Tea Party Favorite Seeks to Add GOP Nod in 19th Congressional District
Neil DiCarlo secures his place in September's Republican primary, battling party choice Nan Hayworth for the right to challenge Democrat John Hall.
For Neil DiCarlo, August has twice come up a good month at the Board of Elections.
Though originally denied his party's nomination in the 19th Congressional District contest, the Brewster Republican submitted 1,787 signatures seeking to oppose the GOP's chosen designee, Nan Hayworth of Mount Kisco, in next month's primary. DiCarlo's petitions not only survived efforts by Hayworth supporters to void them on various grounds but also gave him the coveted top line on the primary ballot.
Hayworth also has the official Conservative Party endorsement on the ballot, as well as the Independence Party, but DiCarlo has formal Tea Party backing, and is proud of it. Campaigning unapologetically from the right, he's firmly opposed to abortion, gay marriage and ever-bigger government. Just as firmly, he supports free markets, veterans' benefits and gun ownership.
The youngest of four children, DiCarlo grew up in Mount Vernon and graduated with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree from Manhattan's School of Visual Arts in 1991. He married the former Deborah Olsen in 2000 and they have five children. DiCarlo is chief compliance officer for Advanced Equities Services Corp., working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Even on such a bedrock Republican issue as taxes, DiCarlo draws distinctions between himself and the party designee.
"I am for lowering taxes on all Americans," DiCarlo said.
He assails a Hayworth proposal to scrap the alternative minimum tax in favor of an alternative maximum. Hayworth would cap combined taxes at 49 percent of a person's income. But DiCarlo said he sees that as confiscatory, insisting, "[he] would never concede to the government a 49c tax on every dollar" a person earns.
Nan Hayworth's response via her communications director Doug Cunningham was that she was "countering the concept of the alternative minimum tax," not advocating a 49-cent tax rate.
"It was a way of provoking thought," she said, and presented as a "way to respect the taxpayer."
DiCarlo maintains that local Republican organizations in the sprawling 19th district failed to vet him properly—if at all—when they were measuring candidates last spring to challenge the two-term Democratic incumbent, Rep. John Hall of Dover Plains.
The district covers northern Westchester, all of Putnam County, southern Dutchess County, and parts of Rockland and Orange Counties.
"Seventy percent of the Republican committees did not interview me," DiCarlo complained. "In my opinion, the role of a GOP committee is to interview the candidates and get out the vote. They failed to do their job."
And now they have an angry challenger.
"My motto is, 'I know no one, so I will owe no one,'" he said. "My focus will be on the voters of the district and not on any special interests. My opponent challenged my petitions and wanted to disenfranchise all the Republicans who wanted me on the ballot."
DiCarlo turned back the challenge to earn a place on the crowded September 14 primary ballot. In a drawing at the state election headquarters in Albany, he also won the first line, so voters presumably will see his name before Hayworth's when they enter the voting booth. To the extent that such chance positioning improves his primary odds, DiCarlo would likely thank God.
References to the Almighty occur frequently in his speech and prepared statements.
"I believe in God," he declared on his website. "I will stand for one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
In an e-mail, capital letters underscore his point: "I am proud to say that GOD will guide me in the decisions that I make in Congress."
Francis T McVetty
3:38 pm on Thursday, August 19, 2010
What a radical. He believes in GOD. My faith has been restored in the election process. It is time we have a choice. It is time to elect an individual that has principles founded in faith. You never can be wrong if you follow the 10 commandments. We have strayed from the founding fathers basic concepts of government. The government has lost touch with the people. They, our elected officials, think that they know it all and we the people are stupid. More than 65% of the population thinks that our economy is in the dumper, yet our politicians see improvement. What planet are they on, or better yet, what drugs are they taking? Good luck Mr. DiCarlo, I know that you are a supporter of the 2nd amendment and our constitution. Just because a person joins the NRA, that does not make them a supporter of the 2nd amendment. We have had enough johnny come lately's . One last thing, it looks like Mr. DiCarlo has worked in the private sector unlike his opponent in November, John Hall. We need people in government that have had real jobs and have an idea how the private sector works.
Chris
9:07 am on Friday, August 20, 2010
continued
As a Democrat, Hall goes along to get along. He does run dog and pony shows trying to sell Obamacare to scared senior citizens, which lands him in the paper with a picture. Naturally, your local Gannet paper illustrates him in the most positive light, as they do with all Democrats.
If I want manure, I will visit a farm, not Washington DC, and I will read the truth elsewhere, not the version Gannet wants me to have which is also manure.
Hall is part of the problem.
Neil is part of the solution.
Remember in November
Chris
9:07 am on Friday, August 20, 2010
I met Neil for the first time when he was going door to door in my neighborhood. I am a tough sell, especially when it comes to politicians. Most of those running for office have left my doorstep in tatters when they tried to sell me their agenda. ( If they were Democrats, they oooopsie daisy "forgot" to note their party affiliation on their campaign handouts. Gosh golly!)
Neil left my doorstep with my admiration.
He seems like a nice family man with solid values. THIS is the kind of person I would trust to represent me.
He would be a vast improvement over John Hall, who waited until yesterday to (quietly) announce he backs moving the Ground Zero mosque somewhere else. Apparently, Hall struggled with it and decided he couldn't risk the loss of votes this November. This is a real confidence builder for his constituents. To Hall's credit, he made this statement while Gillibrand and Schumer continue to hide.
Remember, Hall voted for Obamacare and lunatic spending of (borrowed Chinese) trillions on nothing anyone can point to. The money is just gone.... poof. We pay the bill... again.
I don't remember, but did Hall read the bills he voted for before voting for them? Most Democrats claim they did not. The tactic is a pathetic attempt to dodge responsibility for what they have deliberately done. Instead of being "guilty" of voting for Obamacare or the "stimulus," they think they are only guilty of not reading what they voted for. Were you convinced?
CL Gioia
2:55 pm on Monday, August 30, 2010
I grew up down the block from the Di Carlo's. Neil was a rotten kid, and hardly grew up in poverty as we were all pretty solidly middle class. If he was fired upon in gang activity it was because he was a devious sort. If he found GOD then I imagine it was because he saw an opportunity to gain from the affiliation.
This is a true Elmer Gantry story. Do not fall for this shyster and his politics of fear.
Francis T McVetty
3:29 pm on Monday, August 30, 2010
CL Gioia, gee it sounds like you are in the minority when it comes to Neil. I have known a lot of "rotten" kids growing up in the Bronx, but to my amazement the great majority of them made out standing citizens. They became cops, doctors, lawyers, and fireman just to name a few professions. Your statement "If he found GOD then I imagine it was because he saw an opportunity to gain from the affiliation" is profound, even though you said it in a sarcastic way. Anyone who finds God has certainly gained. You may want to ponder that for a while, it might be good for your sole.