Paul Szmal: Our guest on FLX Morning represents the 126th Assembly District points east in our listening area. John Lamondi is back with us. Good morning
John Lemondes: Good morning. How are you?
Paul Szmal: I'm doing well.
So the testimony got a little bit heated the former governor Cuomo was testifying before a House committee and Elise Stefanik the representative from New York Put him through his paces and he's just not bending any in this nursing home policy. So what do you make of all this?
John Lemondes: Look I think I've even said it before on your show Ted any any single Kid in New York State that's taken biology 10-r would understand that putting Vulnerable people that are infected with a disease into into facilities with other Vulnerable people is a bad idea at best. This was the dumbest thing Anybody could have done and it obviously the the proof is in the results 15,000 or so dead primarily elderly elderly patients as a result of this and that just seems Pretty simple and pretty basic.
Paul Szmal: I was so what what do you think motivated him to put those patients back in the nursing? Homes rather than isolate them That's one of the things I said that I criticized about the state's response as a whole is that for years The way we dealt with communicable diseases was we identified who had them and kept them away from those who didn't Right.
John Lemondes: Exactly. I mean common-sense 101, right? So there's no way to know I think only the truth lies within his head unless he communicated to anyone else Who knows maybe he thought that? Treatment for those people was a waste of money I hope not. Those are you know, lots of families lost people during that period and mine was one of them And so do I want accountability you betcha? I'm gonna I'm gonna keep fighting for this and demanding it on behalf of all of those families and I Think you know if the if the guy was a genuine leader, he would step up and say look Here's what happened. I recognize what was wrong, you know, but he's not gonna do that I don't think so, you know, let's optimistically hope that he does and he comes clean for the sake of the families who lost people But I don't know
Paul Szmal: Well, I and I I think that those of us who followed the former governor for a number of years knows that I don't know That it's in his personality to admit fault
John Lemondes: Of course, I don't think it is either but you know Maybe maybe there's some reckoning in his soul and maybe his family can urge him to do the right thing You know at the end of the day When you're leading there are responsibilities that go with that and and You either accept those responsibilities or not you abdicate those responsibilities or not? And so in this case, I think he's neither accepting them and he has abdicated them And that's that's telling and how this was handled, you know This was this was perhaps one of the worst things that's ever happened in our state.
Paul Szmal: I mean a sitting governor Taking again going back to common sense What was his motive for doing that? We wouldn't no doctor would agree with that And and by the way, where was the lieutenant governor in all of this?
John Lemondes: Well, and I think the other thing that really stands out for me about this is that the the rest of the state's response Was it may be over cautious if anything? I mean, we're closing down gyms. So people can't go to a gym They can't go get a haircut They can't go to a restaurant, but somebody with kovat can go back into a home It just that there's that's the one piece of the whole response taken as a whole that stands out like a sore thumb Ted for God's sakes, you know, I swam at the at the various wise in the area and in the morning And I remember going in, you know 5 30 in the morning and they demanded that we had our masks on until we got in the water And I just thought this was the the goofiest thing in the world And so to your point the extreme That was taken in the rest of the state in nearly every aspect of life to the detriments of our children in their Isolation from schools each other social skills, etc And yet we've got a governor that's saying no put those sick people into the facilities with other vulnerable elderly people No makes no sense.
Paul Szmal: When you call for accountability for the governor. What what does that look like in your mind? What should happen?
John Lemondes: I Think I think that's up to the courts and up to the up to the the adjudication through the courts of Of how that ultimately comes out, you know the the The families of course want accountability they want they They they want an admission or at least at the very least an explanation. Here's why I did this Okay, that that hasn't come yet and so The there are several parts to your question one of which is the admission the second of which is the Explanation and the third of which is the adjudication of justice
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Assemblyman John Lamont ease this morning representing 126 district. We're recording this on September 11th a Beautiful sunny Tuesday morning in the Finger Lakes in New York State. I believe it was a Monday 23 years ago a day much like this. We all have our memories. What are some of yours?
