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On Nov. 2, 2010, Vassar students may have the option to vote for Vassar alumnus Enrico “Rick” Lazio ’80 for New York State Governor. Lazio declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination on Sept. 21 and is running on a fiscally conservative platform. Despite the fact that the Vassar campus is traditionally liberal and that, as a Republican, Lazio would seem to go against the grain of Vassar political norms, he sees himself as liberal in many social areas and did not come under fire for his ideals while at Vassar.
In an exclusive interview with The Miscellany News, Lazio stated, “I still feel like I am open to lots of different points of view. I happen to be a pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-environmental Republican, which for some folks is an anomaly. But for most people, I think that they could easily come to terms with somebody who could say, ‘I believe that we should live within our means. I believe that we should have balanced budgets. I believe that we should have a tax policy that encourages investment and growth.’”
Lazio maintains a connection to his alma mater and said that he would be willing to speak at Vassar if he were to be invited. In his interview with the Miscellany, Lazio fondly recalled his favorite Vassar haunts. Though he enjoyed Matthew’s Mug, Lazio said that Cushing House was his favorite spot on campus. “I spent my freshman year in Cushing, so I love Cushing,” he explained. “My freshman roommate ended up being the best man at my wedding, and we’re still best friends. I had my first love there, so I guess Cushing was a very special place for me.”
Vassar did not only foster Lazio’s social life and social ideals; he also grew as a public leader his extracurricular pursuits. He served on the Student Senate, a precursor to the Vassar Student Association. In this position, he was required to interact with various professors and administrators, which helped prepare him for a career in politics. “Because I sat in the room as a 20-year-old guy with people of authority in senior spots in the College, I really learned how to express myself in the face of authority and not to be shy about advocating a point of view even if it wasn’t the most popular point of view,” he said.
As a fiscal conservative, Lazio has focused most of his criticism of Governor David A. Paterson’s administration on its high spending and taxes, and on the negative effects of the current economic crisis on New York’s job market. However, despite his conservatism, Lazio said that he would try to avoid cutting funding from the Tuition Assistance Program and other state-sponsored financial aid programs. “One of the greatest assets that New York has are its centers of higher learning, and the way forward is to make sure that we use these colleges and universities as a catalyst for economic development,” he said.
In order to reign in spending, Lazio’s platform includes calling for a hiring freeze on government employees, a cap on property taxes and policies that do not require local governments to increase spending. “The first order of business is to get our financial house in order. We’ve got a structural deficit that needs to be closed, but it’s equally important to me to restore confidence in government, so that means an overhaul of our ethics laws,” said Lazio of his plans should he be elected.
Beyond the budget, Lazio believes that investigating the ethics of the state government is an important step in gaining the trust of the government’s constituents. “[Constituents] don’t think that people who serve as politicians, that are in public office, are watching out for the average citizens, and we need to have a political system that’s open, transparent,” continued Lazio. “It means we have to deal with conflict of interest laws. It means we need to deal with campaign finance issues; in short, from top to bottom, we need an overhaul of the way Albany does business.”
However, being in a position to make significant decisions is still a while away for this gubernatorial hopeful as he faces stiff competition from the Democratic nominees. According to Professor of Political Science Richard Born, Lazio’s chances at success depend on whether incumbent Governor Patterson is the Democratic nominee. “If that is the case, Lazio will have a 50-50 shot,” said Born.
Unfortunately for Lazio, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is ahead of both himself and Patterson in the polls, although Cuomo has yet to declare his candidacy. According to a Jan. 18 Rasmussen poll, if the election were held on that date, Lazio would lose to Patterson by a margin of 45 percent to 38 percent, a relatively small gap that could potentially reverse itself by November. Conversely, Lazio would lose to Cuomo by a margin of 54 percent to 35 percent, a much stronger indicator of the election’s likely outcome.
However, according to Born, Lazio may still stand a fighting chance against Cuomo due to the opposition Cuomo may face from leaders of the black community after Cuomo defeats Patterson in the primary. Of course, “the biggest negative [for Cuomo] is the national decrepitude of the Democratic party,” said Born.
Within his own party, Lazio is one of the only major candidates for the Republican nomination, though he has drawn wide opposition due to his decade-long absence from the political world. However, despite this opposition, Lazio had managed to gain the endorsement from nine county leaders, representing 25 percent of the state, thus assuring him a spot on the ballot.
Lazio’s political experience includes four terms, from 1992-2000, as a congressman from Long Island. During his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, he served as the Deputy Majority Whip and Assistant Majority Leader. He ran for Senate in 2000, losing to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Currently, he works as an Executive Vice President and lobbyist for JP Morgan Chase.
—Additional reporting by Ruby Cramer, Editor in Chief
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