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 2018. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of New York in 2014. Astorino is one of the founders of 1050 AM ESPN Radio in New York City; he served as WEPN's executive producer, as executive producer of The Michael Kay Show, as a host on the MSG Network, and as the first program director for Sirius Satellite Radio's "The Catholic Channel".

Rob Astorino
County Executive of Westchester County
In office January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2017
Preceded by	Andrew Spano
Succeeded by	George Latimer
Member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators from the 3rd district
In office January 1, 2003 – December 31, 2004
Preceded by	Sue Swanson
Succeeded by	John Nonna
Personal details
Born	(1967-05-03) May 3, 1967 Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sheila McCloskey
Children	3
Education	Fordham University (BA)
Website	Campaign website

Astorino served on the Westchester County Board of Legislators from 2003 to 2005, when he launched an unsuccessful bid to unseat then-Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano. In 2009, he challenged Spano again and prevailed. Astorino was re-elected in 2013, defeating Democratic challenger Noam Bramson. He was defeated by incumbent New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the 2014 gubernatorial election. In 2017, Astorino ran for a third term as Westchester County Executive, but was defeated by Democratic challenger George Latimer.

Background

A Mount Vernon native,[1] Astorino grew up in Thornwood, New York. He is of three-quarters Italian descent. He attended Westlake High School, and enrolled in Fordham University where he received a bachelor's degree in Communications in 1989.[2] He later attended the Enforex School of International Studies in Barcelona, Spain where he became fluent in Spanish.[2]

In 1994, Astorino's father, Robert Astorino, was convicted of federal corruption charges. At the time, the senior Astorino was the Chief of Detectives for the Mt. Vernon Police Department. He and three detectives were seen on film taking $10,000 dollars during an FBI sting; Robert Astorino pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in prison.[3][4]

Media career

After graduating from college, Astorino hosted the weeknight sports shows Inside Sports on WFAS radio and served as host and producer of Sports Rap on the Sports Channel television network.[5]

Astorino has been an anchor for the MSG Network program Talk of our Town.[6]

Astorino is the recipient of the Associated Press award for Best Spot News Coverage and award for Best News Program, and the Metro New York Achievement in Radio award.[2] He is a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.[6]

ESPN radio

In 2001, Astorino was one of the founders of 1050 ESPN Radio in New York.[7][8][9][7] He directed the rebranding of New York's WEVD-AM 1050 from a talk radio station to an all sports format.[10] He became the station's Senior Producer, and worked as Executive Producer of The Michael Kay Show.[11] He was promoted to Station Executive Producer and served until 2005, when he resigned to run for Westchester County Executive.[12][13]

As the producer of the 4:00 to 7:00 PM time slot, the team of talent assembled by Astorino included Michael Kay and Joey Salvia; this team helped the show succeed against longtime afternoon sports radio mainstay Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN.[14][15] His accomplishments include securing broadcast rights for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, also at the expense of WFAN.[14]

Satellite radio

In 2007, Astorino was hired as the first program director for Sirius Satellite Radio's "The Catholic Channel".[7] He hosted a Thursday night program with Cardinal Edward Egan, the Archbishop of New York.[7]

Astorino was hesitant at first to work on religious radio, but he changed his mind when he found out "The Catholic Channel" would be different.[16] He stated, "I think it's a great opportunity not just for the archdiocese but for the Catholic Church as a whole to reach out to people across the country with a message, and have a two-way conversation."[7]

According to the Journal News, "With total authority over programming, the Archdiocese of New York was given the rare opportunity to play Michelangelo and create something new. Egan, who is not known to be a great communicator like his predecessor, Cardinal John O'Connor, gave the project his blessing. In addition to his show, he welcomed Sirius listeners when Sunday Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral was broadcast."[16]

Early political career

At the age of 21, while attending college, Astorino was elected to the Mount Pleasant board of education. He resigned three years later.[17]

