Metro

Another NYC Dem endorses Lee Zeldin instead of Gov. Kathy Hochul

A city councilman from Queens is the latest Democratic name to support the Republican challenger to his party’s incumbent, Gov. Kathy Hochul, citing the Big Apple’s crime woes and quality of life concerns.

“Just look at the current condition of New York City and New York State: There’s mayhem in our streets, in our courts, in our jails,” Councilman Robert Holden said as he endorsed Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin for governor on Monday.

“We’re headed in the wrong direction,” Holden said. “The handwriting is on the wall. Lee Zeldin is the best option for voters.”

Councilman Bob Holden endorsed Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin for governor on Monday. Alec Tabak
Zeldin is trailing Gov. Kathy Hochul by 15-24 percentage points, according to a recent poll. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
Holden said that New York under Hochul is in “mayhem.” Matthew McDermott

Holden and Zeldin were joined on the steps of City Hall by two controversial former Democratic lawmakers: former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind and former Bronx Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr.

The Queens councilman has had a tumultuous relationship with his party. He was elected to the Council in 2017 after he lost the Democratic primary but won in the general election on the Republican line — but then proceeded to caucus with the Democrats.

Holden’s campaign in both of those elections was fueled by his ties to the strident opposition to the then-de Blasio administration’s decision to use two hotels in the district to house homeless New Yorkers. And he campaigned to try and block a new permanent shelter from being opened on Cooper Avenue in Glendale.

But Holden has gained the most citywide attention for his tough criticisms of the state’s controversial bail reforms.

He’s also called for the NYPD to return to its ‘Broken Windows‘ policing strategy of the 1990s, which included stopping and searching New Yorkers when officers have a reasonable basis to conclude there is a possible danger to the public.

However, a federal court imposed strict limits on the practice after determining the NYPD’s widespread usage of ‘stop-and-frisk’ had amounted to racial profiling.

Polling has varied wildly in the governor race. Two recent surveys have shown Zeldin trailing Hochul by 15-24 percentage points. 

Zeldin’s campaign, meanwhile, has taken heart in more encouraging results from a pair of surveys that have shown him within single digits of the incumbent.