Contact: Jessica Proud, 914-438-5325 EMBARGOED FOR DELIVERY

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH BY
REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ROB ASTORINO

May 15, 2014

EMBARGOED FOR DELIVERY

Thank you, Chairman Cox. Thank you, Chairman Colety. Thank you, New York
Republicans from all across this state for putting your faith in me today. Thank you,
Sheriff Chris Moss! You honor me as a running mate.

And, of course, thank you to my beautiful wife, Sheila, and our three children, Sean,
Kiley, and Ashlin. I love them with all my heart.

Sheila and I met when I hosted a sportstalk show for WFAS Radio here in Westchester.
She was waitressing at a place down the road from the station called Petes Saloon
while studying for her Masters Degree in Special Education. Id go to Petes before my
shift for its cheeseburgers. But after Sheila started working there, it wasnt the
cheeseburgers I was after anymore -- if you know what I mean.

Sheilas been my partner in life ever since, every step of the way. Shes always
encouraged me. But I have to say, when talk started about me running for governor, I
wasnt sure Sheila would go for it.

But then talk started about a new kitchen, too. Sheilas wanted us to get one for years.
And I thought, wait a second. I see where this is going...

But you know what we found out? This is unbelievable. You actually need building
permits to make home improvements. Did anyone here know that? And get this; its
even crazier: your property taxes can go up when the renovations are done. Who knew?!

Even so, the dream kitchen is still in the cards, as well as the dream of helping to save
this state.

And so, today. I say to all of you here. And to all those across this state struggling to get
by: I proudly, emphatically, unconditionally, and enthusiastically accept your
nomination for governor of the State of New York, because this once great state needs to
be great again, and I will not rest until were back on track toward getting there.

Im going to ask each of you to take a step back for a moment and to look at the big
picture before us. Perspective is badly needed when we talk about whats happened to
New York.


Because it is nothing less than a disgrace, a crime--of historic magnitude. If Henry
Hudson and Giovanni da Verrazzano pulled into New York harbor today, theyd turn
their ships around and head south. Because what theyd see is the word closed:
Closed for business; closed for innovation; closed for honest, responsible government.

Our leaders have squandered a land blessed by its creator, and thats unforgivable. You
and I need to fix it because theres no one else coming along.

What Hudson and Verrazano and Samuel de Champlain saw when they got here -- what
the Iroquois, Seneca and Oneida Nations already knew -- was a place of bounty. Their
hearts must have pounded when they saw its possibilities -- the soil to till, the lakes to
fish, and the rivers and ocean to transport goods. This state, this land mass, has
everything, all the attributes for enrichment.

For three and a half centuries people saw New York through those settlers eyes. And
they prospered. New York became the economic engine that drove the country that
drove the world. How have we forgotten that?

This is where our families first stepped foot on American soil -- off ships in New York
Harbor, off trains from the South, and later off airplanes. They came to begin anew, to
stake their claim in the American dream of leaving their children and their childrens
children better off than their forebearers.

God help them; what have our politicians done? Theyve nearly ruined a once great
state. Theyve murdered innovation and chased away the dreamers.

The statistics scream incompetence: New York is now 50th in so many categories. How
is that possible? This was the state that wouldnt accept being second to anyone or
anything, and here we are...50th!

Here we are ranked by the American Legislative Exchange Council as having the worst
economic outlook in America. Not 25th. Not 45th. Dead. Last. 50th. The worst
economic outlook. The Empire State...

New York has the highest property taxes in America, 50th out of 50.

It has the highest overall tax burden, 50th out of 50.

It was just rated the worst place to retire in America, 50th out of 50.

We have the highest electric rates, yet we wont touch the clean natural gas underneath
our feet -- natural gas thats enriching 30 other states.

New York loses more families than any other state, 50th out of 50. Were on pace to lose
more than 400,000 New Yorkers in just four years under Andrew Cuomo.


And were ranked by the University of Illinois, thanks mainly to our Democrat friends in
Albany, as having the most corrupt state government in America -- 50th out of 50. Now
we find out that the commission that was supposed to investigate corruption has been
corrupted itself.

President Obama stood on the banks of the Hudson River a few miles from here
yesterday. He said that America now ranks 19th in the world in infrastructure
development. The President said 19th is unacceptable for this country. I wholeheartedly
agree. Nineteenth is unacceptable. And were 50th under Andrew Cuomo in all these
categories.

But heres the statistic that hurts most. It came out just this month: Forty one percent of
New Yorkers now say they would leave this state if they could. Four out of 10 neighbors
want to follow the three million former New Yorkers whove moved away in the past 20
years. How did this happen? When did living here become like a prison sentence?

