George Latimer, Westchester County Executive, joins Brittany Lewis on "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss his primary campaign challenging Congressman Jamaal Bowman, which has been described as one of the most competitive in the country this primary cycle.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hi, everybody. I'm Brittany Lewis with Forbes Breaking News. Joining me now is
00:06congressional candidate and Westchester County Executive George Latimer. George,
00:10thank you so much for joining me once again.
00:13Brittany, it's nice to be with you again. The race has really heated up
00:17since we last spoke just a few months ago. You recently picked up an
00:21endorsement from someone big, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I do
00:26want to read her endorsement and then get your reaction. She wrote this in
00:30part on Twitter. With Trump on the ballot, we need strong, principled
00:34Democrats in Congress more than ever. In Congress, George Latimer will protect
00:38abortion rights, stand up to the NRA and fight for President Biden's agenda,
00:42just like he's always done. What's your response to her message?
00:47Well, I'm very grateful for it. I mean, Secretary Clinton is a very popular
00:50figure here in this area when she served as United States senator for
00:55almost a decade prior to becoming secretary. People think of her
00:58presidential. We knew her as a person who represented us in Washington, and
01:03she knew her way around the district. It's a very helpful endorsement. I'm
01:09grateful for it. I also think so much of the discussion in this race has
01:14turned to foreign policy, where people might think that we're running,
01:17actually, for Secretary of State here in the congressional district. To have
01:22the endorsement of a former Secretary of State who did an excellent job in
01:25that role is also very helpful. So I'm appreciative. And I think it shows the
01:29breadth and the depth of the support that I've gotten in this race. You are
01:33right. You bring up an interesting point. A big contention point in this
01:37race is your stance on Israel versus Congressman Jamal Bowman's. And we will
01:42get to that in a little bit. But I do want to talk about those kitchen table
01:45issues that really matter to voters. I want to reiterate that you are running
01:50for the congressional seat. That is currently Congressman Jamal Bowman's.
01:54And this is the most one of the most competitive races in the country. And I
01:59think a reason for that is because it really shows a split in the Democratic
02:03Party. You have someone like Jamal Bowman who is in the squad. You have
02:07someone like yourself who is painted as a more centrist, moderate Democrat. So I
02:12do want to talk about one of the top issues facing voters, which is
02:15inflation. What's the biggest difference between you and Jamal Bowman when it
02:19comes to assuaging New Yorkers fears when it comes to inflation and the
02:23economy?
02:25Well, I think what I bring to this race, aside from difference in
02:29philosophies, and there's not as much difference in philosophy as the other
02:33side would have you believe. My records were extremely progressive official is
02:38pretty that I've actually been involved in in government. I've run a
02:42government right now for 6.5 years. I've been in the state legislature prior to
02:46that local legislatures that so we've taken direct action is like at the
02:51local level free buses. We've suspended sales tax on whole eating products
02:57during the winter. We've done things to help make life more affordable in a
03:01practical way. This is not just theoretically saying we ought to do
03:04this and we ought to go to Washington with an understanding that the federal
03:09government needs to take similar type actions in order to make life more
03:12affordable. I think probably the one thing that I hear at the federal
03:15government level is the reversal of the loss of the salt deduction state
03:19tax deduction. We have a lot of people who own homes, including people of
03:23modest incomes, middle class, working class individuals who house rich and
03:28cash poor and losing that deduction, losing most of that production a few
03:32years ago has hit them very hard financially. And the reversal of that
03:36restoring that cut would be appropriate. And I've indicated that I'd like to
03:40transition some of the tax cuts that were given to the wealthiest and
03:43transition it back to those of the middle class. So I think that is one
03:47singular important issue. Also, when federal government allocates resources
03:53for various services locally, it means that they cost less to the individual
03:57as they live their lives. If you have a benefit provided people who have
04:04college loans that are outstanding, then you benefit their bottom line by
04:07reducing the amount of money they have to pay on those loans. You benefit them
04:11by reducing the child care costs, which we have done. It was more money for
04:15downcare responsibilities. I think it's those kind of backyard practical that
04:20help people feel that the government is more responsive. And frankly, it is the
04:24number one issue I hear as I walk around in county executive. I talk to
04:27people all the time, whether I was running for Congress or not. And when I
04:30hear those things, we act from from accounting level in a concrete way. You
04:34need to act in the federal government in the concrete. I do want to talk about
04:38those ideological differences between you and Congressman Bowman when it
04:42comes to the economy. You've argued in a recent interview that you would
04:45combat economic inequality better than the incumbent because you would work
04:49with a base of people rather than, as you said, he sits on the side with the
04:54squad in your ads. You say you produced real progressive results. So how do you
04:59work across the aisle? Work with a broad coalition of people while still
05:02producing those real progressive results? Well, I think what happened
05:06was this. You look at issue by issue where there is common interest between
05:10Congress members of both parties.
