Anti-vaxxer, 9/11 skeptic Robert Caemmerer is GOP city council candidate

Robert Caemmerer, a long-time Bronx resident running under the Republican and Conservative/Medical Freedom lines, says running for the City Council District 11 seat is less about winning and more about “waking people up.”

“We need more transparency,” Caemmerer told The Riverdale Press in an interview. “I’m an open book. I don’t cut deals behind closed doors. I’m not working for big pharma. I like truth. Since 9/11, I’ve become very fond of the truth because I realize how rare it is. We need more truth, less lies. We need more freedom, less government.”

The 67-year-old retired independent contractor in the electrical and delivery business grew up in the East Bronx by Gun Hill and Eastchester roads, about a mile from Co-op City. He went to P.S. 97 and I.S. 144 and graduated from Evander Childs High School. He attended Lehman College for a couple years.

He described living in New York City as a civilized place to live before “the downward spiral took over.” Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Caemmerer had a wake-up call that led him to be suspicious of what the government was saying and ultimately set him off on a pursuit for the “truth.”

While at the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan, the former registered Democrat was asked if he was interested in switching parties to which he said yes. After Covid lockdowns and vaccinations, Caemmerer made the decision to run under the Medical Freedom party line.

“If you had told me five years ago I’d be running for city council, I would say ‘Oh really? Tell me more.’” Caemmerer said. “My purpose in doing this is to get the word out to people, those who are capable of waking up, on the cusp, they scratch their heads once in a while, to let them know that they’re not alone. There are people you can associate with.”

Despite not ever having been a public servant, Caemmerer says he’s qualified to run because of his extensive knowledge of the district and big and small picture of what’s going on. His vision for the district is to take the city back on all levels. He called the current state of crimes ridiculous, particularly with e-bikes and scooters.

“I see people riding around sometimes with full blown motorcycles, dirtbikes, whatever,” he said. “And I’ve almost been whacked a couple of times by a couple of these things. And it’s not even an issue. No one’s really talking about it that much. It’s like what does it take to get these things regulated? Like I tell people, when a couple of women with baby carriages get wiped out by a couple of these things maybe city council will say ‘well maybe we should do something.’”

He referenced a time where he was nearly hit by a motorized bike while crossing the street, not too uncommon of an issue in Greater Riverdale. It is typical to see e-bikes go through red lights, on the sidewalk, or the wrong way on a one-way street.

The candidate also criticized the proliferation of illegal cannabis dispensaries, illegally parked cars, migrants entering the city with ease and there being hundreds of people with rap sheets on the street. He also directed criticism at Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz for being pro-vaccine and at his Democratic challenger Eric Dinowitz.

“From my time out in the neighborhood, District 11, is a lot bigger than Riverdale,” said Caemmerer, who lives in Grand Concourse. “And I’ve had a few people tell me that Eric Dinowitz is Riverdale centric, like that’s all he needs, and that’s all he wants, and that’s all he’s really concerned with.”

Caemmerer does not refer to himself as a “politician,” saying they all need to go beyond politics and the party system. He claimed that the country is in the beginning stages of a cultural revolution and communist take over.

Referring to 9/11, Caemmerer said there are two groups of conspiracy theorists, one who believe the government let attacks happen and two, those who believe they had a direct hand in the attacks. When asked what Caemmerer identified with he said “I think it was a little of both.”

Despite running for the position, the candidate has not held traditional campaign events. Instead he has gone around the neighborhood to talk to people one-on-one about what he calls the truth. When asked if he thought he had a chance of winning, he said no.

“I think it would take an act of God for me to win the election,” Caemmerer said.