The forums

Moderator 0:00 Good evening, and welcome to our candidate forum for New York's 17th congressional district here in the Hudson Valley. My name is Suzanne Barclay, and I'm the co-president of the League of Women Voters of Rockland County. Our Rockland League has partnered with the League of Women Voters of Westchester County to bring you tonight's forum. This evening, you will have the opportunity to hear five candidates' views on issues of importance to CD17, so you can make an informed decision when you vote. These are the candidates who have qualified to appear on the ballot in this month's Democratic primary. For tonight's forum, there will be no audience participation. Rather, the questions the candidates will be answering were previously submitted by you, residents of CD17. A committee of League members reviewed the questions and organized them to include as many issues as possible. I'd like to explain the League's video recording policy, which has been shared with our candidates before tonight's forum. This forum is being conducted by Zoom and recorded, and it's also being simultaneously broadcast to the public. The recording will appear subsequently on the Westchester and Rockland League websites. Any use of this recording requires the advance approval by the Westchester League. The recording must be aired in its entirety. No one is permitted to edit footage for campaign or other purposes. So tonight, our moderator is Marcia Brewster from the River Towns League, and in keeping with League policy, she is not a voter in CD17, but resides in Greenberg. Marcia has served as the president of the UN Association Westchester Chapter for many years. Having worked at the United Nations for over 30 years, she devoted her career to programs related to sustainable development and gender equality. Now, it's my pleasure to introduce Michael Philbin, a junior at Hendrick Hudson High School, who will explain a little bit about the League of Women Voters and what civic involvement means to him. Michael.

Audience 2:20 Hello, I'm Michael Philbin. I am a member of the League of Women Voters, Northwest Westchester County. Since 1920, the League of Women Voters has run a nonpartisan grassroots political organization, working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy for advocacy, education, and litigation at the local, state, and national levels. The League does not support or oppose candidates or political parties. The League is fully committed to ensuring compliance, in principle and in practice, with the national organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion policy. Membership is open to everyone 16 years of age or older. To me, civic involvement is important because it's the best way for us to create the best possible future. Voting or participating in our government allows us to influence how the political landscape develops, and I work with the League because they help all citizens build the world they want to see, regardless of one's personal beliefs. The League, I can make America a better place by empowering others with the ability to vote, and through this, we can all have a brighter future. Thank you.

Moderator 3:32 Thank you, John. Thank you, Michael. That was excellent. Marcia, the floor is yours. Thank you, Suzanne, for the introduction, and thank you to Michael. Good evening to our candidates and to participants on the Zoom call. I'm pleased to introduce all five candidates, Democratic primary candidates, listed alphabetically in the race to serve congressional district 17 in the U.S. House of Representatives. They are John Cappello, Cait Conley, Beth Davidson, Effie Phillips-Daley, and Mike Sacks. The forum will be recorded and will be available on the websites of both the League of Women Voters of Westchester County and the League of Women Voters of Rockland County. Our timekeeper this evening is Anastasia Bardone, a recent graduate of Pace University. Welcome to you all. Before we get started, I would like to go over a few ground rules. The order of opening statements has been determined by lots that were drawn before the meeting. The order of closing statements will be in the reverse order of opening statements. The order in which candidates will respond to questions will be rotated by the moderator to assure fairness. The allotted time for opening and closing statements will be one and a half minutes. The opening statements will be followed by questions prepared by the League from questions submitted to candidates night by email and electronic form. These questions have not been shared with candidates prior to this evening's forum. The moderator will direct each question to each candidate, to all candidates, and each candidate will have one and a half minutes to answer. A candidate will be allowed to finish a sentence once started, but the moderator will enforce strict response times. If a candidate does not use all the time allotted for a response, the unused time cannot be applied to any other question or purpose. Each candidate will be allowed up to two rebuttals to use only during the course of the question response portion of the forum. The moderator reserves the right to offer rebuttal to closings if warranted. Rebuttal time will be 30 seconds. Responses to rebuttals are not permitted. The timekeeper will indicate when 30 seconds remain in the allotted response time with a yellow sign, Anastasia, and there. And then when the time is up with a red stop sign. The moderator will enforce time limits. The candidates must not interrupt one another, nor the moderator during the forum. The moderator will have the authority to pause the proceedings to enforce the ground rules and format. Any candidate may request the moderator to repeat a question during the response round. Except for time limits, the only restriction on candidate statements and question responses is respect and civility. In the event of technical difficulties associated with the virtual format, the moderator will use her best judgment to pause the forum or take any other action to ensure that all candidates have the same amount of speaking time. The moderator will make all efforts to ensure a fair format for the virtual forum. So we will begin with opening statements. Candidates, you will each have up to one and a half minutes to make an opening statement. And according to the way the lots were drawn, the first speaker is Effie. Please take the floor.

