Politics & Government

Astorino Advisor: 'Decision on Gubernatorial Run Coming Soon'

A political consultant for Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino said Astorino won't take too much time deciding whether or not he wants to make run at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's seat in 2014.

Gov. Robert Astorino?

Astorino’s decisive victory over New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson in the Westchester County Executive’s race earlier this month have many state GOP officials thinking that they’ve found a legitimate candidate against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his re-election bid.

Astorino himself has also fanned the flames excitement with a statements he made to the New York Post while attending the Somos El Futuro conference in Puerto Rico.

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“I am considering it right now. I have to consider it,’’ Astorino said in his interview with the Post. “New York is hemorrhaging jobs, I think we just went from 49th to 50th in terms of a bad business climate. We’re going in the wrong direction.”

Bill O’Reilly, a political advisor to Astorino, said Astorino is scheduled to return from the conference today.

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“He was seriously asked about it by a New York Post reporter and he gave an honest response,” O’Reilly said. “It would be dishonest to say that he’s not looking into it. He’s a straight up guy...He hasn’t set a timeline. It’s a serious matter and he’ll spend a bit of time thinking about it, but not too much time.”

O’Reilly said Astorino understands the financial constraints that are being placed on counties, school districts and municipalities by state mandates.

“There are a lot of people, Democrats and Republicans, who are frustrated by what’s happened in Albany,” O’Reilly said. “I think Gov. Cuomo started in the right direction with low hanging fruit reforms, but he’s abandoned that. A lot of people are frustrated by that and they see that Rob, as County Executive, has kept his promises. They see the kind of leader he is.”

David Laska, a spokesman for the state Republican Committee, said the base has been energized by last week’s election results and believe Cuomo is vulnerable.

In addition to Westchester, Republican candidates won county executive seats in Nassau, Rensselaer, Chautauqua, Rockland, Orange and Montgomery counties. Laska also noted that in Erie County, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1, Republicans seized control of the County Legislature.

“I think the prospect of Rob running for governor is exciting,” Laska said. “He’s a good, fiscally conservative candidate. Not only did he win in 2009, but sailed to victory in 2013 in Westchester, a county where Democrats have a 2 to 1 advantage.Ultimately, it’s his decision. Even if Rob decides the time isn’t right for him, we expect to have a strong slate of candidates on the ballot next year.”

Another name mentioned as a possible Republican candidate to run against Cuomo is state GOP Committee Chairman Ed Cox.

Phil Oliva, Astorino’s campaign manager, said last week’s victory showed Astorino’s ability to build a coalition with various groups within the county.

“I think Westchester is an important county in the state and Rob had a resounding victory,” Oliva said. “He has a good record in Westchester and it makes sense that people...Democrats and Republicans, have urged Rob to make a statewide run for governor. That was before the Nov. 5 election and it has only intensified.”


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