Anagnostakis to Bypass GOP Convention

Recently, in front of some close friends and family members, Orange County Legislator Mike Anagnostakis announced his intention to forgo the May 17th Republican nominating convention for the 39th Senate District seat, and instead to focus on the Republican primary this summer and the general election in November.

Anagnostakis, a Republican from the Town of Newburgh, remarked, “Let’s be very clear, the overwhelming majority of rank and file GOP Committee members are good hardworking Republicans. But the insiders, in the infamous tradition of Boss Tweed politics, have connived for months, behind the scenes, to advance their hand picked yes man puppet, and will use the convention as a coronation.”

Continued Anagnostakis, “The hardworking Committee members have been defrauded. After working almost three decades to keep the same man in office, they were cleverly manipulated out of the process, when it would have been their job to find the best candidate when the seat became open.”

Anagnostakis elaborated, “No Committee interviews of candidates; no scrutiny by the hundreds of Committee members; no questions and answers for those seeking the job; no endorsement process from Town Committee to Town Committee. Just a hand picked puppet – from outside Orange County – to be crowned at the Convention by the insiders who control a great number of convention votes by proxy. The hell with the democratic process and the will of the people! Well, someone needed to say what everyone is thinking – OUTRAGEOUS!!”

Anagnostakis, who started his third term as Orange County Legislator this year, has waged multi-year political battles against his own Republican party. Enacting and retaining a “Pay-to-Play” Law in Orange County to help stop corruption, and making elected officials pay towards their health insurance – which they were getting for free on the taxpayer dime – were just two of the many issues he fought his party on.

But, by far, the biggest, longest, and most epic battles were waged on his successful effort to expose the corruption and to save Valley View as a county owned nursing home for the seniors of Orange County.

“It is not surprising that the insiders – and those who were complicit with their silence – whom I fought against for years, and defeated, would do what they could to stop this selection process from being open. That was their threat to me for years,” Anagnostakis said. “I wear their actions as a badge of honor.”

Anagnostakis smiled as he said, “The insiders are scared to death – Imagine someone fighting for the people going to Albany and not their hand picked puppet yes man.”

Anagnostakis concluded by saying, “I will continue to fight for what is best for the people and not the political insiders, and look forward to the September Republican primary where – for the first time in nearly 30 years – Republican voters will select who their candidate will be in November for this Senate seat!”

As Anagnostakis walked away, he looked back, gave two thumbs up and proclaimed, “It’s on to the primary – Republican voters will finally have a choice!”