NY Republican lieutenant governor nominee Alison Esposito bids farewell to NYPD
Former NYPD Deputy Inspector Alison Esposito, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, punctuated her 25-year career in law enforcement with a ceremonial walkout from her onetime Brooklyn command.
“Serving in the NYPD, my officers and the people we served were my life. I never imagined any other path,” Esposito said in a statement.
The ceremonial end to her NYPD career included cheers and praise from former colleagues following her official retirement from the force after becoming the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor after the June 28 primary, according to her campaign.
The second-generation cop joined New York’s Finest in 1997 where she served in Manhattan and the Bronx, with stints in plain clothes and anti-gang units, before rising to commanding officer of the 70th Precinct in central Brooklyn, according to her campaign website.
She has leaned on her law enforcement background while explaining her latest career move running for lieutenant governor alongside Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk), the GOP nominee for governor, this November against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado.
“One day, I looked at the seat I was sitting in and the hat that I was wearing and I realized it wasn’t enough,” she said in the statement.
If elected, she would be the first openly LGBTQ person to hold statewide office.
Esposito has become an outspoken surrogate since then for Zeldin, who is campaigning on a tough-on-crime message while blasting Democrats for supporting changes to cash bail and other criminal justice reforms amid rising crime.
Esposito would have few formal powers if elected beyond serving as the nominal president of the state Senate, but her career in law enforcement adds to Zeldin’s campaign messaging about being the candidate of law and order.
“With a nearly 25 year career as a leader in the largest police force in the country, Alison will be a critical voice in our administration’s efforts to combat the rampant crime plaguing New York. This is one of many areas that Alison brings limitless passion, vision, and experience to help save our state,” Zeldin said in a statement.
