In their own words

It's really important to talk about the data centers that are being talked about on the floor of the district. In particular at Haverstraw there's one that's particularly concerning at the moment, that impacts the waterways as well as the environmental areas.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

The number one thing that I think is a threat to the Hudson right now is Holtec, and their willingness and desire to use the river for their own personal benefit, to violate the rules we have put in place here in New York, to have the federal government overrule New York and send radioactive wastewater back into our river. The idea that we have Indian Point right there on the river and now we're going to send more pollutants and radioactive waste is just despicable to me.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

Hi, I'm John Cappello. I'm from Suffern. I graduated from Suffern High School when I went to the Air Force Academy. After that, I spent 26 years in the United States Air Force. I flew most of my career, went back to the Academy to teach, and had two diplomatic posts. I'm telling you that because upon coming back to the district, I've seen a tremendous change in diversity, which is so amazing.

Indivisible Rockland CD-17 Candidate Forum (Nyack Center) · 2026-01-13

This fear that you're talking about with respect to immigration, this isn't happening in the [vacuum]. For over a decade, we've been ruled by fear. Knocking on doors the last few days, the last few weeks, I've come across folks that are afraid to open their doors. They peek through the windows. It's like a bad movie. And that not only makes me sad, it makes me mad. But what we're talking about here, this fear division, is political strategy. Look, for me, immigration issue boils down to three very important things. Keeping communities safe, keeping families together, and in the end, making sure the government lives up to its constitution.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

I'm John Cappello. ... I spent 25 years in the Air Force. During that time, I had government-provided health care. And as a veteran, I still have that health care available. So to me, the idea that government can't do this is not true. ... everyone in this country should be covered by health care. Everyone, no exceptions.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

I'm again, John [Cappello] from Suffern, New York. Went to the Air Force Academy, graduated, became a pilot, served the Air Force for 25 years. Also served as a diplomat... and started some NGOs that focus on helping countries in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Middle East, achieve their democratization goals, transparency, accountability, free and open press. It was really hard to stand on the sidelines and watch [us] work in other countries and those same institutions are under pressure here in the United States.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

I'm from [Rockland] county. Served in the air force for 25 years after attending the United States Air Force Academy. Served as a diplomat in two locations, Belgrade Serbia and then Tel Aviv Israel. Had the opportunity to work in national security affairs and started an NGO that focuses on helping countries achieve their democratization goals. And I tell you that because I think diplomacy is not just an international affairs issue. It's about identifying challenges, identifying problems, and coming up with solutions to those problems that affect us every day. We've lived over the last 10 years with fear and division, and I think it's time to do politics differently.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

I served around the country, lived around this country, served around the world, from mentoring Native American kids in South Dakota to fighting for democracy in Ukraine. As a professional military officer, I felt it was very important that you should not be able to tell my political affiliation... After I left the military, after serving 26 years, I ended up in Virginia... However, during that whole period, I voted Democrat.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

I flew B-52s for a year and a half. I flew in the first Gulf War. I went to B-1s. I flew that for over 3,000 hours... I went back to the Air Force Academy and taught there. I had two diplomatic posts... U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, and also the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. My whole career, I've been faced with dealing with very difficult challenges, building teams and coalitions to address those challenges.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

I spent a lot of time looking down at Earth from 30,000 feet, and it's always struck me that there are very few places on this planet that are untouched by humans... For 40 years, General Electric polluted that river, and I couldn't use it as a kid, couldn't fish there, couldn't swim there. The priorities have to be addressing the funding cuts for agencies that protect our health and our security.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

I've spent 26 years working on difficult challenges in the military. We've always developed strategic plans, five years, ten years, twenty-five years, and the lack of any strategic planning in this situation has put us in the position we're in now... We have to make sure that we continue to push for a national strategic plan that allows us to capitalize on our capabilities to produce these technologies.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

So if we say it's a national security imperative, then we need to act like it's a national security imperative, right? And what does that mean? That means actually developing [a] national security strategy. We have a national military strategy. We need a national energy strategy. And that means we set goals, objectives. We set funding for this to meet the goals and objectives. Short term, and this is what the IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act did. It provided over 300 billion dollars of funding, grants, incentives, and those were cut. We have to change the way we incentivize. Right now we continue to incentivize fossil fuels.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

The Hudson has been under threat for decades. GE, again, dumping all those chemicals... There's two recent things: the algae blooms this last year, the greatest in 40 years, and we have to fight hard against the dumping of the water back into the Hudson. The way we address that is make sure that agencies developed to provide for public safety and our health are fully funded.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

I was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and the Lakota look at decision-making in that the decisions you make today should consider the well-being of future generations, the philosophy of seven generations... You asked about climate resilience, it's hard for me to think of a definition other than society absorbing the impact without breaking. My answer is no, we're not prepared, and the policies of this administration are not making us any better prepared.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

I've committed to restore balance and accountability by doing five things. Campaign finance reform, term limits for members of Congress, members should not be allowed to trade stocks while in office. They should not be able to become lobbyists immediately after. And we need a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

We've been living for the past 10 years under the politics of fear and division... I am committed to restoring balance and accountability: campaign finance reform, term limits, members of Congress should not be allowed to trade stocks while in office, and a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Basis of my campaign is to restore balance and accountability. And to do that, we need to do five things. Campaign finance reform, term limits, members of Congress should not be allowed to trade stocks in office, nor should they be able to roll over and become lobbyists after leaving office, [and] we need a code of ethics for the Supreme Court... Because the system rewards the status quo. And until we change who we send to Washington, we're gonna get the same results.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Educating people, getting people to understand, look, the Voting Rights Act was the foundation. This is when America truly became a democracy, right?... The fact that Americans feel comfortable overturning that, stating that there is no problem... is part of the problem. Now some of them may be disingenuous and racist but many of them are ignorant... We need to have a national conversation [about] how we treat native Americans and African Americans.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

I commit, I pledge to do five things: campaign finance reform, term limits, members of Congress should not be able to trade stocks in office, nor should they be able to roll over, become lobbyists immediately after leaving office, and we need [a] code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Those five things done together restore balance and accountability and it changes the system. Why don't we do them? Because the status quo benefits those who we send to DC. And until we change who we send to DC, we're going to continue to get the same results.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

All five of these things need to happen to restore balance and accountability. Term limits, campaign finance reform, a moratorium on lobbying for all members at a minimum of five years after you leave Congress, ban stock trading, and reforming a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

No, I'm not taking [PAC] money. I'm raising it through the many people I've been in contact with, my network... We need campaign finance reform, and for me that would be one of the highest priorities I could undertake. The level of funding required, the influence that large donors and corporations have, it's unconscionable. Citizens United was a disaster.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

We need to restore balance and accountability to government ... We need to impose term limits ... campaign finance reform, Citizens United ... a moratorium on members lobbying after they leave office ... A member should not be able to trade stocks ... even a term limit for the Supreme Court.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

When economic power is concentrated, political power follows... When we have concentration, approximately 10% of the power is concentrated, economic power is concentrated 10% of the population. This has to change.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

Eliminating tariffs that are driving up the cost of transportation, of goods and services... I think looking at the unintended consequences of the war also, it has affected us dramatically, directly here in Rockland County, driving up prices of oil and fuel.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

Not only is it insane that hospitals charge four to five times more for the same procedures that private clinics ... do, that number, if it is brought to neutrality, could save up to $40 billion a year ... which pays for the ACA subsidies. ... incremental change is still possible and we are able to make progress.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

Every single person I speak with brings up the cost of living, whether it's housing, healthcare, energy, food. The fact that the president calls affordability a hoax is mind boggling to me. You're either so out of touch, or you're so rich that you don't care that prices are rising. And it's not only that, it's then the implementation of policies that make it worse. The implementation of the tariffs is a disaster.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

Congress is not doing its job. The job description is in the Constitution in Article 1. It's very clear what Congress's roles and responsibilities are, and they are failing at that. The idea that you have one knucklehead with a chainsaw making cuts... DOGE was a complete and utter failure. And the cost wasn't just economic. It was to the U.S. standing around the world.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

My niece just graduated from college... She just got hired as a teacher in East Ramapo. Do you know where she has to live, though? She's back with my sister. She has to live at home. Because she's working in a job and she cannot afford to live on her own. This is not the community that we want.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

The cost of education has risen so dramatically... We're talking about expanding opportunities in trade schools, vocational schools... So I truly believe education needs to be our next moonshot.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

I think education needs to be our next moonshot because an educated populace will be the key to the future workspace... How about not doing away with the Department of Education, gutting it, allowing it to do its job and preparing our students for the new workplace.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

Should the US be a leader? Of course it should be. You mentioned the Paris Accords, but how about COP30 in Brazil? Who's there representing the United States? We know what we need to do and we're not doing it... this administration has made it difficult for companies to do the types of research and development.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

This administration has lost its understanding of our role in the world... The fact that this administration thinks America first means we could do whatever we want and use our power in a way that just benefits us is so wrong-headed. It throws away everything our fathers and grandfathers fought for.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

I served at the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel for two tours, six years. I spent a lot of time speaking with people about these issues. I've sat at Shabbat dinners with Jews, with Arabs, with Palestinians... Two states for two people, two prosperous, secure nations is the answer, and it will require strong leadership from the United States... Now, strong support for the State of Israel does not mean that you support the present government in Israel. I think what Netanyahu's doing is putting at risk the strategic interests of the State of Israel.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Yes, I believe health care is a human [right]. There is no reason why the most prosperous country on the planet cannot provide health care for all people. So starting number one is to make sure that the ACA subsidies are reinstated and supported, protect Medicare, find solution to Medicare for everyone. It is going to cost. We have to have that conversation. We're going to have to have a conversation on how we pay for it, because we're going to burden our children, our grandchildren with that debt, but it could be done, and it needs to be done.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

We've got to strengthen and restore the ACA to make sure that it's fully funded, protect Medicare and Medicaid... I live under a health care plan as a veteran. That also is a pretty good program. Health care should not be this partisan issue that it's been turned into.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Young people who feel healthy opt out. So the number of those in the system reduces ... and those who remain are paying way more. ... And that is why the ECA subsidies are so important. So that is the first step to staunch the bleeding ... That has to be addressed immediately.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

We need to restore and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, protect and expand where necessary Medicare and protect Medicaid... there's no reason why the most prosperous country in the world cannot figure out how to provide health care coverage for everyone.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

So yes, we need to restore the ACA and protect it, protect and secure Medicaid, Medicare, of course, but look, there is no excuse that in the most prosperous country in the world that we can't figure out a way to make sure everybody has coverage... The incentive structure is based on the profit margin, profit over people's personal health. We can figure this out. It's a systemic problem.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

To start to bring back trust, we have to be serious. ... Let's rely on science. Let's rely on expertise. ... Suggesting nurses are not professional ... has a practical effect. They are no longer allowed certain grants and scholarships to pursue their education ... Less health care professionals.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

As a veteran, I have access to loans through the VA, and I think that's a good model. I think public service loans for first responders, for nurses, for teachers. I want people who serve this community to be able to afford and live in this community.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

With issues like housing, where Congress does not necessarily have a direct impact... [the job is] making sure that those in the district have the tools and the resources to implement policies that make people's lives better. There's not a lot you can incentivize with grants and other things, but making sure that the experts in this community that know what the solutions are are fully funded and fully supported.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

That starts with a reform of ICE, creating a whole new agency, Immigration Enforcement Service, so that we split the enforcement pieces from the civil immigration compliance issues... And that means providing a clear, fair path to citizenship. We're a nation founded on immigrants.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

So the question is what I do on the first day in my job, providing oversight and accountability as written in the Constitution of the United States. Have you talked about the privatization detention centers that has to be addressed immediately, is part of a bigger problem of the commercialization of incarceration writ large around the United States. Two of my last assignments, I served at the US Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia and then the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. Part of my responsibility was vetting students to come back to the United States for training or education. And they had to go through a process called the [Leahy] vetting. So the same thing should be applied to agents in the United States. If there's accusations against those for wrongdoing, for treating American citizens, funding should be cut off to that unit, to that organization.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

So for me the entering argument is we need [to] keep communities safe, keep families together, and make sure the government operates within the constitutional frameworks, and have a comprehensive reform. Both administrations have kicked the can down the road for 40 some odd years. So we need [an] orderly and very clear process that will be comprehensive, bipartisan. This will allow businesses to be able to plan and know who is available. It allowed people to know how to enter the country legally. This is what's necessary, and it needs to be done at the top level so that the community doesn't feel the whiplash of insane policies that shouldn't be in place in the first place.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

Going to the issue of ICE, I'm wary of the mantra abolish, abolish, abolish, for a couple of reasons. First, we have serious issues we have to deal with. What I would argue is the reform needs to be very, very specific. We need to separate the enforcement piece from the civil immigration piece. Very simple, put strong guard rails on, and call it a whole different name... separate the issue of going after grandmothers and others that are here and not criminals at all.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Day one, [I would stop] any new contracts for these for-profit organizations with the goal of limiting them over the course of time, develop statutory limitations on who could be detained. These are not. Somebody said warehouse. They should not be warehouses for [people]. I think we could impose legislation over it. I will suggest legislation to let localities have a real veto power.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

What ICE is doing... it's about fear, and it's about division, and this is not acceptable... But I'm not a big believer in just destroying something because I'm disgusted by it. We need to understand what we want from that agency and build an agency that is effective, efficient, and gets the job done.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

In 2023 we had the opportunity to address this issue... This was the Democrats giving the Republicans a tremendous amount, and Trump chose not to do it. So for Mike Lawler to suggest that we need to do something about this now, are you kidding? Where was his courage and his spine and his backbone then?

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

One gentleman led the conversation off by asking me what I thought about the administration releasing the alien files... Once you get past what they feel they have to repeat because it's on their media scroll constantly and they see it on Fox and OAN, once we get past that, there is more in common than there is that separates us.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

Women deserve the best healthcare full stop. ... fully fund and expand in many instances Planned Parenthood. However, this isn't just a political issue. This is common sense. ... keeps the government out of the decisions about their healthcare.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

We know what the problem is with the Republican Party. I don't think there's much doubt that that party no longer exists. It's a cult of a personality and it's run by one individual... but not only do we have to fight, we have to win.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

Watergate was a trauma for the society and we had serious challenges after. And what did we do? We established institutions, organizations, laws to prevent that from happening again... we have to be prepared to put those very specific guardrails back in place. Guardrails we didn't know we even needed. So it comes down to also the structural change. The incentives, why are people so afraid to stand up to Trump? Because they're worried about their job, not about public service.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

The short answer is, I am a Democrat. The short answer is, I am not a plant for Mike Lawler... When I was 18, Ronald Reagan was president. I did register as a Republican. Do you know who was a Democrat at that time? Donald Trump. Things changed. I served around the country, lived around this country... I've seen a lot, and I've changed. And I'm a Democrat.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

Every minute that I'm talking about this, we're not talking about the issues that Mike Lawler is [making worse]... the situation that he's helping to cause here in this district, making our lives more difficult. He just falls in lockstep with the administration. He's abdicated his constitutional responsibility. He's not doing his job. We cannot underestimate our adversary... and select a candidate who can beat him.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

Mike Lawler has a position. He has a record. He has positions. He needs to be held accountable to those positions. Simple, right? Pointing out and holding somebody accountable for a record is not an attack.

Clarkstown Democratic Committee CD-17 Candidate Forum II · 2025-12-11

We're going to see even harder problems in the time to come because AI displacement of jobs is already happening. Entry-level positions are already going away. What are we doing to the workforce of today and tomorrow? That is what we need to be focusing on.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

My last two years, I served as the Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council staff... I was at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency... leading critical infrastructure security... We are not ready... We talk about data centers. Can we even support more data centers in this district?

