girls “progressive”? The radicalized Trump administration is ripping away women’s rights – from abortion, to contraception, to job equity, to voting rights. And Chatzky? He, too, is part of the culturally complicit patriarchy problem.
Remaining silent or justifying Chatzky’s behavior as “locker room talk” dismisses his accountability. Normalizing misogyny creates a breeding ground for anti-woman behavior. It validates male entitlement and excuses discriminatory and even criminal actions against girls and women.
We have all watched the Epstein Files slowly unfold with the drip, drip of information being released. The men implicated are of different political parties and nationalities. The only things these men have in common is their gender, wealth and color – and that the people in the know remained silent – from the customs agents, to housekeepers, to pilots, to friends, to spouses…
Peter Chatzky has degraded women by making them sexual objects and the butt of jokes. Deplorable behavior like his perpetuates an oppressive cultural attitude.
This past Monday we saw Bill Cosby found guilty, again – an American icon until he wasn’t. His friends remained silent for decades. The #MeToo movement was a revolutionary revolt against the expected code of silence and the gendered advice: “Don’t report it. It’s your word against his. Get over it and move on.” Earlier this year, in a campaign ad, Chatzky threw a puppet in the trash – a puppet that was clearly female – and a Democrat. When called out, his response and that of his friends and spouse were the same: “Get over it. It wasn’t a big deal.” WRONG. It’s a very big deal and we will not get over it!
It’s time for Peter Chatzky to drop out and move on.
Sincerely yours, Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, President
The Chatzky campaign released the following statment. “Over the years, I made crude, over-the-line jokes on my personal Facebook page among close friends. They were stupid, they were inappropriate, and I own that completely. I regret offending anyone, and I sincerely apologize.
“But let’s be clear about what’s happening here. Rather than running on ideas, my opponents are mining two decades of social media posts because they’d rather talk about anything other than housing, healthcare, rising utility costs, and a broken political system. I’ve spent years doing the actual work — fighting for this community in real life, not in press releases. DC insiders and packaged candidates who answer to the party establishment, not the people, would love nothing more than to push me out of this race. They won’t.
“The voters of NY-17 deserve a candidate who shows up for them, and that’s exactly what I intend to keep doing,” stated Chatzky.
