Dear Friends,
In the over two decades that I have been at the helm of WCLA –Choice Matters, I have never before witnessed any Democratic candidate for any office so shamelessly and publicly sexualize and degrade women – until now.
Last week, the New York Times printed a scandalous exposé about New York’s Congressional District 17 Democratic primary candidate Peter Chatzky and his fascination with sex and his objectification of women on his Facebook page. Now, as Chatzky plays the victim, issuing a pathetic apology, his friends and wife continue to dismiss his actions as boys-will-be-boys humor.
Peter Chatzky is another multi-millionaire who is self-funding his congressional campaign. He is the Briarcliff Manor Deputy Mayor – and he is also the man who has single-handedly put the #MeToo movement and the Epstein Files front and center in the race to flip CD 17.
Chatzky has been publishing lascivious posts on his Facebook account for over a decade according to The New York Times and the New York Post. (The New York Times, The Wealthy House Candidate With a History of Bawdy Facebook Posts, 3/19/2026; NY Post, Mike Lawler’s millionaire Dem rival Peter Chatzky jokes about teen sex in vulgar resurfaced posts, 3/23/2026.)
Both the NYT and NY Post reported an assortment of examples including “speculat[ing] about how much he would have to pay Melania Trump, the first lady, to have sex with him”, “whether he was too old to have an intimate relationship with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, then in their 20s”, how to “enhanc[e] breasts in photoshop”, and “jokes about sperm, masturbation and sexual arousal”. He even solicited responses from his Facebook friends.
This is chronic male misogyny – not simply bad judgment. This man is running for Congress claiming to be a “progressive”. How is dehumanizing and sexualizing women “progressive”? How is talking about big breasts and sex with teenage girls “progressive”? The radicalized Trump administration is ripping away women’s rights – from abortion, to contraception, to job equity, to voting rights. And Chatzky? He, too, is part of the culturally complicit patriarchy problem.
Remaining silent or justifying Chatzky’s behavior as “locker room talk” dismisses his accountability. Normalizing misogyny creates a breeding ground for anti-woman behavior. It validates male entitlement and excuses discriminatory and even criminal actions against girls and women.
We have all watched the Epstein Files slowly unfold with the drip, drip of information being released. The men implicated are of different political parties and nationalities. The only things these men have in common is their gender, wealth and color – and that the people in the know remained silent – from the customs agents, to housekeepers, to pilots, to friends, to spouses…
Peter Chatzky has degraded women by making them sexual objects and the butt of jokes. Deplorable behavior like his perpetuates an oppressive cultural attitude.
This past Monday we saw Bill Cosby found guilty, again – an American icon until he wasn’t. His friends remained silent for decades. The #MeToo movement was a revolutionary revolt against the expected code of silence and the gendered advice: “Don’t report it. It’s your word against his. Get over it and move on.” Earlier this year, in a campaign ad, Chatzky threw a puppet in the trash – a puppet that was clearly female – and a Democrat. When called out, his response and that of his friends and spouse were the same: “Get over it. It wasn’t a big deal.” WRONG. It’s a very big deal and we will not get over it!
It’s time for Peter Chatzky to drop out and move on.
Sincerely yours,
Catherine Lederer-Plaskett
President