Bronx faith leaders endorsed GOP gubernatorial Bruce Blakeman as part of a last-minute push for the Nassau County executive as he seeks to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Blakeman rallied alongside the clergy as well as longtime Bronx councilman and state Sen. Reuben Diaz Sr., Thursday, whom he described as “a great friend, a man of God, a man of family, a man of the people of this city.
“I want to also thank all of you here today, for your vote, for your support. But more importantly for your blessings,” Blakeman said at the Iglesia Cristiana de la Comunidad church in the Longwood neighborhood.
“We have to get back to the values of our parents and our grandparents,” said Blakeman, who is Jewish. “The Democratic Party has become a party unrecognizable. This isn’t the party of Bill Clinton. This is a party of people who don’t believe in God and in our values. They worship government.
“The services provided by faith based organizations are the quality services that support our community,” he said.
“Our children, our grandchildren, our parents, our grandparents. I believe in faith-based organizations,” he went on. ”Because they do a better job helping people than our government. I will share funding away from government to faith-based organizations, who work in the community, who live in the community.”
Blakeman, 71, after the event said he thinks his support for guest worker permits for undocumented laborers has broad appeal for Hispanic voters in the Empire State.
“I think that the Hispanic and Latino communities love my positions on immigration because it’s a common sense approach,” Blakeman said.
“People would like to stay in this country, and if they haven’t gotten trouble and they’re working, I think they should be able to stay. But they also want the criminals out of their communities. You know, it’s their schools that will be overburdened.”
Blakeman also campaigned in Harlem Thursday alongside former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams.
The Nassau County executive is considered an underdog as he tries to unseat Hochul, 68, who is seeking her second, full four-year term.
Election Day is Nov. 3, with early voting underway through Saturday.
