Marc Molinaro, the Republican candidate for governor, held a Town Hall-style meeting in Yonkers on Tuesday at The Fairway’s at Dunwoodie. The event was well attended and gave Molinaro a chance to lay out his campaign agenda and listen to concerns from Yonkers, a city he once lived in as a young boy.
Starting the meeting with, “It’s about time Yonkers got its fair share,” Molinaro said his grandparents lived in Yonkers and that he spent many days, weekends and holidays visiting them.
Molinaro currently serves as the Dutchess County executive, but also served in the New York State Assembly for six years. In Dutchess, he inherited a $40 million budget deficit but turned it into a $20 million surplus by cutting spending, which resulted in reducing property taxes four years in a row.
If Molinaro’s highlighting property taxes and his efforts to cut spending sounds familiar, it should be, because his youth, well-spoken demeanor and discussion about New Yorkers being overtaxed is similar to the last Republican candidate for governor, former Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino.
“I bring up what we did in Dutchess County because it is possible to focus on the real delivery of services and the way government works and provide real property tax cuts,” said Molinaro. “New York is the highest taxed state in the nation, and the least friendly for business or to retire in. More people leave New York than any other state, and it’s about time the people of New York get their government back.”
Molinaro calls himself “an ordinary New Yorker who decided to step up.” And while he said he wants to make changes to state mandates on local governments and the management of Medicaid in New York, he knows firsthand the need for a safety net.
“There was a time when food stamps did help my family growing up,” he said. “I want to reform the system but still have it available for assistance for people struggling.”
Molinaro threw a few punches at his opponent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, regarding fundraising: “There’s no way you raise that kind of money ($70 million over seven years) without bending the rules,” he said.
Regarding the recent corruption trials, Molinaro said: “He (Cuomo) has had six of his closest associates guilty of breaking the laws of the taxpayers.”
Molinaro also disagreed with the governor’s decision to grant a pardon, and give the right to vote, to 30,000 convicted felons in New York State. “It’s the height of disrespect for the victims not to have a public discussion and be heard before any changes,” he said. “I believe you should pay your debt to society.”
On immigration, Molinaro said: “The federal government hasn’t done its job, while one party points the finger at the other. We need national immigration reform and to secure the border. Push Congress to find a solution.”
The biggest takeaway by this reporter from Molinaro’s Yonkers Town Hall-style meeting was his call to cut property taxes in New York State by 25 percent over eight years, if he is elected (and re-elected). In Yonkers, Molinaro said: “State government takes too much of your money and then makes you come begging for it back. Taking a dollar out of your pocket and then giving you 20 cents back doesn’t work.
“We have got to cut property taxes to make New York more affordable again by cutting down costs and mandates and using the savings for meaningful property tax relief,” he continued. “Give me eight years. I believe in term limits, and I will give you significant, sustained tax relief above 25 percent.”
Molinaro also proposed having the state take over the Medicaid mandate from counties and using the savings for property tax relief.
“I want to take Medicaid back from local governments,” he said. “I want the problem and the responsibility so that we can make it efficient and more effective. For every dollar we save you get tax relief. Right now, it is not efficient to have 57 counties operating Medicaid. There is waste, fraud and abuse of between 10 and 40 percent. There are savings that could be had, and we will have a plan to prove it to you.”
Molinaro said that if the Republicans lose the State Senate in November, “and you have a State Senate focused on New York City, where do you think all the money will go? To New York City,” he said.
In attendance for Molinaro’s Yonkers Town Hall-style meeting were Councilman John Rubbo, Anthony Merante, and Minority Leader Mike Breen, who also served as moderator. Assembly candidate Joe Pinion, City Court Judge and Supreme Court Judge candidate Michael Martinelli also attended.
For more information on the “Molinaro for Governor” campaign, visit MolinaroforNY.com.