In 1991, Astorino defeated an incumbent town councilman in Mount Pleasant and was elected to the town board. He was reelected in 1995 and 1999.[6] During his tenure on the town board, he served six years as Deputy Supervisor and 8 years as Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, which oversees the police department.[17]

Westchester County Executive Andrew O'Rourke appointed Astorino to the Westchester County Board of Ethics in 1996. Astorino was reappointed by O'Rourke's successor, Andy Spano in 1999.[2]

Westchester County Legislature

In 2003, Astorino announced he was a candidate to replace retiring County Legislator Sue Swanson, who represented a district encompassing Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville, North Castle, West Harrison, and portions of northern Greenburgh.[18] Astorino defeated his challenger with an aggressive campaign, which according to the Journal News, "raised the bar" for candidacies to the Board of Legislators.[19]

As a county legislator, Astorino was involved in plans to redevelop the Saw Mill River Parkway and restore wetlands, which is often flooded dangerously during rain storms, and coordinated meetings between the environmentalist groups, New York State Department of Transportation and the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 2005.[20] He helped the board stop Westchester's payments of a "franchise fee" to their bus operator, Liberty Transit Inc., after drawing attention that the contract with the company did not provide for such a payment.[21]

Once elected, he served on the committees for parks and recreation; housing; health; public safety and criminal justice; youth; and county officers and departments.[2] After serving only two years, Astorino opted not to run for reelection, instead focusing on a challenge to incumbent County Executive Andy Spano.[22] As an outgoing legislator, he opposed the pay increases that were enacted for board members.[23]

Westchester County Executive

Campaigns

The 2005 campaign for Westchester County Executive pitted the two-term Democratic incumbent Andy Spano, against Astorino, a Republican.[6] The race featured instances where Astorino publicized a homemade video of a security breach at the County's Kenisco dam, while the incumbent, according to the New York Times, "in the face of record property-tax increases, has busied himself with a campaign against steroids for schoolchildren, as a follow-up to an anti-bullying initiative that featured admonitions from Spider-Man."[24][25] Facing an uphill battle in a Democratic county against an incumbent who raised four times as much money as he did, Astorino made a surprisingly strong showing and was defeated by 30,000 votes.[26][27] Overall voter turnout was light and incumbents were largely successful throughout Westchester County.[28]

On March 21, 2009, Astorino announced that he would run again for Westchester County Executive.[27][29] In a surprising upset, he was elected to the position on November 3, 2009, defeating incumbent Andy Spano by 15 percentage points.[30]

Astorino ran for re-election in 2013. He defeated his challenger, Democratic candidate Noam Bramson,[31] by 12 percentage points.

Astorino sought a third term in 2017, despite his statement during the 2014 campaign that "eight years is enough for anyone" in office.[32] During the campaign, Astorino outspent his opponent, State Senator George Latimer, by more than 3-to-1.[33] Additionally, Astorino was the beneficiary of over $1 million spent in the last two weeks of the race by a super PAC funded by Robert Mercer.[34][35][36] Towards the end of the campaign, on October 27, 2017, Astorino was damaged by revelations from testimony in the Norman Seabrook trial. Campaign donor Jonah Rechnitz testified that he had paid $5,790 to cover most of the cost of a Rolex Submariner for Astorino shortly before Astorino named him as a chaplain for the Westchester County Police.[37][38] Another controversy in the closing days of the race was the disclosure of an email from an Astorino lieutenant to county employees that they should "expect to donate their time" by using paid time off to volunteer for Astorino's campaign.[39][40] Despite his fundraising advantage, Astorino was defeated by 14 points.[41]

Campaign donors

As of September 2016, Astorino had received $15,000 in campaign contributions from Donald Trump; he has stated that he considers Trump a friend.[42]

As of November 2017, Astorino had been the biggest beneficiary of donations by Robert Mercer to state and local campaigns in New York.[43] Mercer and his daughter Rebekah each gave the maximum $26,900 to Astorino's 2013 reelection campaign.[44] Additionally, Mercer gave $1.55 million to a super PAC supporting Astorino's 2014 gubernatorial campaign and $1 million to a super PAC supporting Astorino's 2017 re-election campaign.[45]

