Molinaro: ‘On Nov. 6 we can take back our government’
Photos by Tom Rivers: Marc Molinaro, the Republican candidate for governor, addresses 250 people on Thursday night during the Orleans County Fall Republican Rally.
HOLLEY – The Republican candidate for governor said he can pull off a big upset on Nov. 6 and defeat incumbent Andrew Cuomo for governor.
However, Marc Molinaro said upstate voters will have to turn out, big time.
Molinaro, 42, is the Dutchess County executive. He is a former state assemblyman and was elected mayor at age 19 of the Town of Tivoli, which has about 1,000 people near the Catskill Mountains.
He is trailing Cuomo in the polls by about 20 percent in a six-candidate field. The governor has far outspent Molinaro in the race.
“Can we win?” Molinaro asked 250 people at the Orleans County Fall Republican Rally on Thursday night. “Yes. But we have to show up.”
A strong response from upstate can tilt the election to Molinaro. It has happened before, when a Cuomo was governor and was defeated by a Republican who wasn’t given much of a chance of winning. George Pataki in 1994 defeated Mario Cuomo, Andrew’s father, who was seeking a fourth term. Andrew is trying for a third term as governor.
Molinaro said Cuomo has a “culture of corruption” in the state government and in his inner circle. (Nine people, including two Cuomo aides, were indicted for federal corruption charges as part of the state’s upstate development efforts, including the Buffalo Billion program.)
Molinaro said the Cuomo Administration trades campaign contributions for state contracts and projects.
The state ranks last in the country for a favorable business environment. Th high taxes and burdensome regulations chase away businesses and residents, leading to an out-migration from the state that is only topped by Alaska, Molinaro said.
“Communities are being hollowed out,” Molinaro said about upstate.
The state has added jobs under Cuomo, but 88 percent of those are in New York City, Molinaro said.
Molinaro takes the microphone from Steve Hawley. Molinaro is a former state legislator who served in the Assembly with Hawley.
Molinaro was praised by State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, who worked with Molinaro when he was a state legislator before becoming Dutchess County executive. Hawley said Cuomo is a “bully.”
Molinaro would lead a push to reduce taxes, fees and mandates, Hawley said.
“He is an infinitely better man than our current governor,” State Sen. Robert Ortt said about Molinaro.
The Republican candidate would be a strong voice at the State Capitol and throughout the state for small businesses, the Second Amendment and making the state affordable for families, Ortt said.
“If you own a business in New York State, you have to support Marc Molinaro,” Ortt said.
Molinaro said the election is chance to reclaim a government with an increasing liberal agenda.
“On Nov. 6 we can take back our government,” Molinaro said. “Don’t make the mistake of voting for a man who is already running for something else.”
