County Executive Latimer declares candidacy for reelection

Westchester County Executive George Latimer this morning announced that he is running for reelection this November. If reelected, it would be Latimer’s second and final four-year term in office. He proposed putting a two-term limit on the office and the Board of Legislators approved it.

“When I took office in 2018, we inherited a county government plagued with fiscal mismanagement, budget gimmicks and stalled projects,” Latimer said in his announcement. “You entrusted me to fix these issues and together we have.”

Latimer said that the county now faces a new set of challenges ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to social injustices that “have long been swept under the rug.”

In a video accompanying his written announcement, Latimer noted, “Covid-19 hit Westchester hard. There we were, the epicenter of New York’s outbreak; a problem of unthinkable proportions. But here in Westchester we don’t run from problems. We fix them. We pulled together and took swift measures to control the virus.”

Latimer said that some of the tangible progress his administration had made in the county over his first three years in office can be seen in the reopening of Sprain Ridge Pool in Yonkers, fixing the historic Miller House in North White Plains, building a new Family Court facility in New Rochelle, getting construction underway on a new Memorial Field in Mount Vernon and cutting county property taxes for two consecutive years.

In the announcement, Latimer pointed out that he has built strong connections with the  municipal governments and the Board of Legislators during his time as county executive. Latimer previously served in the New York State Senate and Assembly. While on the County Board of Legislators, he served two terms as its chairman. He first ran for public office in 1987, winning a seat on the Rye City Council. In the 2017 general election, Latimer, a Democrat, received more than 56% of the votes to defeat incumbent Republican Rob Astorino.