John Lemondes: It was a beautiful day just like you said just just like today I was my office was in Falls Church, Virginia My boss had a brief huddle very early in the morning We needed somebody to go to Crystal City by the pen across the street from the Pentagon. I volunteered having no idea of what was about to happen and how all of our lives would change and I was sitting in that meeting in Crystal City when the first plane hit we just happened to have the news on Was not anything planned and We interrupted the meeting after that happened talked, you know, hey, what's going on? What should we do? And when the second plane hit We began evacuating the building and when the plane hit the Pentagon we were really close right across the street You could feel it Obviously you could hear it and see it but you could feel it through the ground as well. The actual ground shook this was terrible it took a Many many senseless lives and put us on a path directly leading to war and we For the unit I was in we began preparing immediately and and I Was in Uzbekistan a few days after Christmas with the 10th Mountain Division and then shortly After that before a new year in Afghanistan itself
Paul Szmal: So when you heard that sound and felt the ground shake, what did you think at first?
John Lemondes: I Didn't know we just we knew it was something bad none of us saw the actual plane hit just because of the where the highway overpass was and that the angle that we were on on the street, but We knew something we knew we were under attack and I I think at that point at least militarily I don't think any in the country anyone in the country thought that this was random circumstances by by that point This was we knew it was bad. We knew the situation was developing We immediately, you know embarked on On a trek back to our office I went back finally several hours later finally several hours later was able to get back to where I was actually stationed and Called my wife and parents as I watched the Pentagon burn and Just we we waited for you know, we're waiting for all military. We're on hold waiting for You know orders on where to go what to do, etc. And it was just it was a terrible horrendous time for everyone
Paul Szmal: We don't hear much about al-qaeda these days Obviously, the Middle East is still a hot spot probably will be for our lifetimes and several more Where are we in the war on terror today?
John Lemondes: Ted I think in the war on terror today were probably were where we were Several hundred or a thousand years ago. This doesn't stop. It never does when you look at the state of War versus peace and this is a hard pill for a lot of people to swallow because it's it's It's an unnatural thought so to speak, but the the natural state of affairs is war not peace There are peaceful interludes historically, of course But the natural state is war and you have to look backwards to understand that you know centuries and then through millennia and I You know, that's a terrible thing to say right on behalf of all of mankind here we are Why can't we solve this problem of war? but I Don't have the answer for you today
Paul Szmal: When public opinion surveys are taken in most of the Arab world About what they think about the United States. It's still largely negative is Is there something we can do about that or should we attempt to do something about that
John Lemondes: I Don't know, you know, there's a lot of there's I spent a considerable amount of time and in many Middle Eastern countries and there is a You know, there's a world of difference between us literally and and and your question makes me think of in an old historical Topic and a story written called the clash of Civilizations and in it outlines this precisely and I I don't know that we can bridge that gap. I really don't you know, they the things that they preach are antithetical to the way we lead our lives and We don't see the world the same way Nonetheless, we are not out to conquer the world and subjugate everyone in the world and and I don't think that's the same for them
Paul Szmal: Back in the district during the time between sessions You get a chance to to go to a lot of events and talk to a lot of people and hear their concerns What are you hearing from people in the district these days?
John Lemondes: So the biggest thing here locally and you're going to hear a lot more about this shortly is is public safety public safety public safety And then the economy the economy the economy Don't forget the backdrop here the disrespect off that's that's Portrayed to law enforcement all sides of it investigators state police down to local down to local police corrections officers uniformed officers, etc You know multiple incidents in our prisons as a result of the horrendous policies passed by the Majority and they will not accept responsive. It must be in the water that they drink, you know Same thing with with former governor Cuomo They will not accept responsibility for the results the policies that they've enacted The laws they've enacted with respect to bail reform and how horrendous they have been for all of our public safety this is the most dangerous New York we've ever lived in and and and the the The crime statistics show that you're going to hear from the left crime is decreasing crimes not decreasing They're not prosecuting crime. That's a very very big difference and You know, God help the prison guards in the corrections officers They and and all of the uniformed officers they go out to work You know to work quote-unquote as they serve us every single day at greater risk than they ever have before This is not right This just isn't right and they know it and that and and they're doubling down on these horrendous laws I hope will wake people up I really do because if the government fails and it's primary responsibility of providing Public safety and defense it has failed and it's in its number one role
Paul Szmal: Assemblyman John Lamont ease has been our guest. He represents the hundred twenty-sixth Assembly District, Keogh County and points east Thanks again for the visit We're very blessed on the station to have great access to a lot of our lawmakers including you and Just want to remind you again how much we appreciate it.
John Lemondes: Thank you Ted. Have a wonderful day