Tenure

In 2010, the Westchester County Legislature passed a $1.2 million bond issue to finance the restoration of the Elijah Miller House. Astorino, who had previously supported preserving the building five years earlier as a member of the legislature, vetoed the measure, saying it should be supported by private funds.[46]

2014 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2014 New York gubernatorial election

On March 5, 2014, Astorino announced that he would run for New York State Governor against incumbent Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Astorino called for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's resignation as chairman of Republican Governors Association for his lack of support, which he claimed was in deference to Cuomo.[47] Astorino was supported by Robert Mercer's $1.55 million donation to a super PAC backing his bid. The super PAC would end up accounting for nearly a quarter of the total money spent on Astorino's campaign.[34] He was defeated in the election.[48]

Legal issues

Lawsuit from the Westchester Independence Party

On October 31, 2013, the Westchester Independence Party filed a suit against Astorino and other defendants, alleging that Astorino and his campaign attempted to win the party's nomination by coercing dozens of staff members, political associates, friends, and family members to switch their party affiliation to the Independence Party. The lawsuit alleged Hatch Act violations and also included allegations of racketeering, conspiracy, and wire and mail fraud. On September 29, 2015, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas dismissed the case.[49] Astorino used Westchester County funds to pay $279,391 in legal fees for his defense rather than having his campaign pay for them. The move was described as a "borderline call, at best" by the New York Public Interest Research Group.[50]

Norman Seabrook trial

In 2016, Astorino's office received subpoenas from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in conjunction with the investigation into Astorino and Bill de Blasio donor Jonah Rechnitz. Various companies tied to the Brooklyn-based businessman donated a combined $25,000 to Astorino's 2014 gubernatorial campaign.[51] Astorino in turn made Rechnitz and friend Jeremy Reichberg county police chaplains, providing both with special parking permits, despite neither being religious officials. Rechnitz later testified under oath in the federal corruption trial of disgraced NYC corrections union boss Norman Seabrook to a history of quid-pro-quo with Astorino, most notably helping Astorino obtain a $10,000 Rolex Submariner watch, which was later confiscated by federal investigators.[52][53] Astorino has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he went jewelry shopping with Rechnitz because they were meeting next door.[54][55] Astorino has claimed that he paid for the watch in full, but the FBI has entered into evidence a $5,790 check with the memo line "ROLEX" cut by Rechnitz to Daniela Diamonds, which sold Astorino the watch. Rechnitz has testified that Astorino knew about the check.[56] An investigation by Andrew Whitman of FiOS1 showed that the $1,960 Astorino paid for the watch was unrealistically low, but that the $7,750 paid by Astorino & Rechnitz combined would be typical for a watch of that age and model.[57]

Government relations

In September 2018, Astorino took a government relations position at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron.[58]

Personal life

Astorino's first marriage was annulled after three years.[59] He married Sheila McCloskey[1] in 2001.[60] As of 2014, the Astorinos have three children.[61]

Electoral history

Westchester County Legislator - District 3, 2003[62]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John M. Nonna	5,074	47.7%
	Republican	Rob Astorino	5,564	52.3%	Republican hold

Westchester County Executive, 2005[63]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Andy Spano (incumbent)	111,746	58.2%	Democratic hold
	Republican	Rob Astorino	80,139	41.8%

Westchester County Executive, 2009[64]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Andrew Spano (incumbent)	70,739	43.10%	-15.1% Republican Gain
	Republican	Rob Astorino	93,382	56.90%	+15.1%

Westchester County Executive, 2013[65]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Noam Bramson	80,362	44%	+0.9% Republican Hold
	Republican	Rob Astorino (incumbent)	102,505	56%	-0.9%

