Westchester County Executive George Latimer is in the throes of preparing to deliver the State of the County message on March 14, when he will report on Westchester County government’s accomplishments during the past year and plans for next year. But, in addition to managing day-to-day operations of an organization with a $2.2 billion budget, Latimer also is now engaged in a primary fight to win the Democratic nomination for Congress in New York’s 16th Congressional District. He is running against incumbent Jamaal Bowman.
It is notable that what goes on in Washington doesn’t always comport with Latimer’s view of how government should operate. Latimer’s public service began in 1987 when he was elected to the Rye City Council. He has seen government from the inside at many levels, including as chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, as a member of the State Assembly, the State Senate and now his second term as County Executive.
“The hyperpartisan moment that we’re in is more profound in Washington than any other arm of government,” Latimer told the Business Journal during an in-depth interview. “I served in Albany; Albany can be very partisan and we have our partisan moments here in county government. But the commitment to solve the problem often times requires you to sit down and work across the aisle and work across differences in philosophy. There has to be some common ground, you can’t just let the issue sit there and be a tool to use for the next round of elections.”
Latimer said that during his administration they’ve been able to largely avoid hyperpartisanship in the county government.
“The lure of saying something provocative gets you on cable television,” Latimer said. “You can call he president a traitor and a tyrant and immediately get attention and with that attention you can get campaign funding and you can get political support. Your benefit in making outrageous statements is the political benefit but you can’t deliver the government element of what you’ve said and cynicism grows and someone promises ‘I’m going to do this’ and it doesn’t happen people go, ‘same old story.’ That is corrosive to the body politic.”
Latimer said that elected officials, whether in Congress or at the state or county or local level need to put the needs of their district and constituents first.
“You have to be able to know what those priorities are and put those at the top of your list rather than this performance art that I see going on,” Latimer said. “You can turn to MSNBC, go a couple of stations away and go all the way to the other end of the dial and see the same thing on Fox or Newsmax or OAN and I find it difficult and we’ll see fi it can change.”
Latimer pointed out that in addition to government experience he has a strong business background.
“I understood that I could not compel a client to sign a contract to buy my goods or services,” Latimer said. “I had to persuade them. People buy for their reasons, not yours. In a free society, in a capitalist economy … they operate in their own self-interest. If I want to get you to make a decision, then I have to position the decision in the light of what your interests are, not just my interests. That mindset has served me well in terms of government.”
Latimer said that through the use of what’s described as retail politics, getting out and meeting people and getting to know them, people develop faith in one’s ability to make commitments and honor them.
One major commitment that Latimer made when he assumed the county executive’s role was to the Westchester business community, both large and small businesses. He recognized not only the importance of the business community but also its needs by drawing on his more than 20 years of experience at major corporate subsidiaries of Nestle and ITT.
“I think it’s important to understand that the success that Westchester has is in part because we’ve had such a thriving business community over the years,” Latimer said. “It is the business community that serves as a source for attracting people to move here, whether they’re working for the company or some other organization that provides goods or services to a company that’s based here. They come here knowing that this kind of an environment usually generates interest in the social life of an area. There’s business philanthropy that advances the arts and advances not-for-profit organizations. There’s a direct bottom line in the success of businesses and the taxes they pay but even more important there’s a cachet that goes with a successful business community that makes us an attractive place.”
Latimer said that while his administration has tried to eliminate red tape that businesses have to deal with, some regulatory matters actually protect businesses as well as the population at large. He gave as an example the health regulations governing the operation of restaurants. Latimer said that when government does its job effectively, such as in ensuring that trash is picked up, sewage treatment plants operate properly and transportation systems run smoothly it creates a reliable milieu for business operations.
“I don’t take the attitude that we can somehow sit back and rest on our laurels and say ‘look at how great it is,’ but I do think that sometimes in Westchester we don’t realize how many advantages we have that are far superior to other places,” Latimer said. “Government is a partner along with the business community, along with the not-for-profit community, the clergy and the volunteerism of individuals.”
Latimer pointed out that his administration has looked at economic development not as simply trying to attract new corporations to headquarter here, which was the traditional concept of business development.
“We recognized that small business growth is the backbone of what’s happening here,” Latimer said, highlighting programs like Element 46, Launch 1000 and the awarding of $250 million in contracts to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises over the six years he’s been county executive. “The business community is not a source where you attach a tap and like a keg start pouring out tax dollars. You view their success as your success. It’s the right kind of relationship in this society.”
Latimer said that just as he considers his dealings with the business community to be a partnership, he has worked to ensure that his dealings with the County Board of Legislators also represent a partnership and he believes that spirit needs to extend to Washington.
“The leadership we need doesn’t just come from great men and women,” Latimer said. “It comes from us, the E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One,” Latimer said. “We have to believe that democracy is our best path. It’s self-governance. It’s not tyranny. It’s not making one person the absolute king. History has shown us that’s a terrible thing to do. That’s why I believe in term limits. I also believe there’s a time to come and time to go and in that period of time if I can do as much good as I can do that reinforces the ‘Harry Trumanesque’ sense that anyone can rise to the moment if they’re prepared for it.”
