In his State of the Union address in January, President Joe Biden said, “The answer is not to defund the police, it is to fund the police.” That comment ended the argument for most Americans about the calls made by some elected officials to defund the police.
Here in Westchester, many elected democrats have gone the way of President Biden, supporting the police, but also supporting police reform. County Executive George Latimer, for example, has never supported the notion of defunding the police.
One Westchester elected democrat is being challenged for her 2020 Tweets in support of defunding the police. State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, who is running this year for Congress in the newly redrawn 3rd district, which includes the sound shore communities in Westchester and Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, has been criticized by moderate democrats and police organizations for two
Tweets.
One from June 6, 2020 says, “We must defund the police.” The second Tweet dates June 26, 2020, reads, “Today #TeamBiaggi dropped off 550 meals with Rethink Food NYC to New Yorkers at #OccupyCityHall fighting for budget justice and defund the police. Stay safe and keep up the good work!”
Law enforcement groups on Long Island and in Westchester have criticized Biaggi’s Tweets, which have since been removed from her account. “Senator Biaggi, your contempt for law enforcement and support for dangerous legislation empowering criminals is a clear and present danger to all New Yorkers. The legislation you support as well as the anti-police propaganda you project has turned many corners of NYS into the OK corral,” stated Nassau County Detectives Association president John Wighaus.
In Westchester, the Affiliated Police Associations of Westchester, and President Keith Olson, have criticized Senator Biaggi for “trying to prevent police from obtaining the very same equipment that helped save lives of civilians and police in Yonkers today,” and for her comments on Defund the Police, “Here’s a great example of an absolutely clueless elected official,” said Olson.
The new 3rd -NY congressional district includes many moderate democratic communities in Nassau, Suff olk and Westchester counties. About 60% of the district is in Long Island and 40% in Westchester. While several candidates have announced their run for this Congressional seat, currently held by Tom Suozzi, who is running for Governor, three candidates considered by democrats we spoke to have the best chance of winning the primary in June.
In this democratic primary, there seems to be three lanes of ideology. Senator Biaggi, is running in the progressive democratic lane; Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan is running in the conservative -democratic lane, and small business owner and political advocate Robert Zimmerman is in the middle lane.
Lafazan has criticized Biaggi’s comments.“I am alarmed by my latest primary opponent State Senator Alessandra Biaggi’s comments that “we must defund the police.” They are wrong and they don’t represent the values of our district. Police officers, like teachers, nurses, and other frontline workers, deserve
our support not our scorn. They play vital roles in our community. And tearing them down shows a callous disregard for their dedication to public safety,” said Lafazan.
But Lafazan is also being challenged for an apparent flip flop on the issue of defunding the police. Tracey Edwards, regional head of Long Island NAACP, said that Lafazan originally supported the Defund the Police and Black Lives Matter movement, before changing his tune last year to support the police.
Robert Zimmerman said, “We can’t make progress with polarizing rhetoric and demagoguery. We can support the police and stand with the police and achieve real reforms. We can achieve real progress through more training, more community policing, and more outreach into the community. This has been done throughout the county and law enforcement realizes the urgency to do so,” said Zimmerman,
who has the endorsement of NYC Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and has raised over $900,000 without accepting any corporate PAC money.
