Senator Harckham is Silent on Carmel School Trustee Wise’s Antisemitism
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
Like many others, I have deep concerns about how Democratic state Sen. Peter Harckham, a self-proclaimed moderate, has refused to comment on the left-wing antisemitic agitators in his community.
Jim Wise and Abi Lyons, two well-known left-wing activists, recently came under fire for leading anti-Israel rallies, which included numerous antisemitic signs and chants. Wise, who is a trustee on the Carmel Board of Education, was censured by his own school board, faces numerous calls for his resignation and continues to promote his bigoted beliefs using his platform as an elected leader.
Harckham has refused to join his colleagues at both the state and federal levels who are asking state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa to remove Trustee Wise from office. Not only this, he recently gave prestigious awards to Wise.
Harckham’s other accomplishments include the disastrous bail reforms of 2019, which have left judges and law enforcement without the legal means to detain indicted defendants. He also proposed local zoning overrides, which would have allowed dangerous battery plants to be placed in residential communities against the wishes of local governments and neighbors.
He’s perhaps most notorious for supporting Albany’s out-of-control taxation and spending policies, rubberstamping Gov. Hochul’s budgets, and then taking credit for giving small sums back to the communities he just robbed.
One thing Harckham has not done, however, is join his fellow elected officials in calling for Jim Wise to resign or be removed. His opponent, state Senate candidate Gina Arena, has been consistently clear: elected officials have no business spewing the same rhetoric as Hamas and Hezbollah. She has joined the many voices from across the political spectrum calling for accountability and change, showing the kind of character befitting an elected leader.
Voters this November should send a strong message that the Hudson Valley is ready for steady leadership, not partisan extremism, by rejecting Harckham and electing Gina Arena to the New York State Senate.
Carmela Atria
Kent
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