On Election Night in Westchester County on Nov. 2, County Executive George Latimer was celebrating his re-election with a 20 point victory over his republican opponent, when a special guest arrived. NY Attorney General Letitia James made a point to make it to Latimer’s celebration and congratulate him.
News 12’s Tara Rosenblum asked AG James if she would consider Latimer as her pick for Lt. Governor. James didn’t answer the question but did say, “I love George Latimer and all of the elected officials in Westchester. Westchester has a winning streak of flipping seats from red to blue and I want to be a part of that winning coaltion. George Latimer and I are working with Senator Chuck Schumer on changes to SALT (State and Local Tax cap deduction) and on putting people back to work with the infrastructure plan.”
Since those comments, Rosenblum and News 12 have stood by the story, based on discussions with multiple democratic sources saying that Latimer is in the running to be James’ pick for Lt. Gov.
No official word from Latimer or his campaign staff on the rumors, but other Westchester democrats we have spoken to have confirmed that there is an interest from both sides, (James and Latimer) on the idea of a statewide ticket next year.
“While its way to early to get out infront of this and start campaigning for yourself, the possibility is real. I hear that AG James is interested, and I was in the room on election night here in Westcheter, where there was a bond between the two. They seemed comfortable with each other. And while George is happy being County Executive, and finishing out his term, the prospect of becomng Lt. Governor would be a nice cherry on the top of George’s poltiical career,” said one Westchester Democratic leader close to Latimer.
Latimer ran for Lt. Governor once before, back in xxx, but got out of the race before a democratic primary, thus keeping his streak of never losing an election in tact (he is 21 for 21). So the idea of serving as Lt. Governor is not a foreign one to him.
A Sound Shore Democratic leader said, “it would be extremely wise move for Tish to tap George for Lt. Governor. In a year when republicans were winning all over, George blew out his opponent by 20 points. He is extremely popular in Westchester and the COVID rates remain low.
“He lowered property taxes 3 years in a row and he is a moderate who is also supported by the progressive wing of the party. I think Tish also knows that if George can help her win Westchester County in a democratic primary, that might put her over the top next year. With Tish doing well in New York City, and Hochul doing good upstate, Westchester might tip the balance to the winner, and who better to have with you trying to accomplish that than George?
Two other positive attributes that Latimer brings to the race if James picks him are his experience in State Government in both the Assembly and Senate, and his willingness and ability to campaign and work a democratic audience. “George would be a great person to send out across the state, just tell him where to go and he will do it, non stop.”
When we asked several Westchester Democrats, what about Governor Kathy Hochul and the fact that Hochul and James are headed towards a competitive democratic primary for Gov. next year, one democrat said, “sometimes you have to take a risk in politics and george is someone who wants to take the next challenge. He started by winning in Rye as a democrat when they were all republicans. Then he ran for state senate in a seat that was carved out for republicans and won. His timing has always been excellent.
Another Yonkers democrat said that Latimer, “could leave Westchester County on a high note, as the democrat who brought us back from covid and kept taxes low. That’s a pretty good way to leave Westchester and go out on top. “
Latimer told Tara Rosenblum, “If I can offer a viable team to New York and voters just like we did in Westchester County twice, I would seriously look at it going forward.”
And Latimer told City and State, “Well, you know, LG is a different thing. LG, generally the way I look at it, is a decision by a gubernatorial candidate who they want to ask to run with them. You could be a self starter LG candidate. I don’t I don’t see that as a plausible way to go…I think it’s Tish’s choice to make as to who she wants to run with. You know, look, I’m not stupid. I’ve seen the speculation like everybody else has. I don’t think I’m the only name that’s been speculated. So my attitude is it’s Tish’s choice to make the phone call to whom she wants to make, and I wouldn’t presume until and unless the phone call rang and my end of the line. So I’m just taking the attitude of – sounds like BS – but I’ve taken the attitude I had a great job and just got reelected to it. We just dropped the budget, I got other stuff to do. I expect to be involved in the 2022 year in some capacity, whatever that is, and we’ll see if it’s one capacity or another.”
