Gov. Andrew Cuomo never once mentioned Republican challenger Rob Astorino by name Thursday during his speech accepting the Democratic Party”™s nomination to run for re-election.
Instead, Cuomo took aim at the management of Westchester County, where the governor lives and where Astorino is the county executive.
“Westchester County: The highest property taxes in the United States of America,” he told a crowd of delegates and party leaders at the party convention in Suffolk County, Long Island. “That”™s the legacy of Westchester County.”
The county has been designated the most taxed in the U.S. for several years, though that ranking takes into account all property taxes including school, city, town and other municipal taxes that county government has no discretion over. During Astorino”™s tenure the county has kept its tax levy flat or reduced it, but critics of the executive said there were more opportunities for shared services and consolidation.
Although Cuomo didn”™t mention Astorino by name, he did paint a picture of the Republican Party as one beholden to corporate interests and ultra-conservative ideals that were not inclusive to women, ethnic minorities or people of all income ranges. Astorino”™s portrait of the state during his nomination speech May 15Â was in stark contrast, describing New York as a place where businesses and residents are fleeing due to burdensome costs and ineffective leadership.
Cuomo”™s highlighting of social issues looks to set the tone for this year”™s gubernatorial playbook. Democrats have a pronounced two-to-one registration advantage over Republicans in the state, and in the early goings of the campaign the party has looked to define Astorino as having extreme views. Astorino, who is not widely known outside of Westchester, is pro-life and wants to repeal Cuomo”™s much-debated gun control law, the SAFE Act. Early ads criticized Astorino for an ongoing dispute with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over construction of affordable housing units. Those commercials compared the county executive to southern segregationists.
Cuomo touted his time as governor as a period of turnaround for the state and said he had managed to undo some of the famous gridlock in the state Legislature. New York has passed an on-time budget every year since Cuomo was elected.
At the convention, the governor was introduced by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and welcomed with a nominating video that included messages of support from high-profile Democrats like former President Bill Clinton and celebrities like Billy Crystal, who said he nominated Cuomo because Crystal himself wasn’t available.
Rounding out the Democratic ticket are Cuomo”™s running mate and lieutenant governor candidate Kathy Hochul, and incumbents Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.
