BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

LISBON – Immediately  after securing the Democratic party's support to run in the NY-21st Congressional District special election, Lisbon farmer Blake Gendebien is coming under fire for comments he made in a 2013 interview with the Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY).

Gendebien, though, says the fact Republicans are using a 12-year old interview as ammunition shows they see him as a serious threat.

Gendebien announced his intent to campaign for the congressional seat in January and has reported raising more than $700,000 in funds already. His opponent has yet to be determined as Republican chairs have not yet rallied behind a single candidate.

The seat isn’t open yet, as it’s still held by Rep. Elise Stefanik who is expected to vacate it once she officially takes on the role of U.N. Ambassador in President Donald Trump's cabinet.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Democratic chairs in the NY-21 Congressional District announced they had chosen Gendebien as their candidate.

Minutes after the announcement, Gendebien came under fire for the decade-old TAUNY interview which was done as part of a series about the struggles of North Country farmers..

Under fire for interview

In the interview, Gendebien discusses his farm and community, painting an unsavory picture of the area’s workforce, which Republicans have been quick to call out.

 Gendebien says corrections officers "don't have much self-worth," and says Hispanic workers are better workers than local kids because they "don't have practical independence and an ability to think and the knowledge these guys do."

He also says that his Hispanic employees work 12-hour days 6.5 days per week and that it would take six local workers to replace just three of them. He says that he is not obligated to check their legal status and recounts a time when he paid $10,000 to bail out one of his employees who was apprehended by border agents.

Gendebien says that the local workforce is lacking and that those that are available come with baggage like domestic abuse issues and custody battles.

Among those criticizing Gendebien are State Republican Party Chair Ed Cox and Stefanik.

"Democrats didn’t do their homework when they selected Blake Gendebien and his catastrophic statements. Republicans will easily hold this seat in the upcoming special election, because the North Country is unquestionably Trump Country.”

Below is an excerpt from the interview in which he discusses the local workforce.

"It's hard to find one local person that does not have domestic abuse problems, alcohol problems, wage garnishments - so when you hire these local guys all the sudden you're bombarded with social program stuff. Like, what do you call it? I'm not in that world. So I don't know," he says.

“So each guy works about 12 hours a day, 6 ½ days a week, which is their choice. So imagine I would have to find, there is 3 Hispanic employees, they would need to be replaced by probably 6 local people, and it’s hard to find one local person that doesn’t have domestic abuse problems, alcohol problems, wage garnishments. So when you hire these local guys, all of a sudden you are bombarded with social program stuff, like what do you call it? I am not in that world so I do not know. So court will call you, “Is Brian showing up to work, what is Brian making?” He has a child with this girl; he has a child with this girl. He has a court date he needs to appear on this date. So you have all these plans and these guys have to leave for court all the time because they are in custody battles and child support battles and they want me to lie and tell them that they don’t make this much. It is just awful and they show up late, they drank too much; there is just not a labor force out there.”

The interview was available on the Library of Congress website, but in recent days viewers get a message saying the page can not be found. However, the interview is available on YouTube.

Click here to view a description of the interview on the Library of Congress website.

Not a politician.

Gendebein said that while he agrees he could have worded things better the reality is the interview with TAUNY was given by a tired farmer and a frustrated business owner, not a politician.

“I’m not a politician, I was a tired farmer and I spoke plainly,” he said.

Although he’s not proud of his past statements he says he wears the attacks from the GOP as a badge of honor, because they know he’s a candidate that can win the election.

“It means this is going to be a race and I can win and I can represent this entire district better than anyone else ever has,” he said. “I’m going to win this race. I'm laser focused on the issues and they are digging up 15 years old interviews that nobody cares about. What people care about is what's going to make their lives better and I will genuinely work for everyone in the district to make that happen.”

In regard to specific criticisms levied at him regarding his comments about correction’s officers not having self worth, he said what he really intended to convey was that the job is difficult and taxing and that many of the officers take on second jobs doing things that are more enjoyable and fulfilling.

“My point is they bring a lot of value to the North Country,” he said.

Gendebien said many corrections officers are his friends and neighbors and that the idea he holds them in ill regard is simply off base.

“The issues that I’m really tired of are rich D.C. show horses prancing around with 15 year old interviews rather than talking about the real issues,” he said.

Gendebien was also criticized for characterizing the local workforce as domestic abusers with alcohol problems.

“Obviously I don’t think every  employee available in the north country has domestic problems and an alcohol problem,” he said. 

Gendebien said that his point was that good help can be hard to find and he believes that remains true.

“Talk to anyone in the North Country that is self-employed…They all know how hard it is to find a quality workforce,” he said.

Gendebien said that interview was intended to paint the picture of a small farmer and he was glad to have the opportunity to be part of it, but he says it’s being used out of context as a political device.

“To have the struggles of a small business person 15 years ago brought up is an indication of how desperate they are,” he said.

Gendebien also addressed the fact that one of the employees was apprehended after he was discovered to have entered the country illegally.

“Like most farmers in the U.S. we are navigating a broken immigration system,” he said.

“I’ve always followed the rules. Like many farmers I turned out to have an employee that was here illegally.”

Gendebien said when it occurred he worked with officials to navigate the process.

He said that the reality is that reforms are needed to ensure farmers have access to a dependable legal immigration system that can provide a needed labor force. He said the way to make that happen begins with farmers being at the table.

“If you want an honest discussion and you want to set real immigration policy that works from California to Maine, you need to have a farmer in the room,” he said.

Gendebien says that these people in D.C. have never milked a cow. He said they need to play fewer partisan games, secure the northern border, rather than playing gotcha with old interviews.