In his first public comments on Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said New Yorkers should “consider moving out of the state if he becomes governor.”
Since winning the GOP nod, Paladino has come under fire for comments he made nearly a year ago supporting Erie County Supervisor Chris Collins for calling Silver an “anti-Christ.”
Collins later apologized but Paladino told a town hall meeting in upstate Wheatfield “if anyone fits the bill of an anti-Christ or a Hitler it would be this guy,” according to the Nigara Gazette. He also said Silver “is probably the most corrupt and incompetent human being ever to serve in state government in the state of New York.”
Paladino in a meeting with conservative Orthodox Jews on Tuesday insisted the comments didn’t make him anti-Semitic. “I don’t have an anti-Semitic bone in my body,” he told the gathering.
In an interview with The Jewish Week late Tuesday, Silver declined to say whether he thought the Buffalo real estate developer and Tea Party loyalist was anti-Semitic, but said “He’s not running against me. People should look at who is asking for their vote and what their track record is.
But when asked if he could work with Paladino next year if he is elected, Silver said voters should “consider moving out of the state” in that case, but he was confident it wouldn’t come to that.
“Andrew Cuomo is an excellent candidate,” he said.
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