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

These companies do not have contracts with DHS. The work that I have done is about protecting American families from terror attacks when we go to Yankees games or concerts... I have never and do not work for Palantir. I have never and do not work for ICE.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

My work at CISA, the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, I worked on helping secure and ensure the resilience of our energy grid across this country. And I can tell you we are failing right now to meet the moment... when it comes to geostrategic competition, China's kicking our butt right now. We have to take this on again as a national security challenge.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Now let's talk AI. I believe AI is going to change our world for the better if we get this right. I believe AI is going to enable us to cure cancer, to reverse climate change, to do a lot of really hard things. The role of government is to make sure that we set up guardrails and regulation to make sure we are using it to do those good things. And I started to do this during my work at CISA, where we were working on how to set up guardrails for AI using critical infrastructure, to make sure that when there is technology being used that could result in physical harm to individuals like our water systems, our transportation systems, or to our democracy like with our election systems, that there are transparency requirements, there are human oversight requirements, there are red teaming and evaluative requirements before you go live with that kind of technology. I'm going to push back on the doom and gloom. Yes, the risk is there but government can and will step up to do its damn job and regulate it.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

We must absolutely have federal regulation on AI to rein it in and make sure it is used for good and not public harm... While I was at CISA, we were working on ensuring there were guardrails and regulations around AI and critical infrastructure... You shouldn't allow an AI model to teach someone how to build a chemical or biological weapon... I promise to lead the charge on regulating AI companies.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

Climate change is now a national security crisis. I've spent my life tackling national security crises. This is the next generation of that type of fight... Look, we're going to have to address the impacts of AI. Everything from the growing demand of energy to the decreasing availability of some white collar jobs. We've got to create opportunities in the economy.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

Citizens United was one of the worst things to ever happen to American democracy. I'm incredibly proud to have been endorsed by End Citizens United and taken the [Un]rig[ged] Washington pledge where we are committed to not only now taking [no] corporate [PAC] money, of which I have not taken a dime and will not take a dime. We're also committed to things like implementing term limits on members of Congress, prohibiting stock trading and the divestment of stocks when you're a sitting member... I'm incredibly proud of the money we've raised in this campaign, over 28,000 donations, 90% of which are under $100.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Right here in New York 17, communities unwittingly agreeing to terms where these data centers are literally profiting off the backs of our communities. They are using our energy, using our water... I do believe there needs to be federal regulation on data centers... there is no excuse that they're not running on all renewable technology. We can mandate that... And that's some of the work I did at CISA.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

And so I do believe there needs to be federal regulation on data centers that helps ensure that they are not exacerbating climate change. We need data centers. We're not going to get rid of them. But there is no excuse that they're not running on all renewable technology. We can mandate that... And that's why I've been an advocate, too, for regulation on AI, period, to ensure that it is used as a public good, and that people cannot use it for bad. And that's some of the work I did at CISA.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I believe AI is going to help us cure cancer, reverse the effects of climate change and do tremendous good. But we must ensure that is used for good... the federal government needs to step up and put firm guardrails and regulation in to make sure that public safety and security is the paramount thing guiding development.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

I am Cait Conley, I am a proud West Point graduate, army special operations, combat veteran and daughter of our beautiful Hudson Valley here. And then went off to serve 16 years as an active duty army officer. I did six tours overseas, multiple trips to combat zones in Iraq, went to Afghanistan, working in the special operations community.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

Whereas a graduate from West Point and an Army combat veteran, after 16 years and six tours overseas, I've already shown people in this district that I will fight for them and deliver real results every day, regardless of how they vote.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

My name is Cait Conley. I am not a politician. I am a very proud public servant, a battle-tested army veteran and a combat leader... I went to West Point, graduated top of my class, and spent the next 16 years... doing over six tours overseas. So, combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan to defend this country and our way of life.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

My name is Cait Conley. I am not a politician. I am a very proud public servant, a battle-tested army veteran and a combat leader, and a problem-solv[er]. I'm a fourth-generation Hudson Valley native... My mom was a postal worker for 47 years... my dad was construction. So, while we didn't have a lot, I will tell you what my parents actually [gave me]... courage, to stand up to do what is right, commitment to your family, to your community, and service to your country... I went to West Point, graduated to top my class, and spent the next 16 years... doing over six tours overseas. So, combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan to defend this country and our way of life.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

I am Cait Conley. I am a very proud West Point graduate, Army Special Ops Combat Veteran... That's why I went off to West Point after 9-11, served for 16 years as an Army officer, did six tours overseas, went to the White House to serve as the Director for Counterterrorism, and then as a Senior Executive at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I am Cait Conley. I'm a very proud West Point graduate, Army Special Ops Combat Veteran and daughter of our beautiful Hudson Valley... I served 16 years as an active duty Army officer, doing six tours overseas and becoming one of the first women to lead in the Army Special Operations... a Senior Executive at the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency... And it was there that I stood up and fought back against the big lie from Trump that 2020 was rigged or stolen.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

I am Cait Conley. I'm a fourth-generation Hudson Valley native, as blue-colored as it gets. I'm a proud West Point grad and Army Special Operations combat veteran of 16 years and 6 overseas deployments, the former Director for General Services at the White House and the National Security Council staff, and the former Senior Executive at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security, working on our nation's critical infrastructure and homeland security.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

My name is Cait Conley, I am a very proud public servant army combat vet and daughter of the Hudson Valley. I went off to West Point, graduated the top of my class, then went off to serve 16 years in the US Army... Mike Lawler, that's all he is, a politician, a career political operative.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

After 16 years in uniform, and six tours overseas to combat that look like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria... I put it all on the line because I believe in this nation. The politicians who got us into this mess are not going to be the ones who get us out. Same people, same results. It's time for change.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

I'm very proud of the work I did at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency... helping faith-based institutions with physical security measures... given the rising tide of antisemitism. But what you've seen with this administration is instead of investing in agencies like CISA... they've actually slashed the budget and cut staffing there by a third. And again, in my America, hate has no place.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

As a West Point grad and young Army officer, they taught you that the fastest way to lose the current war was to fight the last one... I've spent the last 20 years leading America's sons and daughters in defense of this nation, while he's been a political operative. If we want a different kind of outcome, we need a different kind of Democrat.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

I'm a proud West Point graduate, Army Special Ops Combat Veteran and daughter of the Hudson Valley... served 16 years as an active duty Army officer, deploying overseas six times, earning three bronze stars and serving as one of the first women in special operations leadership.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

I am [Cait] Conley, I'm a proud West Point graduate, Army['s] Special Ops Combat [vet], 16 years and six tours. I'm [a] proud daughter of our Hudson Valley, where my family's roots here go back four generations with blue collars... to the Montrose Brickyards. For me it has been a lifetime of service and fighting for this country, fighting for our communities, fighting for the values that define who we are.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

The America that so many have sacrificed for is an America where healthcare is the right for all, where immigrant neighbors live in hope and not fear, where we see the rule of law applied to everyone, even the president. That is America. That is why we are here, because as long as Mike Lawler is sitting in Congress representing our families and our district, that will not happen. And so thank you for being here tonight because defending democracy is the biggest team sport out there.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

I am Cait Conley. I am a proud West Point graduate, Army special ops combat veteran, and daughter of the Hudson Valley. ... I went to West Point, graduated at the top of my class and then went off to serve 16 years as an active duty Army officer, doing six tours overseas to combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

It was those values that led me after 9-11 to go to West Point. I graduated from West Point, went off to the Army where I served 16 years, six deployments overseas, went to combat zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

I am doing consulting on the side for two companies I believe in. One is a national defense tech company based here in New York. That has brought manufacturing jobs back to New York. And I'm helping them navigate the challenges that they are facing operating here and providing for the next generation of military capabilities of this country needs to keep Americans safe. And I'm incredibly proud of that company and the work. I'm also consulting for an AI company that's also helping our intelligence community, and the DoD. ... But when I talk about earlier, the level of displacement that I'm seeing coming from AI to entry level jobs. I'm sharing that with you as someone who's literally working in these fields and seeing it coming. We're talking about 20 to 30% workforce displacement over the next three to five years.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

Cait Conley, incredibly grateful for the opportunity tonight. I think there are two questions all of us owe answers to. One is how we are going to beat Mike Lawler, and two is why we are the best person to be in the seat in January 2027. I have more time working with Congress than Mike Lawler does. I know how to do this job at a sprint, and I believe we are going to need that in January of 2027 to not only stop the madness, rein in the terror, end the chaos, but also do what we talked about tonight, which is answer what we're fighting for, how we do more than just talk about what we're fighting against, but actually deliver for families here, for businesses here in the Hudson Valley.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

When I raised my hand and served at West Point and the army under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and as a lesbian, I put my own sacrifices aside and said I will serve this country despite that. But when I was overseas fighting for this country, the only party that ever fought for me was the Democratic Party.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

Over my lifetime, I have watched as climate change has gone from this almost academic debate to a national security crisis where we are watching as Americans are killed, lives are lost, communities are devastated because of the effects of climate change. And for my generation, you don't have to convince us of it. We have been living through it.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Over my lifetime, I've watched how climate change has gone from a community safety issue... to now, as an adult, as a public servant, a national security crisis. That is how we must address it. We can no longer treat this as just a moral or social issue, but as an economic and national security issue.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

That also means we need to diversify what our electric generation is and lead grant initiatives that help families transition to and get to greater energy autonomy with solar, wind, and geothermal.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

What we are facing as an American economy, as a global economy, is a growing energy demand that we must meet with greater supply, and that means green energy supply to offset the detrimental impacts we've seen from fossil fuels... that's where you see grant programs like FEMA's BRIC, the Building Resilience and Infrastructure Communities, focused on helping communities make these major investments.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

So when I worked at the cyber security and infrastructure security agency we didn't just care about cyber hackers. We cared about what happens when the lights go off and might not come back on. Today, we're talking about how the energy crisis and our electrical grid, it's not just an environmental issue anymore. It's a national security imperative, and we have seen it become a core issue in the affordability crisis. But instead of Washington being part of the solution, they are the problem. To including what Mike was just talking about where our government is using a billion dollars in taxpayer funds to pay a foreign company to stop completing a project instead of finishing it. That is a project by the way that we would have benefited from right here in downstate New York. It is corrupt. It is incompetence. It must stop.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

Today, it is a national security crisis where American citizens are dying, communities are getting displaced, and businesses devastated because of climate change... investing in things like solar, wind, and geothermal for our communities, which will also help drive down the cost of energy.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

We have to undo the harm that Trump and his loyalists and lackeys like Mike Lawler have caused. And that is everything from defanging and defunding the EPA, which we must restore and invigorate and empower, to restoring the tax incentives that businesses and people were using to transition to things like solar, wind and geothermal... now we're going to pay almost a billion dollars to a French company to not even get the work done.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

we have to undo the harm that Trump and his loyalists and lackeys like Mike Lawler have caused. And that is everything from defanging and defunding the EPA, which we must restore and invigorate and empower, to restoring the tax incentives that businesses and people were using to transition to things like solar, wind and geothermal. And we need to restore the federal funding to those critical projects to include some of the wind projects that we here in the Hudson Valley were going to benefit from, that Donald Trump ceased funding to. And now we're going to pay almost a billion dollars to a French company to not even get the work done.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

We went from 64% dependence on fossil fuels to 93% since the shutdown. The energy demand our nation has is going up... We need more energy, but we have to do it responsibly, cleanly, effectively and safely. Solar, wind, geothermal, this is the future. Nuclear in some places too will be.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

This isn't just an environmental or community issue, this is also an economic opportunity. There is no reason the United States cannot be the global leader in clean energy manufacturing. Why are we buying solar panels from China? We need to be investing in current mitigation measures because there is more severe flooding — the Hudson Valley is suffering when these storms come through.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Indian Point was built on an understanding of nuclear technology from the 1940s. When it was shut, it was largely done out of safety, security, and environmental reasons. We went from 64% dependence on fossil fuels to 93% since the shutdown. And every single person in here is living in an area where you have an energy provider that is seeking double-digit rate increases, whether it's Central Hudson, Con Ed, or NYSEG. To power the technological future, especially in AI during technological future, we do not have enough energy to meet those needs. We need more energy, but we have to do it responsibly. Solar, wind, geothermal, this is the future. Nuclear in some places too will be.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

This is also an economic issue, an economic opportunity. There is no reason why the United States cannot be the global leader and clean energy manufacturing. Why are we buying solar panels from China? This is an opportunity for us to take back an economic sector that's been critical to American success and prosperity, and we should be welcoming this job. We should be investing in local programs, like the sustainability track at Moses, we should be encouraging the next generation to get into this space because it is essential. This is an opportunity if we look at it that way. We need to seize it.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Reopening Indian Point is dumb. It was built in the 1950s with a 1940s understanding of nuclear technology before scientists even understood the environmental impacts that we now know today or recognize that they were building it on fault lines... We could be installing solar and geothermal in days compared to the years, two decades, building some of these more industrial plants are going to take.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

This really does come down to corporate accountability and responsibility... John was just talking about it with Holtec and the failure for them to prioritize the safety of our communities, threatening to dump the radioactive waste into our Hudson River. It is literally their job to do it, and we are failing to do it adequately enough.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

But with my experience, I know I can step up and be that better partner on day one. That's why when folks ask, what committee do you want to go to if you get elected? Energy and commerce is where I want to go because I believe this is essential to the future of our community and our country to get right.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I would absolutely oppose any new drilling. And I would absolutely viscerally support any efforts to repeal the drilling that has already been approved... I have groups like the National Resources Defense Council Action Fund that has endorsed me, because they know that I will go to bat every single day to ensure the protection of our environment and of our future.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I'm going to push back on the premise that we only have to do one thing... we need to hold monopoly utility companies accountable and invest in alternative energy sources... I still remember being in federal government service when we saw the advisory that tens of thousands of students here in Rockland in 2023 were exposed to lead in their drinking water.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Energy and commerce... I want to bring green energy infrastructure and jobs here to the Hudson Valley to make sure that we can make this a place that families can come and stay... When I was growing up here IBM was thriving, we had Pepsi... and we've just seen them leave.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

So energy and commerce, because I want to bring green energy infrastructure and jobs here to the Hudson Valley to make sure that we can make this a place that families can come and stay, and that we don't have economic conditions that are forcing families apart. When I was growing up here IBM was thriving. We had Pepsi, we had all of these things that were bringing opportunities here, and we've just seen them leave after the last 20 years.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

We have PFAS issues in our drinking water all across this district ... Yet under this administration, we watch the EPA roll back the classification of four of these six most dangerous forms of PFAS chemicals. ... I grew up swimming and fishing in the Hudson River and eating the fish.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

Indian point was built in the 1950s based off the 1940s understanding of nuclear technology on a geological fault line that we would never approve today. So no we don't need to reopen it... what we can harness here in the Hudson Valley. It's solar. It's geothermal. It's wind.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

I am a proponent of imposing term limits for members of Congress... And that means putting in term limits, banning stock trading, forcing members of Congress to divest of their stock interests.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

I had the incredible privilege of leading the election infrastructure security mission for the US federal government in 2024. We have to absolutely shut down the weaponization of the executive branch... holding cabinet officials and other political appointees accountable for the dereliction of duty and their betrayal of the oath to the constitution... through hearings, subpoenas and oversight.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

It is about the expanded weaponization of the executive branch at a scope and scale that is unprecedented in our lifetimes... I will lead the charge in Congress to impeach Kristi Noem if she's still sitting there... Impeach Pam Bondi, who has allowed the weaponization of the Department of Justice.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

we have to take the fight to this administration to make sure that Congress, 2026, when we take back the House, is actually doing its job, which is checking the administration and providing the protections to the American people that they deserve. Right now, Congress is failing to provide the oversight it is constitutionally charged to do. Let's be real, it's not doing its job. Where I come from, if you don't do your job, that's not a luxury, because the s[t]akes are too high and failure is not an option... Because Mike [Lawler] is not doing his job [and] we deserve [better].

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

But the reality is, Mike Weller and his GOP buddies have sold out Americans and American safety and American families for special interests. This is why I'm all about banning stock trading, right, making sure that members of Congress can't use their platform, their public service as a way to become individually wealthy, because they lose focus on what matters, which is doing the right thing for the American people, not their own bank account.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

Since 2016, under Russian interference with our presidential election, I have led election security efforts around this country. Last year, at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, I led the federal government's election security mission for 2024.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

Since 2016, under Russian interference with our presidential election, I have led election security efforts around this country to help ensure the cybersecurity resilience of our nation's election infrastructure. I led something called the Defending Digital Democracy Project back in 2017-2018. And last year, at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, I led the federal government's election security mission for 2024. Whether it was countering Russian disinformation that was trying to undermine the security and integrity of our elections process, or whether it was making sure that Russian backed cyber criminal groups couldn't lock up election offices.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

So my last job in federal service was as the election security lead at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA. And we saw better and we fought, we pushed back and we shut down Republican efforts to pass things like the Save Act. Make no mistake, this was just another tool in which they were trying to disenfranchise different elements of the political opposition... We need to continue to make sure we are protecting the resources that we do have and expanding resources through things like the Nonprofit Homeland Security Grant Program.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

So I'm very proud to be part of the Unrig Washington movement where I've committed to not taking any corporate PAC money. I am absolutely committed to ending Citizens United. And I do believe that there should be a prohibition on members not just stock trading, but I believe members should have to divest of any stock interests.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

I would not spend years of my life fighting for this country overseas to watch the rights of Americans here at home be taken away... It's this type of behavior that is being normalized by this administration and folks like Mike Lawler who are enabling it. It's fundamentally un-American, especially at a time where we are seeing antisemitism in America at a level that I haven't seen in my 40 years.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

As a lifelong public servant, I haven't made millions of dollars. So what I put in is the maximum individual contribution that you can, 7,000. I will tell you that last quarter was the first full quarter of this campaign, and I raised $480,000. I outraised the rest of this field. The next closest person was $130,000 behind me. I was the ninth highest raising democratic challenger in the country. Mike Waller is fundraising from every quarter of this country. He walked out of a dinner with Speaker Johnson in June with a check for $210,000 in one night.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

I am the only one up here who has actually worked with members of Congress, with committees, I've written federal legislation, I've overseen national budgets and executed them... I think about with the National Guard what we've seen with other federal entities being used to augment ICE and conduct these illegal activities. Those are things that are not authorized by Congress.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

how do we get more Americans to hear what is happening in our society? And I think this is where the Democratic party has done a really terrible job for the past 15 years. And that is communicating to regular Americans... You know what should have been the top talking point when the Trump administration shuttered USAID? The number one person [hurt] by that was the American [wheat] farmer... We need to [flood] the zone... if I win, I want you to be sick of my face [by] next November because I want it everywhere.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

This is where the Democratic Party has done a really terrible job for the past 15 years. And that is communicating to regular Americans, explaining to them what is actually happening and why... You know what should have been the top talking point when the Trump administration shuttered USAID? The number-one person hurt by that was the American... farmer.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

First and foremost, we need to implement term limits on both the House and Senate... I do not believe people should spend 30, 40 years on the Supreme Court. To have a 20-year term max. That's it, you're done... that means impeaching people who are violating their constitutional responsibilities.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

We have seen the most politicized Supreme Court in modern American history... I am a supporter of Supreme Court term limits, absolutely, and passing an amendment... I believe should require members of Congress to divest of their personal stock holdings. And yes, ban them from becoming lobbyists... I'm very proud to be leading the charge on the unrigged Washington pledge.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

fighting the last [war], you're gonna lose the current one. New York 17 and what it's gonna take to win right now, [we] can't keep doing what we [have been] doing. People are sick of politicians. People are sick of the people who created this mess that's making their lives harder, not better. What they want, I think, is authenticity... I may not agree with you on everything, but [you can] actually trust [I'm] gonna try to do the right thing every time for the American people, for my family... I'm coming at this as someone who loves this country more than anything... doing this from a place of love and belief and faith, that's how we win.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Absolutely [support term limits]. The average age of the Democratic Congress is like a million years old.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