I retire in three years; then Im out of here. Once the kids finish school, were headed
south. Who hasnt heard that a hundred times? It is...a sign of our times.

New York isnt losing because its people are failing. No one works harder than New
Yorkers, and with with world-class universities, we have one of the best educated
workforces anywhere.

Its not a lack of resources: The Hudson didnt dry up. Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are
still there. We have the same resources that made us a business magnet for three and a
half centuries. We have all the infrastructure a great state needs to grow -- roads,
rivers, railways, and airports.

So what happened? Why is the Empire State shrinking? Why is New York losing to
every state in this country?

Ill tell you what happened -- government happened. Bad government. Bad government
leadership. Sure it was often well meaning, but it was always stifling. New York
government couldnt help but stick its nose into everything -- to tax everything, regulate
everything, control everything. It layered on regulations like coats of paint on a ship.
Even the finest vessel afloat will succumb to the sea when its weighed down enough.

In so many categories, New York spends more than any other state, with disappointing
outcomes. We spend the most on schools, yet consistently rank in the bottom half of
results. We spend the most on Medicaid -- more than Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania
combined -- but health care delivery is subpar at best.

New York government grew so wide, so fast, and so broad that it had to tax its people

into the ground to support itself. And when Albany couldnt tax us any more, it began
making local governments do it for them. Eighty-five cents of every dollar we collect
here in Westchester now goes to unfunded Albany mandates. In Chemung County,
where my running mate serves as Sheriff, 100% of County taxes go to Medicaid costs,
and local services pay the price.

Governor Cuomos Albany is preying on counties, municipalities, and school districts.
Across the state, these districts are buckling under the weight of his mandates. Ask
Syracuse. Ask Rockland. Ask Nassau. Ask Yonkers and Erie. And you know what? Mr.
Cuomo has does nothing about it, other than blame local governments for his inaction.

Something else happened in New York government, too. Self interest happened. We
elected leaders year after year who served themselves first and us second. Theyve
handed the keys to the state to special interest groups because those groups can help re-
elect them. Thats not political leadership, its political malpractice.

When there was no money left in the till to hand them, they pushed the red ink into the
future, making promises that may never be kept -- just as long as they could get through
the next election cycle, and the next and the next and the next...

Its why I support term limits for state legislators and their leaders. Yes, as governor of
New York, I will term limit myself out, just like I did as County Executive of
Westchester.

The problems in New York State may seem great. When youre 50th in everything
theyre surely daunting.

But they arent complicated. Because all were missing in New York -- and this is key --
is political leadership. We need leaders who are willing to put their necks on the line to
fix the problems...political leaders willing to LOSE re-election to save the state.

A lot of people ask me how I won re-election in deep-blue Westchester by 13 points. You
know how I won? By being willing to lose my seat. Thats how I governed. I trusted the
voters of Westchester -- Democrats, Republicans, and independents -- to stand by me
when I made the tough calls.

You cant ask unions to pay for some of their healthcare, I was told, theyll get you at
the polls. I did it anyway, after doing it myself to set an example.

You cant make budget cuts. Youll have demonstrators outside your office. So be it. I
shrank my staff first to set an example, and then reduced the overall size of government
by 4%. My own staff I reduced by 19%.

They said You cant take a stand against federal government overreach into local

zoning. Theyll sue you in court -- and slander you in TV ads, like Governor Cuomo is
doing to me now. You know what? Go ahead. Well meet the federal bureaucrats in
court, and well face down Governor Cuomo in the court of public opinion. I will not let
faceless bureaucrats in Washington make decisions for our communities -- not in
Westchester, not in Nassau, not anywhere in the State of New York.

I announced this month my fifth straight year of freezing or cutting the property tax levy
in Westchester. Not capping the increase -- actually lowering costs. That doesnt happen
by mistake. It takes work and steady vision.

To give you you some perspective on my approach vs. Andrew Cuomos, consider this: If
Governor Cuomo had adhered to the same level of restraint that we did in Westchester
over the past four years, the cumulative savings to New York's taxpayers would be a
staggering $46.5 billion. You can start a lot of small businesses with that. You can
create a lot of jobs. You can lower taxes.

Westchester spends less today than it did five years ago. Yes, our budget is smaller now
than when I took office. Weve saved Westchester taxpayers more than $100 million by
consolidating services and departments, cutting waste, and reducing overhead.

As a result of our fiscal prudence, Westchester has the highest credit rating in New York
State today -- higher than the states. It has created 30,000 new private sector jobs over
four years, and it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in New York. Im proud of
that.

But heres what Im prouder of still: Weve saved taxpayers millions while actually
strengthening the social safety net. My administration cares about the least fortunate,
and in areas like child care for the working poor, we are more generous today than even
New York City, and weve expanded available slots for families in need.

