Lifelong Pearl River resident Rob Bonomolo has stepped up as a Republican challenger for freshman state Assemblyman Aron Wieder in a Rockland County district that flipped to Democrats in the last election.
Bonomolo is a 50-year-old political newcomer who works as a construction laborer and president of his Chestnut Ridge-based union, Laborers Local 754. He’s seeking to represent in Albany a chunk of southern Rockland that takes in all of Orangetown except Nyack and part of the neighboring town of Ramapo, including the villages of Chestnut Ridge, Kaser and New Square and part of Spring Valley.
“I decided to run just to be a voice for the people of District 97,” Bonomolo said in an interview about his campaign launch for the Nov. 3 election.
Bonomolo, a 1994 graduate of Pearl River High School, has served on Orangetown’s Zoning Board of Appeals since 2019 and has been president of Pearl River Little League for five years.
What to know about Assembly District 97
Wieder, a former Rockland County legislator, claimed the 97th District seat in 2024 by beating John McGowan, the Republican who had won it two years earlier. Republican Rep. Mike Lawler held the seat for one term before then after his 2020 victory against Ellen Jaffee, the Democrat who represented the 97th District for 14 years.
Wieder, in a statement to the USA TODAY Network, confirmed he’s seeking a second term and said he’ll run on his record and the “accessible, effective and accountable” office he provides for his constituents.
“I’m especially proud to have helped bring back more than $4 million in state investment to every corner of the district,” he said.
Wieder won the last election against McGowan by 52% to 44%. Also on the ballot in that race was Conservative Party candidate Thomas Sullivan, who won 4% of the vote.
Democrats have controlled New York’s 150-seat Assembly for more than 50 years and currently hold a supermajority, with 103 seats in their hands and 47 for Republicans. In the 97th Assembly District, Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one.
“I’ll work with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who’s willing to fight for the district,” he said in a statement acknowledging the district’s Democratic enrollment edge. “I may not be a career politician, but I know balls and strikes, and I won’t hesitate to call them as I see them.”
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rob Bonomolo starts GOP bid for Rockland Assembly seat held by Wieder
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