At the end of the day, this is a fight for our future, not against... for future generations, we must do different. The stakes are too high for us to fail. We have to do things differently in order to make sure that come next year, Mike Lawler is not the guy representing this district.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

I very much support strengthening the Clean Air Act to expand citizen and state enforcement authority when the EPA fails to do its job like we're seeing today... I think this goes into codifying requirements and strengthening the requirements of the EPA and potentially making the EPA head not a political appointee... I think we need to hold hearings on the Title V backlogs and expired permits in our region.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I was literally the federal government lead for election security. Non-citizen voting is not a real issue. Period... This is a red herring for this administration to create more terms for voter suppression... Administering elections is a state's rights issue.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

And beating Mike Lawler is going to be hard. We can't lie to ourselves. 28% of registered voters in this district are unaffiliated or independent. The only way we win this district is if we win not just Democrats, but the middle. And that is where I do believe I am different. Look, blue collar roots across this district that's gone off and fought and defended this nation to include working with Israel. Tremendous partner. We'll get back to it. But all of that, because I love this country and believe in it. And I will tell you the only way we win and get a different outcome than we've seen in 22 and 24 is if we have a candidate that can put the entire district in play. This is Moneyball, ladies and gentlemen, Michael Lewis, great author, former resident of New York 17, by the way, and a great, great movie with Brad Pitt, if you haven't seen it. But that is real. We have to win by more and lose by less.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

The Supreme Court decision on Citizens United will go down as one of the worst things in American history to happen to American democracy. It is allowing that kind of dark money that allowed Elon Musk to give Mike Lawler $1.7 million in 2024... the crypto super pack, fair shake, just identified Mike Lawler as one of the six incumbents that they are going to spend tens of millions of dollars on this November.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

We didn't talk about the most important question, which is how do we beat Mike Lawler? ... If you want a different kind of outcome, I think you need a different kind of Democrat, a Democrat that can inspire people to choose a person instead of a party. ... 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

We need to unbreak Washington. I am very proud to lead the charge on things like not taking corporate PAC money, ensuring that we prohibit stock trading by members of Congress... I'm also supportive of making sure that any sitting member of Congress actually divests of their stocks. They shouldn't have financial interest tied to the decisions they are making. They should be there to serve the public, period.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I am very proud to lead the charge on things like not taking corporate PAC money, ensuring that we prohibit stock trading by members of Congress... We need to ensure that there are actual ethical standards that are enforced and people are held accountable. That's why I'm also supportive of making sure that any sitting member of Congress actually divests of their stocks. They shouldn't have financial interest tied to the decisions they are making. They should be there to serve the public period.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

now with a district where 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated or independent. This is a district that we can no longer win with just Democratic voters alone. We need to be able to appeal to the voter as a person, not just a party and to bring them over... I have endorsements from over 60 current and former elected officials and organizations from all four counties in this district, the only candidate that does.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

The most important question today is how do we win? Everything we've said doesn't matter if we don't win... 27% of registered voters are unaffiliated here in New York 17. Between going to West Point, Harvard, MIT, and having the privilege of leading America's sons and daughters into combat — 16 years in uniform, two years at the White House, a year and a half overseeing our nation's critical infrastructure security. Mikey, I hope you're ready.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

That means rolling back the disastrous tariffs that have jacked up prices on everything from prescriptions to groceries to home construction in the midst of a housing crisis. And that is where I will be proud to champion initiatives that hold monopoly utility companies accountable as they sit there and continue to rake in record-setting profits while literally millions of New York families cannot afford to pay their energy bills.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

we have to talk about the lack of affordability for working-class Americans... One, they can stop doing dumb things to make [life harder] for Americans... Doing things that are actually driving down America's credit rating, which is hurting every American that actually needs credit to buy a home, to buy a car, your credit card bills. Whether it's things like imposing universal tariffs that are driving up the cost of things... or making it harder and more expensive to go and buy homes... there are parents and grandparents that want their kids to [move] back because they're at the age of trying to start a [family]. And their kids can't afford to [move] back because it's too unaffordable.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

One, they can stop doing dumb things to make life harder for Americans... things like imposing universal tariffs that are driving up the cost of things. When I'm out talking to folks across the district, you know what story I keep hearing? How there are parents and grandparents that want their kids to come back... and their kids can't afford to come back because it's too unaffordable.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

For my generation, climate change isn't just a scientific or moral debate. It is driving and interwoven with an affordability crisis... families that are debating how they're possibly going to put food on the table, keep a roof over their family, keep the lights on, afford healthcare. Why don't we create programs at BOCES where we don't just have HVAC technicians, we have solar panel repair technicians?

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

Our society is not prepared for the level of entry level job displacement we're about to see with AI becoming increasingly available across industry sectors... We cannot afford to make the same mistakes we made with manufacturing with what's coming on with AI.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

For the first time in modern American history, the economic prospects of young Americans are worse than their parents or grandparents. We should be putting that $1.7 billion into things like Rockland Community College, things like Rockland County BOCES... that don't put families and students into lifelong student debt just trying to make it to the middle class... These economic struggles where people feel like they're drowning and they're working full-time jobs but can't afford to put food on the table or roof over their heads, afford healthcare, or keep the lights on. That's not a red or blue issue.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

In my last two jobs, the last four years, I worked with Congress. I worked with members. I worked with committees. I helped write federal legislation. I oversaw and executed national budgets. So you don't have to ask if I know what to do on day one. I've been there and can do it.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I was with SEIU this morning in front of Nyack Hospital protesting the Medicaid cuts... I also stood out in front of Nyack Hospital with the New York nurses in December of 2023, where we successfully averted a strike. I was one of only two Democrats in 2023 endorsed by the building trades... The unions are the workers who built America and they deserve our fierce support.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Tariffs, as an effective economic tool, were intended to be used as a scalpel. Instead, what we see with this administration and what Lawler is allowing them to do, they're being used like a sledgehammer. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce put out a statement saying that in 2027, the average cost of building a home is going to go up $14,000 from the tariffs we implemented on Canada.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

We just saw how all of our energy providers in New York 17 are seeking double digit rate increases at a time where families are facing an energy crisis and an affordability crisis. Hauling those CEOs in front of Congress and having them testify before committees on how they are failing to invest adequately in their communities while they're still raking home double digit millions of dollars in CEO incentives every year is a failure in leadership they must be held accountable for.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

I think I need to explain to Mike Lawler that getting into a senseless war that drives up gas prices, shuts down one of the world's most principal energy corridors... is dumb... we're in this crisis because the private utility monopolies, instead of prioritizing performance, prioritize profits. And instead of focusing on delivering for the rate payers are delivering for their shareholders.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I will focus on things like expanding the VA loan program... into a public service loan program where if you spend a decade in public service as a nurse, as a first responder, as a teacher, you should have the same benefits.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

We need to beat Mike Lawler in November to help take back the House and get control and check in this reign of terror that is the Trump administration, but also solve the very real problems that are facing families all across the Hudson Valley... It's time for a different kind of Democrat.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

For the first time in modern American history, the economic prospects of younger Americans are worse than that of their parents or grandparents... In 2017, the GOP deliberately implemented the SALT cap to punish California and New York blue states. It was going to end this year. Mike Lawler made it permanent. He made a permanent tax raise on New Yorkers.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

I remember as a kid literally hunting in the cars and couch cushions to find 50 cents to help my mom buy a coffee... we need to do is undo the harm. That means ending the illegal foreign tariffs that have raised prices on everything from prescriptions to groceries to the cost of housing construction materials... I would champion something called the public service loan program.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

The average age of first time home buyer went from 21 in the 70s to 40. Things are not working... that is why I will also advocate to put a cap on interest on federal student loans. Because it should not bankrupt families or saddle them with lifelong debt to just try to make it to the middle class.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

I am doing consulting on the side for two companies I believe in. One is a national defense tech company based here in New York... I'm also consulting for an AI company that's also helping our intelligence community and the DoD... We're talking about 20 to 30% workforce displacement over the next three to five years.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

We should stop getting billionaires tax breaks. There is no reason why we should be continuing many of the tax cuts for America's top 1% wealthiest families that Trump started in his first term. Now, I do believe the national deficit is a real problem... For the first time in our current lifetimes, the economic prospects of the next generation are worse than ours.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Look, the problem right now is people aren't paying their fair share. So when we talk about, oh, implementing or jacking up the percentage they have to pay, the reality is Elon Musk pays a lower tax rate than nurses do. So we have to close the loopholes that allow people to avoid this stuff, and we haven't updated the estate tax since the 1990s, which is how they're running all over our tax code. We need to close the carried interest loophole and make sure people are actually paying what they should be.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

80% of the cranes in our ports were made in China and controlled by Chinese operational technology. This is the stuff that we can't allow to continue... We can certainly start by stop doing dumb things, stop implementing the universal tariff, stop getting billionaires' tax breaks and start focusing on the practical things.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

How do we continue to invest in infrastructure for these communities that need the most help? And then two, how do we invest in job creation? ... I believe we need to be expanding something called the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant Program within DHS... [the] BRIC Grants that FEMA administers... I believe we need to start prioritizing communities that are the most set back economically... A big part of this, I think, is healthcare. Small businesses suffer because they can't offer healthcare and that's where a public option I believe is essential.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

It is literally more expensive to pay for childcare than to send your kids to college, and that's the reality working families are facing right now. These are things Congress should be pursuing to make America work for working Americans — expanding the child tax credit, increasing funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, and Head Start.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

I do believe we need to end the illegal tariffs that are jacking up prices on everything from prescriptions to groceries, but we need to go beyond that too. I believe it is time that we put a cap on interest rates on federal student loans... I believe it is time we established and implement an American public service home loan program that mirrors the program I got to benefit from as a veteran, the VA loan program, where after a decade of public service as a teacher, a first responder, a nurse, you qualify for the same benefits.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Yes [national wealth tax for millionaires], they need to pay their fair share, but we also need to be very real.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Clean water is the first one... having safe and healthy drinking water should be a fundamental thing that we shouldn't have to fight for. But even right here in the Hudson Valley, we don't have that in 2026... The next priority has to be renewable energy investment. Because right now, we are seeing way too many families getting priced out of being able to pay their energy bills... reinstating the tax incentives where you could write off 30% of the installation of solar on your home.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Where we really hurt working people was in the fact that we have not invested in direct transit in Orange and Rockland counties... I'm all about public transit, but we owe it to working families to invest in it and not just tax them more. And I do not believe that New York City problems should be solved on the backs of my Hudson Valley residents.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

I live over in Osmane, a proud fourth-generation Hudson Valley native, and I have to tell you, over the last 10 months of this campaign, traveling to every corner of Rockland County and this district, there's been a lot of incredible experiences from the Pride Parade to going to the Pride Center, to Day Festival, to celebrating various towns, but I have to say, one of the most impactful moments was the day I spent over at Rockland County BOCES with students, with instructors, with leadership. Because I will tell you, I believe investing in the American middle class and different pathways to get there is an incredibly important role, and that's why investing in programs like BOCES is a pillar of my campaign. What the amount of economic transition we're about to see to the American workforce, to white collar jobs, AI productivity, investing in trade skills and trade schools so that kids have an opportunity to stay in the communities that raise them and raise their own families here, is going to be essential. And so there's incredible work going on in Rockland County. I want to invest a bit more in it.

Indivisible Rockland CD-17 Candidate Forum (Nyack Center) · 2026-01-13

I am a product of Hudson Valley Public Schools, neither of my parents graduated from college, I got to go to West Point and Harvard and MIT... I think we need to invest tremendously in our trade school programming to include both these and other CTE programs. We've got to create opportunities to the middle class that aren't relying on a four year college education that may bankrupt most families.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I'm all about putting a cap on the interest rates for federal student loans. If you take out a $50,000 loan, you should not be paying $200,000 twenty years later... we have to increase the pathways to the middle class beyond just college... investing in things like BOCES, like Community College.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Taxpayers should not be subsidizing specialty education for the wealthy... I literally remember preparing to go to a meeting in the White House Situation Room about election security and Russian cyber criminals looking to interfere in the 2024 election, and I got a bulletin that over 10,000 students in Rockland County had lead in their school water. We should not be tolerating this.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

America has no better or closer partner in the counter-terrorism fight than Israel. We need to set conditions for a two-state solution where there is peace and security and safety for all peoples. I do believe bringing in a third-party peacekeeping force trusted by both sides is going to be a critical step to that.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

What I'm concerned about is what we are seeing is politicians now trying to make calls on what assistance should or should not go... instead of actually relying upon the process that was designed where informed professionals are shaping what those packages are. There is a politicization of security that I do not believe is good for America's national security or the global stability.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

We woke up a month ago to a war in Iran that a five-time draft dodger and a secretary of defense who knows more about Botox than bombs got us into. Without a plan, without an exit strategy, without clear objectives, without crucial authorization, and without the American people's support.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

Eight weeks ago, we watched as a draft dodging president and incompetent secretary of defense got us into a war without an exit strategy, without clear military political objectives, without a congressional authorization for the use of military force. I am someone who believes Iran should not get a nuclear weapon... And I do believe we need regime change in Iran. We have to be very careful to not confuse these short-term military successes for long-term strategic success.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

We have a five-time draft-dodging president as our commander-in-chief, a former news correspondent who knows more about Botox than bombs as our secretary of defense... As someone who has gone to war numerous times, who has served in combat zones... war is not a game. War is something we must only ever use as a last resort.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

When you look at the War Powers Resolution Act that was being proposed in Mike Lawler's no vote, he showed exactly who he was. And the Army, when you failed to do your job, there's a saying, it's called dereliction of duty, and you're held accountable. And what we've seen at this Republican-led Congress is complicity.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

And I will tell you when it comes to geostrategic competition, China's kicking our butt right now. They're already one third of their energy consumption has been electrified. We have to take this on again as a national security challenge, step it up and invest like we do in other national security crises.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I do believe as America, we have a responsibility to support the safety and security of Israel and the Jewish people. And I think we also have a responsibility to push for a two-state solution... I can be pro-Israel and say we need to have really hard conversations on how conflict is conducted.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

As the only person on this call who has been to war, who has been to wars in the Middle East... I do believe that we need to be using pressure to ensure a two-state solution, that ceasefires are upheld... what I believe needs to be a third-party peacekeeping force. We just saw Mike Lawler voting to give Donald Trump a blank check for the war in Iran.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

Vladimir Putin does not want America to succeed... Russia is not our ally. They're our adversary. We need to support Ukraine. It is a core democracy pushing back against the illegal invasion of their sovereign territory. We have a responsibility to make sure Putin doesn't think he has a green light.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

I fully disagree with Trump's decision to launch us into yet another war in the Middle East... at the White House, I served as the director for counterterrorism... Make no mistake, I am a firm believer we cannot let Iran get a nuclear weapon. But the way Trump has gotten us into this conflict has not made America safer in the long term.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

As someone who has led America's sons and daughters in multiple wars and combat zones... the last thing I ever want to see is any generation of sons and daughters in any country go to war. Mike Lawler... continued to give Donald Trump a blank check on the war in Iran, refusing to support the war powers resolution to rein him in. That is unacceptable.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

I believe firmly in a two state solution. I believe firmly that this war has gone too far... over a decade of that in the special operations community, I have worked very closely with the Israeli military, Israeli intelligence services on the front lines... we also can't simplify our relationship with Israel down to one sound bite.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

So 16 years and over a decade of that in the special operations community, I have worked very closely with the Israeli military, Israeli intelligence services on the front lines. And I will tell you, America has no better partner when it comes to countering terrorism, countering Iranian legal aggression in the state of Israel. And what happened on October 7? I've seen the photos. That is a level of barbarity and savagery that has no place on this earth. That was a terror attack that caused so many innocent lives. Now, I will tell you, as someone who has been to combat, the last thing we ever want is to see conflict or war. Nobody wins. And humanitarian aid is a huge part of being able to reconstitute and rebuild and get to a political solution. There has to be a two state solution. There has to be. But we also can't simplify our relationship with Israel down to one talking bite or sound bite. Look, this stuff with Israel, our partnership in countering Iranian aggression, preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, from countering the Russians from being able to get more lethal aid and one way UAVs that are attacking the people in Kiev. That is all part of this, too. And so I just caution us from oversimplifying some of it because there are so many layers to this that we can't.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I do believe that a two-state solution where there's equal safety, security, and equality on both sides is the only way forward. That is how you get to enduring peace... We also have responsibility to ensure the autonomy, the safety and security of the Palestinian people in their state. And that means that we can't have a terrorist organization running that government... I will also say, though, that what we have seen is also a rise in anti-Semitism right here in America... Anti-Semitism, just like any other form of discriminatory [hate], has absolutely no place in America.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

There's some of the symptoms, right, like access to weapons of war and firearms that I used in combat that you can get on the streets in America, which should never be the case... we shouldn't allow violent criminals to get their hands on weapons, much less combat arms.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

So I think there's a couple different layers to this, I think there's some of the symptoms right like access to weapons of war and firearms that I use in combat that you can get on the streets in America which should never be the case. And I think the other issues, which is look we need to do better at providing mental health support to so many Americans who are struggling. And this is where the cuts we're seeing with this budget bill and the cruelty coming out of this administration that Michael others enabling exists is exacerbating this crisis, not addressing it. Michael others actions are literally making Americans less safe, not more safe, and that should be inexcusable.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I do believe that affordable quality health care should be the right of every person and not the privilege of just the wealthy few. And over the last 13 months on this campaign trail traveling to every corner of the district, we've seen it all in terms of the struggle, from small businesses losing employees because they're going to bigger companies that can offer health care plans. But we've seen for medium-sized companies family plan premiums skyrocket from 17,000 in 2020 to 26,000 in 2025. People are trying to do the right thing, but the system's broken and not working.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

