# George Latimer (New York politician)

George Stephen Latimer (born November 22, 1953) is an American politician representing New York's 16th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Latimer is a member of the Democratic Party.
Latimer has served on the Rye City Council, in the Westchester County Legislature, and in the New York State Assembly. He represented New York's 37th State Senate district from 2013 to 2017. He ran successfully for Westchester County Executive in 2017, unseating incumbent Republican Rob Astorino. He served as Westchester County Executive from 2018 to 2025.
Latimer won election to the U.S. House in 2024, defeating incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary and defeating Republican Miriam Flisser in the general election.

## Early life and career

Latimer was born in Mount Vernon, New York, on November 22, 1953, to Stanley and Loretta (née Miner) Latimer. He attended and graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1970. He commuted to Fordham University in the Bronx and graduated with a B.A. in 1974. He asked his father for a loan to help him obtain his master's degree in public administration (MPA) from New York University's Wagner School. While earning his graduate degree, he worked part-time as a budget analyst at Fordham. After graduating in 1976, he took the position of housing coordinator, setting up Section 8 housing in Mount Vernon. “I discovered an affinity for government work, and I paid my father back,” he said.
Latimer later worked for two decades as a marketing executive in the hospitality industry for major organizations, including subsidiaries of Nestlé and ITT.

## Political career
### Early elections

Latimer first ran for public office in 1987; he won a seat on the Rye City Council, finishing first in a field of 6 major party candidates. Latimer was elevated in 1991 to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, the first-ever Democrat to win the 7th District seat representing the City of Rye, Village of Larchmont, and Mamaroneck Town and Village. Latimer was re-elected in 1993, 1995, and 1997; in January 1998, Democrats won a majority of seats in the County Board for the first time in 90 years. Latimer was elected to chair the board, and was the first Democrat ever to do so. He was re-elected to his legislative seat in 1999, and served a second term as chairman from 2000 to 2001.
Latimer did not seek a third term as chair in 2002, having been re-elected to a sixth term in the Westchester County Legislature. Westchester County Democrats elected him county Democratic Party chairman in September 2002, where he served for a two-year term.

### New York State Assembly

After winning re-election to the County Legislature in 2003, Latimer sought and won a seat in the New York State Assembly in 2004, serving until 2012. In the Assembly, Latimer represented the 91st District, which included the Sound Shore communities of New Rochelle, Rye Brook, and Port Chester alongside the communities of his County Legislative District.

### New York State Senate

In 2012, Latimer ran for the New York State Senate in the 37th District against Republican Bob Cohen following the retirement of Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D). Following his election in 2012, Latimer was reelected in 2014 and 2016 serving from 2013 to 2017.

### Westchester County Executive

In 2017, Latimer challenged Republican incumbent Rob Astorino for Westchester County Executive.
During the campaign, Astorino attacked Latimer because a house belonging to his late mother-in-law was delinquent on $46,000 in property taxes. Latimer said that the taxes would be paid as soon as the estate was settled, and that he was not responsible for the taxes as he did not own the house. An investigation by News 12 showed that Latimer's name did not appear on the deed to the house.
Latimer was also criticized for having "a car-registration suspension on his record," and for missing state budget votes in April 2017 while vacationing in the [United Kingdom] with a woman other than his wife." Astorino called for Latimer to "step down from the state Senate’s Education Committee because he missed the state budget vote..." In October 2017, the New York Post reported that Latimer had "told fellow Democrats he was attending the [United Kingdom] trip with his wife, Robin... The state budget was passed a week after the April 1 deadline this year, and Latimer missed the votes on legislation approving school funding, tax revenues and the capital budget." Latimer accused Astorino of "trying to divert voters’ attention — but didn’t deny taking the trip"; when asked where he was during the skipped votes, Latimer told reporters that the subject was "not [their] business."
The Latimer campaign, in turn, accused Astorino of receiving a sweetheart deal on a Rolex watch due to his relationship with a businessman who had pleaded guilty to fraud charges; Latimer's campaign called for Astorino's resignation based on the allegations.
Latimer defeated Astorino by 14 points despite being outspent over 3-to-1 by Astorino's campaign.
On November 2, 2021, Latimer was re-elected to a second term as county executive.
As county executive, Latimer explored purchasing the land around Pocantico Lake Park to create a new county park.

### 2024 congressional campaign

In December 2023, Latimer announced that he was running for the United States House of Representatives in 2024, challenging incumbent Jamaal Bowman in the June 25 primary for the Democratic nomination in New York's 16th congressional district.
Latimer has received high-profile endorsements for his campaign including from Hillary Clinton, a resident of Chappaqua in Westchester County, former area representatives Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey, and most state legislators representing the district. The campaign received national recognition for the record-breaking levels of outside spending in favor of Latimer. Latimer received over $14 million from an AIPAC-affiliated super PAC on his way to defeating Bowman, who had been an outspoken critic of Israel's military actions during the Israel-Hamas war. Bowman's loss was seen as a major defeat for the progressive wing of the party against its more moderate wing, represented by Latimer. Latimer went on to win the general election.

