BUFFALO, NY – Delivering a message from his home in Brooklyn, New York State Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar said many people in New York City with broad political views remain concerned about the situation of migrants there.
“I think what people assume is that in New York City many of the residents have come to accept this,” Kassar said. “We have a huge homeless problem and it doesn’t take much to figure out if you have a major homeless problem. , bringing in tens of thousands of migrants is not going to help things.”
Speaking on the issue in western New York, Kassar says he also understands the fears of upstate communities, many of which have instituted emergency orders to try to keep migrants out. He said people should not be afraid of people seeking asylum and a better life.
“You should be afraid of the concept that your county and your homes, your cities aren’t going to be governed the way you think they should be, but you’re going to be tortured by the policies of New York City,” he said.
In a wide-ranging interview, Kassar also criticized the New York State Legislature for what he says was not just a late but flawed budget document that relied too heavily on federal money that may never materialize. The president said the Legislature would do well to at least get the Republican party leadership more involved in the talks.
“The Republicans in the Legislature have a lot of good ideas and when you start the day by deciding you’re not even going to accept their ideas or discuss their ideas, you’re the stupid person,” he said.
Kassar said there are many local elections his party is paying attention to this year, but he acknowledges it’s hard not to look ahead to 2024, when there will be a U.S. Senate and presidential race. He said the Conservative Party is holding preliminary talks about possible challengers to Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, but no one yet, including former gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin and former Senate candidate Joe Pinion, has indicated they are willing to do the next step
“I expect stronger names to come in as we get further into the end of the year because I think people will start to look at the overall value of a strong ticket like we had with Lee Zeldin,” Kassar said.
The Conservative Party does not have a statewide primary to select its candidates, but Kassar says he will follow the Republican presidential primary in New York with interest. He said he has had conversations with several candidates and their staff, but will endorse whoever the GOP nominee is.
“We’re going to have a strong ticket in terms of conservative philosophy. President Trump is clearly the leader right now and if he’s the nominee, it’s going to be three in a row for us,” Kassar said.
As a minor party, Kassar says the Conservatives must always be aware of the 2% threshold needed to maintain access to the ballot box. He said in a presidential election that there should be around 170,000 to 190,000 votes in the conservative line.