In Congress what I promise you I will absolutely advocate for is to ensure that we are restoring the cuts that this administration took to Medicaid, to the premium tax credits. But going beyond that we have to actually attack the very real problem where the system is broken beyond just the Trump administration in the cuts. I am a firm advocate of a public option. I believe it is time to offer Medicare for anyone who wants to opt-in regardless of age, income or marital status. This should just be a basic offering, cutting out the for-profit health insurance companies in the middle.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

I'm a believer that affordable quality healthcare should be the right for every American and not just the privilege for a wealthy few. And so I am a strong proponent and believer in a public option. Introducing this would help drive down rates of private insurance companies by introducing competition to the marketplace. I believe reigning in big pharma is an essential step and Congress has failed to do this effectively.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

When it comes to health care, I'm a huge proponent of introducing a public option to make sure that folks can buy into Medicare at any age, regardless of marital or job status, and that'll put some downward pressure on these private sector companies too.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

When you look at the cuts that were in HR1 or the one big ugly bill, 25% of New York 17 residents rely on Medicaid. Over 30,000 of our neighbors are going to lose Medicaid coverage because of Mike Lawler. These things are not leadership. This is cruelty.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

I do believe we need to introduce a public option that allows people to opt into Medicare... and I do believe we need to rein in big pharma. That means ending things like pay-for-delay schemes... companies that are literally profiting from denying care to sick people.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

We have to take the fight to this administration to make sure that Congress, 2026 when we take back the House, is actually doing its job, which is checking the administration... Right now, Congress is failing to provide the oversight it is constitutionally charged to do.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

this one big, beautiful bill... they passed it. They called it that... cutting Medicaid for millions of people across this country to include here in New York 17 is unacceptable. He talks about backing veterans and then [votes for] a bun[dle] that cut 80,000 jobs to the VA. Many of them that came from burn pits. Hey, Mikey, did you ever sit in a [Forward Operating base]? Did you ever get exposed to a burn pit?... that funding is for medical professionals to help treat veterans... So no, I think you need some shame.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

This is one big, beautiful bill cutting Medicaid for millions of people across this country, to include here in New York 17, [which] is unacceptable.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

I believe in an America where affordable quality health care is the right for all people, not just the privilege of the wealthy few... the next essential and urgent... step is implementing a public option... allow people, regardless of their job status, marital status, or age, to buy into Medicare if they choose to... we must also further reform Big Pharma.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

I'm gonna use an army combat trauma analogy, is stop the bleeding. ... When we passed the Health Maintenance Organization Act in 1973 ... when we allowed insurance companies to turn into for-profit entities, that is when we started to fail the American people. ... I do stand by pushing for things like a public option.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

I spent the last four years working between my time at the White House and then at CISA with members of Congress, with committees. I have written federal legislation. I've overseen and implemented national budgets. I know how to make Congress work and what the federal government's job is supposed to be. We do not have time for on-the-job training. We got to make sure 10,000 of the people in this district don't lose Medicaid coverage. We've got to make sure they roll back provisions on tariffs that are jacking up prescription prices. What I have been called upon time and time again in my career is to go where people think things can't get done and get it done.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

We do not have time for on-the-job training. We have to get in there and stop the bleeding. We've got to make sure 10,000 of the people in this district don't lose Medicaid coverage. We've got to roll back provisions on tariffs that are jacking up prescription prices.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

We have already seen how Medicaid cuts are impacting 37,000 people just in our district alone... we've also watched in that same bill Mike Lawler wage war against women's health care where now you see how federal funding has been ripped away from clinics that provide abortion access.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

It is inexcusable that it's 2026 and we are talking about a failure to actually address PFAS... We've known PFAS is bad since the 70s... PFAS regulation and the failure to do that is a great example of how government gives a problem lip service but then does nothing to actually address it... number one is making sure PFAS is designated as a hazardous substance under the comprehensive environmental response compensation and liability act.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Our seniors deserve stability and dignity. They've earned that... Here in this district there are 130,000 people between Social Security benefits, survivor benefits, and disability benefits. It's unacceptable. We need to kick this guy out and get an actual leader of character who's going to fight for the real things.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

So yes, the immediate need to reinstate the premium tax credits and to ensure that we are restoring Medicaid. And as President Obama said, the ACA was just the first step, not the final step in the healthcare reform to fix what is a completely broken system. And I do believe... we need to get to a public option where anyone can choose to buy into Medicare regardless of their job and marital status or age. But also going back to how do we help the black and brown communities? I believe we need to be investing and ensuring there are more healthcare providers that are black and brown.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

It's time we start implementing an American public service home loan program, a program that would mirror the VA loan program that I got to benefit from as an army veteran of 16 years, where for people who are first responders, teachers, nurses, social workers, after 10 years, you qualify for the same benefits.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

America should never be the place where economic conditions are keeping you at this point, and shame on us for letting that happen... Two major things Congress should tackle: we need to make building houses easier, and we've got to make it more affordable to buy the houses that are built.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

So I am one of three girls raised here in the Hudson Valley and out of me and my two sisters, I am the only one who can afford to still live here. This is a very personal struggle for many of us in this room. I think there are two major buckets here. The first is we need to lower costs so we can build more affordable homes. That means things like removing outdated bureaucratic red tape processes that add to costs and timelines, and I believe we can do that without compromising on our environmental safety and security. That also means things like not doing dumb tariffs that jack up the cost on construction materials coming from Canada.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

The thing that I am championing and would be a major priority for me if I [have] the privilege of being your rep is introducing America's public service loan program, which mirrors the VA loan program that I've benefited from as an army officer, where after 10 years of public service as a nurse, a teacher, a public servant in government, a first responder, you would qualify for the same benefits so people can live in the communities that they serve.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

It also means implementing America's first public service home loan program, which is something I'm championing. It would parallel the VA loan program that I got to benefit from as a veteran, where if you're a teacher, a nurse, a first responder, you qualify for the same benefits that I did as a veteran.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

In the 1970s the average age of a first-time home buyer was 21 and now it's 40... We haven't faced a housing crisis like this since post-World War II and that led the federal government to pursue Levittown. So yes, I believe it's time for creative solutions for the federal government to step up and do its damn job.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

The average age of a first-time home buyer is my age. It's insane... My first big push will be for a public service loan program, a public service equivalent to the VA loan program where after 10 years of serving your community, you qualify for the same benefits. Teachers, nurses, first responders deserve the same benefits that veterans do.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

I say all of that because with everything I have seen and everything I have done in my life to keep our community safe, to keep America safe, to keep our families safe, I never thought I would feel like the greatest threat to our country and to our future would come from within our borders. I am watching as the country I was willing to die for becomes something I barely recognize. As I watch this government rip away the very rights from Americans and people right here in America that I have overseas to protect, this is not America, this is unhinged, it is un-American, and what we need is not more strongly worded letters of people who are going to fight this administration, check the abuses and end the BS.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

What we have seen in this administration is such an egregious abuse of power, where we are watching as federal agents on American streets harass assault and even murder the very people there sworn to serve and protect. That is unhinged and un-American... We must protect our dreamers. I am watching the country that I was willing to die for become something I barely recognize.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

What you must do, step one, is impeach you, Christie, no. Because no one is above the rule of law. And we need to show, regardless of where you are in the federal government, you are not above the law. And there will be consequences. And that starts from the top. Under her leadership, we have seen ICE turn into an organization that uses cruelty and terror to our neighbors. That is evoking fear in the communities that is sworn to serve and protect. She must be impeached.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

We absolutely must rein in ICE up and down the leadership chain. I am still heartbroken over watching on the streets in January, as we witness that federal agents on American streets literally assaulted, harassed and killed the very people there sworn to serve and protect. This is unhinged. It is un-American. We need to make sure there is a pathway to citizenship... We need to be protecting our dreamers.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

I fought overseas to defend American freedoms. And right now, what we are seeing is our own government tearing those freedoms away from people right here in our own country... what I have called for is the impeachment of Kristi Noem... We need to not just rein in ICE, but fix a broken immigration system. America should be a place where our immigrant neighbors live in hope, not fear.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

It is absolutely disgusting to see how Republicans have allowed this to become a partisan issue. These reforms that are being called for, wearing body cameras, not wearing masks, having identification, these are very basic measures that we expect of our local law enforcement and federal agents should honor the same. I am frustrated with the Democratic Party because we actually allowed the Republicans to make it a partisan issue in January and February.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

As a member of Congress, I would support a movement to rescind the 287G agreements, period. Make them go away. What we are seeing is the federal government trying to turn our local law enforcement into a political tool. It's not just inappropriate and disgusting. It also makes our communities less safe. No one should fear going to the emergency room because their data may be shared with ICE. Those should absolutely be prohibited. Churches, schools, hospitals. That data should never be shared with the federal government for law enforcement purposes. Never.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

We have been failing our immigrant neighbors, many of whom have been contributing, [tax-paying] members of our communities. For longer than I've been alive, they are just as American as we are, and we have failed to give them pathways... We must protect our dreamers. And yes, to all of those protected status[es]... we need to get a pathway for our TPS protected Haitian brothers and sisters... So yes, the government is failing. We must reign in ICE. I want to hold every one of those federal agencies [that] committed a crime legally accountable... not going after grandmas and nurses.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

For so many of these families who are living in fear right now, how un-American it is, but they feel that way. As an army veteran who did six tours overseas, I did not fight for our freedoms overseas in war zones to watch as those freedoms are ripped away right here at home. It is unhinged. It is un-American. This is not the country I fought for, and so yes, it's time to take it back. So yeah, we're gonna rein this in, we're gonna stop the terror, and we're also gonna fix the broken immigration system that is failing our neighbors. We are failing them. It's time for government to do its damn job.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

I think about with the National Guard what we've seen with other federal entities being used to augment ice and conduct these illegal activities. Those are things that are not authorized by Congress in the budgets that we're supporting those actions. These are things where there are measures to hold entities to include political appointees in these departments and agencies accountable. I know because I've lived through it.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I would actually push legislation to ensure that ICE could never expand an existing detention facility or build a new one without congressional approval. No stop, period. They no longer get that power. I would also ensure that I used my congressional oversight responsibility and authority to personally inspect facilities to make sure that they are adhering to the humane treatment that they're supposed to be providing all people. Look, these detention facilities, we cannot allow to turn into black boxes. This is America. And I will tell you, if they make the mistake of trying to do in Chester here in New York 17 and build something to support ICE, they've got to come for a meeting. And I promise you, after 16 years in the Army and multiple combat tours, that's not a fight they're ready for. No more strongly worded letters. No more committees and thought pieces. We need to fight back. And that's what I'm asking for your permission to do. Please unleash me on this administration.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

It's watching federal agents on American streets assault, harass, and kill the very people they're sworn to serve and protect. No one is above the rule of law... There are people in our community who've lived in America longer than I've been born and are just as American as I am or you are.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

We are watching the federal government abuse, assault, and kill the very people it is sworn to serve and protect... if I have the privilege of being your member of Congress, I will go after every one of them. There is no one who is above the rule of law... we also need to fix a broken immigration system, protecting dreamers and giving people pathways to citizenship.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Watching the last three weeks, what has transpired where you have American federal agents wearing masks and combat equipment that I wore in combat zones on American streets, harassing, assaulting, and killing Americans... Kristi Noem, on her watch, this happened, she should resign. Every leader in ICE and CBP who is overseeing operations in Minnesota should be put on administrative leave.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

Michael Lawler has voted against a woman having the right to abortion care 12 times to include prohibiting women in military uniforms using dry care [TRICARE] to access abortion care services. ... We saw that in the one big beautiful bill where they're talking about cutting $55 billion in federal funding to New York State. That includes not just Medicaid Medicare plans but also support to health care facilities and their staffs. That's up to 84,000 jobs in the city of New York.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

When you look at why this system is so broken today, you yet understand that how the federal government works and what in there isn't being adequately managed and funded. So immigration processes are run through an agency in DHS called CIS. You want to invest in CIS and DHS to get this right, to get it better. Because technology is going to be the way that we extradite an immigration process that right now takes people literally a decade. These are things that if we actually gave CIS money and technology to solve, they could. We have to understand that technology is actually essential to fixing a broken immigration system.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

This administration is waging a war on women's health care. The prohibition of federal funding to go to clinics like Planned Parenthood because they provide abortion access is putting some of these most critical care facilities, especially for working women and working families, at risk.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

[Lawler] will lie to your face, he's not burdened by honesty or the values that many of us were raised with... last year, he said all the right things, trying to get as many votes as possible, so he got reelected in November. And the minute he [won] the office... he transitioned to try to court Trump... so they would back him to run for New York state government... He's defended Doge countless times on national television. You wanna talk about legislation? Do you know he voted 12 times so far in his congressional career, to revoke the rights of military women to access abortion care? And you wanna tell me you support women's rights? No, I don't fall for his BS.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Do you know he voted 12 times so far in his congressional career to revoke the rights of military women to access abortion care? And you want to tell me you support women's rights? No, I don't fall for his BS. His priority is Mike Lawler.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Something you did while I was still in uniform ... vote numerous times to deny women in uniform the right to access abortion care that's covered. ... you had the audacity of denying them over 11 times. ... If I'm your representative in Congress, I will fight like hell to codify Roe v. Wade.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

Healthcare should not be a privilege, it should be a right... Mike Lawler has voted against a woman having the right to abortion care 12 times, including prohibiting women in military uniforms from using TRICARE to access abortion care services. We saw in the one big beautiful bill they're cutting $55 billion in federal funding to New York State.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

I believe our country is [at] a [crossroads]. And the politicians on both sides, to be honest here, are not going to be the ones to fix it. And I do feel a responsibility to raise my hand and say, when our country needs a leader to step up, solve these problems, I will be that leader... it's time for [Mike Lawler] to go. It's time for the people of New York 17 to have a leader to serve.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

What we have seen is this administration enabled by cowards in Congress like Mike Lawler don't care about our future... They're focused on corruption and greed to line their own pockets and those of their buddies to include some of these billionaire oil execs that have exacerbated the environmental crisis.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

And Mike Lawler. That's all he is a politician, a career political operative demands never sacrifice never fought for anything but himself. And that's why we're in the mess we're in today. And I promise you, that is the opposite of the type of leadership that I bring. This is not what the country means right now is more of the same, more of the corruption, more of the self preservation and advancement over service. Mike Lawler has faced democratic politicians, and one, he has never faced someone like me, a veteran who has spent my entire life delivering and fighting for this country.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I know what oversight looks like from Congress because I've worked with Congress before... the dereliction of duty that we are seeing out of this Congress is truly unparalleled in modern American history... That means holding investigations into the abuses of power and the weaponization of the executive branch... holding leaders accountable like Cash Patel who still sits there.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

Over 50% of households in New York 17 or either veterans the family of veterans first responders or family of first responders. My ability to connect with these folks and to win them over and their trust is just different... If we want a different kind of outcome in November we need a different kind of Democrat.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

There's a saying in the Army... the fastest way to lose the current war is to fight the last one. The only way a Democrat's going to win New York 17 is if we win voters that go beyond just the Democratic Party. You have 27% registered unaffiliated voters that you've got to bring over.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Folks like Mike Waller have wasted their opportunity to try to demonstrate that they were public service. Instead, we saw what matters to me, his own political ambition. Where I come from, as a public servant, we put yourself over others, you get fired. And so that's what I'm setting out to do, to make sure Mike Waller does packing, and we have representation that the Hudson Valley and our families deserve.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

I joined the Army and served the first several years of my career under Don't Ask, Don't Tell as someone who is gay... the only party that fought for me was the Democratic Party. But we have to be very clear-eyed about how we are failing working families... it isn't just the Republicans who got us here.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

I'm not a politician. I am a proud patriot and problem solver who has spent my entire life in service to this country. He won this district by six and a half points. The way we beat him is by having a democratic candidate on the ballot that puts all of New York 17 in play. Not one county or two, but four counties, all communities. I'm the only candidate to have earned endorsements from elected officials in all four counties.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

What I have never had the stomach for is watching politicians use critical government functions as political pawns... The Republican Party in the recently passed budget bill pursued such significant cuts of these core programs to justify tax cuts for billionaires at the expense of working Americans. A government shutdown is bad for America, period.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

He talks about backing veterans and then [votes for] a bunch that cut 80,000 jobs to the VA. Many of them that came from burn pits. Hey, Mikey, did you ever sit in a war space? Did you ever get exposed to a burn pit? ...So no, I think you need some shame.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Yes, but I think we need to look more broadly to the cabinet officials who are violating the law and hold them accountable as well.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

Cash Patel should be impeached. We should start there. Because what we have seen under this administration is a weaponization of the executive branch that is unprecedented for modern American history. It is going after political opposition and going after journalists... We need to make sure that we are refunding and reestablishing critical things within the DOJ like the Civil Rights Division, which has been absolutely [gutted]... I know how oversight is supposed to work. And this is about holding these people in front of committees and making them testify [under oath].