Effie Phillips-Staley 7:26 Thank you so much to the League of Women Voters and thanks to all what, 423 and my peers here for this extraordinary experience. I am a candidate, a progressive Democrat running for Congress in New York 17. In my fifth year as a trustee in the village of Tarrytown, I have been a lifelong worker in the nonprofit sector, focusing on social justice at every level from receptionist to executive director and a board member. And I come from an immigrant working class family. I know what it's like to struggle, to put myself through public schools, to pay for my education in college, but also to experience the kind of social mobility that used to be possible in this country for some people, but is not as possible now. I decided to run because I was asked, I was asked by my community of Hispanic activists to stand up and speak to our needs and the needs of all people who tend to be marginalized by the political process. This has been my work my entire life. And after speaking with people throughout the district, we've come up with a platform called the Suburban Progress Agenda that focuses on the exact needs that people identified from their budgets, housing, childcare, healthcare, and safety at home and abroad. I look forward to speaking with you. I'm sorry, Marcy, I think you're muted.

Moderator 9:14 Oh, I apologize, Cait.

Cait Conley 9:16 Yes, ma'am. Well, thank you to the League of Women Voters and thank you all for dialing in tonight, despite the next game going on later. This is such an important thing that we are taking on this fight for our country, our community, our families, and our future. I am Cait Conley. I'm a very proud West Point graduate, Army Special Ops Combat Veteran and daughter of our beautiful Hudson Valley. My family's ties to this district go back four generations to my great grandfather and grandfather who worked in the Montrose Brickyard, to my mom who was a postal worker for 48 years serving communities up and down the Hudson Valley. And it is our community's values and my family values that inspired me after 9-11 to go off and serve, to attend West Point, and then go on and serve 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 Room. My last two years in uniform, I was at the White House, where I served as a Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council staff during Biden. And then was asked to stay on as a Senior Executive at the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency, where we fought to defend our nation's critical infrastructure from cyber and fiscal attacks, from the energy grid to our water to our election systems. And it was there that I stood up and fought back against the big lie from Trump that 2020 was rigged or stolen, and to ensure the security integrity of our democratic process. I am doing this because I love this nation, and I never thought after everything I've seen and done that the greatest threat to our country or our future would be coming from within our own borders. But that is what is playing out. We are watching cowardice, greed, and corruption lead this nation, enabled by people like Mike Lawler. And that's why we're doing this, to stop that.

Moderator 10:59 Thank you, Cait. Next is John Cappello. John.

John Cappello 11:02 Thank you. I want to thank the League for putting this on and for all of you for joining us this evening. This is a great opportunity. I look forward to the conversation tonight. My name is John Cappello. I'm from Suffolk, New York. I graduated from the United States Air Force Academy, became a pilot, served 25 years in the United States Air Force, served two tours as a diplomat in the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade Serbia, U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. I also started an NGO, working on helping countries in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans achieve their democratization goals. But it was very difficult to stand on the sidelines when these same institutions are under pressure here in the United States. From the beginning of this campaign, when I entered in September, I said we needed to do politics differently. And after speaking with folks across the district, all corners of the district, my conviction has only grown stronger. People are tired of the frustration. They're frustrated with the chaos, division and polarization. They're tired of being asked to vote against somebody. They want to be able to vote for something. And this is what my campaign is based on. 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. Those five things not only restore balance and accountability, but they restore trust in the system, which is waning. And it restores trust in the individuals we send to Washington, knowing that they're there to serve us, not to serve themselves. Thank you very much.

