Oliva Picked by GOP Committees of Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess

Republican congressional candidate Phil Oliva swept the four-county Republican nomination process Monday night, winning 73 percent of the vote on the second ballot, the Oliva for Congress campaign today announced.

He was the choice of the Republican committees of Westchester, Putnam, Orange, and Dutchess counties -- which comprise the 18th congressional district. It is currently represented by Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney of Cold Spring.

“We had six great candidates to choose from, and we ended up choosing the candidate we believe is best positioned to win in November,” said Putnam County Republican Chairman Anthony G. Scannapieco, Jr. “Phil has all the qualities of a winning candidate - charismatic, honest, and intelligent. I congratulate Phil on earning our support and look forward to working with him to defeat Sean Patrick Maloney this November.”

The GOP primary is June 28. The Republicans registered to run include, in addition to Oliva: Ken Del Vecchio of Middletown, Dan Castricone of Tuxedo; Frank Spampinato of Newburgh; Sakima Brown of Poughkeepsie; and John Lange of Bedford Hills.

The GOP committee convention was held Feb. 29 in Middletown.

Del Vecchio had attacked the party endorsement process as ‘screwy’, according to the Times Herald Record.

“Phil Oliva is exactly the type of citizen reformer we need to send to Washington at this moment in our history,” said Westchester County Republican Chairman Doug Colety. “Phil is a genuine American patriot and father who is deeply concerned about the growing debt our children and grandchildren face, our vulnerability to terrorism, and the continued loss of good, career jobs to other states and countries. Phil wants to bring term limits to Washington, and has pledged to serve no more than eight years. Westchester is proud to stand behind him.”

Oliva nearly secured the endorsement on the first ballot, winning 49 percent of the vote, his committee said.

“We had six great candidates competing for the Dutchess County Republican endorsement, but even among them, Phil Oliva stood out,” said Dutchess GOP Chairman Mike McCormack. “Phil knows who he is both as a man and as a candidate, and I wish the party had a hundred more like him. He’s not afraid to stand up for what’s right and to work with other people to get things done for working class New Yorkers. Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley deserve to have a representative in Washington who will have the Valley’s voice, and who will make sure that the voice is loud and clear for our concerns and not the concerns of those not from our home. We could not have a better person to do that in this Congressional District than a native of the Hudson Valley, our own Phil Oliva.”

Oliva, a top aide to Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, is a former private sector healthcare executive and onetime speechwriter to New York Governor George Pataki. He lives in Somers.

“I am truly humbled by the incredible level of support that I received last night in a race with five other strong candidates. Obviously, my message resonated and my experience factored in, and the people who got to know me could see that my heart is in the right place,” Oliva said in the announcement. “I’m running because America is heading in the wrong direction and our district is not getting the representation we deserve. Last night was the first step towards fixing those two problems. And if I continue to win levels of support like I did last night, we will win in November.”

The 18th Congressional District includes Putnam and Orange counties as well as the northeast corner of Westchester County and part of Dutchess County.