While I may be the former political director for Gov. George Pataki, I am also a New Yorker. I’ve experienced crime in New York City firsthand on several occasions, but one instance on the subway is most memorable. It was in September, during UN Week, when I boarded a No. 6 train uptown from 42nd St. I encountered a woman, visibly intoxicated and gripping a 40 oz. beer. She accosted me on the train platform and began physically assaulting me after we entered the same train car.

I loudly condemned her behavior and told her to stop, but the assault continued. The throng of straphangers on their evening commute who witnessed the attack said nothing and did nothing.

My experience has become the norm. The crime spike is real. It is affecting everyday New Yorkers and ruining our quality of life. In 1994, it was my job to remind voters about the consequences of elections. Today, I feel a similar responsibility. But it doesn’t take someone with political acumen to observe the glaring failures of Kathy Hochul on crime. It is not just rhetoric or news headlines that have created fear among the masses. It is real-life experience. …

Like Pataki nearly three decades ago, Lee Zeldin has pledged to reduce crime, restore law and order, and repeal the disastrous policies that facilitate crime. I was there when Gov. Pataki held criminals accountable for their actions, enacting over a hundred common-sense public safety and criminal justice statutes. Those laws took a holistic approach to crime. They toughened sentences for violent offenders, reformed the parole and probation system to make the safety of victims paramount, and appointed judges who understood that criminals must be held accountable for their actions. Lee Zeldin will pursue a similar course.