George Latimer (born November 22, 1953) is an American Democratic Party politician serving as County Executive in Westchester County, New York since 2018.

Prior to his election as County Executive, he served in the New York State Senate for the 37th District from 2013 to 2017. He has also served on the Rye city council, in the Westchester County legislature, and in the New York State Assembly. He ran successfully for County Executive in 2017, unseating incumbent Republican Rob Astorino.

In 2024, Latimer defeated incumbent Congressman Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 16th Congressional District. Latimer is slated to face-off against Madeline Brame, a Republican opponent, in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Early life and career

Latimer was born in Mount Vernon, New York on November 22, 1953, to Stanley and Loretta (née Miner) Latimer. He attended local public schools. He commuted to Fordham University in the Bronx and graduated with a B.A. in 1974. He asked his father for a loan to get his Master's Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from New York University's Wagner School. While earning his graduate degree he worked part-time as a budget analyst at Fordham. After graduating in 1976, he took the position of housing coordinator, setting up Section 8 housing in Mount Vernon. “I discovered an affinity for government work, and I paid my father back,” he said.

He later worked for two decades as a marketing executive in the hospitality industry for major organizations, including subsidiaries of Nestlé and ITT.

Political career

Early elections

Latimer first ran for public office in 1987; he won a seat on the Rye City Council, finishing first in a field of 6 major party candidates. Latimer was elevated in 1991 to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, the first-ever Democrat to win the 7th District seat representing the City of Rye, Village of Larchmont, and Mamaroneck Town and Village. Latimer was re-elected in 1993, 1995, and 1997; in January 1998, Democrats won a majority of seats in the County Board for the first time in 90 years. Latimer was elected to chair the board, and was the first Democrat ever to do so. He was re-elected to his legislative seat in 1999, and served a second term as chairman from 2000 to 2001.

Latimer did not seek a third term as chair in 2002, having been re-elected to a sixth term in the Westchester County Legislature. Westchester County Democrats elected him County Democratic Party Chairman in September 2002, where he served for a two-year term.

New York State Assembly

After winning re-election to the County Legislature in 2003, Latimer sought and won a seat in the New York State Assembly in 2004, serving until 2012. In the Assembly, Latimer represented the 91st District, which included the Sound Shore communities of New Rochelle, Rye Brook, and Port Chester alongside the communities of his County Legislative District.

New York State Senate

In 2012, Latimer ran for the New York State Senate in the 37th District against Republican Bob Cohen following the retirement of Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D). Following his election in 2012, Latimer was reelected in 2014 and 2016 serving from 2013 to 2017.

Westchester County Executive

In 2017, Latimer challenged Republican incumbent Rob Astorino for Westchester County Executive.

During the campaign, Astorino called for Latimer to "step down from the state Senate's Education Committee because he missed the state budget vote..." The Latimer campaign, in turn, accused Astorino of receiving a sweetheart deal on a Rolex watch due to his relationship with a businessman who had pleaded guilty to fraud charges; Latimer's campaign called for Astorino's resignation based on the allegations.

Latimer defeated Astorino by 14 points despite being outspent over 3-to-1 by Astorino's campaign.

On November 2, 2021, Latimer was re-elected to a second term as County Executive.

As County Executive, Latimer explored purchasing the land around Pocantico Lake Park to create a new county park.

2024 congressional campaign

In December 2023, Latimer announced that he was running for the United States House of Representatives in 2024, challenging incumbent Jamaal Bowman in the June 25 primary for the Democratic nomination in New York's 16th congressional district.