Gubernatorial election in New York, 2014[66]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Swing
	Democratic	Andrew Cuomo		1,811,672	47.08%	9.44%
	Working Families	Andrew Cuomo		126,244	3.22%	0.13%
	Independence	Andrew Cuomo		77,762	2.02%	1.15%
	Women's Equality	Andrew Cuomo		53,802	1.41%	N/A
	Total	Andrew Cuomo	Kathy Hochul	2,069,480	54.19%	8.86%
	Republican	Rob Astorino		1,234,951	32.59%	4.65%
	Conservative	Rob Astorino		250,634	6.60%	1.57%
	Stop-Common-Core	Rob Astorino		51,294	1.39%	N/A
	Total	Rob Astorino	Christopher Moss	1,536,879	40.24%	6.71%
	Green	Howie Hawkins	Brian Jones	184,419	4.86%	3.56%
	Libertarian	Michael McDermott	Chris Edes	16,967	0.42%	0.63%
	Sapient	Steven Cohn	Bobby Kalotee	4,963	0.13%	N/A
		Scattering		6,378	0.19%	0.09%
Majority				480,605	13.26%	16.74%
Totals				3,930,310	100.00%
	Democratic Hold

Westchester County Executive, 2017[67]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	George Latimer	116,767	57%	+13% Democratic Gain
	Republican	Rob Astorino (incumbent)	89,463	43%	-13%

References

1. "Interviews With Outgoing and Incoming County Execs Andy Spano and Rob Astorino". www.westchestermagazine.com.
2. "Robert Astorino, Legislator-District 3". Westchester County Board of Legislators. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
3. Hernandez, R. (11 May 1994) "3 Officers Are Arrested And Charged With Graft". New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
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5. Cafaro, Danny. "Sportschannel aims for the human side of Tartabull". The Record. August 7, 1993.
6. "About Rob". Astorino for County Executive. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
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8. "Bearden, Michelle. Home, but far from alone". Tampa Tribune. January 21, 2007.
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17. O'Connor, Anahad. "Less Widely Known, but Not Cowed". New York Times. October 30, 2005.
18. Anderson, Liz. "Astorino weighs his future". Journal News. May 4, 2007.
19. "Our recommendations for Westchester Board of Legislators". Journal News. October 28, 2007.
20. Lombardi, Kate Stone. "Remember: It's the Saw Mill RIVER Parkway". New York Times. November 20, 2005.
21. B.Z. Khasru. "Liberty's 'franchise fee' is not in county contract". Westchester Business Journal. April 11, 2005.
22. Medina, Jennifer. "Republican Claims Victory in the Race to Replace Pirro". New York Times. November 9, 2005.
23. Fuchs, Marek. "Pols Deserve A Raise? Says Who?". New York Times. December 25, 2005.
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27. Blain, Glenn. "Astorino gearing up for 2009?". Journal News. January 23, 2008.
28. Philippidis, Alex. "Complacency, development issues sway local vote". Westchester Business Journal. November 14, 2005.
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51. Campbell, J. (25 July 2016) "Astorino's office subpoenaed in Bharara probe". The Journal News. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
52. Whitehouse, K. (26 October 2017) "De Blasio Donor's Shocking Testimony: $100K Bought Me the Mayor". New York Post. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
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58. Lungiarello, Mark (September 7, 2018). "Rob Astorino's got a new gig at a government relations firm". LoHud.com. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
59. Chen, David W. (10 October 2014). "Cuomo's Rival a Conservative Since Day One" – via NYTimes.com.
60. eHezi (6 March 2009). "Rob Astorino and Family to March in Yonkers St. Patrick's Day Parade".
61. Bakeman, Jessica. "Astorino hopes 'Stop Common Core' line will draw Dem votes". Politico PRO.
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67. "Official Tally of Election Results". westchestergov.com. 2017.

External links

• Official website

Political offices
Preceded by Sue Swanson	Member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators from the 3rd district 2003–2005	Succeeded by John Nonna
Preceded by Andrew Spano	Executive of Westchester County 2010–2018	Succeeded by George Latimer
Party political offices
Preceded by Carl Paladino	Republican nominee for Governor of New York 2014	Succeeded by Marc Molinaro