The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

MONTICELLO, NY – A standing-room-only crowd of supporters greeted New York State Attorney General and candidate for NY State Governor, Andrew Cuomo on Monday, July 19, as he made a campaign stop in Monticello.

Arriving at the Ted Stroebele Center on Jefferson Street in an RV that he drove himself, Cuomo was greeted by two women who held signs that supported him, but also asked for his help.

He was accompanied by his three daughters as he entered the room to a standing ovation.

Cuomo billed the trip as a combination of “family time, sight-seeing, and please-let’s-get-Dad-elected-Governor tour,’ while several signs around the room announced that this was “The Drive for a New New York.”

Acknowledging the many Sullivan County politicians and celebrities in the room, Cuomo gave special accolades to Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, who he called “a superstar.”

And then he talked about running for governor. “Politics have overtaken public service. A lot of the fights are about political labels. … They are elected to represent the people, not to represent their political parties.

Cuomo focused on “cleaning up Albany once and for all. … I’ve been watching government for a long time. … I have never seen it as bad as it is today. It has to be changed, it has to be changed fast and it has to be changed dramatically.”

Regarding New York State’s overdue and unbalanced budget, Cuomo said that we have to face the “economic reality, the state has to be able to balance the budget, like every family … we have 1,000 state agencies. Consolidate the 1,000. We have over 10,000 local governments in the State of New York  … more and more every year, including every municipal water district and sewer district … We pay some of the highest property taxes. There are 176 local governments just in Sullivan County. You know how many governments that is? It’s too – too many governments.”

Cuomo then talked about his experience. “I believe that I can help … I believe I have the know-how, I believe I have the independence to stand up and do the right thing. And I believe I know how to get the government to move.”

Telling the crowd that the “Politicians listen to the people,” he asked for people to speak up. “If you’re really fed up, if you really want Albany to change … the power of democracy truly is with the people. … I want to be part of a chorus of New Yorkers that says ‘enough is enough.’”

Cuomo referred to his father, the former Governor Mario Cuomo and his love of the debate. “If you said ‘good morning’ to him, he’d debate you about it.” But, he said, when the debate was over, everyone shook hands. “We were the model for the nation for state government, we were the model for the federal government … not this what you’re seeing now, I don’t know what this is, but it’s not NY State government at its best …”

Saying that he was doing this “for my daughters, for your daughters, for your sons, for your nieces and your nephews, because this is the greatest state in the nation,” Cuomo said he wants to “make sure as a parent and a citizen that I leave this state for my children better than I got it from my parents. … a state that is safer and sweeter and fairer to make their future better than our future. I don’t want them moving away.

Vowing that “I’m staying here, they’re staying here,” (referring again to his daughters), Cuomo ended by telling the gathering “that’s what we’re here to do together, together.”

To see more photos or to purchase prints from Andrew Cuomo’s Campaign Stops in Monticello, visit The Catskill Chronicle on Zenfolio.