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Let us be clear. This is not just an LGBTQ community issue. This is an American issue. Anytime our government goes after limiting the rights of any part of our society, [it] is an attack on all of our society.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

When 9-11 happened, I raised my hand and led America's sons and daughters in defense of this nation. He spent the last 20 years playing politics. I can't wait to make him eat that. He has never faced a vet who has actually fought and delivered for this nation. It's time for different leaders. Pass the torch. We're ready to go.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum (Mt. Pleasant Public Library) · 2025-09-29

I think that the same people, the same playbook, you get the same result. We're gonna lose... People are sick of politicians. People are sick of the people who created this mess that's making their lives harder, not better. What they want, I think, is authenticity.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Winning today's New York 17 means having a candidate that can put the whole district in play, all four counties... I'm the only candidate that has earned endorsements from elected officials in all four counties... He has faced and beaten two Democratic politicians already, but he's never faced someone like me. And if we want a different kind of outcome, it's time for a different kind of Democrat.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

28% of registered voters in this district are unaffiliated or independent. The only way we win this district is if we win not just Democrats, but the middle... This is Moneyball, ladies and gentlemen... Mike Lawler has faced and beaten politicians. He has never faced a patriot who has fought and delivered.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

If you want a different kind of outcome, you need a different kind of Democrat... 28% of registered voters here are unaffiliated or independent. We can't just win this with only registered Democrats alone. We've got to get voters to choose a person over a party.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

My last four years in public service ... I have written federal legislation. I have overseen and executed national budgets ... I know how Congress is supposed to do its job. ... Look, health is national security. We need to treat it that seriously.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

There was a third party poll done in November. The only person who beats Mike Lawler is me. I don't say this out of arrogance. I say this because we cannot afford to make a mistake. We have to beat this guy... We're going to take back government and check Trump.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

This is about who is your best athlete to get in the arena and make sure Mike Lawler goes home... He spent the last 20 years as a political operative while I was leading America's sons and daughters in defense of this nation... I would be honored to have you in the arena with me as we kick Lawler's ass.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

The only way we get to fix what is broken is if we get to govern, and the only way we get to govern is if we get to win. [Beating] Mike Lawler, that is the mission we share for this November... We need somebody who can absolutely beat Mike Lawler because we can't afford to risk a world in which we don't control the House or we continue to have a Republican representing us... With endorsements from over 60 current and former elected officials and committees in all four counties of this district... the Putnam County Democratic Committee, the Dutchess County Democratic Committee, Pat Ryan, our Congressman to the North.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

I think this goes back to, look, we've got to be very clear, but this is not going to be an easy fight in November. We have watched as Michael Lawler has beaten two seasoned Democratic politicians. They were former members of Congress for parts of this district. He's never faced someone like me. I do believe if we want a different kind of outcome, you need a different kind of Democrat. And I do believe on day one of this job, I can get in there sprinting. As the person who's actually worked with Congress, who's worked at the most senior levels of federal government, who's written legislation, who knows how Congress works, I promise you, I will be a brat against this administration and to check.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

We don't get to fix any of that with Mike Lawler sitting in the seat... the only way we get to fix this is if we get to govern, and the only way we get to govern is if we win. With a district where 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated or independent... we can no longer win with just Democratic voters alone. We need to be able to appeal to the voter as a person, not just a party.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Good evening everyone. I'm Beth Davidson. I'm a proud former young down [young dem], a mom to future young downs, and a union endorsed across [Rockland] county legislature. ... I was the only candidate on the stage who was actually beating Republicans in top [tough] districts. I did that not only when I [won] my own purple county legislative seat, but when I led a slate of candidates to deliver the first democratic super majority [in] the county[']s history. ... I've already raised half a million dollars, which is six weeks [in] earn[ed], 150 endorsements from every corner of this district.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

If Cait were so proud of the work she'd done, I don't know why she would have filed for an extension to long past the primary election to hide the fact from voters that she's earned three hundred and twenty-eight thousand dollars, about four times the median national income, working for these companies.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

Everyone has to worry about an entire entry level workforce potentially being replaced by AI, and it's especially important for small businesses. As we see AI companies use surveillance to figure out [how to] basically manipulate the market and have price controls based on, just like we buy airline tickets, what people are willing to pay for it. As well as deep fakes. [I've] supported legislation in Rockland County to ban deep fakes in county government. It's already causing harm to people's reputations. And then also going to data centers, which brings AI into the environmental crisis, sucking up water, sucking up energy, driving up prices for consumers. So we need to make sure we're regulating that as well.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

We're heading towards a really dangerous place with a growing ecosystem of surveillance... I'd love to see a national data privacy law and enhanced consumer protections... So we need regulations on data centers, too, because they pose a huge threat to our environment. And when you look at this field, I certainly wouldn't send someone who works for two AI companies to DC to regulate them.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

As a writer, I definitely can see how my job would be and has been impacted by artificial intelligence... we need to be not exporting our chips to China and other countries so that they again beat us at one more game... we do need to make sure that we have real regulations and people in Washington who understand what's at stake.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

In Congress, I'm going to focus on raining in ice, on cracking down on drug trafficking and human trafficking, things again that are happening, not somewhere else, in Rockland County, where I serve. And then when it comes to the red line, I also would not have voted for [Laken] Riley. I've been very clear about that since the beginning of this campaign. And I'll also say that I'm not going to accept any campaign contributions from Palantir or any other contractors that do business with [ICE] on the side. Or any company that profits from even suffering.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

I'm Beth Davidson. I'm a two-time cancer survivor. I'm a mom of two amazing kids, and now I'm a Rockland County legislator who fights like hell every day for the community I've called home for 20 years. It's no secret that Mike Lawler won this district twice, the second time with massive support from Jewish voters across the district, many of whom told me they felt homeless in the Democratic Party.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

I'm Beth Davidson. I'm a mom with two kids in public school. I'm a two time cancer survivor, and I'm a Rockland county legislator who spent nearly a decade fighting for this community that I've called home for 20 years.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I'm Beth Davidson, mom of two kids, two term school board member, and a Rockland County legislator who won my seat with the endorsement of the Sierra Club... I'm able to not only make change in my own community, but stand up to Donald Trump and Mike Lawler every day in real time for the community I've called home for 20 years.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I'm a... Rockland County legislator who gets up every day ready to fight for this community I've called home for 20 years... Mike Lawler has won this district twice by playing a moderate on television, winning Rockland County, and making real inroads with Jewish voters. I neutralize all three of those factors... the only candidate in this primary is beating Republicans in tough races, delivering the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

I'm Beth Davidson. ... I'm a Rockland County legislator who gets up every day ready to fight for the community I've called home for 20 years. ... As a two-time cancer survivor and IVF mom, I know firsthand what it's like to fight for the benefits that you need and deserve.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

I'm Beth Davidson, I'm a mom, I'm a former school board member, and I'm a Rockland County legislator. I'm also Jewish. My husband's family comes from Poland, Ukraine, and Austria, countries in which they probably wouldn't have survived another generation. The commandment to welcome a stranger appears in the Torah 36 times. New York's 17th congressional district is one of the most diverse in the country, yet Mike Lawler rubber stamps at Donald Trump's immigration agenda at every turn. And as a county legislator, I've stood up and fought back in real time. Last month, I stepped up and introduced the Safety and Dignity for All Act, which will ensure that no county resources or personnel go to assisting ICE with federal civil immigration matters.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

After a horrific stabbing in Monsey that you may have remembered a few years ago, I helped to organize a summit of five towns against hate. What's been really sad for me and I know for many Jews is that the fight against antisemitism has become partisan. And I lay a lot of that at Mike Lawler's feet. He sure turned a blind eye when Trump's DOE fired 90% of its staff at the department's Office of Civil Rights.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

I'm Beth Davidson... as a Rockland County legislator, I've had a front row seat to the ways in which our communities are truly suffering, as Mike Lawler's big ugly law barrels towards us... I'm the only one here who's already beaten Republicans in purple territory and delivered the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history, right in Mike Lawler's backyard.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I'm Beth Davidson. I am a proud mom of two kids. I am a proud member of the NIAC NAACP. I am a two-term NIAC school board member and a Rockland County legislator who gets up every day ready to fight for our community... The NAACP is nonpartisan, but you are political as hell. And this is the moment to fight for our communities.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Standing up to Donald Trump and Mike Lawler in real time by securing millions of dollars in food relief for families who depended on [SNAP]... passing the gas tax cap that just went into effect yesterday so you can save a little pain at the pump and of course, standing up... for our communities against ICE... I'm asking you for your vote on June 23rd because you know I not only know how to fight, I know how to win, delivering the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

It was the day after an anti-Semitic incident in our town, there were swastikas found in a Starbucks downtown... I invited everyone in the community, no matter their faith, to come down to Memorial Park public space and perform Tashlich with us... So I would support Chabad of Bedford continuing its wonderful tradition.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I'm Beth Davidson, mom of two kids, two term NYC school board member and a Rockland County legislator who gets up every day building coalitions on both sides of the river but also fighting for the community I've called home for 20 years, which includes amazing small businesses like the one here. As a legislator I've supported our small businesses by cutting taxes, investing in infrastructure, fighting for affordable housing. Running for Congress because I know how to roll up my sleeves and deliver results that make a difference in people's lives.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

When my then 12 year old son interviewed my in-laws... one of the questions he got back from them was what he thought the world would be like by the time he was their age. And he said, I'm not going to live to be your age. I'm going to die by 35 from climate change.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

As chair of the task force on water resources management here in Rockland County, I'm leading the fight for source water protection in the Hudson Valley... I'm working to reduce PFAS and PFOA in our wells, our aquifers, our streams, our groundwater. And I'm proud to have... passed the first countywide resolution in New York State opposing project Maple's pipeline expansion.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

That was a bedrock law that helped us meet clean energy standards... What the federal government needs to do, and why we need to take back Congress, is to reinvest in the programs that we know work, to reinstate emission standards on our vehicles, to reinvest in conservation measures... along with the clean energy tax credits.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

In Westchester, we all suffer from a lot of the same problems we do in terms of clean water, affordability, the housing crisis which I'm currently working to address as the chair of our new housing committee on the Rockland County legislature, which we never had before we won our super majority.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I want to shout out the Attorney General Tish James, because she's hauling the administration into court for canceling eight billion dollars in clean energy projects. Clean energy is not only an environmental issue, a national security issue, it's a jobs issue. We had shovel ready projects ready to create jobs, put people back to work. As the chair of the Rockland County Legislature's environmental committee, this is something I wake up and fall asleep thinking about all the time. So I'm proud to have passed the first county-wide resolution in New York State opposing [Project Maple], the dirty pipeline expansion that is relevant here because it would have started on your side of the Hudson.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

The answer is yes, yes, yes, to all of the above... The Inflation Reduction Act was the largest climate and energy investment in US history. And we need to get back on that path. We need to restore the clean energy tax credits because shovel ready projects were stopped cold by the big awful bill.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I recently secured funding for a new fully electric minibus in Nyack... And I will also in Congress finally fight to get a one seat ride from Rockland County to New York City to help with emissions reduction... So yes, I would vote to end those subsidies for fossil fuels and fight to reinstate the clean energy tax credits that Mike Lawler voted to eliminate in last year's big awful bill.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

One of the campaign promises I made was to finally create a climate action plan for Rockland County... I'm proud to have passed the funding to create the climate smart communities task force. The Gateway project, that Donald Trump cut just to punish New York, which would finally ensure a one seat ride from Rockland County into the city and take thousands of cars off the road every day.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

I serve as chair of the Environmental Committee on the Rockland County Legislature and the Water Task Force... nuclear energy has some potential where it's certainly not [yet safe], and with renewable energy, solar...

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

I was with SEIU this morning in front of Nyeon [Nyack] Hospital, protesting the Medicaid cuts ... I also stood out in front of Nyeon Hospital with the nurses and New York nurses in December of 2023, where we successfully averted a strike, bringing everyone back to the negotiating table so that they could get a fair contract. ... I was one of only two Democrats in 2023 that was endorsed by the building trades. I went in there saying, I know you mostly endorse Republicans, you're making a mistake ... I'm endorsed by the Sierra Club, we're going to build ... housing that is environmentally friendly.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Environmental justice or injustice is one of the reasons our country keeps becoming more and more divided. Project Maple, a dirty pipeline that I was proud to lead a resolution opposing, the first county resolution in the state, would have put a dirty air compressor right in the middle of Ramapo where our most disadvantaged communities already live.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

I serve as chairwoman of the Rockland County Task Force on Water Resources Management... I led Rockland to be the first county in New York State to formally pass a resolution opposing Project Maple, a dirty natural gas pipeline running underneath the river up to Stony Point. Mike Lawler clawed back $33 million in community funding, including water projects in Pleasantville and Carmel.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

The second the Holtec decision was handed down by the federal court, I quickly called a press conference, I rallied activists and local elected officials, and we went down and stood at Haverstraw Bay... and we called on the governor and the attorney general to appeal that decision. Within a week I had answers back from both women that they stood with us on stopping Holtec from dumping that water, and that Governor Hochul has no intention of restarting nuclear at Indian Point.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

As the environmental chair of the Rockland County Legislature... to have passed the first county-wide resolution opposing Project Maple, a dirty pipeline that would run underneath Indian Point... I'm never afraid to stand up to powerful interests, even if it is the oil and gas lobby, unlike oil and gas lobbyist former Mike Lawler.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

When Mike Lawler brought Secretary Wright up to Indian Point to announce their plans to restart nuclear at that 64 year old bucket of bolts... I'm a two-time cancer survivor. I'm not interested in being a three-time cancer survivor... by the federal government's and Holtec's own admission, it would take five years minimum and between eight and 12 billion dollars to bring Indian Point back online.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

We know that no level of radiation is safe for the human body, which is why I also stepped up to lead the fight locally against whole tech, releasing radiological water into the Hudson River. When the federal courts overturned the Save the Hudson Act last fall, I met, organized a press conference, met environmental activists, elected officials from Haverstraw... Mike Lawler has been attacking me for my stance on this issue, which tells me I'm exactly where we need to be.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Yes, we must stop drilling in the Arctic Refuge and the Gulf of Mexico... During the first Trump administration, the administration bent over backwards to make it easier for oil companies to drill in national forests by squashing environmental reviews... So as a member of Congress, I'll do all of the above in terms of stopping those oil and gas leases, and then strengthen the Antiquities Act.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Mike Lawler, along with defunding Medicaid, clawed back $33 million in community funding projects, and that included a wastewater treatment in Pleasantville and another water treatment facility in Putnam County... not exactly where you want forever chemicals going into people's bodies. I'm proud to be the chair of the water task force and the chair of the Environmental Committee.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

Hell no... absolutely not to reopening a 64-year-old bucket of bolts... What Mike Lawler should have done was not vote to gut the clean energy tax credits that would have created 60,000 new clean energy jobs here in New York State... I'm a two-time cancer survivor. I'm not interested in becoming a third.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

When the federal court announced over the summer that it was overturning the Save the Hudson Act ... to stop Holtec the company decommissioning Indian Point from dumping its radioactive water into the Hudson ... I immediately called a press conference ... and called on the governor and the attorney general to appeal that decision without delay.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

Extreme weather is a huge problem that is obviously accelerated by the climate crisis. But these huge storms that bring extreme flooding and then also periods of drought... I'd also obviously say clean air... We've seen an increase in lung cancer and asthma among children and adults in the Hudson Valley. And then I would also say the lack of public transit.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

As the chair of the Environmental Committee, I absolutely appreciate the need to reduce the amount of cars on the road so we can bring down that carbon footprint, but we are disproportionately impacted in Rockland County... I support congestion pricing with carve outs for first responders, teachers.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

To beat Mike Lawler, we got to do three things. We got to win Rockland. We've got to bring Jewish voters back under the tent, and we've got to build the kind of coalition that finally takes them down... we won the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history while boosting turnout by 20%.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

We do need Congress to step up and reassert its role over the War Powers Act, power over the purse, so many of the powers that is just seated up under Republican leadership to this president. If the SAVE Act... which would infringe on voting rights by requiring federal forms of identification for every voter... we will absolutely strike that down, but also push forward the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

What I would take to Congress... is the ability to reach across the aisle and deliver results. While we do have a Democratic majority in the legislature, I work with a Republican county executive, two Republican town supervisors... I passed common sense gun safety reforms, passed unanimously.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

We have to beat Mike Lawler. And this is not a time to take a chance on who goes up against him. Mike has won this district twice, and not by accident. He knows this district inside and out. He's one Rockland County twice, and he's made real inroads with Jewish voters. Here's what I bring to the table. I am a trusted longtime Jewish youth leader in my community. I've already consolidated the Rockland County Democratic Party behind my campaign. And after living here for 20 years. I also know this community inside and out and unlike Mike, I actually fight for it. There may have been Harris Lawler voters in 2024, but I'll tell you there have been Trump Davidson voters since 2017 the first time I ran for school board ... You don't have to wonder if I can win a tough race. I have done it before. I'm the only one here who's already beaten Republicans in purple territory and delivered the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history, right in Mike Lawler's backyard.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

The first order of business has to be to get the speaker's gavel out of Mike Johnson... The Republican-led Congress has completely abdicated its role as our legislative branch of government, ceding full power up to Donald Trump when it comes to the tariffs, when it comes to taking a hatchet to our institutions.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

A couple of months ago, I would have said I would look forward to co-sponsoring the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, but the judgment of Callais has made that... render the tenants of that law moot. So what we will need to go back to is something I wrote about frequently when I worked for League of Women Voters, which is the For the People Act... the prohibition on random voter purges, automatic voter registration and... [an end to] partisan gerrymandering aren't race-based... I would also propose a carve-out of the filibuster... with an exception for voting rights.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

We can't stop Donald Trump's dangerous agenda unless we flip New York 17 and take back the House. Not just anybody can beat Mike Lawler... I've proven that I can bring whatever is at the table that I've already delivered, and bring Jewish voters back under the Democratic tent.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

It is absolutely bananas that the President of the United States is declaring war on American cities... Mike Lawler gave a signature thumbs up to Donald Trump sending troops into New York City... the local law enforcement who take care of us every day are the ones I trust to keep my community safe.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

On day one, I would vote to ban stock trading by members of Congress. It is unconscionable that members are able to get rich based on the policies that they approve... I also believe we need to move quickly to overturn Citizens United.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

