Candidate for New York’s 22^nd Congressional District Claudia Tenney says taking down the statue of Christopher Columbus in Utica would be erasing history.

The candidate sent the following statement on the matter: Christopher Columbus’s dangerous journey to explore the new world led to the discovery and eventual founding of the greatest country in the history of the world – the United States of America! His courageous journey was groundbreaking and historically important. I have been traveling to Italy to study language, art, and culture since I was a college student. Italian-American culture and heritage are so important to the diverse fabric of American history, especially in Upstate New York.