To the Editor,
The Westchester Board of Elections has certified the June 28 primary election results. Despite our strong re-election effort, we were not successful. While we won 70 of 127 election districts, the turnout in those districts was very low and the other 56 districts produced more votes for my opponent.
Thank you to all who participated in the June 28 primary election. Democracy depends on voters exercising their right to vote.
A special thank you to all who worked on my behalf. We can be proud that we ran a positive campaign on my record of delivering for the 92nd District and for New York.
I thank the people of the 92ndDistrict for giving me the opportunity to represent them in Albany for 12 years. I look forward to continuing to work for them and the people of New York for the remainder of the year.
One further note, I am disappointed and outraged by the coordinated effort in campaign literature and social media to use innuendo, half-truths and outright lies to malign me personally and attempt to destroy my reputation built over 40 years of community service.
Especially egregious was the attempt to portray me as anti-woman and unsympathetic to female victims. Those who know me will say just the opposite. My long record shows the contrary. I was a founding board member and pro bono attorney for the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion (before New York was a pro-choice state), an outspoken advocate for the Survivors Act and a supporter of every legislative initiative to ensure women’s equality and assist victims.
Our nation is besieged by viral disinformation campaigns. It’s disheartening to see the same tactics used locally by Democrats. Democrats must live up to a higher standard and call out those who damage our democracy by using those despicable tactics.
The vicious attacks on me and my reputation are unforgivable. Those who perpetrated them should be ashamed.
Tom Abinanti
Mr. Abinanti,
Thank you for your many years of public service. You have every right to be upset about attacks on your reputation. But that’s not why you lost. You lost because you had no interest in protecting tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your office was rudely dismissive of the concerns of local tenants regarding the uncertainties of the shutdown. You did not advocate on behalf of working people — only on behalf of landlords.
This is not misinformation. I can personally attest to all of the above, as can many others. You were openly hostile to the eviction moratorium in many public statements and on the floor of the Assembly.
Here’s a tip for you, should you choose to run for office in the future: landlords are not a constituency! Certainly not one that is reliable. Tenants, on the other hand, are far more numerous, and represent a broad swath of working people. You ignored our needs during the greatest crisis in living memory. Now, you’ve paid the price.
In the end, the outcome was a win for working families all over the district. You did not go to the mat for us when we needed you most. Instead, you fought to protect landlords. I hope, as you continue to reflect on your loss, that you are eventually able to see how you erred and how it cost you the race.
Dylan Hume
A Lifelong Resident of the Tarrytowns