Justin Murphy

@citizenmurphy

Astorino%2C 46%2C announced his candidacy for governor on Wednesday

He promised to repeal the SAFE Act and focus on problems such as mental illness



It remains to be seen whether Astorino will face a challenger in the Republican primary

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino stopped at an East Rochester gun shop Friday on a statewide tour promoting his Republican gubernatorial candidacy, decrying the state SAFE Act and promising a more business-friendly attitude should he be elected in November.

Astorino, 46, a former television and radio executive, announced his candidacy Wednesday and has spent the last two days on the road. Friday, he started at Beikirch Ammunition Corp. in East Rochester before continuing on to Syracuse and Albany.

"I"m going to ask this very simple question to every New Yorker in all 62 counties: Is New York winning or losing?" he said. "If you think things are going well, if you like people leaving the state in droves, if you love these high property taxes, just vote for Andrew Cuomo."

He rattled off a litany of problems: high property taxes and unemployment, corruption in Albany, disrespect for gun owners and businesses and misplaced funding priorities.

To the acclaim of the 100 or so people who came to the gun shop to support him, he promised to repeal the SAFE Act and replace it through the budget process with a focus on root problems such as mental illness and children missing class.

"You as a governor have a lot of authority and a lot of power," he said. "I would use it to repeal (the SAFE Act) and replace it with something that doesn't demonize law-abiding citizens."

Kirk Russell, of Ogden, said he will support Astorino based on that stance and a promise to lower taxes.

"I don't like him being from Westchester County — I'd rather have someone from our part of the state," he said. "But I just want to see reasonable legislation. ... My property taxes go up and up and up, and the services I get personally are zero."

Astorino also said the state shouldn't focus on pre-kindergarten until K-12 education is in better shape, and called on the state to "take its foot off businesses and local governments" through mandate relief, allowing for lower taxes.

Across the street from Astorino's rally, a dozen people, most from the National Organization of Women, protested his pro-life stance.

"He's a character out of the 1950s in his attitude toward women," said Linda Stephens, of Greece.

It remains to be seen whether Astorino will face a challenger in a Republican primary. He said he's unconcerned about Democrats' statewide enrollment advantage, noting he twice won election in Democrat-heavy Westchester County.

"New York City's not deciding this vote — upstate's deciding this vote," he said. "You have it in your power to get rid of the guy who's making your life miserable, and that's Andrew Cuomo."

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks introduced Astorino and endorsed his campaign, calling him "a strong believer that good government can do good things."

Sara Early, of Rochester, said Astorino was "a very good talker" but wanted to learn more before deciding whom to support.

"He seems like a true citizen, like he really cares," she said. "I'm interested to find out more about what he thinks."

JMURPHY7@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/CitizenMurphy

Astorino quotes

• On opposition from Westchester County residents Bill and Hillary Clinton: "The Clintons have twice campaigned against me, in 2009 and 2013. It's Astorino two, Clintons nothing."

• On women's need for guns: "What's getting lost in this is, you've got a lot of women who are choosing to own a gun for a lot of reasons: they've been sexually abused, they have an abusive spouse, they want to protect their children, they hunt.... (There needs to be) a proper balance, and we're way out of whack right now."

• On the Common Core: "I would get rid of Cuomo's Common Core in a second."

• On a fundraising deficit: "Let's remember, this is the top of the first inning. We have just started the race. ... I feel very strongly we'll raise enough money. ... Gov. Cuomo's going to need a lot more than $33 million to defend that awful record he's got."

• On New Yorkers leaving for other states: "Today, living in New York has become like a prison sentence. ... I've heard from people getting close to retirement or just fed up with what's going on — 'A couple more years and I'm out of here.'"