Council member Bob Holden, a moderate Democrat, at a rally in support of the NYPD in Sunnyside in August 2020 (Photo: Michael Dorgan/Queens Post)
Sept. 14, 2022 By Christian Murray
Council member Bob Holden joined several Democrats on the steps of City Hall Monday to endorse the Republican candidate for governor–Lee Zeldin.
Holden, a moderate Democrat who represents District 30 in Queens, cited public safety as the main reason for the endorsement, saying that Zeldin was the candidate most likely to tackle crime. Holden was one of several Democrats at City Hall to reject Gov. Kathy Hochul, their party’s incumbent.
“There is only one person we believe can stop this [surge in crime]—and that is Lee Zeldin,” Holden said, who was alongside Zeldin and other Democrats.
The other Democrats included Dov Hikind, who represented southwest Brooklyn in the assembly from 1983 to 2018; Ruben Diaz Sr., the former Bronx councilmember and state senator; and Stephen Kaufman, a former assemblymember and council member from the Bronx.
🚨Many big Democratic Party endorsements of our campaign were announced today by our Democrats for Zeldin Coalition: @BobHoldenNYC, @HikindDov, Stephen Kaufman, @revrubendiaz, @Asianwave_org Founder Yiatin Chu, @donghui4nyc, @teacher_choice Founder Michael Kane, & @BrameMadeline pic.twitter.com/DOtGkYD9pe
— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) September 13, 2022
Holden said that the city needs to combat crime and Zeldin is the candidate to do it.
“I am proud to endorse Lee Zeldin for governor, because he will restore law and order to our city and state, support our police, end bail reform and oppose congestion charging,” Holden told the Queens Post in a statement.
“We had high hopes for Kathy Hochul, but she turned out to be a continuation of Andrew Cuomo,” Holden added. “We never had a meaningful investigation of the nursing home cover up or other scandals on her watch. Lee Zeldin will right the ship.”
Holden has been an outspoken critic of the state’s bail reforms as well as the defund the police movement. He has also not wavered in his support of the NYPD.
In August 2020, at the height of the police protests, Holden was the only public official to speak on behalf of the NYPD at a rally in support of the 108 Precinct in Sunnyside.
“The silent majority is stepping up now, this is not going to hold…
“Let’s keep going and let’s get the city back on track,”
@BobHoldenNYC said at pro-@NYPD108Pct rally in #Sunnyside Saturday.@queenspost @sunnysidepost #Queens #protest pic.twitter.com/xzjSmbuD1T
— Michael Dorgan (@MDorganNYC) August 23, 2020
Holden has often been at odds with the progressive wing of the Democratic party. He was fierce critic of former Mayor Bill de Blasio, especially when the administration called for converting hotels in his district into homeless shelters.
Holden has joined several Republicans in the council to form what’s called the Common-Sense Caucus, which focuses on quality-of-life issues.
Zeldin, whose campaign is heavily focused on law and order, is trailing Hochul, although polls vary as to the margin.
Hochul holds a lead of 15 percentage points over Zeldin, according to an Emerson College-Pix11-The Hill survey released last Friday.
Meanwhile, a Trafalgar Group poll conducted from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 found that Zeldin trailed Hochul by less than 5 percentage points.
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