Jon Kaiman’s thoughts are staying close to home as he aims to continue his political career’s upward trajectory.
As North Hempstead’s town supervisor from 2004 to 2013, he said, he depended on federal representatives for money to keep the town running.
Now, as the Great Neck Democrat sets his sights on Washington in his run to replace Rep. Steve Israel in New York’s Third District, he’s “looking at that from the macro approach,” something he said his local government experience uniquely positions him to do.
In a two-hour sit-down interview with Blank Slate Media, Kaiman said he sees himself as a bridge-builder who could help make Congress work for the North Shore while addressing major national and international issues.
“Maybe this divide in Congress where no one’s talking to each other and the larger issue are creating this fissure that people can’t cross — maybe if we focus on what we’re supposed to be doing, which is using the resources of the county to make sure that each component part of the country can sustain itself and thrive economically, and in other ways as well, so that we can uplift each area and do better nationally,” Kaiman said. “That’s a piece of the puzzle.”
Kaiman was a Nassau County District Court judge for three years before he was elected North Hempstead’s supervisor in 2003.
He left the post in September 2013 after Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed him to lead NIFA, a state oversight board that controls Nassau’s finances, and to advise the governor on Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts.
Kaiman stepped down from both positions earlier this year to run for Congress after Israel said in January he would not pursue re-election.
At one point, Kaiman was among more than a dozen Democrats vying for the Huntington congressman’s seat representing a district stretching from Whitestone, Queens, to Kings Park in Suffolk County.
The field has since winnowed to five running toward a June 28 primary, in which local Democratic parties have decided not to endorse.
Other candidates include North Hempstead Town Councilwoman Anna Kaplan, former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern and Levittown attorney Jonathan Clarke and
The campaign is a “marathon that we’re sprinting every day,” Kaiman said in his March 25 interview as the March 31 deadline for petition signatures and first-quarter fundraising approached.
Though the district leans Democratic, the race for an open seat replacing a prominent congressman will likely draw plenty of money and attention, Kaiman said.
Kaiman said he sees the skills and programs he brought to the table as town supervisor transferring well into the Capitol.
He touted his initiatives to cut costs and increase services — such as Project Independence, the town’s senior services program that has gotten national acclaim and federal funding.
“How do we craft solutions using the resources we have to provide a service and come up with new programs to fill the gaps?” Kaiman said.
Kaiman would like to create a “national Project Independence” and find other ways for the federal government to cooperate with local municipalities and save money.
He emphasized the importance of federally supporting local infrastructure. Further subsidizing school infrastructure in particular could allow less affluent school districts to spend more on educational programs and reduce educational and social inequities, he said.
“Maybe they need someone in Congress who can talk about infrastructure and understands it from a very local perspective instead of everybody going there just to fight everybody else’s wars,” Kaiman said.
Kaiman said he takes the Democratic position on most national issues. Like other Third District candidates, he supports abortion rights, comprehensive immigration reform and the state of Israel, and opposed the nuclear accord President Barack Obama negotiated with Iran last year.
“I think we had the tools to negotiate further before we cut the deal that we cut,” he said.
Kaiman endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying he had a good relationship with her when she was a U.S. senator.
While her opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is “generating a discussion that we weren’t sure people were willing to have before” about income inequality, Kaiman said his plans for a single-payer health-care system and free public college tuition aren’t realistic or necessarily the best ideas.
But Sanders, and in a different way Republican frontrunner Donald Trump — whom Kaiman decried — are “a vehicle” for frustration with the order of things in the U.S., he said.
Kaiman said the policy differences between him and his opponents will be fleshed out over the course of the congressional race, and he still has to educate himself more fully on issues such as financial reform.
Though he acknowledged he can sometimes be “aggressive” about it, Kaiman said he will make listening and finding compromise a priority in Congress.
“I jump into the fray and I stand up in front of the angry people and explain to them, ‘Wait a second, you have to have this dialogue,’” he said. “You can shout me down, but we’re going to stay here until you listen, until you get the facts straight.”
