State Sen. George Latimer says he has come to expect the attacks from his political opponents, but the criticism seems to gnaw at him more and more after all these years.
“It does get to you,” he admitted.
Latimer, a Rye Democrat, recently announced what came as nothing short of a mere formality: he will run for re-election for another two-year term. But in doing so, he’ll once again put himself in front of the state’s Republican firing squad.
This year, Latimer, 62, will be challenged by GOP candidate Julie Killian, also of Rye. Killian has served on the Rye City Council since 2012. She has been re-elected to that seat twice, is well-respected in the state’s political circles and is independently wealthy, which will likely lead to an expensive obstacle for Latimer to hurdle.
“I’m going to believe… even though the other side will have much more money, our message will be strong enough to carry the day again,” he said during an interview with the Review following his decision to run again. “[But] I know I will be outspent by a lot.”
Back in 2012, Latimer’s first race for Senate against Republican Bob Cohen, of New Rochelle, set the record in New York state politics for campaign expenditures, eclipsing the $4.5 million mark. This year’s battle with Killian could possibly surpass that.
To outspend Latimer is one thing; to defeat him is another.
He’s never lost an election in 16 tries. He started off on the Rye City Council in 1987, and successfully worked his way through Westchester County government and into the New York state Legislature. He has held some level of elected office for 29 consecutive years, yet he bristles at the term “career politician.”
“I always view these terms as limited time you are granted,” he told the Review. “I’m asking for another two years so I can work on these issues and hopefully with a change in leadership, we’ll get a change in result.”
Latimer draws reference to the opportunity for state Democrats to take control of the Republican-led Senate for just the fourth year in the last 80.
But this election year is shaping up to be unlike any in recent memory.
The traditional Democratic surge in voter turnout during a presidential year, which boosts candidates farther down the ticket, may not materialize due to the top of the ticket candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
It remains to be seen what type of impact that has on the Senate race.
Possibly with that in mind, Latimer is touting himself as the most independent candidate in the race. “I’m a moderate Democrat,” he said, “and I’ve worked across the aisle with my Republican colleagues.”
To prove that he has joined forces with Republicans more times than not in drafting pieces of legislation, the senator references a stack of legislative bills during the Review interview that he has either sponsored or co-sponsored, [[three specific bills?]] .
However, he still has his detractors who label him an Albany insider, a Bill de Blasio New York City Democrat, and a career politician tied to special interests.
Killian has referenced a Quinnipiac University poll that found a majority of New York voters, 55 percent to 25 percent, disapprove of the current state Legislature, and a plurality of voters, 48 percent to 34 percent, want all state legislators replaced. Further, 86 percent called corruption in Albany a serious problem.
She is calling for term limits, a common platform for Latimer’s opponents trying to combat his longevity in elected office. “If we are going to clean up Albany, it starts with establishing a system that guarantees a regular, healthy turnover in the system, and that means term limits,” Killian said when announcing her candidacy.
Although term limits have never been put up for a vote in the Legislature, Latimer says he would support it. But, he also adds, it would not solve the problem of corruption in Albany.
“She will symbolize change,” he said of Killian, “but will the policies reflect change?”
Latimer believes a lot more can be done at the state level to tighten up ethics. One of his recent mailers talks of stripping pensions of public officials who are convicted of a felony; banning outside income for members of the Legislature; and banning the use of campaign funds to pay for legal fees.
“I can understand if a person doesn’t agree with my philosophy,” he said. Latimer argues that the nature of campaigns that negatively attack an opponent in an effort to win is what frustrates him. As Senate Republicans try to maintain control of the House, Latimer said the mentality of winning the seat at all costs is reflective of comments made by Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican, at a breakfast in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention in July when he assured the audience that Latimer would be going down in his race against Killian.
“Unfortunately it becomes that and not about the individual,” said Latimer in response. “Then you turn this into a big chess board and we’re just seen as pawns and not individuals with unique personalities.
“I’m not just a pawn to be taken away and replaced with a different color vote,” he added. “But the voters will decide.”