## Electoral results

New York 91st Assembly District, 2004 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 26,978 | 64.3 |
| | Independence | George S. Latimer | 1,214 | 2.9 |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 721 | 1.7 |
| | Total | George S. Latimer | 28,913 | 68.9 |
| | Republican | Vincent J. Malfetano | 12,257 | 29.2 |
| | Conservative | Vincent J. Malfetano | 793 | 1.9 |
| | Total | Vincent J. Malfetano | 13,050 | 31.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 41,963 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New York 91st Assembly District, 2006 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 19,521 | 89.4 |
| | Independence | George S. Latimer | 1,410 | 6.5 |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 899 | 4.1 |
| | Total | George S. Latimer (incumbent) | 21,830 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 21,830 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New York 91st Assembly District, 2008 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 29,105 | 65.1 |
| | Independence | George S. Latimer | 1,754 | 3.9 |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 1,027 | 2.3 |
| | Total | George S. Latimer (incumbent) | 31,886 | 71.3 |
| | Republican | Rob Blagi | 11,850 | 26.5 |
| | Conservative | Rob Blagi | 966 | 2.2 |
| | Total | Rob Blagi | 12,816 | 28.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 44,702 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New York 91st Assembly District, 2010 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 18,704 | 59.9 |
| | Independence | George S. Latimer | 1,531 | 4.9 |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 977 | 3.1 |
| | Total | George S. Latimer (incumbent) | 21,212 | 68.0 |
| | Republican | Bill Reed | 8,759 | 28.1 |
| | Conservative | Bill Reed | 1,246 | 4.0 |
| | Total | Bill Reed | 10,005 | 32.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 31,217 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New York 37th Senatorial District, 2012 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 61,010 | 51.3 |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 3,226 | 2.7 |
| | Total | George S. Latimer | 64,236 | 54.0 |
| | Republican | Bob Cohen | 48,125 | 40.5 |
| | Conservative | Bob Cohen | 4,522 | 3.8 |
| | Independence | Bob Cohen | 1,927 | 1.6 |
| | Total | Bob Cohen | 54,574 | 46.0 |
| | Write-ins | Write-in | 40 | negligible |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 118,850 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New York 37th Senatorial District, 2014 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 34,850 | 47.7 |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 3,242 | 4.4 |
| | Total | George S. Latimer (incumbent) | 38,092 | 52.2 |
| | Republican | Joseph L. Dillon | 29,151 | 39.9 |
| | Conservative | Joseph L. Dillon | 4,572 | 6.2 |
| | Independence | Joseph L. Dillon | 1,190 | 1.6 |
| | Total | Joseph L. Dillon | 34,913 | 47.8 |
| | Write-ins | Write-in | 28 | negligible |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 73,033 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New York 37th Senatorial District, 2016 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 69,420 | 52.8 |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 2,815 | 2.1 |
| | Women's Equality | George S. Latimer | 881 | 0.7 |
| | Total | George S. Latimer (incumbent) | 73,116 | 55.7 |
| | Republican | Julie Killian | 50,713 | 38.6 |
| | Conservative | Julie Killian | 5,216 | 4.0 |
| | Independence | Julie Killian | 1,809 | 1.4 |
| | Reform | Julie Killian | 426 | 0.3 |
| | Total | Julie Killian | 58,164 | 44.3 |
| | Write-ins | Write-in | 119 | negligible |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 131,399 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
Westchester County Executive, 2017 Democratic Primary Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 24,466 | 62.6 |
| | Democratic | Ken Jenkins | 14,316 | 36.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 39,057 | 100.0 |
2017 Westchester County Executive election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 116,834 | 53.2% |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 4,034 | 1.8% |
| | Independence | George S. Latimer | 2,214 | 1.0% |
| | Women's Equality | George S. Latimer | 960 | 0.4% |
| | Reform | George S. Latimer | 231 | 0.1% |
| | Total | George S. Latimer | 124,273 | 56.6% |
| | Republican | Rob Astorino | 82,929 | 37.8% |
| | Conservative | Rob Astorino | 12,441 | 5.7% |
| | Total | Rob Astorino (incumbent) | 95,370 | 43.4% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 28,903 | 13.2% |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 219,643 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |
2021 Westchester County Executive election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| | Democratic | George S. Latimer | 89,277 | 58.4% |
| | Working Families | George S. Latimer | 5,556 | 3.6% |
| | Total | George S. Latimer (incumbent) | 94,833 | 62.0% |
| | Republican | Christine Sculti | 56,136 | 36.7% |
| | Conservative | Christine Sculti | 1,933 | 1.3% |
| | Total | Christine Sculti | 58,069 | 38.0% |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 152,902 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
New York 16th Congressional District, 2024 Democratic Primary Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George Latimer | 45,430 | 58.69 |
| | Democratic | Jamaal Bowman (incumbent) | 31,983 | 41.31 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 77,413 | 100.0 |
2024 New York's 16th congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | George Latimer | 217,668 | 71.6 |
| | Republican | Miriam Flisser | 86,408 | 28.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 304,076 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

## Personal life

Latimer and his wife, Robin Phelps Latimer, are the parents of a daughter, Meagan. He met his wife in the 1970s while he was working in sales for Stouffer's in White Plains, New York.
In 2019, Latimer faced a lawsuit following a July 2017 car crash in New Rochelle. The collision occurred when Latimer failed to yield at an intersection, causing the driver of the other car "severe and permanent injury." At the time of the crash, Latimer was driving an aide's vehicle; his own car's registration had been suspended because of a high number of unpaid parking tickets.