By Michael Goot: October 29. 2020
UEENSBURY — GOP candidates and elected officials rallied on Thursday to “Save our State” from higher taxes, defunding of the police and infringement on Second Amendment rights.
Assemblyman Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, who is seeking to succeed retiring Sen. Betty Little, said he has seen a lot of wrongs during his eight years in the Assembly. One of his first votes was against the SAFE Act, which infringed on the rights of gun owners, he said.
Stec said he also believes that public safety is a big issue.
“Next year, when we’re working on the state budget in Albany, there will be a push from the downstate crew to defund our police,” he said at a rally held at the campaign office of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, in Queensbury.
Republican David Catalfamo, of Wilton, said he is in a “dog fight” with incumbent Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, in the 113th Assembly District seat. He also believes the race comes down to safety and security and criticized Woerner on these issues.
Woerner voted in favor of the reform bills regarding holding police officers accountable, but voted against the cash bail reforms, he said.
“She’s calling me a liar. She’s a phony — a complete and utter phony. She wants to believe that if you go to enough farms and if you go to enough ribbon-cuttings, you’re a moderate. She’s not,” he said.
Stefanik continued her familiar attack lines about her Democratic opponent, Tedra Cobb, raising taxes when she was in the St. Lawrence County Legislature. She also accused Cobb of wanting to take guns away.
Stefanik also claimed that Cobb is hiding from her support for a Medicare for All system, which would eliminate private insurance. However, Cobb has said that she no longer supports Medicare for All and would like to add a public option to Medicare.
“I have been one of the leading voices for bipartisan solutions to lower health care cost and improve our quality and access in rural communities,” Stefanik said.
“We need to fire Nancy Pelosi and elect Republicans to the United States Congress. We’re going to win big,” Stefanik said.
Tim McNulty, the Republican running a special election for the Queensbury Town Board Ward 4 seat, said his platform involves holding the line on property taxes, being an active representative and working to keep youths in town by developing high-paying jobs.
New York GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy offered an upbeat message, saying that the GOP has the right agenda. He said Democrats want to increase taxes, which are causing people to flee New York.
“We were the Empire State and now we’re the vampire state,” he said.
He said bail reform is making communities less safe and impacting police officers’ ability to do their jobs.
“The cops are sitting there in handcuffs while the criminals walk out the door free,” he said.
Langworthy praised Stefanik for seeking a federal probe into nursing home deaths, which he attributed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s policies.
“He needs to be held accountable for what happened in our nursing homes,” he said.
Langworthy also accused Democratic politicians of being beholden to the interests of their big donors.
“His friends and his special interests always get rich, while we get the short end of the stick,” he said.
Langworthy is optimistic about the state of the presidential race, saying that President Donald Trump is closing the gap in the polls with former Vice President Joe Biden.
“I wish I had a third of the energy that this man has,” Langworthy said of Trump.
Langworthy encouraged people to get out and vote.
“There’s a little funny thing that happens on Election Day. The people actually get to decide the outcome. Isn’t that a novel idea — not the pollsters, not the phonies in the media that want to tell you what’s going to happen,” he said.
“So get out and vote for the North Country. Get out and vote for common sense. Get out and vote to back the blue and support our law enforcement officers,” he added.
You can read the full article at: https://poststar.com