We can't stop Donald Trump's dangerous agenda if we don't flip New York 17 and take back the House. And we've seen that not just anybody can beat Mike Lawler. I was asked to run for this seat because I've proven I can run and win in the parts of this district that matter most. I can carry the vote in Rockland County and bring Jewish voters back into the Democratic fold. ... We have to be for something, for a big vision of our shared future, our better future. A few weeks ago, I took my family on a trip out west to the national parks ... a sign that said the national parks were created by an act of Congress in 1916. My husband turned to me and said, can you imagine Congress doing something like that today? And I said, yes, that's why I'm running for Congress. This cannot be a time to think small.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

It went for Joe Biden by 10 points in 2020, by Kamala Harris by less than half a point. It's not enough to get people excited to vote, we have to get them excited to vote for Democrats... we stand for strong public schools and clean air and water and safe neighborhoods and reproductive freedom. The power of the people is greater than the people in power.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

The SAVE Act. Save from whom? Save from their own demolition... What we need to do is retake the House so we can reintroduce and finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. I'm so proud to carry the endorsement of Dr. Francis Pratt, a civil rights icon, former NAACP president, who literally was beaten fighting for the right to vote.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

So much of our time as candidates is spent raising money. That's the truth. I would absolutely support overturning Citizens United and get money out of politics for good. And that's really where we have to go is finally serious campaign finance reform.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

I'm the only candidate in the field who's beaten Republicans in tough races and delivered the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history while boosting turnout by 20% right in Mike Lawler's backyard... I'm the only candidate in this field who not only has a record of accomplishments to contrast to Mike Lawler but I'm taking the fight to him and Donald Trump in real time. With your vote on June 23rd I'm ready to take that fight to Washington.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

As a Rockland County legislator and a resident of this community for 20 years, I bring the experience of already knowing how to run and win in the Hudson Valley... I'm the only Democrat in this race who's beaten Republicans in tough districts, built real grassroots coalitions, and delivered results in divided governments, ultimately helping to deliver the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County, a county Donald Trump won in 2024.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

When the government shutdown caused snap benefits to turn off, I led a resolution to get millions of dollars to our local nonprofits to make sure that we could feed our families. And when we saw that because of the Iran conflict, oil was gonna hit $150 a barrel, I led a resolution again to cap the sales tax on gas to save Rocklanders a little pain at the pump.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

You reach across the aisle to solve problem by problem. It's how I... unanimously passed gun safety legislation, unanimously recently passed a tax cap on gasoline to help people at the pump, as we see gas coming to five dollars a gallon.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

Congress could end these tariffs tonight... Tariffs are crushing small businesses in my community. I've spoken with small businesses who place orders from other countries... and then a couple weeks later get a bill for $1,600 or $2,500 in tariff costs. We need to roll back the tariffs that are hurting our families.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

That's why we're attracting lots of data centers and warehouses, places that don't need a lot of jobs... let's not forget the clean energy jobs that were slashed in one big beautiful bill act or the big ugly as most of us call it. That is costing New York State tens of thousands of jobs.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

That's why we're attracting lots of data centers and warehouses places that don't need a lot of jobs. I want to say that I was the only one only two Democrats the year I ran that was endorsed by the building trades ... I went and visited the carpenters union up in Orange County, and they had an amazing program where their carpentry union apprenticeship program was partnering with Orange Community College to get their associates degrees, get their journeymen apprenticeship and they were building their own workforce housing. ... And then let's not forget the clean energy jobs that were slashed in one big beautiful bill act or the big ugly as most of us call it. That is costing New York State, 10s of thousands of jobs, and those are good paying union jobs that will bring us closer to our clean energy goals and stop out migration from the Hudson Valley.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I am the proud daughter of two New York City educators, one in the UFT and one in the CSA... I am adamantly opposed to Trump's executive order which limited public service student loan forgiveness, which is the reason why so many young people get involved in teaching.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

When people ask me what my top five issues are, I say affordability, affordability, affordability, affordability, affordability... I stepped up to pass a gas tax the second the Iran war started... I'm also proud to have stepped up to pass food relief when SNAP benefits were shut off.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

The transition to clean energy also could save the average family up to $7,200 per year on energy costs... More than 6,500 jobs, $2.5 billion in investments have been lost in New York due to the Trump administration's energy policies. It's why once in Congress, I'll fight to reinstate those clean energy tax credits that Mike Lawler gutted and then realized he gutted too much... we don't need a pen pal, we need a congressman.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

The transition to clean energy also could save the average family up to $7,200 per year on energy costs. And let's not forget how closely public health is related to clean energy. It could save them an additional $1,500 in healthcare costs. And then when we look at jobs, tax credits passed as part of the inflation reduction act turned New York into a hub for building clean wind energy components. More than 6,500 jobs, $2.5 billion in investments have been lost in New York due to the Trump administration's energy policies.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

The moment the conflict in Iran began and we saw that oil could go between $100 and $150 a barrel, I quickly reached out to my chair and said, we should do a gas tax holiday to make sure that we're providing some relief at the pump for our constituents... We also need to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

The moment the conflict started, I stepped up and, along with my colleagues, introduced legislation to cap the sales tax on gas at $3 to afford people here in Rockland a little bit of relief at the pump... by lifting the sanctions on Russian oil, Russia has been able to pay off a huge chunk of its debt.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

One way we could definitely lower costs is by actually repealing the SALT cap, which Mike Lawler pledged to do, but then folded like a cheap suit and actually voted to keep it in place... I'll never forget a voter who said, I'm a SALT parent and a Medicaid mom.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

One of Trump's initial executive orders in March of 2025 was to end funding for the [Minority Business Development] program, which was a lifeline for so many, creating tens of thousands of jobs, directing billions of dollars in projects... And so to serve on the [C]ommerce [C]ommittee is one way that I could help to restore that funding. Yes, partnerships with historically black colleges and universities are a huge piece of this.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Mike Lawler is going along with Donald Trump, who has shut down the Gateway Project to punish New Jersey and New York for being blue states... a one-seat ride must be the number one thing we finally make happen. It will lift all of our home values, lower our carbon footprints, and finally put us on the clean energy path.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Representation matters. We need more parents of school-aged kids serving in Congress — less than 10% of members of Congress have school-aged children. As a working mom I know firsthand the exorbitant cost of childcare. It's causing a brain drain... it's ridiculous that the richest country in the world does not offer universal childcare. We need truly universal three-K, not the sporadic lottery system.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

I knew that 42% of kids at our public schools rely on school lunches and breakfasts to have food in their bag. We showed up the next morning and called Aramark, our food service provider, and worked out a schedule for them to deliver bag lunches... so families could come to Nyack Center if they qualified for free lunch and breakfast.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

We built a food bank from scratch. I would put those signups on Facebook, drive around and collect food from people's houses... This is how communities care for each other while we wait for government to catch up. When Congress takes back the power of the purse, we will restore the funding to these programs that people depend on.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

One out of six children in Rockland County don't know where the next meal is coming from. Just think about that. 19 [m]iles [a]s the crow flies from New York City, the richest city in the world... I absolutely also support repealing the tariffs and dealing with rising fuel costs and gas prices. Let's end this illegal immoral war in Iran, which is driving up fuel costs... I actually would wanna serve on the Agriculture Committee because it does deal with WIC and SNAP benefits.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

I've also pushed as a member of the Nyack school board to invest in Holocaust education programming. A worrying percentage of millennials and Gen Z don't know about the Holocaust, don't know that 6 million Jews were murdered. So we need to reopen and refund both that office at the Department of Education and also the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Justice.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

We need to educate them about how much this administration is hurting them, especially regarding education, from instituting the first federal voucher program to decertifying professional classes of employment like nursing... giving student loans for those, particularly starting with public employees, is the right way to start.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

What we're seeing in this big, ugly bill is the cap for cutting college loan [access]... for grad school, which means that you'll have to come up with the money on another road. That means we're calling winners and losers. This is not the time to be shrinking the pipeline of doctors and lawyers.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

As the daughter of a proud card-carrying teacher and the mom of two kids in public school... Following Donald Trump's election, and let's not forget Betsy DeVos's charter-school installation as Secretary of Education, I stepped up and ran for the school board, where I served two terms. As vice president I spearheaded the county's first racial equity policy.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

My daughter was in Israel for a month in August of 2023... staying in Kibbutzim, one of which was attacked on October 7th. What we see from Congress is that this has become more of a fight over funding than over values. I never want to have to be in a position where we are not in a position to provide Israel the aid it needs to fully defend itself... remembering that one out of four Israelis is also an American citizen.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

I never want to be forced into this position where we are making that kind of choice. And so for me, before voting for more funding, I would want to see a plan of how we bring this conflict to a close, especially with a second conflict going on right next door.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

Donald Trump is the most dangerous and dishonest president we have ever had. And he has dragged us into yet another conflict with no obvious off-ramp... During the first week of this conflict, we lost a member of the military from my town, Clarkstown. So this isn't something that's happening somewhere else.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

My husband's family came from Ukraine... NATO is one of the most important and the most successful peacekeeping operations of the past century, and we need to continue to support it... by reclaiming our rightful place as a leader on the world stage. That certainly includes Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin just refusing to quit.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

I was opposed to this war from the start and it's going about as badly as most would have predicted. There's a reason seven presidents before Donald Trump didn't go into Iran. One of the first service members to die was Major Sorafly Davias from my hometown of Clarkstown. So we need to stop the funding until we understand what Trump's off-ramp is.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

One of the most vital reasons we need to take back the House and cut Donald Trump's presidency in half legislatively is to reclaim our moral place in the world as a beacon of democracy... While we used to be a country that spread democracy, now we have a president who wants to spread autocracy.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

I can love Israel, to which my family has a very personal connection, and disagree with almost everything that Bibi Netanyahu is doing... I wouldn't send a blank check to Bibi and Trump to fund an illegal and immoral war in Iran... I'm the kind of Jewish Democrat you want in Congress right now. [On sanctions] I do not [support them].

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

As a Jewish woman who has friends and family in Israel, this is very personal to me. And the 17th congressional district is 20% Jewish... I do love Israel and yet disagree with so much of what the administration has done... what I personally want to see, which is a path to self-determination with the Palestinian people and a safe and secure Israel.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

My grandfather was a World War II hero, served on the USS Indianapolis... the idea that our president would be questioning the validity of remaining a member of NATO would be unthinkable to him... we are looking again at a draft in December. No one is talking about that, but that is what was in last year's budget.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Once we take back the House and put the Speaker's gavel in Hakeem Jeffries' hands... reclaim our role on the world stage as a beacon for democracy... from rejoining the Paris climate accords to rejoining the World Health Organization. Restoring the funding to USAID... In terms of bringing the conflict in Israel to a close, I support a two-state solution with a path of self-determination for the Palestinian people.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

That's not going to happen when we have $1.5 trillion going to defense spending in next year's budget. As I say time and again, show me your budget and I'll tell you your priorities. And it is certainly, in this administration, more wars rather than protecting our kids and our communities.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

The scenes that are coming out of Gaza are heartbreaking. And the truth is that Netanyahu will continue escalating as long as it keeps himself in power. And Donald Trump and Mike Lawler are too weak to stand up to him and end the war, achieve a ceasefire, bring the hostages home. Israel is the most important ally that we have in the Middle East.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

In Rockland, we have a saying that when they come [for] one of us, they come for all of us. And so whenever we've experienced any kind of hate here in Rockland County, we come together and support each other. And I've been worried from the start of this conflict that this is one conflict and one war that threatens to tear us apart as a community... I believe in a [two]-state solution where all the regional partners come together and support a path towards peace.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

I recruited and led a slate of Democratic candidates to win the first Democratic Supermajority in Rockland County history. I've cut taxes, fully funded law enforcement, and passed gun safety legislation all under a Republican county executive.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

Three days before I was sworn in there was actually a murder-suicide in my district. And folks, that is not the right time to go out with my campaign promise which was to pass a gun safety bill? I said that's exactly the right time. And I went out and six months later I passed it with a unanimous vote.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I've reached across the aisle to pass unanimously both a gun safety bill during my first eight months on the county legislature working with the county executive and by building a coalition also of gun safety advocates, domestic violence prevention advocates, Rockland County Pride Center... it passed unanimously and he signed it the very next day... because gun safety advocates don't always get to see wins, especially at the local level.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Gun violence is the number one killer of children in this country, and every gun death is preventable. Yes, I would push for an assault weapons ban... firing our congressman who stripped Medicaid and SNAP benefits away from our communities while getting a $1.7 billion handout to the gun industry is inexcusable.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

That was the day I made the gun lobby my number one enemy and gun violence prevention one of my top priorities in life... an assault weapons ban, which is my number one priority. We need to get weapons of war off their streets.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

The number one killer of children in this country is gun violence. And so one big preventive care measure we can take is passing an assault weapons ban, getting weapons of war off our streets. ... what I did do is pass a law requiring signage of the additional risks of having a firearm in the home.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

Fully 44% of people in Rockland County where I serve depend on Medicaid. You may have read in the paper a couple of days ago that both Nyack Montefiore and Good Sam hospitals are in danger of closing because they are so reliant on Medicaid payments to keep their doors open. We also have to restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies... because people are already seeing their premiums triple.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

When I get to Congress, I'm going to make healthcare a top priority. That means restoring the ACA tax credits and the Medicaid cuts and Planned Parenthood funding. But I won't stop there. We need to expand Medicare to include vision, dental, and long-term care and hearing care.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

I'm Beth Davidson. Health care is an extremely personal issue to me, [as a] two-time cancer survivor [and] an IVF mom. I know what it's like to spend hours on the phone fighting with your insurance company for the care and the tests and the treatments that you need. I also support Medicare for all who want it with a public option that allows people to opt into Medicare, with Medicare for all being an ultimate goal. The Affordable Care Act tax credits must be reinstalled immediately. I met someone on the [Ossining] train station a few weeks ago whose premium went from a hundred and sixty eight dollars to three hundred and eighteen dollars. It's happening right here in this community, and I'll fight like heck to make sure that we get those tax credits back.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

The effects of the Big Ugly Bill are not theoretical and certainly not to me... as a two-term cancer survivor and IVF mom, this is personal to me. What I support is Medicare for all who want it with a public option that allows people to buy into Medicare or keep their health insurance.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

I support Medicare for All who want it. I believe that is what is most achievable to help the most people right now. So allowing everyone to buy... into Medicare and expand Medicare to include vision and dental.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

Last summer, Mike Lawler voted for the big, ugly bill, which gutted our health care, slashing Medicaid, eliminating the Affordable Care Act tax credits and defunding Planned Parenthood... I'm a two-time cancer survivor. I'm an IVF mom. I support Medicare for all who wants it.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

Medicaid is, yes, health care, but it's also transportation for people with special needs to their jobs. It's supportive housing... I represent a county where one out of six kids don't know where their meal is coming from. And we're going to take $20 million in SNAP cuts per year.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

Our health care system and how broken it is is very personal to me. I am a two time cancer survivor and an IVF mom... I do believe we have to reform our health care system, adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act... many of us refer to it as Medicare for all who want it... restoring the funding that was cut from Medicaid will be one of my top priorities in Congress.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

Health care is a hugely important issue to me as also a two time cancer survivor who knows what it's like to fight with your insurance company. It's basically a second job when you're trying to survive.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

Aside from being our congressman, his consulting firm makes money on all of the policies and messages that we see tearing our community apart... I want to take a moment to talk about the unpaid caregivers in our community... that's a caregiving crisis in this country that I would definitely prioritize when elected to Congress.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

PFAS is a chronic and dangerous problem in the Hudson Valley and in Rockland where I'm raising a daughter, having struggled with infertility myself. I certainly am anxious about the amount of PFAS that she's ingested... As chair of the Rockland County Task Force, I submitted a public comment in December to the New York State Department of Health asking the department to protect New Yorkers' drinking water from federal rollbacks by codifying PFAS regulations at the current federal levels.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

in Rockland where I'm raising a daughter, having struggled with infertility myself. I certainly am anxious about the amount of PFAS that she's ingested. As we know, it causes hormone imbalance and other reproductive problems. So this is something we need to tackle immediately.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Mike Lawler voted to send $170 billion to ICE and DHS while cutting our health care... Medicaid affects everyone... if we don't turn this problem around we're going to see everyone's health care compromised as we see emergency rooms become the war zones of the 90s.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

Our Congressman Mike Lawler said on national television, on Morning Joe, that along with Medicaid and Medicare, to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, Social Security was also on the chopping block... When the White Plains Social Security office closed he blamed the Biden administration — ten minutes later up comes the DOGE list of cuts with our White Plains office right at the top.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Let's start by acknowledging that racism is the public health crisis of our time... maternal morbidity rates are three times higher for black women than they are for white women. Diabetes, black adults are 60% more likely to suffer from diabetes... Black Americans are 54% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease. So yes, this is about restoring the Medicaid cuts. This is about restoring the tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. I've knocked doors and found people whose premiums have doubled, almost tripled.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Fire RFK for starters. ... when the measles epidemic happened in Rockland County in 2019 ... my children both got antisemitic bullying as a result. We have 21 active measles cases in Rockland County right now. We need to maintain a strict vaccine schedule.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

Before the Affordable Care Act... about eight months after I was married I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer that had been growing in my body for at least four or five years. When we tried to start our family I was not covered and we had to pay out of pocket. I know what it's like to fight your insurance company as a second job. We have to stop the price gouging.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

And I'm currently a vice chair of the new housing committee to make sure we create affordable housing, a huge problem for those of us here in the Hudson Valley.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

Housing is absolutely at the root of our affordability crisis. Housing is health care, housing is food security, housing is employment security. And so as vice chair of the first ever Housing Committee, the Rockland County Legislature, I've worked to tackle that crisis.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

Thanks to a Democratic supermajority we have our first ever housing committee on the Rockland County legislature. Rockland County is 4,200 units short of housing and Westchester County is 11,000 units short... We have to stop the price gouging and the private equity firms that are buying up our housing for rental stock and driving up prices for young people.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Housing is the crisis that fuels all other economic crises in this country. Housing is healthcare. Housing is job security... We're at least 30,000 units short of housing between Westchester and Rockland... we did start what's called a halo housing action loan opportunity fund that incentivizes developers to build affordable housing.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

