New York Democrats Battle for Congressional Seat
Protesters outside a town hall held by Mike Lawler (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
New York’s 17th Congressional District, a suburb just north of New York City, is one of the most purple swing districts in the nation. Democratic voters in the district are preparing for a primary on June 23rd that could eventually determine what party controls the House of Representatives.
There’s five candidates on the ballot. I sat down with the three frontrunners: Beth Davidson, a legislator for Rockland County; Cait Conley, an Army Veteran who’s worked in federal cybersecurity and counterterrorism; and Effie Phillips-Staley, a public official in the village of Tarrytown.
Here’s what they had to say about some pressing issues:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
Davidson: “ This next Congress has to cut the funding way back. We're sending far too much funding to ICE, and reform it with real guardrails also on that agency to make sure that civil rights and human rights are not abused. ”
Conley: “We must absolutely rein in ICE. No one is above the rule of law in America, to include the president and federal agents. And I will tell you, federal agents who've committed crimes need to be held legally accountable, and the folks who are in leadership positions that allowed this culture to happen need to be removed.”
Phillips-Staley: “ We need to return to a system that is actually humane with accountability, and I do not believe that this system—ICE as it is right now—can be redeemed after the violations of human rights. After the deaths of innocent people who were lawfully protesting, after the number of families and children that have been separated from each other, the number of people abused, and the abuse of our asylum process.”
Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Davidson: “ I feel we'd really missed the boat on social media and putting in safeguards and guardrails, especially for young people, when we had the chance. And it's really hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube, especially when we're talking about technology. So I do think Congress needs to step up and put real guardrails on AI, including a consumer bill of rights.”
Conley: “ I do think we need to regulate AI to make sure it's used for good, and there's some very common sense things that we should be doing, like making sure AI can't be used to make a biological weapon or help someone make a bomb. But beyond that, there's going to be a lot of things that we need to consider the impacts from. And I think one of the ways we should be looking at this is how do we help create opportunities and pathways for people to pursue career fields even with these changes? ”
Phillips-Staley: “ Without a doubt, there's so much that has to be regulated. Because we have to be certain that the innovation that happens within our country, whether it's science innovation or medical innovation, has to benefit humanity and not the profits of, and not create trillionaires.”
Israel and Palestine Conflict:
Davidson: “I would like to see a path to self-determination for the Palestinian people, and when we provide this much aid to Israel, to make sure that we're also using diplomatic tools to see the kind of results we want in the Middle East.”
Conley: “ I think we should be talking about bringing in a third-party peacekeeping force that both sides are comfortable with to ensure a persisting ceasefire.”
Phillips-Staley: “I heard from many Israelis and many Palestinians that the only nation that really has the power to stop the violence is the United States. And the way to stop it is to stop supporting a government that is responsible for committing sort of shocking atrocities, and the only way to do that is through sanctions.”
Strength of the Democratic Party:
Davidson: “If I get asked this question, you know, ‘What do you wanna see from the Democratic Party?’ and I'm at an event, I'll look for the closest young person and ask them.”
Conley: ”We have to come back together and realize that it's okay if we don't all agree on exactly how, you know, the solution is from here. But we share the same goal.”
Phillips-Staley: “ I believe strongly that public service begins with listening to the needs of the people, and everyone, not just the ones that we think are gonna vote.”
Voters will see two more names on the ballot: Mike Sacks, a lawyer and journalist, and John Cappello, an Air Force veteran.
Whoever wins the primary election will face off against Republican Mike Lawler in the November midterms. Primary election day is Tuesday, June 23.
