Can He Clean Up NY?
In 2010, republican Harry Wilson narrowly lost the race for NYS Comptroller to demorat Tom DiNapoli, 51%-46%, the closest a republican has come to winning statewide office in a generation. On Feb. 22, Wilson announced that he is running in the republican primary for Governor of New York.
“I’m running for Governor to turn around New York. Our state is totally broken. Rising crime, sky-high taxes, closed schools, corrupt politicians. I’ve spent my career turning around failing organizations. Let’s get this done,” said Wilson, a Westchester resident and native of Johnstown, in upstate New York.
In a two-minute video message, https://youtu.be/kpg0fmoeghY, Wilson laid out his message of “Cleaning Up Albany.”
“Hard-working people have had problem after problem caused by Albany. We don’t have to sit idly by and watch it get worse. A career politician can’t fix it, but I can.”
“The career politicians and Albany insiders have abused the taxpayers for too long. Corruption has been rampant. The last two elected governors, Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer, have resigned in disgrace. Enough is enough. Harry Wilson is an outsider who can’t be bought. He’s not part of the Albany political club where corruption seems to just be another day at the office. Instead, he’ll clean it up. He’ll enact a tough ethics plan, term limits for all elected officials, and he’ll hold the politicians accountable. And if the politicians don’t start putting the people first, Harry will make sure they don’t get paid.”
Lowering Taxes and getting tough on crime are two issues highlighted by Wilson in his campaign kickoff message. “I’ll end bloated budgets, repeal the Cuomo-Hochul tax hikes, and keep going. It won’t be easy. The politicians want business as usual. But they’ve never met someone like me. I’m running for governor to give every single family across this state the future they deserve.”
“New York gets more unaffordable every year. The politicians in Albany waste more money than any other state. As a result, our taxes are sky high. Harry will turn that around. He’ll repeal every Cuomo/Hochul tax increase and then keep going after that. Harry Wilson is so serious about cutting taxes that he won’t let the politicians get paid until you get more of your money back.”
“Violent crime has spiked dramatically in New York. Instead of supporting the police and getting tough on crime, the politicians have coddled criminals and pushed to defund the police. Harry Wilson will take the opposite approach. He’ll be tough on crime and back the police. He’ll increase funding for police and put more police on the street. If a liberal prosecutor doesn’t want to enforce the law, Wilson will fire the prosecutor. Wilson will eliminate cashless bail. The number one duty of government is to protect its citizens. Harry Wilson will prioritize safety for all New Yorkers.”
Harry Wilson is the founder and CEO of the MAEVA Group, a firm that specializes in trying to turn around struggling businesses. He was a senior adviser for President Barack Obama’s Task Force on the Auto Industry, a panel that helped oversee the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.
Wilson enters a crowded republican field for Governor, including one republican who also lives in Westchester: former County Executive Rob Astorino. Other candidates include Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin, Andrew Guiliani, and Mike Carpinelli.
Wilson will attend the NY GOP convention on Long Island this week to see if he can get the required 25% of the NYS GOP Committee members to get on the primary ballot. Or, he will have to collect thousands of signatures across the state to get on the GOP Primary ballot in June.
But Wilson appears willing to get on the ballot regardless of the outcome of the convention. He has loaned his campaign $12 Million.