Housing is the biggest crisis of our time... Mike Lawler supported the big awful bill which gutted so many programs... the budget on the table for next year, while giving $1.3 trillion to defense spending, totally eliminates HUD Community Development Block Grants. In the village of Spring Valley they have not had new Section 8 vouchers since George Herbert Walker Bush was president.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Data centers are bad policy, but it's also bad planning. We already have multiple large data centers in Rockland... they bring fire risk. They are major energy sucks. They destroy habitat... what holds us back is the lack of affordable housing. As chair of the environmental committee and chair of our new housing committee, I hold those two things in tension... if we want to bring in companies that actually create jobs with people in them, we need more housing.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

I know what it's going to take to go up against Mike Waller in his own backyard. I've known him a long time. I'm the only Democrat in this race who's beaten Republicans in tough districts, built real grassroots coalition, and delivered results in divided governments. That's what it's going to take to win this district. That's what it's going to take to flip the House of Representatives.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

There's no way you could have known that we would be mourning a second death in Minnesota at the hands of an ICE agent, the first of which our Congressman Mike Lawler calls inevitable.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

When ICE started terrorizing my community and killing American citizens I stepped up again and introduced a bill to protect my constituents from ICE. From the moment Mike Lawler caught wind of my bill he has attacked me relentlessly but if he thinks he and his MAGA allies can intimidate me he doesn't know me.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

So my first priority is that this would be to end the Trump administration's campaign of terror against our communities. That starts with impeaching [Kristi Noem], if she's still in her job. Of course, to investigating all officers who commit atrocities against citizens harming and killing them, and not one more dime for ICE until all of the guardrails that we all just agreed on have been established. And what I'll say is the most effective way to achieve real immigration reform is by bringing people together and building consensus on both sides of the aisle. It did pass the Senate bipartisan immigration reform bill, but was killed, a DOA by Mike Johnson and Mike Lawler, to make Donald Trump happy.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

I stepped up to introduce a bill called the Safety and Dignity for All Act... I'm not giving up, even though Mike Lawler and his MAGA allies in Rockland and elsewhere have attacked me relentlessly for it... I would never work for any company that helps Donald Trump and ICE track, target or detain immigrants and spy on US citizens.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

Alongside my colleagues, I stepped up and introduced the Safety and Dignity for All Act, which is a bill that will prevent county resources here in Rockland from assisting ICE with civil immigration matters while honoring judicial warrants and following the law. If the federal government in ICE wants to come for my neighbors, they're gonna have to go through me. Welcome the stranger appears no fewer than 36 times in the Torah.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

Two nights ago, I co-introduced a bill on the Rockland County Legislature to prevent county employees from participating in federal immigration activities... no more ICE in schools or churches... not one more dime to ICE until there's accountability.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

I would not vote for a DHS funding bill until we see some real reforms, real oversight accountability for those that have been killed. As of now, ICE still faces no accountability and officers are immune for any violations they commit against American citizens or immigrants. We need to see real guard rails before we send another dime to ICE, which by the way has been funded with DHS to the tune of $170 billion plus.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

I have already stepped up and introduced legislation to say that not a penny of our county dollars will go to help ICE deport our neighbors. And Mike Lawler has attacked me relentlessly for it. But she [Conley] is on the payroll of two AI firms that help Trump and ICE track, target and detain law-abiding immigrants and U.S. citizens.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

I'm proud to have introduced our version called the Dignity and Safety for All Act in Rockland County, which will protect all Rockland residents from any county employees divulging data or information, including law enforcement ... so that everyone feels safe accessing every service they need.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

So, as I've said, I'm working to end the collusion of Rockland County, any Rockland County resources with ICE going forward. And I want to be clear, there is no 287G agreements in Rockland County. Mike Lawler is taking focus off of what so many, including nonprofits I gathered, are afraid of, which is the sharing of client data with ICE. Our local domestic violence prevention agency says that clients are increasingly afraid to come forward and report crimes. We also know that food insecure families are not coming at the same rate to get the food they need because they're afraid that their data may be shared. After Renee Nicole [Goode] and her partner were killed, our Congressman Mike Lawler went on social media and blamed the Americans who had been gunned down at Point Blank Range instead of ICE. That is why we're afraid.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

This has been the centerpiece of my campaign, not by design, but by necessity. It is the moral calling of our time. We are a nation of immigrants and Ossining is a community of immigrants. So I was proud to step up as a legislator. I've introduced a version of it in Rockland called the Safety and Dignity for All Act, expanded and focused a little bit to make sure that county resources don't go towards sharing any information or data about our immigrant community with ICE. We have a local school district with a 10[%] chronic daily absenteeism rate because kids are afraid to go to school. It must be reined in. I want masks off, cameras on, and a safe and sane path to legal immigration, especially for our dreamers.

Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce — NY-17 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum · 2026-05-07

I stepped up early this year to introduce the Safety and Dignity [for] All Act based on Westchester's Immigrant Protection Act... And crime actually has gone down [in] Westchester between 2020 and 2024. So [it's] a false flag that passing this bill would increase crime in Rockland County... There's a 10% chronic absenteeism rate in East Ramapo Public Schools because kids are afraid to go to school and parents are afraid to drop them off. So this isn't happening somewhere else, it's happening here.

Spring Valley & Nyack NAACP / League of Women Voters — NY-17 Democratic Primary Forum (Rockland Community College) · 2026-06-02

Go back to the drawing board. We need a system that is humane and streamlined that keeps people safe and allows everyone who plays by the rules a way to a full path to citizenship.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

As I've said before tonight, being a successful policy maker means meeting people where they are. And I do think borders matter. And I think when some people hear, whether it's abolish or dismantle, they're going to hear that we think we don't need immigration enforcement at all. And I don't think that's true and I don't think the majority of people in New York 17 thinks that's true. I do think we can build something that's much better, a system that is [fairer], that is just, and that leads with humanity and the rule of law.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

I would move immediately to impeach Kristi Noem and to end Trump's campaign of terror against all of our communities... while we will always have to enforce immigration in some way, we need to do it in a way that is compassionate, that provides a path to citizenship, particularly for our dreamers.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

I'm proud to have stepped up with my colleagues and introduced the Safety and Dignity for All Act, which will protect our residents from ICE's lawless and brutal tactics... no matter how many times Mike Lawler attacks me for it. I don't think the people who are afraid of ICE care what we call it as long as we are fixing the problem.

2026 Democratic Congressional Candidates Forum (Haverstraw Town Hall) · 2026-04-16

Let's be real, for this administration, the cruelty is the point, with incompetence being an unfortunate byproduct. Such a perfect example of Mike Lawler's equal parts of duplicitousness and [feckless]ness. When we found out the Social Security Office was closing, he tried to claim the Biden administration ... 10 minutes later, up comes the doge list of cuts for the week, and there's our Social Security Office of White Plains right at the top. ... I have a constituent ... an 80 year old woman, to go fight for those benefits. I had to tell her that office was closed.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

The 300 more outside, all lifting their voices in support of my Dignity and Safety for All Act, which will protect all Rockland residents from the cruelty and barbarism of ICE. ... Mike Lawler will always stand with Donald Trump ... I will always stand with the people.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

A lot of the decisions that he's making now, whether it be pretending to be for women's reproductive rights while voting or not taking up action that could be very consequential to whether or not women have access to reproductive health.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

As a mom who sent a daughter off to college with fewer rights than I had at her age, I want Roe versus Wade to once again be the law of the land.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

We're going to do our part at the county level to protect reproductive rights by establishing the buffer zone. And what we were going to do to prevent a lot of violence... within the first eight months of being elected.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

It is outrageous that my daughter is going off to college this fall with fewer rights than I did in 1990 when I went off to college. He has a virulently anti-choice record that goes all the way back through his time in the assembly. He fundraised for crisis pregnancy centers, sham operations that pushed dangerous and unproven methods that you can reverse your medication abortion.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

As someone who's worked my entire life to elect pro-choice Democratic women to office, it's amazing that there's four of us here... appropriations would definitely be the dream committee. And then I would also say foreign affairs.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

He is the most radical, right-wing, anti-choice member of Congress this district has ever had. ... the New York State Legislature stepped up and passed six bills to protect access to abortion care for women in New York State, and Mike Lawler voted against five of them.

NY-17 Healthcare Candidate Forum (Bedford Dems) · 2026-02-04

I'm sure many watching will remember the night that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died... my girlfriends and I looked at each other and said, well, that's the end of Roe v. Wade. Our husbands... said, no, you guys are overreacting... and look where we are... I support term limits for justices as well... banning members of Congress from trading stocks... and closing the revolving door.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

Hello, NIAF, I'm Beth Davidson, nice to see you all. It's so great to be here at NIAF Center, one of my favorite places. When we talk about what's happening with the Big Ugly Bill, with all the cruel and chaotic policies out of the Trump Administration, they impact families right here in this building. NIAF Center provides low cost before and after school care, so many other programs that serve our community. Right behind me is where we figured out how to feed kids during COVID, when I proudly served as, in my second term, as a school board member of NIAF Public Schools, and we built a food pantry from scratch for our families here in NIAF. That's what our community does.

Indivisible Rockland CD-17 Candidate Forum (Nyack Center) · 2026-01-13

Mike Lawler has won this district twice for three reasons, and I'm the only one in this primary that really neutralizes all three. As a Rockland County legislator... I led a slate of Democrats to win the first Democratic supermajority on our legislature, so I know I can win Rockland.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

Mike Lawler sold out our community. He defunded Medicaid, food stamps, Planned Parenthood. He failed to keep his main campaign promise by keeping the SALT cap in place. He had two constituents dragged out of his town hall because he was afraid to answer questions.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I was the only candidate on the stage who was actually beating Republicans in tough districts... The national Democrats and political insiders in DC have lost the plot. Where's the fight? Where's the fire? Where's the moral clarity? I've already raised half a million dollars in six weeks and earned 150 endorsements.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

I knew exactly what was at stake going up against Mike Lawler. It was $42 million spent in this congressional seat last year, 1.7 million from Elon Musk alone... He folded like a cheap suit when it came to the SALT cap. He gutted Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, food stamps.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I led a slate of Democrats to win the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history while boosting turnout by 20%, right in Mike Lawler's backyard. I've cut taxes, I've passed common sense gun safety reforms, I've preserved hundreds of acres of open space... You don't have to ask what I might do in Congress. I can tell you what I've already done.

JDCA NY-17 Democratic Primary Issues Forum (Jewish community) · 2026-04-23

the clean energy tax credits that Mike Lawler gutted and then realized he gutted too much, writing a strongly worded letter to the US Senate to ask for some of the money back. And as I've said time and again, we don't need a pen pal, we need a congressman.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Every single one of these cuts we've talked about tonight has been to give tax breaks to Mike Lawler and Donald Trump's billionaire donors. It's outrageous, it's disgusting, and it's the number one reason we have to take back the House next year.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

I'd consider it [a third impeachment], but it's very far down on my list. I'm interested in solutions now to make people's lives better every day.

Democratic Primary Forum: Four Candidates in NY-17 (The Brian Lehrer Show) · 2026-05-29

We can't stop Donald Trump's dangerous agenda if we don't flip New York 17 and take back the House. And we've seen that not just anybody can beat Mike Lawler... we can't just be the party that's against Donald Trump and Mike Lawler. We have to be for something.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

In this primary, I'm the only one who's fighting back against Donald Trump in real time, passing common-sense gun safety legislation, fighting to protect our drinking water, and standing up to ICE... I led the slate of Democrats that delivered the first-ever Democratic supermajority on the Rockland County Legislature while boosting turnout by 20% right in Mike Lawler's backyard.

LWVW and LWV Rockland Candidate Forum for CD-17 Democratic Primary · 2026-06-03

We already know that Mike Lawler clawed back clean water funding, including a project right here in Ossining... The big ugly law guts the tax credits that will not only make it harder for us to reach our net zero emission goals by 2040, but are killing jobs, more than 6,000 jobs in New York State. You don't have to wonder if I can win a purple seat. I've done it before, the only one on the stage who's already beaten Republicans in tough territory.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17

Wheelabrator has been a nightmare for your communities and for your children... the American Lung Association's Clean Air Scorecard: Rockland got an F, Westchester got an F, Putnam got an F, Dutchess came in with a D... that's not going to happen when we have $1.5 trillion going to defense spending in next year's budget. As I say time and again, show me your budget and I'll tell you your priorities.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Mike Lawler won this race for three reasons. Because he knows this district inside and out. Because he plays a fake moderate really well on cable television. And because he's made real inroads with Jewish voters... I actually fight for it. And I'm a trusted Jewish leader in my community as well.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

We can't stop Donald Trump's dangerous agenda unless we take back the house, and there is no path to taking back the house without winning New York 17. I'm the only Democrat in this race who's beaten Republicans in tough districts, built real grassroots coalitions, and delivered results in divided government.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

There is one person who is responsible for all the ways in which our communities are truly suffering and that is our congressman Mike Lawler. We have to beat him and I know how to do it. We do it by holding him accountable for his out-of-step radical right-wing record on everything from gun safety to the environment to women's health.

WCDC NY-CD17 Pre-Primary Debate at Manhattanville University · 2026-04-09

I'm doing this for the health care workers who are terrified of losing their jobs, for the immigrants who are terrified of being ripped from their families and disappeared, for the LGBTQ plus community, particularly trans people and trans kids who have been a target of this administration from day one.

Orangetown Dems NY-17 Candidate Forum (AME Zion Church, Sparkill) · 2026-01-29

We cannot afford to have a member of Congress who needs on-the-job training when it comes to confronting and addressing the climate crisis head on. I've proven I can build coalitions across the aisle on climate policy... I'm the only candidate in the field who's beaten Republicans in tough races and delivered the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history while boosting turnout by 20% right in Mike Lawler's backyard.

Climate Candidates Forum — NY-17 Congressional District · 2026-04-27

Before that, I was prosecuting in the [Manhattan] district attorney's office since 2000... we [were] seven prosecutors [who] started what was the first ever identity theft [unit]... My father actually was a Republican... [a] state Senator, [the] deciding vote for marriage equality well before any Democrat at the national level.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

This district wants to be pro-choice. We're all pro-choice. This district wants health care. This district wants the same things we all do. But if the perception of you is just New York City, left of left of left... [it's] not gonna work at all. The same people, the same playbook, you get the same result. We're gonna lose.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

If you can't believe in the rule of law, you cannot respect the Constitution, and you cannot respect the rights... then you have no place serving us. If you don't get it at that base level, [that's] the problem.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

When Doge came in under the sort of fake premise that you're cutting costs by cutting people, you're cutting efficiency and you're likely causing expenses elsewhere... You can't continue to remove people from positions that we need to make the government operate efficiently and effectively. [It] seems like it's saving dollars, but it could be close to exponentially more.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

We need to incentivize primary care physicians because it's difficult... can you incentivize primary care physicians to [go into] primary care, whether that's grant [money], whether that's scholarship money... you need to get them, because if you don't have them, [no] matter what you're paying, you're not going to get those services.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

One of the things that we had done [in] New Castle... was to increase the minimum [that] the county required for development. Though unsuccessful, we tried to establish something called the form-based code... It's a bit of [a problem for] a municipality to say we don't want affordability here because we don't want to burden our school districts.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

I'm Jessica Reinmann... ten years ago I was driving in Mount Kisco and I saw families walking to the bus stop without coats... and that day I started 914 Cares. The day after the 2024 election it hit me that this Trump administration was going to dismantle the safety nets that all of the families I worked for had relied on.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

My name is Jessica Reinmann. I have lived in Chappaqua for 19 years... In 2014, I was driving on Lexington Avenue in Mount Kisco and I saw a number of families walking to the bus stop without coats... I drove to Target and I bought every coat that I could... And I say that that's the day that 914 Cares was born.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

And it was the day that 914 cares was born. 914 cares is a nonprofit that provides basic essentials like clothing, diapers and school supplies to families in need across Westchester County... After the red wave in 2024 I was horrified.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

For the last decade, I have been a full time unpaid volunteer... In the first of 2025 I was forced to step down as my position of CEO of 914 cares, because I was really concerned that me running for Congress against Mike Lawler would put a spotlight on 914 cares... since Donald Trump says the IRS can reconsider the federal 501c3 status.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

Clean air and clean water are basic human rights... Under the Trump-Lawler administration they have rolled back emission standards, increased drilling, and decimated the EPA and FEMA. We need to rejoin the Paris Accords immediately... In the last budget bill he has put public lands on sale to corporations — we need to save our public land.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Indian Point... has two major problems: one is environmental hazard and two is what it will do for [energy]. We can either build some sort of solar field that would bring jobs to the region, or we could do a battery storage plant. Both of them hinge on figuring out how to get rid of that nuclear waste... isn't either a terrorist target or an environmental crisis.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

As a loud and proud Jewish woman, I have been advocating for Chabad of Bedford for the last two weeks... As a lawyer, I can tell you confidently that the town of Mount Kisco is committing something that is unconstitutional... the Constitution says that we have a right of assembly and a freedom of religion.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I hate that there are vehicles of war on our streets... the first thing that we can do in Congress is to turn the house blue and change the speaker of the house back to Hakeem Jeffries... the only thing that I can think about when I see those vehicles on the street are the pictures I have seen of Nazi Germany in 1933.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

When the framers wrote our Constitution, they put Congress as number one. Article One of our Constitution is Congress. And the most powerful person in Congress is the Speaker of the House. So what is the most important thing that we need to do in 2026? Turn the House blue... and bring Hakeem Jeffries back into the Speaker [role].

