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With Race Neck-And-Neck, Latimer Endures Second Week Of Damaging Press

This story has been updated.

Last week, Democrat George Latimer, a state Senator from Rye, accused Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican from Mount Pleasant, of "trolling the depths of the trash to defeat me."

Last week, Democrat George Latimer, a state Senator from Rye, accused Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican from Mount Pleasant, of "trolling the depths of the trash to defeat me."

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Poll
Who will you be voting for in the 2017 Westchester County Executive race?
Final Results Voting Closed

Who will you be voting for in the 2017 Westchester County Executive race?

  • Rob Astorino
    48%
  • George Latimer
    52%

George Latimer, the Democratic challenger for Westchester County Executive, led Republican incumbent Rob Astorino in recent political polls. 

That all changed last week when the state senator from Rye accused Republicans of spreading false rumors about infidelity in his longtime marriage. 

Latimer's public relations problems compounded this week with detailed reporting by "Talk of the Sound," the New York Post, among other news media outlets that detailed a London vacation that Latimer took, skipping the last state budget vote. 

Latimer did not reply to Daily Voice requests for a comment on the latest news reports. 

"Talk of the Sound," based in New Rochelle, also reported here about Latimer's unpaid parking tickets and suspended vehicle registration. Latimer said in TV interviews that his wife, Robin, joined him on the London vacation and that he got the OK from Albany elected leaders to miss key votes. But "Talk of the Sound" posted a Facebook photo of Latimer's alleged girlfriend in London at the same time Latimer was abroad.

Latimer said the state registration on his 2014 Jeep was suspended due to about $1,400 in unpaid parking tickets: He said he has since paid about $600 for tickets to Yonkers, about $700 to White Plains and $100 to Port Chester, and that most of the money was for penalties on top of the original violations.

Daily Voice was the first news outlet to ask Latimer about his alleged affair with a New Rochelle woman.

"I understand the GOP is doing everything they can to impugn my reputation because I am a threat to Astorino's re-election," Latimer told Daily Voice in this article. "I am not going to dignify their further rumors and efforts and you shouldn't either. Rob is trolling the depths of the trash to defeat me."

On Friday, Latimer held a news conference outside the U.S. Federal Court in White Plains, as reported here by Daily Voice, calling on Astorino to detail his involvement in a federal corruption probe and what the Democrat labeled bribes made to the county executive, including a $10,000 gold Rolex watch.

Thursday evening, Bill O'Reilly of The November Team, a spokesman for the Friends of Astorino's campaign, said, “George Latimer is a pathetic tax deadbeat who will stop at nothing to take the spotlight off his trainwreck of personal and financial liabilities. Here’s a sitting state senator who owes five years in school taxes, skipped the state budget vote to jet off to a secretive London rendevous, has had his car registration suspended since July for failure to pay parking tickets calling on someone else to resign?

O'Reilly added: “County Executive Astorino has done nothing wrong, nor has he been accused of doing anything wrong. If anyone should be resigning from office, it’s five-year tax deadbeat George Latimer.”

O'Reilly referred to charges detailed last week by Astorino that the Latimer family owes more than $48,000 in unpaid property taxes in the City of Rye, including more than $35,000 in school taxes covering a five-year period.  

The unpaid taxes were on a second home once occupied by Latimer's mother-in-law who died several years ago, according to earlier media reports. Latimer was quoted as saying the estate is being resolved and the taxes will be paid.

Astorino's campaign also flagged this article that reported details about a previously undisclosed injury accident in which Latimer was reported to have collided with another car in July after passing through a red light in New Rochelle. "Talk of the Sound" reported the accident occurred near Latimer's alleged girlfriend's home in another state employee's vehicle.

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