In the wake of George Latimer’s elevation to Congressman for NY-16, a special election is just days away on Tuesday, February 11th to determine who replaces him as Westchester County Executive. The GOP candidate running for the job has significant ties to the City of Rye and in fact lived just blocks away from Latimer on Ridgeland Terrace during her formative years.
Republican Christine Sculti, the former chief advisor to former County Executive Rob Astorino (Latimer’s predecessor), is running against Democratic candidate Ken Jenkins, who had served as Latimer’s deputy. While her campaign is focused on sanctuary law, county spending, sales tax, establishing an “Office for Parental Rights” and issues again circulating around Playland, voters may not know about Sculti’s deep ties to Rye.
“Rye will always be my home,” Sculti told MyRye.com. “I grew up there – formative years. I love the community.”
Sculti moved to Rye from Hartsdale in 1978 when she was a freshman in high school to attend the Academy of the Resurrection High School (the high school closed in 1991) and remained in Rye until she graduated from Fordham University in 1986. Her mother still lives in the same house on Ridgeland Terrace off Forest Avenue near Playland.
“Rye is just one of those very beautiful, welcoming communities, again, with robust commerce and downtown and just very family oriented,” said Sculti, who now lives in Mamaroneck.
Her younger brother Leon graduated from Rye High School (Class of 1985) and ran for Rye City Council in 2015. He was known for uncovering malfeasance by the general manager of the Rye Golf Club back in 2013. Other Scultis in Rye include her sister-in-law, cousins and nephews.
“One of the issues that obviously is very Rye centric is Playland, because obviously the county owns that facility, and I was chief advisor to county executive Astorino and when you look at government, generally, they don’t run amusement parks, and nor should they,” said Sculti, turning to a campaign issue that is just a short walk from her family home that she still returns to for Sunday dinners.