05:13Excuse me. And there are people who represent in the other party districts
05:19that are similar to mine, suburban districts outside of other major cities
05:23and where we identify the cost of transportation into the main center
05:27city as being important and federal assistance and transportation. We do
05:33some of those costs that can be channeled where we see the federal
05:36government putting money into affordable housing and that reduce those costs.
05:40Housing costs are high here. They're high in the suburbs of Chicago,
05:43Philadelphia and you name it. Those are similar situations. The interest of
05:48the legislators who represent those dishes, Democrats or Republicans, have
05:53common cause to try to address. And that's what I would try to do. Work
05:56with those legislators on the strategies that could get us there. Now
06:00I did that when I was a state legislator and worked within my delegation of
06:05Democrats, but worked across the aisle with Republicans. I'm afraid that what
06:09happens when you isolate yourself to the far left or the far right of the
06:12spectrum, Marjorie Taylor to the far right and, you know, Jamal Bowman and
06:16some of his colleagues at the far left, you don't have those relationships in
06:19place. You're too much ideological, you're lecturing to people, you're not
06:23working on people. And so you don't have those relationships necessary to
06:26remove legislation that could in theory help all of us. And I do think
06:30we're talking about housing, we're talking about transportation, job
06:33development and then climate change, real world actions in those areas that
06:38would have an economic benefit for the American people.
06:41You mentioned climate change. Jamal Bowman is an advocate of the Green New
06:45Deal. Is that something you would support full stop somewhere in between?
06:49What does your fight on climate change look like?
06:53Well, I support the Green New Deal, but here's the problem. It doesn't have
06:56enough support to move forward in the Congress. You can't sit there with a
07:01ideal piece of legislation that isn't moving and then do nothing else and
07:05just say, well, they haven't supported it. And so we're gonna hold on to the
07:08standard. I'd look at the component pieces. Could we move forward in a
07:13clean water initiative or a clean air initiative as an entity? The perfect
07:18example of it is what we've done in Westchester County by expanding the
07:21electric vehicle infrastructure, more charging stations around our county,
07:25electrifying our bus fleet and also our car fleet, county owned cars. When we
07:31do that, we reduce air pollution. We get off of fossil fuels, and that is a
07:36concrete action. Now, if you're looking at a Green New Deal that would reduce
07:40carbon emissions and we can't get the whole Green New Deal done, then let's
07:44make sure we get to electrify school buses everywhere in the nation. That is
07:48a component of creating cleaner air and getting off of fossil fuels. You may
07:52find common ground on that portion of the deal in order to move forward. And
07:57that's my thinking. This is, you know, Brittany, the thing is this. I've been
08:00a legislator, four separate legislative bodies prior to become a county
08:03executive. I'm not here to talk about theoretical debates. I'm here to talk
08:08about what can we do that will actually move the ball forward. When I was in the
08:11state legislature, I know on other issues, we raised the minimum wage. We
08:14protected women's right to choose. We banned high capacity government in the
