Rob Astorino in 2014 New York Governor's race
On Civil Rights:
Zoning laws limit what can be built, not who can live there
Obama's Department of Housing and Urban Development floated a requirement for "balanced housing" in every suburb. Towns had to make it possible for low-income minorities to choose suburban living.In Westchester, County Executive
Rob Astorino battled the Obama-Biden administration for years, successfully resisting the baseless smear of racism. Zoning laws limit what can be built in a neighborhood in neutral fashion, Astorino explained, not who can live there.
Source: New York Post on 2014 New York Governor race
Jul 21, 2020
On Government Reform:
We desperately need term limits in Albany for all parties
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's use of his $35 million campaign war chest to represent his office in the ongoing Moreland Commission saga [is legal, but the state Senate now has pending legislation to outlaw the practice]. And the lawyer isn't just representing
Cuomo in the Moreland mess, but the entire governor's office while federal investigators look into whether top aides played a role in blocking or directing subpoenas.
As the Moreland controversy continued to swirl, Republican candidate for governor Rob Astorino released a video online reiterating his call for term limits. "It's why we desperately need term limits in Albany for all parties," said Astorino.
Republicans are targeting key districts upstate in the hopes of keeping power in the chamber, the last lever of power the GOP controls in the state.
Source: NY State of Politics OpEd: 2014 New York Governor race
Aug 5, 2014
On Tax Reform:
Held Westchester County taxes to $548M, without cuts
State and county records show Astorino, the Westchester County executive, held the line on the property taxes during his first term. Records show that the amount the county raised by taxes--$548 million--was unchanged the past three years, and county
spending declined from $1.76 billion in 2011 to $1.73 billion this year. Astorino kept spending and taxes down, but made no drastic cuts in what is still the highest county tax in the nation, McMahon said.
In Westchester County, the average residential property tax bill was $12,717--three and four times many average upstate bills, according to 2012 records with the State Real Property Tax Office. That average total property tax bill in Westchester
County increased $79 over the previous year. But the county government portion of the bill under Astorino's control was essentially flat. "His record isn't exceptional, but on the other hand, it's what he says it is," [one analyst concluded].
Source: Newsday on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
Jun 15, 2014
On Abortion:
No 9th-month abortions, even if federal law allows it
Cuomo said he wanted to "codify" state with the federal law to assure abortions could be performed into the ninth month of pregnancy. Although already legal under federal law, he said the state measure is needed in case the U.S. Supreme Court strikes
down the Roe v. Wade decision.State records show few New Yorkers seek abortions as late as the ninth month of pregnancy. Of 97,502 abortions in New York in 2012, just 2.6 percent came after the fifth month of pregnancy, according to the state
Health Department.
Astorino last week called Cuomo's proposal to protect ninth-month abortions "sick, I think that's ghastly. . . . I would veto that in a second." But he said he wouldn't try to erode current abortion laws. "I'm pro-life. This is a
pro-choice state. I get that," Astorino said in a March news conference in Buffalo. "What I will not do is expand abortion up to birth, which is what Governor Cuomo's bill would do."
Source: Newsday AdWatch on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
May 18, 2014
On Civil Rights:
Opposes gay marriage, but it's a non-issue
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is using his first major TV ads of this campaign to try to brand his Republican opponent, Rob Astorino, as an extreme conservative. A review of Astorino's public positions shows that while his anti-abortion stance, and his opposition
to Cuomo's gun control law and to gay marriage aren't in step with most of the blue state, his views are shared by sizable minorities of New Yorkers.Astorino, four years after Cuomo soundly beat the more unabashedly conservative Carl Paladino, has
taken a more pragmatic approach to the hot-button issues than Paladino, trying to stake out nuances in his positions that could snare larger segments of voters.
But one state Republican Committee member said any claims that Astorino is an extremist is
"a laughably inaccurate comment. He just won re-election in a Democratic county with a 2-1 Democratic enrollment."
Astorino argues that abortion and gay marriage are non-issues ginned up by Cuomo and the Democrats to energize their larger voter bloc.
Source: Newsday AdWatch on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
May 18, 2014
On Civil Rights:
Opposes gay marriage, but it's the law of the land
As for gay marriage Astorino opposed it. But he said he won't try to erode the 2011 law. "Quite frankly, it was done the right way: through the legislature,"
Astorino said. "It was not done by a judge. That's the law of the land and I respect that."
[Although Cuomo portrays Astorino as an extremist in TV ads, one pundit] said Astorino can't objectively be seen as ultraconservative or an extremist: "If you talking about south of the Mason-Dixon Line,
Astorino is a flaming liberal. Is he an extremist? I would say certainly not in temperament, but I don't think in policy, either."