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

The most important election of every single one of your lifetimes is in June of 2026... Every pundit, every article that talks about turning the House blue talks about it running through New York 17. I don't have a political history, so when Mike Lawler and his operatives come after me... what are they going to find? That I help undocumented people with the basic essentials they need in life.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

I've already raised over $310,000, and I will continue to raise money, but let me tell you this. Campaigns are not about fundraising... every dollar that I raise, do you know what I say? How many diapers can I buy with that dollar?

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

There needs to be fair parental leave for fathers, mothers, all parents... We need to increase parental leave to at least a year. It's bad enough we have to go back to work when our children are only three months old, then to have almost my entire paycheck disappear to pay for childcare on top of that. We need good subsidies and to increase the child tax credit.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

We do have to tax billionaires... but waste, fraud and abuse... I do think that there's a lot of waste. And so what we had is a president come in and just dismantle 90 years worth of infrastructure in 30 days. What we need is a Congress that goes in with oversight, looks at every single piece of the economy... and finds where we can cut money.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

It's not necessarily the tariffs themselves, but it's the uncertainty. Consumers don't know what the price is going to be, and manufacturers don't know what the tariff is going to be... We have seen almost a doubling in price for the strollers and car seats that we purchased for our baby bank program. It's not just hitting us; it's hitting everywhere.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

Public education is the backbone of democracy... It is imperative that students learn to read before third grade, or they are 20% less likely to graduate high school. At 914 Cares we made sure every student in Westchester County had their own personal library. I oppose all tax dollars going anywhere but to public education. I oppose vouchers.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

We need to reach the young voters. Donald Trump and Mike Lawler did a great job reaching the young voters... We have to reach them where they are. We have to go on TikTok and X and Instagram and whatever else it is that they do... that's where they get their information from.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

No one should not go to a school they want to go to because they can't afford it... [Loan forgiveness for teachers and health care workers] was one of Trump's first executive orders [to cut]. The nonprofit sector is the largest employer in Westchester County, and people can't afford to go into that sector... the way we do that is forgiving their debt.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

I am a pro-Israel Democrat, that I will fight for Israel in Congress, that I will not put any restrictions on aid to Israel. I will be a fierce advocate for the Israel-United States relationship... I dropped my daughter off at college four years ago, three weeks before October 7.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

I believe that it is the requirement of developed nations around the world to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza and Sudan and Haiti... That aid would be much easier if Donald Trump and Mike Lawler had not slashed USAID. I do believe that it is not our responsibility as Americans to make decisions on governments in other countries.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

[Stand by] Ukraine, with diplomacy first always, but military aid and weapons aid... we need to make sure we allow our allies to continue living lives in democracies... He has made a mockery of the U.S.'s intervention and protection of our allies... we stop Putin's march into Europe.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

Gun safety legislation. Guns are the number one cause of death for children and teens in the United States. That is not okay... There is commonsense gun legislation that we could pass, universal background checks, red flag laws. These are things that 90% of the country agrees on.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Guns are the leading cause of suicide in the United States today. Guns are also the number one killer of children under the age of 18... I would immediately close the gun show loophole... I am a full advocate for red flag laws.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

Healthcare is a basic human right. In order to live with dignity and respect, every person in the United States should have healthcare. Mike Lawler and Donald Trump are taking that away from you... We must make sure that Congress continues to maintain the Affordable Care Act the way it is.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

The biggest place where we've seen him fail is the budget bill... Let's talk about the budget bill and the things that he accepted in the budget bill. Cutting Medicaid and Medicare. And they're talking now, because they can't find the dollars they need, about cutting more Medicaid and Medicare.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Social Security is an earned benefit... 40% of Americans over 65 rely on Social Security as their only form of income — if they lose it, it is life and death. We need to increase the Social Security tax cap; there's a bill calling for a $400,000 FICA threshold and I 100% support that. One of my volunteers lives on $2,874 a month, and Mike Lawler and Donald Trump want to take that away from her.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

The largest health care agency in Westchester County had to lay off 68 health care workers by the end of February because of the budget... When health care workers get laid off, they're not rich; they're going on the social programs that are being cut.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

Affordability is the biggest issue facing New York 17 and affordability starts with housing... When you are paying over $2,000 a month in rent, and you are a young person or a young family, you can't save for a down payment. We need our federal government to come in and help our young people so that they don't have to put down an $800,000 down payment.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

People here can't afford to rent or own a home, even when they're working. People in our homeless shelters are not not working. They all have jobs and they still can't make ends meet... HUD has a lot of programs that help first-time homebuyers, which our current representative is definitely not [promoting].

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

I also want to talk about immigration for a second, and recognize that in New York 17 we have a significant number of undocumented people who are doing work and are not being recognized and included as part of our community... we need them to stay here and be able to afford to live here.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

Today, Donald Trump came out with a whole host list of countries that aren't allowed to come here. And one of them was Haiti. So there's a lot of [Haitians] in our community in CD17 and Mike Lawler has had a lot of their support. So Mike Lawler's statement today on the ban... was Donald Trump should not ban [Haitians], but if he does...

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

The day after Donald Trump was inaugurated, there was a big meeting in Peekskill. It was how are we going to wrap around our community of immigrants who are now scared to get the services they need? You know who was at that meeting? I was. Because 914 Cares provides the services that they need.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

I want them to understand that their right to go to a hospital should be unimpinged. They don't have to have fear that they're going to go to a hospital in the case of emergency and be taken off by ICE. I want them to understand that safety and community and how we all live together is with dignity and respect.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

What Lawler and Trump have done is they have said everything that's wrong with America is the immigrant's fault. For the last decade I have worked in every immigrant community in Westchester County, and our immigrant community is the backbone of our community... People who I have known for 10 years are scared to leave their homes... second and third generation Americans who just happen to look Hispanic. That is not okay.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

On Tuesday, Donald Trump rolled back Biden-era coverage for women who go to emergency rooms and they're going to die if they don't get an abortion. And Mike Lawler claims he's pro-choice, yet when Trump rolled back those protections, Mike Lawler said nothing.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

We have to beat him. We don't have a choice... we have to be on offense and not defense. We've spent too much time in this community being on defense... He tells us one thing, and he votes another. He says one thing, and then Donald Trump says, I know your district better than you do. And he votes as he's told.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

Whoever is running, if it is not Mike Lawler, will be the same person. They will be a snake, a liar, and a chameleon. Because the only way to win this district as a Republican... is to say the things that [Trump and Mike Johnson] like... And they're gonna have to vote that way because Donald Trump and the MAGA machine will have paid for them.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

I registered as a Democrat the day after the 2016 election. When Donald Trump became the nominee of the Republican Party, I made a promise to myself and my children that if he won the election, I would drive to Peekskill, wait two and a half hours to check a mark on a box and become a Democrat.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at New Castle Town Hall · 2025-09-10

What do I see as our biggest problem in the Hudson Valley? Mike Lawler. And what am I gonna do to fix it? I'm gonna fix his butt in 2026.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #2 (Yorktown Heights) · 2025-06-05

My name is John Sullivan and I'm running for Congress because I know exactly who Donald Trump is and what he's doing to this country. I'm also a dad, a husband and a cancer survivor and until recently, I spent almost 17 years in the FBI, where I support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

My name is John Sullivan and I jumped into this race after serving almost 17 years in the FBI... We're seeing the norms and the procedures and the processes all just fall apart under Donald Trump and under Mike Lawler. He is co-signing this MAGA agenda while he pretends to masquerade as this moderate for all of us.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

When I was in the FBI, I met teams that have worked on so many different cases... I led teams that included running the National Gang Intelligence Center of the FBI... and I also led the counterintelligence investigation right here in New York with the Westchester Residency Agency, as well as the 26th Federal Plaza in 2015 and 2016.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

We're sitting in a heat dome... It's going to make people sick and have people die. Mike Lawler has done everything possible to hurt the climate initiatives put forth under the Biden administration. But we Democrats also don't do something great — we put it inside something called the Inflation Reduction Act and don't advertise the success of our policies.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

That means an all-of-the-above approach, but energy that is safe... Maybe we move it further into a less densely populated area north of the city and actually invest in the grid to bring that energy down to us, lowering our costs, limiting the safety impact, taking it away from the river.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

When I was in the FBI, one of the teams that I helped run was the environmental team that worked in South America looking at all of the deforestation that was happening to build out mineral lines, and the trafficking of endangered species for profit. That money was going to fund drugs and fund crime here in the United States. The environment is also a security risk as we pull out of things like the Paris climate accords.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

The very first thing I'll do when I'm a member of Congress is I will take a vote to make Hakeem Jeffries the speaker of the house. Mike Lawler in the last election went after Democrats as being soft on crime, and that's something he's going to have a hard time doing when I'm standing up there on that debate stage.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

My job required me to follow the facts, required me to uphold the Constitution... I was the lead investigator initially on January 6th... Then my team was identifying the folks who were in the Capitol by CCTV footage, and I was signing off on those initial investigations. Different leadership at the FBI didn't sit well with that, because I actually followed the Constitution.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

The Trump tariffs... it's going to add on average about $9,200 to the price of a new home. Mike Lawler talked a lot about intervening in April. He said if the tariffs keep going Congress will intervene. And here we are in June. It's time for the intervention — we're going to end his tenure in Congress.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

I'm the proud product of two CWA union members for over 40 years... The PRO Act is one of the perfect examples of what I would make a key priority when elected to Congress. Mike Lawler has not made the PRO Act something he was willing to co-sponsor... I wish I had a union. I know a lot of people in the federal government right now who are losing their jobs who wish they had a union.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

We should call these tariffs taxes, because that's exactly what they are... these tariffs are driving those costs even more, over almost $9,000 a year to build a new house. So when I go to Congress, very first day we're going to talk about how we're going to take back power over tariffs.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

When we got back to America we had to figure out childcare and it turns out $2,500 a month is the going rate... There are flexible spending accounts that give about $5,000 a year tax-free for childcare. Under COVID it went up to $10,000, then snapped back to $5,000. That's a very simple fix that brings down people's tax burden.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

They are gouging student loans, they are using it as a money maker... A friend of mine has her PhD... her student loan payments to this day, she is 41 years old, are over $1,500 a month and her projected payoff date is when she is 68. I will support policy that allows folks who go into public service, nurses, teachers, doctors, firemen, police officers... we need to repay their student loans.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

When I went over to Israel for three years, not only was it a great experience working to fight against Hamas and Hezbollah, being in the tunnels of Gaza and having the Iron Dome intercept a rocket by my head and running into a store with my son who was in the stroller.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

We need to start looking at how we can shrink the government, smartly with a scalpel, not a chainsaw... USAID, all of that funding is gone, those programs are stopping, but then we have other powers like China come in and fill the gap there already in Africa. When China is in Africa and it's seen as an ally, the United States is unable to rely on that soft power.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

When we give arms to Ukraine, what we're doing is giving them the surpluses in our stockpile and then spending that money here in the United States to develop newer weapons... It's actually an investment in the U.S. economy. Putin is a dictator, he is a thug, he may be someone our current president looks up to, but he is also someone we should not [appease]. That means making sure we aid Ukraine [with] every tool necessary.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

When it comes to safety, it's bringing that background of protecting not just the country but our communities from some of the worst predators and criminals. We need common sense [reform]... we need background checks... weapons [that] don't belong on our streets.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

It's parents like all of us that we talked about who are appalled that this Congress, Mike Lawler and the Republicans, seem to accept gun violence as just a foregone conclusion in America.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

As we're seeing these Medicaid cuts that are coming forward, those costs are going to get passed on to the rest of us because we have to cover the basic expenses of treating someone, even if Medicaid is no longer existing. Looking at the exchange right now, it's around $2,000 a month for a family. You're choosing really between eating and having your health care.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

Mike Lawler is an operator, he is astute, he wants to lie and lie... What will work is one of you getting on a commercial and me interviewing you and saying, how is Mike Lawler's big ugly bill [hurting] me... at Sunshine Home Care in Rockland County, one of the largest providers of home health care here in the area.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

Healthcare is a human right, full stop... When you resign your position at the FBI you lose your health insurance. I was searching the Affordable Care Act to understand how much coverage for a family of three would cost — over $2,000 a month. Mike Lawler's most recent vote for that tax bill raises the cost of Hudson Valley families' insurance by over 30%.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

As a member of Congress, my opportunity is to bring home those resources, bring home the money to actually help fund those projects, but not to dictate where those projects will be... It is bringing down costs, and so we're going to bring down those costs by building more of it.

Mt. Pleasant Dems CD-17 Candidate Forum (Sleepy Hollow Senior Center) · 2025-09-18

If he truly cares about the immigrant crisis that we're seeing in the United States, he could have voted for the bill or forced it to come to the floor during the last Congress when there was a negotiated bipartisan plan. Donald Trump said he'd rather run on a problem than run on a solution, and Mike Lawler liked that idea too.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

The path to victory in this race really is calling Mike Lawler out for all of his mistakes and missteps and purposeful missteps at the direction of Elon Musk, and obviously Donald Trump. He masquerades as a moderate, but he's actually really enabling the MAGA agenda, the Medicaid cuts are going to be hurting all of our communities.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

Donald Trump, if I could borrow a little bit from my law enforcement background, is robbing us of all that we are as a country, and Mike Lawler is the one driving the getaway car. It's our seniors seeing their savings dwindle, our families worried about losing health care because of Medicaid cuts, kids who can't believe we have an administration that won't even say climate change.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I'm Nick Porfilio, and my family is the American Dream. My grandfather left behind the farm in Italy, and came to this country looking for a better life. He settled in the Bronx and sold fruit at Hunts Point Market.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I'm running because I believe the government has a place in our lives. I'm living proof that the government and the programs the people in this room built over the past hundred years work. Democratic policies and programs work, they just do.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

The number one issue that they continue to say is an issue is the economy. And I'm a business oriented candidate who's uniquely qualified to solve this number one issue. My mother told me, we've worked our entire lives, and now in retirement, we can't pay our bills.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

The first thing I want to do is I would stop this idiotic trade war that serves no purpose other than to line Donald Trump's pockets. It's driving up prices for consumers, and it's destroying small businesses like my own. We need to foster healthy and mutually beneficial trade relationships with other countries, while at the same time bringing in the strategic vital manufacturing capabilities.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I'm going to make sure that we put the American consumer ahead of greedy corporations, because current prices are going up not because of any particular cost pressures, but because corporations are being greedy. These corporations are having record executive compensation and billion dollar stock buybacks, while benefiting from historically low corporate tax rates.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

Donald Trump, a man who lives in a golden penthouse, was able to convince working class people that he actually cares about them, mostly through lies. What we really need is to tell people and show them that we are like them. I grew up in the Bronx, there were five of us in an 800 square foot apartment.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

We're going to make student loans affordable for our 18 year olds who are currently being charged 6%, 8% interest rates, even though having a student loan and an educated workforce is a national asset.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

In 2013, while in New Orleans for a friend's wedding, I survived a mass shooting. At a Mother's Day parade, a gunman walked up to a small crowd and fired indiscriminately into it, shooting 19 people, including the person standing next to me. The gunman was a felon who shouldn't have had access to a gun. Enough is enough. We need to make sure that people who shouldn't have guns don't have guns.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

We do live in the wealthiest country in the world. We have the smartest people, but we have the worst health care. The health care system is broken because the incentives are not aligned. The providers don't get paid to keep you healthy, they get paid when you're sick. We also have an insurance industry that takes all the money and then continues to deny legitimate claims.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I'm going to make sure that prescription products come down, and that companies cannot charge more in the US than they do abroad. We pay something like 25 times what other industrial countries pay for the same medications.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I want to talk about bringing the housing prices down. I recently bought a house and the housing prices are crazy, especially in this community where things are going for 600,000 dollars and then in 20 days for 1.3 million dollars. Regular families cannot afford these things.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

I haven't spoken to a single person, when you talk about social security cuts and all the cuts to the social safety net, people get pissed. Not a single person has been like, oh that's great, let's cut everyone's social security.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #1 (Bedford) · 2025-05-28

We also need to clarify the use of AI software. I think it's important, this is an opportunity for Congress to get ahead of what will certainly be a bigger problem in the months and years to come. We should not be relying on machines to arrest people based on some AI assessments that work around probable cause. We need to be getting back to our judicial mechanisms.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

I'm Peter Chatzky. We are a nation of immigrants. There are 53 million immigrants living in the U.S. It's more than 15% of our population. It's 19% of the U.S. workforce. The current administration is demonizing immigrants. We need to become, once again, a welcoming country. We must abolish ICE. It has been a total failure. It is making our neighborhoods less safe. It's causing an increase in crime. As fewer people are comfortable calling their local police, it's increasing domestic violence cases. I ask that all my fellow candidates join me in recognizing the failure and calling for ICE to move on. We need to be reallocating the resources toward an efficient path for citizenship, permanent residence, for all those that call on.

CCoHOPE Indivisible CD-17 Immigration/ICE Candidate Forum · 2026-03-01

My name is Peter Chatzky... I'm the CEO of a software company called Maproot. I started it in my 20s, still going strong. I was first elected mayor in 2003, the youngest mayor elected... I've been elected five times. In those roles I have written more than 70 laws.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum #3 (Sleepy Hollow) · 2025-06-12

I'm probably the only candidate here who has actually fought with Donald Trump, and I won... fighting against the golf course that Donald Trump was proposing to build in Briarcliff. We formed a coalition, hired landscape architects and land use counsel, presented an alternative plan, and made Donald Trump explain why our plan was not as good as his. We won that battle.

WCDC CD-17 Candidate Forum at Croton Free Library (Labor & Youth) · 2025-06-23

Let's believe in science once again. The IPCC summarizes hundreds of thousands of research articles on climate change and the environment. We need to take their recommendations seriously. We need to rejoin the Paris Accord. The facts are out there, we have to stop denying what's coming in the future.

Energy & The Environment CD17 Candidate Forum (Ossining Dems + Green Ossining) · 2025-11-17