08:20state. We actually got some of these things done, and we had some bipartisan
08:24support on these issues. That's the mindset I take to Washington. I think
08:28in Washington right now, you have people who get locked into ideological
08:31positions, and they're not looking at things in a practical way, not trying to
08:34figure out, well, we can't get the whole move. Let's get a portion of it now and
08:39then save the next piece for when we have consensus to move forward. That's
08:43my mindset, and I think that's the greatest difference between me and my
08:46opponent. I understand how a legislature can work, and I'm prepared to work
08:50within that structure as opposed to outside that structure and give
08:53speeches. That's a really interesting point because I've heard you in other
08:57interviews push back. You've said in ads, like I said, that you've produced
09:02real progressive results. You kind of push back on the notion that you're
09:05more moderate, more centrist. Why do you think there is this disconnect when it
09:09comes to George Latimer? Well, I think part of it is that people who call
09:15themselves progressives are actually radical. You know, let's face it. My
09:19opponent has been endorsed by the democratic socialists of America. Their
09:23stand is they want to end capitalism and install socialism as the economic
09:28structure of the country. That's not going to happen, and that would be a
09:31disaster for this country. So when you have that mindset, that you think a
09:35socialist answer is to nationalize all efforts and programs and take away the
09:40private sector investment process, or you look at the private sector
09:45investment as intrinsically negative. I hear him talking all the time about
09:49corporations of debt, corporations of debt. I spent 20 years working in
09:52corporate life before I went to public office, and corporate policies around
09:56corporate self-interest that can still wind up with social goods. You've been
10:00able to do that in a host of different areas, but it requires you to get off
10:03of the ideological platform and get down, roll up your sleeves and get out
10:07of the way where you actually work on different issues, and you make progress.
10:10There are many corporations here in Westchester County where I govern that
10:14have been willing to help us on issues of climate change and issues on
10:17transportation and job growth. So I don't think we do much when we
10:22demonize sections of the electorate, and I think that's what happens on the
10:27far left, and it happens on the far right. They demonize groups. They say
10:31these people are bad, they're evil, and you can't work with them. We want to
10:34have a transformational change. Well, America has generally made change
10:39incrementally and cooperatively. You bring the voters along with you with
10:43that change rather than impose the change unwillingly against the general
10:48I've had success in Westchester County doing it this way, and I think we could
10:52see that success in Washington if we really want to make it that way. I do
10:56now want to pivot to a number two issue facing a lot of voters, and that is
11:01immigration. And Congressman Jamal Bowman said that this is missing from
11:04the conversation when it comes to immigration and border security, that
11:07we need, quote, more FEMA support, more humanitarian support and more judges
11:11and social workers and lawyers to help process those who are coming in. Both
11:16sides of the aisle says, say there's a crisis. What do you think is missing?