Source: Newsday AdWatch on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
May 18, 2014
On Gun Control:
Opposes SAFE Act gun control measure
Astorino also has used a politically charged issue to try to ignite his base of voters, criticizing the SAFE Act gun control measure, which Cuomo pushed through the legislature in a closed-door deal without public hearings one month after the Newtown
school massacre."Forget the extremists--it's simple," Cuomo said in his 2013 State of the State speech. "No one hunts with an assault rifle."
At an East Rochester gun shop, Astorino told the crowd he wants gun laws to focus on keeping firearms from criminals and the mentally ill and he would use the power of the governor to do so. "I would use it to repeal [the SAFE Act] and replace it
with something that doesn't demonize law-abiding citizens."
But a repeal is unlikely, requiring overwhelming support from the Assembly's Democratic majority, which is dominated by New York City members who strongly back the SAFE Act.
Source: Newsday AdWatch on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
May 18, 2014
On Welfare & Poverty:
AdWatch: Opposes affordable housing & hence minorities
The Cuomo campaign's strategy of branding Astorino an extremist became clear earlier this month in two TV ads aired in New York City over the federal government's contention that Westchester County
is not abiding by a settlement calling for it to build more affordable housing. The ads accused Astorino of ignoring New York's tradition of fighting discrimination and racism, comparing his views to those predominant in the South of decades ago.
Astorino promptly accused Cuomo of playing "the race card" in the low-income housing dispute, which he noted is also being played out in Nassau County.
He said he's fighting the federal government's attempt to dictate local zoning community planning.
Source: Newsday AdWatch on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
May 18, 2014
On Drugs:
No medical marijuana; due to pills, process, and quality
Gov. Cuomo announced that NY would embark on a plan to allow up to 20 hospitals to prescribe medical marijuana to patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, and other serious conditions.Though Astorino believes "efforts to treat and comfort those
suffering from cancer and other diseases are to be encouraged," he reckons Cuomo went about instituting his policy undemocratically. "If the governor is serious about his medical marijuana proposal, it should be debated by state legislators; scrutinized
by medical & law enforcement professionals; and discussed by parents and civic leaders."
Astorino also questions the need for medical marijuana in the first place, asking, "Just what problem would the governor's proposal solve since physicians can
already prescribe to cancer patients Marinol, a pill form of the active substance in marijuana?" He also questions where the marijuana will come from, how its quality will be controlled, and the policy's impact on anti-drug education in schools.
Source: Westchester Magazine: 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
Jan 1, 2014
On Energy & Oil:
Government incentives for solar & geothermal
Rob Astorino's environmental prerogatives are centered around policies to encourage sustainable development, protect our watershed, prepare for the potential impacts of climate change, and preserve the county's natural environment.-
Affordable Energy-Efficient Homes: programs for low-income seniors to make their homes energy efficient
- Solar energy tax exemptions for homeowners who retrofit homes with solar panels.
- Initiative to determine viable locations to implement
geothermal and solar power at county facilities.
- Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECB) that provide private sector access to $7 million in tax-free financing for environmental retrofitting of buildings.
- The Westchester Green Business Challenge
encourages Westchester businesses to improve the "greenness" of their operations.
- Series of vulnerability studies aimed at identifying risks posed by climate change, especially rising sea levels here along the Hudson and on the Long Island Sound.
Source: AdWatch: Campaign email on 2014 New York gubernatorial race
Sep 20, 2013
On Technology:
Demanded mass transit capability on new Tappan Zee Bridge
Three-term New York Governor George Pataki endorsed Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino for re-election in a Westchester park overlooking the Hudson River and Tappan Zee Bridge. Governor Pataki highlighted Astorino's own environmental record and
key leadership in demanding mass transit capability on the new Tappan Zee Bridge among his reasons for the endorsement.Rob Astorino's environmental prerogatives are centered around policies to encourage sustainable development, invest in open space
and conservation, protect our watershed, strengthen the county's infrastructure, prepare for the potential impacts of climate change, and preserve the county's natural environment through partnership and volunteerism.- $25 million dollars in capital
improvements for Parks Department in last 2 budget years to fund trail and park infrastructure projects
- Launched "River Rescue": public-private partnership to clean-up & maintain the Bronx River.
- Hudson River-Walk: $8.5 million for City of Yonkers.
Source: AdWatch: Campaign email on 2014 New York gubernatorial race
Sep 20, 2013
Page last updated: Aug 24, 2020