The five candidates running for the Democratic nomination for the third congressional district on Thursday said the primary election would probably come down to who would be more effective rather than their views on the issues.
“Very real stuff that everyone’s bringing up here,” former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi said at a candidates forum held at North Shore Towers in Floral Park. “The problem is all these issues are existing and we need to actually do something about them. These are all very important issues. The most important issue that we face today is actually getting things done and I have a proven record of getting things done.”
Suozzi was joined at the forum by Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Anna Kaplan, Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern, former North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman, and Levittown attorney Jonathan Clarke.
The five Democrats shared the floor with Republican Philip Pidot, a former Glen Cove City Council candidate, who is challenging state Sen. Jack Martins for the Republican nomination for the 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from Whitestone, Queens, across the North Shore in Nassau County to Kings Park in Suffolk County, extending as far south as Farmingdale. Martins did not attend the forum.
The candidates are seeking to replace Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington), who announced in January that he would not seek re-election, setting off a scramble to replace him.
Kaiman said his experience serving as a district court judge, town supervisor, chairman of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority and his work with helping Gov. Andrew Cuomo in storm recovery separated him from the other candidates.
Stern cited the influence of his mother, who he said was one of the first women in the area to own a business, and his wife, who is a current business owner.
“It’s so important that we stand up and protect and work for equal pay and equal work for women,” he said, adding that he plans to stand up to leaders in government to fight for the working class.
Kaplan said she brought to the race a record of keeping taxes under control and fighting for affordable housing.
“Being a congresswomen or man is not about me or anyone sitting at this table, it’s about you. It’s about finding someone who truly represents your voice.”
Kaplan and Stern both agreed about the need to make the cost of living more affordable.
“I think affordability in this country is a big issue,” Kaplan said.
She said people regularly come up to her to complain that they can no longer live off of one income.
“Whereas now two incomes are not good enough to keep these families growing,” she said.
Stern too said he has heard the concerns about affordability.
“In a rapidly changing world the big challenge that we have in our district is the anxiety that we all feel and I feel it on a regular basis when I come home in the evening in my living room,” Stern said. “I’m anxious. When I look at my children about college affordability and whether they’re going to have the opportunities that myself and my wife had for good paying jobs and not just for my children but for your children and grandchildren as well.”
Stern said he believes there needs to be a middle class tax cut and to follow Steve Israel’s plan to reform the tax code to reflect the cost of living. All candidates said they were in favor of raising the minimum wage.
Clarke cited personal qualities in making the case for his candidacy.
“I can give you three reasons of why I’m qualified to be a congressional candidate. First, a congressional candidate has to have integrity. I have integrity and second you have to have vision,” Clarke said. “Third you have to have the passion to bring this vision into resolution.”
Pidot, who has a background in finance and fraud investigation, said he’s running on a platform of reform and growth.
“Reforming our hideously corrupt politics and restoring common sense proven pro-growth economic policies to get us off this ruinous path of ever larger more intrusive and more wasteful government,” Pidot said.
He said he was the only candidate in the race who’s signed a pledge to not increase taxes in Washington.
“Taxes are completely out of control,” he said.
Pidot said federal taxes are up more than 50 percent in the last five years.
“We do not have a revenue problem in this country, we have a spending problem. Federal spending is up more than $1 trillion a year since Barack Obama took office. So the topic of the estate tax I would vote to not only lower it but to end it and to end all forms of double taxation as a matter of fairness. The government does not need a second bite of the apple.”
Suozzi said he’s against an increase in federal taxes.
“New York State and certainly the third congressional district is a net donor to the federal government,” he said. “We send a lot more money to the federal government than what we get back.”
Clarke had a different approach to the issue with taxes and how it affects small business.
“The issue is not how much taxes you pay, but for example if we want business here it has to be transparent. As a concern with a lot of small businesses one of the most difficult things you have to do is tax planning. You spend more money sometimes paying attorneys and accountants. So my issue would be to reform the tax code so it’s more simple and conducive for businesses.”
Another topic of discussion at the debate was tourism and whether or not New York has adequate homeland security.
All of the candidates agreed that more needs to be done to ensure the safety of people living in New York.
“We’re all facing terror from all over the world certainly ISIS and other Islamic terror,” Kaplan said. “We need to make sure our county is strong.”
“People are coming in from all over the world. So we’ve talked about this before, there needs to be an investment in airports. There needs to be an investment in public safety,” Kaiman said. “The whole nation needs to be aware this is a city that this is a region, along with Long Island, and it needs to be invested in.”