11:21Well, I think what Jamal said is what most everybody says. I'm running a
11:25government that has migrants coming into it. We clearly need more
11:29humanitarian aid, more judges. I've called on a judicial immigration court
11:33to be established in the federal courthouse in White Plains as a way to
11:37handle those migrants that were with us. There was an initiative that was
11:41stopped a couple months ago, I'm afraid, by former President Trump, which
11:45Democrats and Republicans were sitting down across the aisle to try to
11:48hammer out a bipartisan arrangement. It's going to take legislation to
11:53really fix the problem at the border. It can't be done by executive order
11:56given the power structure of the government. And in that final
12:00arrangement, you need to have greater border security. I don't know that you
12:03need a big, beautiful wall everywhere, but you do need greater border
12:06security. You need to be able to vet people and deal with who they are with
12:11the history for the country. You need to reform the asylum system and
12:16restructure it in a way that you're not doing two years, three years wait. Bad
12:21things happen when people with hotel rooms or marginal residential
12:24population. You do need to make sure that that force of people coming over
12:29the border, that is a workforce. They work on the books and not in the
12:33underground economy and that they get channeled where the economy needs. The
12:38cultural portion of this country needs migrant immigrant workforce. And you
12:44know, when the governor of Texas sends into New York City, Philadelphia,
12:47Chicago to make a point, he's not sending them to where they're most in
12:50need. And in some cases, when they have the experience working in an
12:53agricultural content, because those states, you know, have a philosophy that
12:57doesn't want them here, but we need the labor. So we have to restructure the
13:00way the work program, more peaceful program is structured and how we
13:04handle issues that deal with earning citizenship. All of that could be
13:09negotiated in a macro bipartisan in the same way that there was a bipartisan
13:13infrastructure. It will take both parties extremes sort of get off the
13:18ledge and let those must have a working mindset middle compromises and
13:24negotiations that could get us to a bill that hopefully could be signed. It
13:28will depend on the construct. As you well know, who's sitting in the White
13:32House, who's sitting in the leadership, both the Senate and the House, which,
13:36at this point in time, is unknowable. My hope is that if I do go to
13:39Washington, I I go with colleagues who are willing to work these issues and
13:44we avoid what we've seen over the last couple of years. Just, you know, the
13:48rhetoric far more important results.
13:52George, you mentioned this at the top of the interview, but this race has
13:55really come down to foreign policy. As you said, it's one of the first
13:59questions you get in almost every interview that I've seen from you, and
14:02it's one of those dividing lines between your policy as well as Jamal
14:06Bowman's. And you guys really differ here. He's called for a permanent
14:11ceasefire, which would include a quote release of the hostages,
14:14humanitarian aid getting into Gaza as quickly as possible. All parties coming
14:19to the table to build and create a pathway to peace that would hopefully
14:22finally get us to a two state solution. So that's what he said. How does your
14:27position here when it comes to Israel differ from his?
14:31Well, first of all, he has not called for hostage release. And fairly
14:35recently, he originally did not put hostage release in his original call
14:40for ceasefire. That's a big difference. He pulled the issue and said, Do you
14:43favor? Do you favor ceasefire? Everybody favors a ceasefire. But what he didn't
14:48say is that his call initially ceasefire, regardless of release. And
14:53if you don't release the hostage, then you don't really have peace. You have
14:57kidnapped people, and you're withholding them as bargaining pawns in this game.
15:03Ultimately, I think the president has tried to find the right path, far more
15:07so.
15:10And I think he is trying to find a way to get both the Israeli government and
15:15the Hamas regime at the table. Hamas is very difficult to deal with. You have
15:18to work with Qatar and some of the other Arab nations because they don't
15:23interact directly. They are hostile to the United States. Their patron, Iran,
15:28hostile to the United States. It's not as easy as he might say. Let's all get
15:32to the table and negotiate those things. Certainly, both sides are going to have
15:36to make concessions. But here's the broader answer to your question,
15:39Rick. My position on Israel is consistent with the Democratic mainstream
15:43in the House. Speaker to be, if he does become Speaker, McCain, Jeffrey, Greg
15:49Meeks, Grace May, Adriana Westman, Richie Torres, they are all supportive
15:54of the state of Israel, but who also support the negotiations that lead to
15:58the two-state solution. And that is the path that I'm on. The reason why
16:02there's such a disagreement between me and the incumbent is because the
16:05incumbent has joined the squad. Only one of a handful of people wants immediate
16:10ceasefire and permanent ceasefire before certain issues are negotiated. And I
16:15think we have to be much more strategic, and I'm following at this
16:19point the President. Now, from day to day, there are different stories that
16:22come up. And obviously, those of you in the news media, you report on today's
16:25stories. I am not the type of person who likes to comment every single day on
16:29every single story I hear. Do you feel that what happened on Thursday is
16:32right? How about what happened on Friday? I believe that negotiations are
16:36going to take time. It's going to be very, very complicated. You see
16:39Secretary Blinken fly to Jordan, fly to Qatar, fly back to Cairo, then go to
16:45Jerusalem. This is not an easy negotiation. People are all very set in
16:48their policy. So I think it's better for the vast majority of members of
16:53Congress to sort of keep a lid on it. Don't comment. We're not, as I said a
16:56second ago, we're not all running for Secretary of State. As members of
16:59Congress, we have our opinions. And what I suggest is that I would work my
17:03opinions with other Democrats in the Democratic House caucus, and so that
17:08Hakeem Jaffe will be able to interact with the President and give the sense
17:12of where the members of the House are on these issues. That creates a
17:15difference between me and the incumbent, but that makes me mainstream.
