NY Working Families Party: Latimer in hot water over racial radio comments

On GOP radio show, Latimer blamed black and Latino voters for “skewed” election results

On John Catsimatidis’ conservative WABC show, County Executive George Latimer was asked how Congressman Jamaal Bowman won his historic 2020 election.

Latimer responded by suggesting that the high turnout of black and Latino voters in NY-16 “skewed” the results. He went on to cite mail-in voting and the George Floyd protests as unfairly benefiting Bowman, despite most incumbents securing re-election that cycle.

In response to these comments, Jasmine Gripper of the New York Working Families Party condemned Latimer’s comments as recklessly describing black and Latino voters as election spoilers. “At a time when MAGA extremists are determined to roll back access to the polls and are explicitly focused on suppressing the Black vote, George Latimer has chosen his side,” Gripper said.

The Latimer campaign claimed the comments were taken out of context. However, in the days following the interview, an outside donor to Latimer’s private fundraiser was caught on camera making racially charged comments about Bowman and his deep concern for black communities.

“Latimer’s supporters continue to stoop to racist attacks against Bowman — the first person of color to ever represent NY-16. It’s disgusting,” said the Sunrise Movement, which endorsed Rep. Bowman for his vocal advocacy on climate change.

Latimer has yet to issue a statement denouncing the racist attacks against Rep. Bowman, including comments posted on Latimer’s own Facebook page by Terry Degatano, vice chairman of the Westchester County Democratic Committee. Those comments included calling Bowman an “angry nigger” and wanting him to suffer a life-threatening medical emergency.

Westchester County Democratic Chairwoman Suzanne Berger responded to the comments by saying “political dialogue can get heated and contentious.” Degatano retained his position on the Democratic Committee.

Bowman, the first person of color to represent NY-16, has an impressive record: introducing the landmark Green New Deal for public schools, helping pass the Inflation Relief Act and bringing back more than $1 billion to schools, community centers, violence prevention, and others.

Latimer regularly quoted Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech in his interviews with reporters, urging voters to judge him not by the “color of my skin” but by the “content of my character.”

“George Latimer wants to be judged by the content of his character,” said Ravi Mangla, a spokesman for the New York Working Families Party. “But if we fail to confront the racism that permeates his campaign, we don’t judge his character particularly favorably.”