The first reason Steve Stern gave when asked why he should be Democrats’ choice to run for Congress was the endorsement he got last week from U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, whom he’s seeking to replace in the North Shore’s 3rd Congressional District.
But that’s not the only reason, the Suffolk County legislator said in a sit-down interview with Blank Slate Media. He said he has a longer record of success than his primary opponents and is best equipped to work across the aisle in Washington.
“The standard that I judge myself by is, have I done things that have made a difference, and have I made my neighbors proud?” said Stern, of Dix Hills. “Yes, and that’s why I know I’m the strongest candidate in the Democratic primary field, and the best candidate come the fall.
Israel and Stern have known each other for 20 years and have worked on legislation together.
But Israel’s endorsement “was not given simply,” Stern said. He had to show the eight-term congressman he was the most capable Democratic candidate for his seat.
Jericho attorney Jonathan Clarke, former North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman, town Councilwoman Anna Kaplan and former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi are also on the ballot for the June 28 primary.
“For a lot of voters, a lot of residents of our congressional district, (the endorsement is) very meaningful,” he said. “Because to have earned the support of Steve Israel, I think for many, will give them an idea right away of what I’m all about — what my values are, what kind of issues are important to me, what kind of congressman I will be.”
In that effort to prove himself, Stern said he asked Israel’s former campaign staffers to work for him within 24 hours of Israel telling him he would not seek re-election in the district stretching from Whitestone, Queens, to Kings Park.
Stern has aligned himself with Israel on federal issues with local impact, such as aid for veterans, protecting the Long Island Sound and rebuilding infrastructure.
Stern said his top priority in Washington would be passing the federal version of the Housing Our Heroes Act, a bill Israel modeled on Stern’s law to turn vacant Suffolk County homes into housing for homeless veterans.
In talking with voters, Stern said insufficient sewer infrastructure’s threat to water quality is “public enemy No. 1” on the North Shore.
“Now it’s getting to a point where … you really see a situation where you can’t build another restaurant because they don’t have a sewer hookup, where you can’t build housing for our young people or our older neighbors because you don’t have the infrastructure to serve it,” he said. “… It’s starting to have a real detrimental impact on everybody.”
Stern has often touted his pro-abortion rights stance and support for gender equality on the campaign trail.
On Monday, he released a seven-point “Full Women’s Equality Agenda,” the first formal policy plank from any candidate. It includes support for a national paid family leave program and the abolition of taxes on tampons.
Stern criticized Suozzi, his main target in the Democratic primary, for his abortion-rights record, saying he supports abstinence-only sex-education programs and has called pro-abortion rights organizations “special interest groups.”
“I cannot possibly fathom how an organization that exists to support women and their right to choose and make their own health-care decisions a special interest group,” Stern said. “To me that’s offensive.”
Stern’s press release said the group was NARAL Pro-Choice New York, citing a 2006 letter from then-President Kelli Conlin.
In a statement, Suozzi campaign manager Mike Florio noted that both Planned Parenthood and NARAL New York endorsed Suozzi for county executive in 2013.
“Stern will lie and distort the truth to gain votes, Tom is 100-percent pro-choice,” Florio said.
In the interview, Stern took economic stances that he said support national growth and Long Island small businesses.
He supports tax relief for both corporations and the middle class, saying he wants to end large subsidies for the oil and agriculture industries and lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent to attract offshore companies back to the U.S.
He proposed earmarking some of returning corporations’ taxes for infrastructure improvements.
While he acknowledged corporate tax incentives have failed before, Stern said, “You have to do it for real and you have to do it in a sustained way.”
Conversations with local business leaders and groups led him to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, Stern said, adding that he has not seen evidence that it would benefit Long Island.
