Metro

GOP using Shelly as election ammo

Embattled Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is becoming a political albatross for Democratic candidates running for local offices this fall.

GOP Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, running for re-election, yesterday pounded his Democratic rival, New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, for refusing to call for Silver’s resignation over the speaker’s handling of the Vito Lopez sex-harassment scandal.

“Mr. Bramson has done nothing,” Astorino campaign spokeswoman Jessica Proud said in a statement. “If he truly cared about women, he’d have the courage to call on Silver to resign. Until Mr. Bramson stops protecting Mr. Silver, he can make no claim to being an advocate for women.”

Bramson’s campaign declined comment when asked about his position on Silver. And he repeatedly ducked questions about Silver at a press conference outside New Rochelle City Hall yesterday.

State GOP chairman Ed Cox anticipates that Republicans in other races will press their Democratic rivals on where they stand on Silver.