17:18And he's the outlier in terms of his philosophy on this. You've said this
17:22before, that you broadly support President Biden, Blinken as well as the
17:28negotiating team there. But more broadly, when it comes to Israel, pro
17:31Israel, AIPAC has paid more than $12 million in attack ads against Bowman,
17:36according to Politico. And you've been criticized for this by Bowman. He's
17:39also accused you of being funded by far right Republican mega donors. What's
17:44your response when you hear that?
17:46Well, that's campaign baloney, to be honest with you. First of all, the
17:49donors that donate to AIPAC that have donated to my campaign in the main are
17:54people who live in West Jaffa in the Bronx. They donate through the AIPAC
17:58portal, but they're residents of Carsdale and New Rochelle and large
18:01quantum America. They know me, they like me, and they know that I'm supportive
18:04of Israel. I don't give Israel much, but I'm not hostile. That's very
18:08important. The reason why I have the support of AIPAC is the same reason
18:12why he lost the support of Jason Reed. He has become hostile to Israel. He
18:16said things like they're a colonial settler organization. He used the
18:20phrase Zionist entity a few days ago when he was referring to 75 years of
18:25occupation. These are the code words of the people who hate Israel and oppose
18:30them. And so the donations that I have gotten, I've gotten because I have a
18:35mainstream page on Israel. And I might add, the very people that criticize me
18:39because AIPAC supports me are blind to the fact that AIPAC supports 50% of
18:45the Congressional Black Caucus, all of those aforementioned congressmen. So
18:48they want to make me an outlier. And I guess what happens in politics is you
18:51try to turn your opponent into who you wanted your opponent to be. They would
18:55prefer if I were a MAGA Republican, so they'd call me that. But that's not
18:59referenced in my record. The things that I've actually done. I have a long
19:01public record. I understand from the national media, nobody's looking at
19:05what I've done in Westchester. Nobody's looking at what I've done in New York
19:07State. It's not interesting. It's not a national story. But that's who I am.
19:12And so when somebody says, Oh my God, this person donated money to you. I
19:15don't change my position because of a donation. I appreciate the donation. And
19:19then let's turn the tables. I mean, Brittany, let's be realistic. Where's
19:23he getting his money from? He has 90% of his money coming from outside the
19:26district. 50% plus or minus inside. He's had fundraisers in California with who
19:33knows who and what they're interested in. He has leaded a fundraiser in
19:37Fairfax County in the beginning of May that had some people that are
19:41associated with various Middle Eastern industry interests. He's been linked to
19:46financial people with connections to Turkey and what their philosophies are.
19:50So there's much to answer for on his side of the matter. When he talks about
19:55the source of my funding, he doesn't go back over all of the things that
19:59Justice Democrats have done politically, all the things that the Democratic
20:02Socialists of America believe politically. That's what he's attached
20:05to. So we think my public record shows that I'm not motivated by the money
20:10that I get. The money that I get helps me make my case out in the community.
