Critics pounce on Astorino announcement

By all accounts, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino will have his work cut out for him in his bid to unseat the heavily favored and well-funded incumbent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

But despite Astorino”™s many uphill battles ”“ he”™s a socially conservative Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic state and is expected to raise only a third of the campaign funds of Cuomo ”“  Astorino”™s opponents don”™t appear to be taking any chances, sharpening their talons and striking early and often at his candidacy.

Astorino formally announced his bid for the governorship Wednesday in a campaign video on his website, but his coming out party was immediately met by a fast and furious backlash from his critics. Uphill battle or not, his opponents appear to be taking his chances seriously. Pro-choice groups took aim at Astorino”™s pro-life views and what they called “anti-women” policies.

Reine Schiffrin, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Action Fund, said Astorino had cut funding for teen sexual education programs and vetoed legislation that ensured safe access to reproductive clinics. (Astorino said at the time the law was flawed and noted it had been opposed by several pro-choice county legislators as well).

“Rob Astorino is bad for women, bad for families, bad for New York,” Schiffrin said. “Apparently he takes his cues from politicians in places like Texas and North Dakota, putting ideology ahead of the commonsense health care needs of the people of Westchester.”

Astorino, who is so far the only Republican to seek the party”™s nomination, has also taken heat from environmentalists for his support of the hydraulic fracturing industry, a controversial method of mining natural gas, and his pro-nuclear energy stance. Cuomo has outwardly called for the closure of the Buchanan nuclear facility Indian Point Energy Center but has said more information was needed before he decided whether hydraulic fracturing poses environmental risks.

Locally, county Democrats pounced on Astorino”™s campaign and even prior to his announcement had held a press conference and funded television commercials that said as a candidate for governor he was not spending enough time focused on his county duties.

Cuomo continues to see strong polling in comparison to potential GOP rivals, although his approval rating hit an all time law in a NBC4/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll report released Thursday. In that polling, he beat out Astorino by 40 percentage points, 65 percent to 25 percent. Cuomo polled even more strongly against other potential candidates, Carl Paladino (68 percent to 25 percent) and Donald Trump (70 percent to 26 percent).

Cuomo”™s job approval rating, according to the poll, dropped to 42 percent, down from 52 percent in November 2014.