Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino launched his bid for governor last week. Photo courtesy Rob Astorino
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Republican challenger has caught the eyes of the Queens GOP.
The twice-elected Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino rolled out his run for governor last week with a plan that runs parallel to his party’s core goals: lowering taxes, strengthening businesses and creating more jobs. His intentions to run in such a Democratically leaning state sparked some interest amongst borough Republicans who said he had the potential to be a big political player in years to come.
“We think very highly of Rob Astorino,” said Robert Hornak, executive director of the Queens GOP. “He has been a great leader and can be an even greater leader for the state of New York.”
It was still too early in the process to decide whether or not his group would back Astorino in his run, but Hornak did say the Westchester leader has the tools needed to become a big name in statewide politics.
In his March 5 announcement, Astorino laid out his plans to “put New York back in the winning column” while citing some of the state’s lacking statistics in taxes, business friendliness, corruption and population loss. The county executive said Cuomo has presided over a time in which more than 400,000 New Yorkers moved out of state while raising taxes and adding red tape through various laws and mandates.
“I’m tired of listening to the fairy tale that everything is great when it’s just the opposite,” Astorino said. “I’m tired of watching New York’s decline. I’m tired of losing family and friends to other parts of this country. Living in New York shouldn’t sound like a prison sentence, but that’s too often what you hear today.”
Astorino said he promised to support charter school parents whose classrooms were being shuttered and to rid the state of the controversial Common Core education policy implemented under Cuomo and replace it with higher standards set at the local level. He touted his time as a Westchester County leader, during which he cut taxes, lowered spending and consolidated government with support from both sides of the aisle.
Michael Krasner, a political science professor at Queens College, said the odds were heavy in Cuomo’s favor, but Astorino’s run raised some bigger questions about his political ambitions.
“In this kind of situation, you run knowing you’re going to lose, but also run knowing your name recognition will go way up,” Krasner said. “if you do better than expected, it could help make you a front-runner the next time around.”
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) said he admired Astorino’s approach to challenging the sitting governor, who many have argued was a heavy favorite for re-election. Nonetheless, Ulrich said the Republican challenger already had a proven ability to attract crossover votes, particularly from Independents and moderate Democrats.
“Nevertheless, he has his work cut out for him,” Ulrich said. “He’s running in a blue state against a popular governor. He must raise enough money to get his message out and build a strong coalition of support if he wants to turn this race around.”
Queens Republican Craig Caruana, who ran and lost against City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), said he would support Astorino in his run for state office because it came at a time when the wave of political support just might go against Democrats on a national level.
But while Caruana did say Astorino’s Republican values lined up with him and his party more so than the current governor, his biggest challenge rested in his ability to outdo Cuomo and appeal to urban voters while also taking advantage of any missteps the incumbent might make in the coming months.
“I think whenever a Republican runs in such a Democratic area, you kind of need a perfect storm,” Caruana said. “He can’t just be a good candidate. He has to be a great candidate.”
By Phil Corso