20:14And when they're independent expenditures, I don't control them
20:16anyway. The messages that I make, I deliver. One final point, because he
20:20mentioned so much. I do want to highlight that. Two years ago, he had
20:23the financial advantage of his opponents. He wasn't complaining about
20:26outside money, that was he. He had the money that was coming in from the
20:29Our Revolution Network and have hounded his opponents with having
20:33superior resources. He himself said, bring it on, you know, I'm ready to
20:38take it. And now he's not so happy because the people that aren't happy
20:41with him have brought it on. And all I can say is that this stage of the
20:46game, I'm making my case on the merits. If voters think that I have
20:50sufficient merits, they'll vote. If they don't think I have sufficient
20:53merits, I'll vote for him. But the winner will be who the voters think
20:57it's not gonna be determined just how much money some
21:00you will find about that sentiment in a recent interview that what you've
21:04done in Westchester is not part of the national conversation at all. When it
21:08comes to your run, when it comes to this race, really high, highly
21:11competitive primary in 2024. So I guess we can end on this note. What's one
21:17thing you've done in Westchester as the county executive that would be most
21:21reflective of you as a Congress member?
21:23You know, it's hard to say one thing because there's so many things that
21:29are elements of different public policies. Our fiscal policy has
21:33restrained lowering property taxes. That's an important economic indicator.
21:38That's why I looked at the budget in its entirety before. Somebody says
21:42you're gonna raise taxes. I want to look at all the records transfer. I
21:46don't think that's an unrealistic thing to do. That's a reasonable thing
21:48to do. And that's because I have run a government. I also served a corporate
21:52life, and you don't make proclamations about things you're gonna do until you
21:56know all the facts that relate to it. I think we've done so many things that
22:00reflect my progressive values. We have a black maternal health care initiative.
22:04He wants to try to, you know, frame my record differently. We've lowered the
22:08cost of child care. We've expanded the environmental initiatives over the
22:13amount of garbage we generate. That's an important issue. So I know I know you
22:17want me to give you one. It's hard to say because there isn't one overarching
22:20thing that says it for everybody. But I'd say this. Anybody who lives in
22:24Westchester County, it's on a public bus in July and August, and they ride
22:28for free. That's something that makes a statement, and it makes a statement
22:31because I grew up as a poor working class kid, and I didn't have bus money
22:35every day, and my parents didn't have the money to give me. But now the kid
22:39who grows up in the room that I grew up in Southside of Mount Vernon, they'll
22:42have free buses. Maybe that's a symbolism of my 10 years.
22:46George, we are less than a week out from primary day. What? What are you
22:51doing between now and then?
22:54Um, doing everything I can. I get up early every morning. I meet commuters
22:59at the train stations on the weekdays, and I stand in front of restaurant
23:03deli bagel shops on Saturdays and Sundays. I've been to appropriately so
23:07those religious services that would invite a visitor. Uh, there's senior
23:12centers. I've gone to neighborhood association meetings. I've stood in
23:15front of supermarkets. I do all those things. That's that's the old school
23:19retail politics. I know that I have met more people in this district over the
23:24course of this campaign than my opponent has, and I think it's
23:27reflected in the endorsements. When he you know he'll he'll tweet out and say
23:30I'm with the people against the money. Well, the civil service workers have
23:34endorsed me. Bus drivers and mechanics have endorsed the endorsements of the
23:39plumbers, the firefighter, the electrician, the laborers. I have the
23:44support of the local Democratic committees in 11 of the 12 communities
23:49in Westchester. The 12 community didn't endorse. I have support of elected
23:53officials and I have support of elected officials. We're after American elected
23:56officials who are Latino elected officials who occasion all across the
24:00ethnic boundary. People who work with me know exactly who I am as a person. I
24:05think I've shown the grassroots now recognize it may not look that way. I
24:10age and my demographic packing speaks to establishment out of touch. But I
24:16believe I've done everything that you can do to stay in touch. My campaign
24:19reflects the way I've governed, and I think that's why when the results come
24:23in on Tuesday night, people who didn't look at my record, didn't know how much
24:26grassroots I have may well be surprised by what they see. George Latimer, thank
24:32you so much. Primary in New York is June 25th. We look forward to the
24:37results, and I appreciate you coming on today.
24:40Thank you. Britain's a pleasure to talk to you again.