I like to say you need three body parts to be a good leader. You need a head to do the
smart things and a heart to show compassion. But probably more than either of those,
you need a spine to stand firmly against the nonsense that seeps into government. Ive
tried to lead with all three in Westchester -- head, heart, and spine -- and Ill do the
same in Albany, together with my Lt. Governor Chris Moss.

Sure we have challenges. But heres the good news: history doesnt stop. New Yorks
fate is no more set at 50th than it was when we led the nation. We can turn this state
around if we have the courage to do it. New York can rise again, just as it fell. Its all in
the decisions we make over the next four years.

No one can look you in the eye and say were going to go from 50th to number one
overnight, but theres no reason we cant become the most economically competitive
state in the northeast again? Can anyone think of a reason why not? I cant.


Because beneath the suffocating, wet blanket of state government, were still New
Yorkers. Were the risk takers and the job makers -- remember that? Give us a chance to
breath again and well thrive.

Risk takers that still want to come here from all over the world. Son aquellos que se
arriesgan quienes llegan aqu cada da desde lugares como Mexico, y Per, y Ecuador, y
Colombia, en busca de una vida mejor para sus hijos, tal como hicieron antes cada una
de las oleadas de nuevos Americanos.

Dnnos a su gente cansada, a sus pobres, es la promesa de la dama del Puerto, y
nosotros les daremos la libertad econmica para que sus hijos puedan ser cualquier
cosa que ellos deseen.

Give us your tired and your poor, the lady in the harbor promises, and well give you
the economic freedom to make your children whatever they want to be.

I give you my word today. As governor of New York State I will put us back on the track
to greatness. With Sheriff Moss at my side, Ill cut taxes and regulations; Ill bring
billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs back to New York through natural gas
exploration; Ill lower the cost of doing business so job creators stay or return. And
Sheriff Moss and I will get rid of unconstitutional political gimmicks like the so-called
Safe Act that makes no one safer, while turning law abiding citizens into criminals.

But to succeed in this country -- to succeed in New York -- it all begins in the classroom,
and as governor Ill get rid of Cuomos Common Core that is robbing our children of
their natural love of learning. Ill replace Common Core with higher standards set at the
local level with the involvement of parents and teachers. I can tell you as a parent,
Cuomos Common Core is hurting, not helping, our kids.

And to those who have been waiting for an Education Investment Tax Credit in this
state I want you to know that when I make a promise to you, Ill keep it. We will have
an Education Investment Tax Credit in 2015.

Ive been asking families all across New York a question. As a state, do you think New
York is winning or do you think New York is losing?

Its a simple question, and I dont ask it to depress people. I ask it because I know that
New Yorkers are winners to the core. I know theyll respond when they realize how far
their state has fallen.

Party registration is irrelevant. Before we are Republicans, Democrats, and
independents, we are teachers and farmers and factory workers and office employees.
We are moms and dads and sons and daughters. We are New Yorkers: that special

breed of American who act when called to action.

So heres my call to action to New Yorkers today. Here is my challenge: Step in. Engage.
Take a stand with me and Sheriff Moss. Join us in this fight to save New York. Wade
deeper and farther into New York politics this year than youve ever waded before and
then stay there. Because if you dont, youll be gone in a few years, too, like so many
others.

Sheila and I are staying and were fighting for this states life. Its why Im on this stage
today. We, and Chris and his wife Dana, refuse to accept that the Empire State is losing
-- that New York now lies at the bottom of the heap in this country. We dont want to be
telling our children and grandchildren about what New York once was, and Im sure you
dont either. But thats whats going to happen if we dont act now in an urgent and
serious way.

This state will come back if we make the right choices. If we let its people thrive again,
without the interference of Albanys special interests.

Fiftieth is for losers, not for us: This is New York, where the Vanderbilts built railroads,
where Seymour Knox built Five and Dimes, and where Colin Powell reached for the
stars. Its the New York of George Gershwin, and Isaac Stern, y Tito Puente and Simon
and Garfunkel. This is where Willis Reed came off the bench to beat the Lakers; where
the Bills stormed back from 26. This is where the Orange nixed the Jayhawks; the
Yankees piled up 27 World Championships, Jackie Robinson stole home and Broadway
Joe guaranteed a trophy.

Fiftieth? We scoff at that.

I ask every New Yorker within the sound of my voice today: Will you pick up this mantle
with us?

Will you join us in this modern cause to make New York the greatest comeback story.
We have what it takes to do it. We. Have. You.

My faith is is in you. Chris Mosss faith is in you. Place yours in us this November and
well get there together.

I am telling you we can do this. Im promising we can do this. Together. You and I. We
can make the Empire State great again.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the people of the State of New York.

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