Latimer To Be Next Westchester County Executive

WHITE PLAINS, NY — With his impressive victory Tuesday over two-term County Executive Robert Astorino, state Sen. George Latimer becomes the third Democrat elected to the top county job in Westchester. The campaign was at times bitter and personal, with some pundits saying it was a referendum on the current president, but Latimer ended up with 57 percent of the votes to Astorino’s 43 percent.

In remarks given Tuesday night, Latimer, a Democrat from Rye, said that five years ago he had just gotten through a terrible campaign where he was called many things.

Flashing forward to Tuesday, he said, “Well, guess what they can call me now.”

He vowed to run the county well, with progressive values, with emphasis on jobs, housing, transportation and taxes.

“We are going to show you in Westchester what we are going to show you in the nation in three years,” Latimer said. “We are going to run American the right way.”

Through a spokesman, Astorino said it had been a privilege to be county executive for two terms.

“I am enormously proud of the accomplishments we made,” he said. “I have congratulated Senator Latimer on his win, and I will work closely with him to ensure a smooth transition in January.

“I wish him all the best in his upcoming role, and thank everyone in Westchester for having had the honor to serve them,” Astorino said.

State Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins congratulated her friend and colleague Latimer for his victory.

She said she looks forward to “continuing our work to serve the residents of Westchester County.

“We must continue to resist the policies of Donald Trump, and not empower those who would enact them,” Stewart-Cousins said.

The resistance organization Indivisible Westchester sent an email out to its “Friends, Neighbors, Volunteers, Activists, Nasty Women & Bad Hombres” that offered “Congratulations on your first local election win in the Trump era!”

Indivisible Westchester said Latimer was a strong candidate who was a tireless campaigner and reached out to voters across the county every day.

Photo caption: From left, Robert Astorino and George Latimer. Patch file photo.