By Eric Wolf Schoen
Well Friends, if you think Tuesday, June 25 is simply National Strawberry Parfait Day, National Camp Counts Day (honoring the amazing day and sleep away camps we still have in this country) or National Goat Cheese Day, you must have been sleeping under a rock for the last several months.
Tuesday, June 25 is Primary Day for Federal, State, County and local offices in NewYork State.
Yes, we are talking among other contests the Primary for Congress in New York’s 16th District which features incumbent Jamaal Bowman being challenged by Westchester County Executive George Latimer. One of the most expensive primaries in the history of this country, the last numbers I saw showed over $23 million dollars being by the candidates. That’s a lot on money!
People on both sides of the battle are passionate about the candidates and their positions on the issues. I find this level of passion to be almost equal to the national passion on the Biden /Trump race. Many friendships have been strained, new alliances between people of all political stripes have been formed, and though it’s hard to believe there are still people who don’t realize they are eligible to vote in the NY 16 Primary.
Bottom line is that if you have received a crazy amount of mail from candidates Bowman and Latimer, you live in the district. Early voting at specially designated sites, which are probably not your normal polling location continues through this Sunday. Do we really need these early polling locations to be open for 2 weeks prior to Primary Day for all elections or should they only be open for the Presidential Election every 4 years. It will be interesting to compare the percentage of people who vote in a highly contested Presidential Primary to the the percentage of people who vote in a highly contested Congressional Primary as we have on Tuesday. ,
Board of Elections staff have a difficult enough job recruiting poll workers for the big presidential elections where you have a steady stream of voters vs. elections like the Congressional, state and county elections which attract far fewer people. The only reason the Board of Elections can obtain the large numbers of workers they need is because they have increased the pay scale. Bottom line is that it’s a 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. job not always working in the best of conditions. Yes they have talked about voting by mail but the elected officials are afraid they would lose their power.
I have been very clear with you who I am supporting for Congress in NY 16, a man who I believe will uphold the dignity of the office as his distinguished predecessors had whether it be Nita Lowey, Elliot Engel, Richard Ottinger, Mario Biaggi or Peter Peyser. That man is Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
Last week I shared with you some personal reasons why I am backing my friend George that go far beyond what you will see in the public endorsements that run in our regional newspapers. Most newspaper editorials are written by editorial boards based on stories contained in their newspapers and don’t truly represent personal knowledge of the candidates.
When I support a candidate, I know their positions on issues of importance to the community as I live in that community. When the current Congressman Mr. Bowman voted against the Infrastructure Bill, I spoke to local officials, real estate leaders, union leaders and the folks like you and my neighbors who are sick and tired of getting flat tires when they take local roads to buy their groceries at the supermarket. These same people don’t buy Bowman’s pathetic rationale that he knew the bill had enough votes to pass, wanted more dollars in a bill that would address more needs and that’s why he voted against the bill.
Bowman’s fire alarm stunt is nothing to laugh about. My friends out of this country know what he did. All of his constituents were embarrassed by his antics, and the slap on the wrist he got, well he might as well not have received any punishment. People could have panicked and lives could have been lost. The videotape showed he was lying, And I want to remind you that Mr. Bowman was a High School Principal. He knows the seriousness of the stunt he performed. I am sure that if one of his students pulled a fire alarm they would have receive an extensive suspension or expulsion.
He waffles everyday on his positions on Israel and the Middle East. There are many more people with far more extensive qualifications than your columnist who have weighed in on his foreign policy flaws.
You would find each of the Congresspersons I mentioned earlier at events in their Congressional District. The loud cry from his constituents? Where is our Congressman? Oh wait a minute, there he is on MSNBC. No sneakers and shorts on MSNBC. But add to that attire a polo shirt and you have what he wore to church dinner several weeks ago.
All I can say is that people in NY 16 want a Congressman who will make them proud and represent them with dignity. Someone who is visible in the district and has staff that will help them when they have to deal with the bureaucracy that is the Federal Government.
George Latimer won’t embarrass us in Washington, D.C., the world and right here at home. He will embrace our ideas and truly be a vital force in Congress. The people in NY 16 deserve nothing less and nothing but the best!
For District Attorney it’s a No Brainer: Susan Cacace
Full disclosure. I knew Judge Susan Cacace’s grandmother, long time leader in the WESTCHESTER Democratic Party. We were District Leaders in the same Ward in Yonkers, and I would often drive her home from political club meetings. I knew her dad and know her brothers.
Years ago Judicial Candidates in WESTCHESTER would run for their first election only on the Democrat and some minor party lines. If they won they would often run for a second term or the remainder of their term on all political party lines. This handshake ‘deal’ existed for many years until Democratic enrollment increased and Democrats were as they are now able to get elected almost exclusively on the Democratic line.
For her opponents to say that Judge Cacace ran on the Republican and Conservative lines years ago and represents the values of those parties shows their unfamiliarity with the history of the Judiciary in WESTCHESTER. Judge Cacace served on the WESTCHESTER Judiciary for a distinguished 20 year period. She did her job, and I never heard negative comments about her performance.
She will prosecute without the fanfare of a Jeanine Pirro. She will make an excellent District Attorney for Westchester County.
Campaign Signs Littering our Roadways
Political signs are ok on private property, not ok on public property. The candidates , including Judicial candidates know the laws. They break them. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano must establish a task force after the election. Political signs lessen the value of homes in an area and are pollution. Put up whatever sign you want on your property, but not on property that is in the public domain! Impose the hefty fines outlined in the City Charter and candidates and their supporters won’t break the laws!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com, or friend him on Facebook Eric Schoen…just look for him in the picture with Joan Rivers!
