Latimer Explains Factors Behind Decision to Run for Congress

When 2023 began, Westchester County Executive George Latimer didn’t start out looking for a new job.

He was one year into a second four-year term in his current post, and would have enough on his plate in leading the day-to-day operations of the county.

But by the spring he was approached by politically connected Democrats who asked him to consider challenging Rep. Jamaal Bowman in a primary for the party’s nomination for the 16^th Congressional District, which currently includes the southern half of Westchester and a portion of the north Bronx.

Latimer’s decision-making lasted several months as he weighed his options, but it was the disappointment in how Bowman has “prioritized his work as a congressman,” that was a key factor in agreeing to a candidacy, he said. It was not only the congressman’s criticism of Israel and the voting against the infrastructure bill, but his penchant for seeking out the cameras rather than doing the hard work of building relationships, Latimer also remarked.

Ultimately, a successful congressman must work with others to get the best results for their district and the nation, Latimer stressed.

“You have to form coalitions of other members, you have to have strong relationships not just with a handful of people that sit outside the mainstream, but you have to have strong relationships with people that are in the mainstream so that you can get a group of Congress members to be helpful with policies that matter to you,” Latimer said.

During a nearly 40-minute interview with The Examiner last Wednesday, the day he officially kicked off his campaign for Congress, Latimer never mentioned Bowman by name. Bowman is supported by many on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

However, Latimer, 70, said he was willing to place his progressive record alongside that of Bowman’s while also having exercised fiscal prudence during the past six years. That financial responsibility is influenced by his 20-year corporate career before entering public life, he said.

Some of those who support the incumbent congressman, Latimer predicted, will try to portray him as far more conservative than he is.

“This is not about his progressive record on certain things because I’ll put my progressive record as a county executive up against anybody,” Latimer said. “We’re talking about child care (funding) to taking gun shows out of the county center, you name it. Right down the line. There’s nothing about my record that suggests this reactionary thing that they’re going to try and sell you from the left.”

He also dismissed those who have argued that his candidacy would be divisive and hurt the Democratic Party either in Westchester or nationally. Latimer said it wasn’t considered divisive when Bowman challenged and defeated 16-term incumbent Eliot Engel in the 2020 Democratic primary.

The county executive also pointed to his primary against Ken Jenkins in 2017 for the seat he currently holds as an example of a campaign that was well-contested. He ultimately appointed Jenkins as his deputy when he took office after his election.

“The people who encouraged me not to run, I listened to what they had to say,” Latimer said. “I read their e-mails that I got, the joint letter, I read it, I saw who was on it, and I thought about it in making the decision to run. It is not like I didn’t hear you. No, I heard you but I weighed it along with those people who encouraged me to run, and then, of course, how I feel, what I think about public policy.”

Bowman’s office did not respond to a request for an interview.

Last month, a coalition of progressive groups in the county, including NYCD16 Indivisible, the Progressive Action Network and the Mount Kisco and New Castle chapters of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, sent Latimer a letter urging him not to enter the race.

The letter stated that Bowman has been an advocate on key issues, such as climate change, homelessness, ending gun violence, promoting universal healthcare and fighting for working families.

“In these troubled times, when we face a very real threat to our democracy from Republicans and the right, it’s imperative to focus like a laser on winning back the New York congressional seats disgracefully lost in last year’s election,” said Iris Hiskey Arno of the NYCD16 Indivisible Steering Committee.

“At a time when unity is everything, a primary between two popular Democrats, incumbent Congressman Jamaal Bowman and Westchester County Executive George Latimer can only serve to tear Democratic and activist groups apart – negatively affecting our attention to critical issues including electoral work, the climate crisis, criminal justice, healthcare, and immigration,” she also said.

Westchester Democratic Party Chair Suzanne Berger said that the county Democratic Committee has not yet decided who to endorse, or if it will endorse a candidate at all. Any decision would come next year once the state’s congressional lines are settled. The fight over next year’s lines continue as the parties await a decision by the state Court of Appeals.

The Democratic primary also currently includes Dobbs Ferry resident Marty Dolan, who announced his candidacy for the seat in early October.

Berger said a primary does not automatically translate into divisiveness, particularly if the candidates focus on the issues.

“The people who think it will hurt the party are the people who have chosen their sides already,” Berger said. “I think both these candidates have records, and if they stick to discussing their ideas and their vision, then the voters will be well-served.”

Latimer said if his home in Rye would be redistricted to fall outside Bowman’s district, he would end his campaign.

Some observers in the county took Latimer’s trip last month to Israel as a clear signal that he was going to jump into the race.

However, Latimer said that the trip was part of a Westchester delegation that had been scheduled earlier this year. After the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, attendance for the trip dwindled to eight officials.

Although there had been public speculation about his candidacy, Latimer didn’t want to interfere with last month’s local and county elections, where he supported Democratic candidates across Westchester. He also wanted to finish work on the 2024 county budget, which was scheduled for approval on Monday.

“But I didn’t want to politicize the trip itself, which would have happened,” Latimer said.

He said that foreign policy is the provenance of the President and the administration, but the rhetoric that Israel is on the same level as terrorists despite legitimate criticisms on how they may handle a wide range of problems is wildly off-base. On his trip, he saw Arab-Israeli members of the Knesset and multilingual street signs, for example.

“Israel is an ally and they are a democracy,” Latimer said. “They are an imperfect democracy; they are not apartheid.”

If he is unsuccessful next year, Latimer said he will support Democrats across the board, including in the 16^th District, although the district is expected to be heavily in the Democrats’ favor regardless of its final configuration.

“When this primary is over and if I lose, my race is over,” he said. “I’m not going to get on independent lines and continue the battle on. The Democratic voters will have spoken.”