The Dem vying for the House seat vacated by former New York Rep. Elise Stefanik once ridiculed his upstate constituents as too lazy and too boozed-up to work for him compared to migrants.
Longshot hopeful Blake Gendebien, who co-owns Twin Mills Farms in Ogdensburg near New York’s border with Canada, said during a 2013 interview that local residents could not replace his hard-working Hispanic immigrant employees because they were too messed up.
He noted in the interview, which was apparently designed to document rural life in America, that his Hispanic farmhands often work 12-hour days, “six and half a week.
“That’s their choice,” contended Gendebien, who is running for the 21st Congressional District seat vacated by Stefanik, a Republican named by President Trump as the US ambassador to the United Nations.
“Three Hispanic employees. They would need to be replaced by probably six local people,” the Democrat said.
But Gendebien said he’d be hard-pressed to find even one decent local replacement worker.
“It’s hard to find one local person that doesn’t have domestic abuse problems, alcohol problems, wage garnishments,” he claimed.
“So you have all these plans and these [local workers] leave for court all the time because they are in custody battles and child-support battles. It’s just awful.
“They show up late. They drink too much. There is just no labor force out there,” Gendebien said.
The farmer-turned-candidate said he once bailed out a farm worker who was detained by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents, posting $10,000 bail.
He said the ICE agents “profile” people based on “skin color.”
Border crossings and illegal immigration are potent political issues, particularly in the more conservative North Country.
Gendebien did not respond to a Post request for comment.
The Republican Party has not yet settled on its own candidate.
But GOP officials blasted Genebien as out of touch with the district.
“Republicans are thrilled by the selection of Democrats of radical Far Left Blake Gendebien, who not only supported Joe Biden’s open border policies, but also bailed out illegals from ICE,” said state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox in a statement.
“Gendebien viciously claimed that local correctional officers ‘don’t have much self-worth’ and disparaged local North Country children as not having ‘practical independence and an ability to think,’ ” Cox said.
“Far Left Democrat Blake Gendebien even castigated hardworking North Country workers as ‘awful’ people who ‘drank too much.’ “
The GOP leader said Democrats “didn’t do their homework” when they selected Gendebien and that he is confident that Republicans will easily hold the seat in the upcoming special election “because the North Country is unquestionably Trump Country.”
