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MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Assembly member George Latimer (D-Rye) announced Monday that he will run for the New York State Senate in the 37th District.
Latimer is serving his fourth term in the assembly for the 91st district, comprising Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Port Chester, Rye and the south end of New Rochelle. Instead of seeking a fifth term, the Rye resident elected to run for the open senate seat currently held by Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck), who has decided to step down at the end of her term this year.
"I could play it safe and run for reelection," Latimer said. "Most people would probably take that route. At the end of the day, I have the right balance of experience for this job and I think I can do this job the best of the people running."
Latimer has 20 years of experience as a marketing executive for corporations including Nestle, AT&T, ITT and IBM. He is currently the only Democrat to have announced his candidacy and said he is running on a platform to control property taxes through mandate relief and bring independent and transparent leadership to Albany.
On the Republican line, North Castle Town Council member Diane DiDonato-Roth and businessman Bob Cohen, who ran for the same seat in 2010, have announced their candidacies.
"I'm running to fight for the values we share and the issues that we care about," said Latimer, who cited taxes, healthcare, the environment, economic fairness and government ethics as a few of his priorities.
The former 13-year county legislator for District 7 became the first Democrat to chair the Board of Legislators in 1998. Before that, Latimer served four years on the Rye City Council.
"At every level of government that I have served at, my business experience is what has guided me and taught me how to focus on results, not merely process," Latimer said. "The bottom line is there is a job to do and people expect the government to provide vital services and not play politics with their lives and needs."
His decision comes less than a week after Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature approved new district lines, which Latimer said make District 37 more Republican. The new lines add Eastchester and Bedford, but cuts out Ossining, Scarsdale and a sliver of New Rochelle, all being Democratic strongholds.
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