Lawler’s opponent continues to launch attacks that are false
By Dan Murphy
The credibility of Cait Conley’s congressional campaign has emerged as a key issue as multiple media outlets this week debunked her latest attack against Congressional Mike Lawler.
New York’s 17th district race has attracted national attention because of its importance in the fight to control Congress in next month’s midterm elections, the candidates have both launched robust advertising campaigns promoting their credentials for the office and discrediting each other’s positions on a wide variety of issues. District 17 includes Rockland and Putnam counties and parts of Westchester and Dutchess.
Similar to other accusations against Lawler, Conley’s latest claim that Lawler had a role in the approval of five data centers in Rockland County has been soundly refuted by two media outlets.
For the past two months, Conley has told voters that “on Mike Lawler’s watch, there have been five data centers built in Rockland County.” She posted it Aug. 19 and Aug. 25 and repeated in the Sept. 28 News 12 debate. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has also promulgated the attack, accusing Lawler of “$80 billion in tax breaks” for “data center developers.”
The Journal News, the dominant daily newspaper in District 17, and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show have both reported that Conley’s claims are not true.
In a front-page story in today’s online editions of The Journal News, the newspaper indicated “There are no obvious links between Lawler and the state centers built in his town (Orangetown).”
Earlier this week, Brian Lehrer asked Timmy Facciola, founder of the Judge Street Journal, to examine this issue. Lawler was sworn in January, 2023 and four of the data centers were built prior to 2021. The one exception, DataBank’s Orangeburg facility, was approved by the Orangetown Planning Board in 2022, also before he took office.
The rest of her attack fails the same test. The law she cites for “$80 million in tax breaks to data center companies” does not contain the words “data center.” Interestingly, two AI big tech companies have paid Conley $328,283, Hidden Level and Primer, since January 2025, according to her financial disclosure, filed May 19, 2026.
Conley’s campaign did not return an email request for comment by the Yonkers Times.
“Cait Conley’s false claims against Mike should be a red flag for voters,” said Ciro Riccardi, Lawler’s Campaign Manager. “Cait Conley has taken $328,283 from two AI companies and still won’t say what she does for the money. One candidate in this race has a data center problem, and it isn’t Mike.”