Latimer has received high-profile endorsements for his campaign including from Hillary Clinton, a resident of Chappaqua in Westchester County, former area representatives Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey, and most state legislators representing the district. During the campaign, multiple news outlets reported on the "record-breaking" levels of outside spending in Latimer's favor. Over $14 million in outside spending benefited Latimer's campaign, much of it from groups affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Electoral results

New York 91st Assembly District, 2004 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	26,978	64.3
	Independence	George S. Latimer	1,214	2.9
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	721	1.7
	Total	George S. Latimer	28,913	68.9
	Republican	Vincent J. Malfetano	12,257	29.2
	Conservative	Vincent J. Malfetano	793	1.9
	Total	Vincent J. Malfetano	13,050	31.1
Total votes			41,963	100.0
	Democratic hold

New York 91st Assembly District, 2006 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	19,521	89.4
	Independence	George S. Latimer	1,410	6.5
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	899	4.1
	Total	George S. Latimer (incumbent)	21,830	100.0
Total votes			21,830	100.0
	Democratic hold

New York 91st Assembly District, 2008 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	29,105	65.1
	Independence	George S. Latimer	1,754	3.9
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	1,027	2.3
	Total	George S. Latimer (incumbent)	31,886	71.3
	Republican	Rob Blagi	11,850	26.5
	Conservative	Rob Blagi	966	2.2
	Total	Rob Blagi	12,816	28.7
Total votes			44,702	100.0
	Democratic hold

New York 91st Assembly District, 2010 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	18,704	59.9
	Independence	George S. Latimer	1,531	4.9
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	977	3.1
	Total	George S. Latimer (incumbent)	21,212	68.0
	Republican	Bill Reed	8,759	28.1
	Conservative	Bill Reed	1,246	4.0
	Total	Bill Reed	10,005	32.0
Total votes			31,217	100.0
	Democratic hold

New York 37th Senatorial District, 2012 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	61,010	51.3
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	3,226	2.7
	Total	George S. Latimer	64,236	54.0
	Republican	Bob Cohen	48,125	40.5
	Conservative	Bob Cohen	4,522	3.8
	Independence	Bob Cohen	1,927	1.6
	Total	Bob Cohen	54,574	46.0
	Write-ins	Write-in	40	negligible
Total votes			118,850	100
	Democratic hold

New York 37th Senatorial District, 2014 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	34,850	47.7
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	3,242	4.4
	Total	George S. Latimer (incumbent)	38,092	52.2
	Republican	Joseph L. Dillon	29,151	39.9
	Conservative	Joseph L. Dillon	4,572	6.2
	Independence	Joseph L. Dillon	1,190	1.6
	Total	Joseph L. Dillon	34,913	47.8
	Write-ins	Write-in	28	negligible
Total votes			73,033	100.0
	Democratic hold

New York 37th Senatorial District, 2016 General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	69,420	52.8
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	2,815	2.1
	Women's Equality	George S. Latimer	881	0.7
	Total	George S. Latimer (incumbent)	73,116	55.7
	Republican	Julie Killian	50,713	38.6
	Conservative	Julie Killian	5,216	4.0
	Independence	Julie Killian	1,809	1.4
	Reform	Julie Killian	426	0.3
	Total	Julie Killian	58,164	44.3
	Write-ins	Write-in	119	negligible
Total votes			131,399	100.0
	Democratic hold

Westchester County Executive, 2017 Democratic Primary Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	24,466	62.6
	Democratic	Ken Jenkins	14,316	36.7
Total votes			39,057	100.0

2017 Westchester County Executive election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	116,834	53.2%
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	4,034	1.8%
	Independence	George S. Latimer	2,214	1.0%
	Women's Equality	George S. Latimer	960	0.4%
	Reform	George S. Latimer	231	0.1%
	Total	George S. Latimer	124,273	56.6%
	Republican	Rob Astorino	82,929	37.8%
	Conservative	Rob Astorino	12,441	5.7%
	Total	Rob Astorino (incumbent)	95,370	43.4%
Majority			28,903	13.2%
Totals			219,643	100.0%
	Democratic gain from Republican

2021 Westchester County Executive election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	George S. Latimer	89,277	58.4%
	Working Families	George S. Latimer	5,556	3.6%
	Total	George S. Latimer (incumbent)	94,833	62.0%
	Republican	Christine Sculti	56,136	36.7%
	Conservative	Christine Sculti	1,933	1.3%
	Total	Christine Sculti	58,069	38.0%
Totals			152,902	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Personal life

Latimer and his wife, Robin Phelps Latimer, are the parents of a daughter, Meagan. He met his wife in the 1970s while he was working in sales for Stouffer's in White Plains, New York.