By Dan Murphy
Four different events that focused on Congressman Mike Lawler were held in and around Westchester County last week.
I-Lawler held a tele town hall and answered questions from callers. On March 22 Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) acknowledged the success of his tele-town hall this week. The event, lasting over an hour, attracted over 4,000 participants from New York’s 17th Congressional District and hundreds of questions submitted by constituents. Lawler directly addressed Hudson Valley residents’ concerns on critical issues like government funding, economic stability, and local priorities.v
“I’m deeply grateful for the incredible turnout and the engagement of over 4,000 attendees who asked hundreds of questions,” Congressman Lawler stated. “I’ve never shied away from tough questions and never will. During my first term, I attended over 1,200 events, hosted more than 50 town halls and mobile office hours, spending hundreds of hours answering constituents. That’s the kind of accessibility the Hudson Valley deserves.”
Lawler also re-announced his commitment to another four in-person town halls, one in each county of his district. Dates and times will be shared 1-2 weeks before each event, ensuring constituents have ample notice to participate. This follows his March 11 announcement of the 2025 town hall schedule, as his website details.
Rockland – April
Westchester – May
Putnam – June
Dutchess – June
“These town halls are a vital opportunity to connect face-to-face, and I’m eager to continue these conversations in person,” Lawler added.
II-A Where’s Mike Town Hall was held at Dramatic Hall in Peekskill by Empire State Voices on March 22.
This past Saturday, without any in-person opportunities to communicate directly with Congressman Mike Lawler, some 500 frustrated New Yorkers gathered in New York’s 17th congressional district for an empty-chair town hall. Over 200 attendees, unable to get into the packed Peekskill venue, held a spontaneous rally on the sidewalk outside.
“We put together this empty seat Town Hall because we made repeated attempts to ask Mike Lawler to meet with us, to no avail,” said Maureen Morrissey, a resident of Mount Kisco. “We wanted to make our concerns clear and felt we had no choice. With the support of other local constituents concerned about funding for services like Medicaid and the SAVE Act, we had over 500 people sign up and attend, with hundreds participating in an impromptu rally outside.”
“I realize my role here today is so much more than my own story,” said Melita Corselli, a single mother of four from North Salem. “I realize that today, I’m here to be the voice of the forgotten, the storyteller of the overlooked, and, more importantly, the advocate for those who refuse to be silenced. I’m here today as a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a neighbor to let [Rep. Lawler] know that when he attacks what belongs to us, we will fight and win.
Many speakers expressed their frustration with Congressman Lawler’s recent votes, saying that his record showed a callous indifference toward the very real struggles of his constituents. Last month, Representative Mike Lawler voted for the House GOP’s budget resolution, which authorized committees to cut up to $2 trillion in funding from federal programs and services to fund vast tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has found that these goals will be impossible to achieve without steep cuts to Medicare or Medicaid.
III-On March 20, protestors attended a Rockland Business Association event to protest Lawler. Several protestors held a sign that read “Elon’s Puppet.” The organizers of the event tried to remove the protestors, who refused to leave. A scuffle ensued, but eventually the protestors were removed.
IV-On March 20, members of Indivisible Rockland held a protest outside of Lawler’s Rockland County Office. This protest became national news because some of the protestors held signs with Senators Schumer & Gillibrand, and Congressman Lawler, depicting them as marionette puppets on a string; under the image of each was a Star of David with the letters AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee). Another protestor held a mask of Hitler, which said “Heil No.” At another recent rally, a protestor held a drawing of Elon and Trump in a bath with a Swastika.
Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson spoke at all of the protests mentioned above. Davidson, who is running for Congress against Lawler, engaged in a back-and-forth on social media with the Congressman.
“You were rightly criticized for organizing and speaking at an Indivisible Rockland rally which prominently featured antisemitic imagery — including one of the most commonly used tropes that Jews are puppet masters. And today, you attended another event with some of the same supporters that were there yesterday in which more Nazi imagery was used,” said Lawler.
“To be clear, I absolutely condemn the imagery of that poster. I will always be a voice against antisemitism and for my Jewish community,” said Davidson. “It’s time for Mike Lawler to stop weaponizing antisemitism for his political gain and stop using the Jewish community — my community, not his — as political pawns.”
Rockland State Senator Bill Weber said, “Rallies and protests are part of our American political system, but the second they become antisemitic or use Nazi imagery, they must be called out and condemned. The group’ Indivisible Rockland’ and any elected official that attended should immediately apologize for the antisemitic imagery proudly shown at their rally – which attacked not only Congressman Lawler but the most senior Jewish elected official in American history, Senator Chuck Schumer.”
The American Jewish Committee has stated the following: “The imagery of Jewish leaders pulling the strings of politicians was featured in Nazi propaganda and is still used in political cartoons depicting contemporary Jewish or Israeli figures as pulling the strings of domestic and foreign political and military leaders.”
“Antisemitic propaganda continues to spread the idea that rich or influential Jews are behind the scenes conspiring to further their plans of world domination.”
Lawler’s campaign pointed to recent comments by Sen. Chuck Schumer, who said that Democrats were sending people to Republican districts to oppose their policies and make them “face the consequences.”
Many believe that these types of antisemitic images do not help the cause of defeating Lawler in 2026.
