George Stephen Latimer (born November 22, 1953) is an American politician serving as County Executive of

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

since 2018. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he previously served as a member of the New York State Senate for the 37th District from 2013 to 2017. Latimer previously served on the Rye city council, in the

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

legislature, and in the New York State Assembly. Latimer was elected as the

Westchester County Executive The Westchester County Executive is the head of the executive branch of the Westchester County, New York, government. The current county executive is George Latimer. The county executive has power to veto acts of Westchester County Board of Legis ...

in November 2017, defeating Incumbent Republican

Rob Astorino Robert Patrick Astorino (born May 3, 1967) is an American politician, radio producer and television host who was the county executive of Westchester County, New York from 2010 to 2017. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York in 201 ...

. As of 2021, Latimer has never lost an election in three decades in public office.

Early life

Born in Mount Vernon, New York, to Stanley and Loretta (née Miner) Latimer, Latimer attended local public schools. He graduated with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from Fordham University in the Bronx in 1974 and received a Master's Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's Wagner School in 1976. He worked for two decades as a marketing executive in the hospitality industry for major organizations, including subsidiaries of Nestle and ITT.

Career prior to 2010

Latimer first ran for public office in 1987; he won a seat on the Rye City Council, finishing first in a field of 6 major party candidates. Latimer was elevated in 1991 to the

Westchester County Board of Legislators The Westchester County Board of Legislators is the legislative, policy-making branch of Westchester County. The powers of the Board are enumerated in the county's charter. A key power of the Board concerns finances: appropriating funds, approving ...

, the first-ever Democrat to win the 7th District seat representing the City of Rye, Village of

Larchmont Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Lar ...

, and

Mamaroneck Mamaroneck ( ) is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2010 census. There are two villages contained within the town: Larchmont and the Village of M ...

Town and Village. Latimer was re-elected in 1993, 1995, and 1997; in January 1998, Democrats won a majority of seats in the County Board for the first time in 90 years. Latimer was elected to chair the board, and was the first Democrat ever to do so. He was re-elected to his legislative seat in 1999, and served a second term as chairman from 2000 to 2001. Latimer did not seek a third term as chair in 2002, having been re-elected to a sixth term in the Westchester County Legislature. Westchester County Democrats elected him County Democratic Party Chairman in September 2002, where he served one two-year term. After re-election to the County Legislature in 2003, Latimer sought and won a seat in the New York State Assembly in 2004. In the Assembly, Latimer represented the 91st District, which included the Sound Shore communities of New Rochelle, Rye Brook, and Port Chester alongside the communities of his County Legislative District. He defeated his Republican opponent Vincent Malfetano with over 68% of the vote, carrying each of the district's seven cities, towns and villages. Latimer was re-elected to the Assembly seat without opposition in 2006, and scored 71% of the vote in his 2008 victory over Republican Rob Biagi. Latimer won a fourth Assembly term in 2010, defeating Conservative Republican Bill Reed with 67% of the vote.

New York State Senate

Upon the retirement of Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D) in January 2012, Latimer, a Democrat, ran for the New York State Senate in the 37th District against Republican Bob Cohen. Latimer prevailed on Election Day. Latimer was re-elected to a second term in November 2014, defeating Republican Joseph L. Dillon. In 2016, Latimer was challenged by Republican Rye City Council member Julie Killian. Killian's campaign outspent Latimer's by nearly 5-to-1. Latimer won a third term, defeating Killian by 56% to 44%.

Westchester County Executive

In 2017, Latimer challenged incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

for

. During the campaign, Latimer was criticized for missing state budget votes in April 2017 while reportedly vacationing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with a woman other than his wife. Astorino called for Latimer to "step down from the state Senate's Education Committee because he missed the state budget vote..." In October 2017, the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' reported that Latimer had "told fellow Democrats he was attending the nited Kingdomtrip with his wife, Robin... The state budget was passed a week after the April 1 deadline this year, and Latimer missed the votes on legislation approving school funding, tax revenues and the capital budget." Latimer accused Astorino of "trying to divert voters' attention — but didn't deny taking the trip"; when asked where he was during the skipped votes, Latimer told reporters that the subject was "not heirbusiness." The Latimer campaign, in turn, accused Astorino of receiving a sweetheart deal on a

Rolex Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

watch due to his relationship with a businessman who had pleaded guilty to fraud charges; Latimer's campaign called for Astorino's resignation based on the allegations. Latimer defeated Astorino by 14 points despite being outspent over 3-to-1 by Astorino's campaign. On November 2, 2021, Latimer was re-elected to a second term as county executive. Latimer is considering that he may purchase the land around Pocantico Lake Park to create a new county park.

Electoral results

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Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, ''George S. Latimer'' , align="right" , 2,214 , align="right" , 1.0% , - ! style="background-color:#E0218A; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Women's Equality , ''George S. Latimer'' , align="right" , 960 , align="right" , 0.4% , - ! style="background-color:#0F4D92; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Reform , ''George S. Latimer'' , align="right" , 231 , align="right" , 0.1% , - ! style="background-color:#B2BEB5; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Total , ''George S. Latimer'' , align="right" , 124,273 , align="right" , 56.6% , - ! style="background-color:#FF3333; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" ,

, ''Rob Astorino'' , align="right" , 82,929 , align="right" , 37.8% , - ! style="background-color:#FF8C00; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" ,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, ''Rob Astorino'' , align="right" , 12,441 , align="right" , 5.7% , - ! style="background-color:#B2BEB5; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Total , ''

'' , align="right" , 95,370 , align="right" , 43.4% , - bgcolor="#EEEEEE" , colspan="3" align="right" , Majority , align="right" , 28,903 , align="right" , 13.2% , - , - bgcolor="#EEEEEE" , colspan="3" align="right" , Totals , align="right" , 219,643 , align="right" , 100.0% , - ! style="background-color:#3333FF; width: 3px" , , colspan="4" , Democratic Gain from

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" ! colspan="5" , 2021 Westchester County Executive election , - ! colspan="2" style="width: 15em" , Party ! style="width: 10em" , Candidate ! style="width: 5em" , Votes ! style="width: 7em" , Percentage , - ! style="background-color:#3333FF; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Democratic , ''George S. Latimer'' , align="right" , 89,277 , align="right" , 58% , - ! style="background-color:#CC6699; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Working Families , ''George S. Latimer'' , align="right" , 5,556 , align="right" , 4% , - ! style="background-color:#B2BEB5; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Total , ''George S. Latimer'' , align="right" , 94,833 , align="right" , 62% , - ! style="background-color:#FF3333; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" ,

, ''Christine Sculti'' , align="right" , 56,136 , align="right" , 37% , - ! style="background-color:#FF8C00; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" ,

, ''Christine Sculti'' , align="right" , 1,933 , align="right" , 1% , - ! style="background-color:#B2BEB5; width: 3px" , , style="width: 130px" , Total , ''Christine Sculti'' , align="right" , 58,069 , align="right" , 38% , - , - bgcolor="#EEEEEE" , colspan="3" align="right" , Totals , align="right" , 152,902 , align="right" , 100.0% , - ! style="background-color:#3333FF; width: 3px" , , colspan="4" , Democratic hold

References

External links

New York State Senate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latimer, George 1953 births Living people Westchester County, New York Executives Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Politicians from Mount Vernon, New York Legislators from Westchester County, New York 21st-century American politicians Mount Vernon High School (New York) alumni