On Oct. 12, the Nassau County Republican Committee held a “Ladies Night Out” event featuring Alison Esposito, who is running in this November’s state elections to become New York State’s next Lt. Governor.
A retired New York Police Department (NYPD) officer, Esposito spent nearly 25-years serving New Yorkers in a variety of roles. She began her career as a beat cop, patrolling Manhattan’s Midtown South precinct and eventually moved up through the ranks to become the commanding officer and deputy inspector of the 70th police precinct.
“You all know the police department has a large chunk of my heart and I never would have walked away from my people, my cops, the men and women I was so blessed to serve alongside if I didn’t think that I needed to do it for them, for their families, for their people,” Esposito told the crowded room.
Esposito walked away from her NYPD career to campaign with her running mate, Lee Zeldin, who is vying to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul to become New York State’s next Governor.
Esposito said that the decision to leave her law enforcement career was a “very difficult decision” and that she periodically wakes up in the middle of the night thinking to herself, “What did I do?!” however immediately voiced confidence in her decision to join Zeldin in the race.
Success
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Success
Check your email to complete sign up
“This is bigger than me and one decision,” she said, adding that, “This is bigger than all of us. This is bigger than Congressman Zeldin and his decision to throw his hat into this race,” to which the crowd erupted in applause.
Esposito and Zeldin are running on a platform focused on righting the economy, addressing surging crime rates in New York State and protecting “freedom and liberty.”
Zeldin was in attendance and told the crowd of mostly women, “We are right on the economy. We’re right on protecting freedom and liberty. We are going to take back this state. We are going to do everything in our power to save New York, to restore New York to glory, to make history.”
According to a recent Siena Research Institute poll, over the last three weeks, Zeldin has narrowed the gap between him and his opponent, Hochul, by six points. Hochul still leads by a commanding 11 points with three weeks left until voting day.
If elected, Esposito says one of the first things she will seek to accomplish is the removal of Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg.
“Public safety and security are on the ballot and we’re going to get it back. Their [Democrats] reign of terror is over. There’s a lot we have to do. There’s a lot we have to do so, day one, we will fire Alvin Bragg.”
Esposito argues that Bragg has failed in his role by not enforcing the law and championing cashless bail laws —that were implemented in 2020 — that many point to as the catalyst for surging crime rates across the state.
Parental rights in education
While issues like public safety and reigning in surging crime rates dominate the Republican platform, school choice and the New York State school curriculum are not far from the top of the list of concerns.
“We believe that you as parents do not relinquish your rights as parents to determine what is best for your child simply by sending them to school,” Esposito told the room adding that, “It’s on you when you want certain discussions to happen with your children. It’s on you as parents to decide what is best for them. You and you alone decide what is best for you, your children and your family. Government should not be involved in that.”
Esposito believes that an effective way to address multi-generational poverty is to ensure parents are involved in schooling.
Zeldin and Esposito have published a comprehensive strategy to address education in the Empire State that encourages parents to get involved in their child’s schooling as much as possible.
Their plan bans what they say is a “divisive curriculum” that pits children against one another based on race and other factors and seeks to expand advanced and specialized academics by retaining merit based entry exams to specialized schools.
The plan promises to to promote more civic education while ensuring age inappropriate sex education material is not taught in schools.
If elected, they would seek to repeal mask mandates for toddlers in New York City and block any mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
