By Gregory Wagner

The Fordham College Republicans kicked off Voter Education Week on Monday with an event featuring Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino, FCRH ’89.

Astorino addressed the audience with a quip about his history in the political sphere.

“I’ve known Donald Trump for 15 years now,” Astorino said in Flom Auditorium. “He called me down to his office one day and asked, ‘If I were to buy Playland, would I be able to name it Trumpland and build the biggest roller coaster in the world there?’” Astorino said.

Astorino has been the Westchester County Executive since 2009, and he was a New York gubernatorial candidate in 2014. He is also one of the founders of the 1050 AM ESPN Radio in NYC, he was the Executive Producer of The Michael Kay Show, and he was also a television host on the MSG Network.

According to Astorino, the two most important things for Republicans to do in the current political environment is to stay true to their principles and and never change their message.

But that is no excuse to not leave one’s comfort zone, he argued. 

“[In a] deep blue New York, if you do not get out of comfort zone, then you will not win, and you will not expand your base,” he said. “You must build coalitions and go politically where you might not be comfortable going,” he said.

The President of the Fordham College Republicans, Sebastian Albrecht, FRCH ’17, first heard Rob Astorino speak at NYU in 2014 when Astorino was running for New York governor.

“I was deeply impressed by his speech and his call to go to the places where it hurts,” Albrecht said.

Astorino  switched gears to discuss what he said are the two issues facing New York: failing business and the untapped potential of natural gas.

According to Crain’s New York Business, New York is currently one of the worst states to do business in, in part due to extensive business regulations that serve as road blocks.

“New York is a terrible state to do business in, but it can be fixed,” he said. “The economy will begin to get better, and people will begin to invest again.”

He spoke on behalf of implementing sensible regulations in terms of harnessing natural energy and bringing resources back to the private sector, so long as both moves preserve prosperous jobs.

Astorino left the stage after giving insight on the 2016 presidential election, urging the Republican Party to change its tone.

“Americans are sick and tired of the political atmosphere, Republican and Democrat alike,” he said. “[Donald] Trump has tapped into this discontent.”

He advised the Republican party to disengage from hateful rhetoric and become more welcoming. “We have a lot to be proud of, but we are always playing defense – we must play offense,” he said. “We cannot let the Democrats portray a picture that is not true.”