ROCHESTER, N.Y, (WROC) — From opposite ends of the state, Governor Kathy Hochul and Congressman Lee Zeldin took aim at each other while holding rallies Sunday.
Zeldin made a stop in Irondequoit.
Almost all of Zeldin’s messages revolved around crime and since he was just outside of Rochester, he focused parts of his speech on the record-setting homicide rate we saw last year, then mentioned recent shootings involving children. Meanwhile, Hochul appeared with President Joe Biden in Yonkers to boast about infrastructure, new jobs in the state, and reproductive rights.
Appearing alongside La’Ron Singletary and other state candidates, Zeldin attempted to connect with voters around Rochester by calling out the city dealing with high levels of gun violence.
“I mean there was just a four-year-old that was just shot,” Zeldin pointed out. “News from the last 24 hours here in Rochester. It was 68 homicides on the year, now it’s up to 70.”
While touching on New York leading the nation last year in population loss last year, per-U.S Census data, Zeldin turned to what actions he would take on his first day in office.
“We are going to declare a crime emergency here in the state of New York,” Zeldin promised. “We are going to suspend New York’s cashless bail law, raise the age, less is more, and discovery law changes. It’s going to be a busy day one, but every Covid mandate in the state of New York is gone.”
Downstate in Yonkers, the Governor took the stage boasting about economic gains for the state like Micron’s new computer chip plant, ensuring public safety through gun control laws, while investing in education.
“Do you want to have good paying jobs? Then vote Democrat,” Hochul said. “Do you want to protect our environment for generations to come? Then vote Democrat. Do you want to make sure that we invest in education for the highest quality of education for our teachers? Then vote Democrat. Do you want to make sure we get guns off the streets and start saving lives? Then vote Democrat.”
President Joe Biden followed her speech by calling out Zeldin’s voting record as a congressman for not supporting the American Rescue Plan, which pumped new funding into police departments. And bills that lowered the costs of prescription drugs.
“It gave state and local governments money they needed to keep cops on the beat, schoolteachers on the job, firefighters on the job,” President Biden stated. “Not a single republic voted for it. We put a cap of $2,000 a year on prescription drugs for seniors, but Congressmen Zeldin voted against it.”
Sunday was the last day for in-person early voting. Monroe County Board of Elections said that 55,211 ballots were cast over the past week. To find your polling location, head over to your local county’s website, or click here for Monroe County’s.