Moderator 12:38 Thank you, John. Next is Mike Sacks. Mike.

Mike Sacks 12:42 Good evening, everybody. Thank you, Marcia. Good evening to everyone watching all 448 and counting. My name is Mike Sacks. I'm a dad of two boys ages nine and 12 here in Croton on Hudson. And I am a lawyer, a former political and legal journalist and current working in the Supreme Court and democracy reform space. I spent my career with a front row seat, quite literally at times, inside the Supreme Court for the Citizens United Argument, where I was first in line to see the case camping outside the court overnight. To being on air during January 6, watching the feeds come into the studio in New York City, wondering what am I going to tell my audience when five o'clock hits? Well, we told the audience what was going on, that there was an instruction at the Capitol, a violent attempt to get in the way of a peaceful transition of power for the first time in our country's history. And at that moment, I thought, yeah, I got to get off the sidelines. So several years later, my sons, two days before the 2024 elections, said, Dad, you should run for Congress. Well, they got that from listening to me debunk Mike Lawlor's lies that were airing on YouTube shorts that they weren't supposed to watch, reciting them line by line in the carpool to swim practice and baseball practice. And I would debunk these lies line by line. And when Mike Lawlor won, and we realized that 2026 is going to be a very different election from 2024, then I figured it was time to put the experience that I have, both in media, in law, in politics, and the deep history of how we got to this election. And I think it's important to take this point to help dig us out of it and attack the right wing structures built up to prevent us from having our voice in this country be heard and made through law. Thank you.

Moderator 14:16 Thank you, Mike. And finally, we have Beth Davidson. Beth.

Beth Davidson 14:22 Thank you so much, Marsha. Thank you to League of Women Voters. My name is Beth Davidson. I'm a working mom of two amazing kids, a former League of Women Voters Rockland board member and current League member, and a Rockland County legislator who gets up every day ready to fight for this community I've called home for 20 years. Later, I have a front row seat to the ways in which our communities are truly suffering, as Donald Trump and Mike Lawlor's big ugly agenda barrels towards us. I represent healthcare workers who are afraid of losing their jobs. I represent people with disabilities who are terrified of losing their healthcare. I represent immigrants who are afraid of being ripped from their families and disappeared. And last fall I sent a daughter off to college with fewer rights than I had at her age. You're all here though tonight because you understand what's at stake. We have to beat Mike Lawlor, and this is not a time to take a chance on who we put up against him. Mike Lawlor 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. I have the endorsement of the Rockland County Democratic Party in addition to 250 other local endorsements, including our former competitors, John Sullivan and Peter Chatzky. I'm a longtime trusted leader in our Jewish community and know Mike Lawlor's record inside and out. You don't have to wonder if I can win this race. I've done it before. And the only candidate in this primary is beating Republicans in tough races, delivering the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history right in Mike Lawlor's backyard. You also don't have to wonder how I might govern. I'll tell you what I'm doing right now to fight for my constituents. When Mike Lawlor and his cronies shut down the government, I stepped up and got $2 million to make sure people losing their SNAP benefits could feed their families. When Trump started his illegal war in Iran, I stepped up to sponsor a cap on the sales tax on gas. And when I stepped up to disappear, started disappearing my neighbors, I stepped up to protect them as well. That's the record I'm willing to build on in Congress. Thank you. Thank you, Beth.

Moderator 16:08 Now, we will now begin the question and answer period. Each candidate will be given an opportunity to answer each question, and we will rotate who answers first. You will each have up to one and a half minutes to respond. Question one, there is debate about the effectiveness of this Congress. If elected, how would you work to ensure that Congress fulfills its responsibilities of domestic oversight? And we are beginning with Effie.

Effie Phillips-Staley 16:46 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I mean, one of the wonderful things about having been in office for five years with a very diverse board from Republicans to independents to Democrats and different kinds of Democrats from moderate to progressive is that you have to be able to work across the aisle. When we're campaigning, that's a different thing. But when we're in Congress, that that is essential. And when it works well locally, it's because people are able to focus on the need of our local community. That's what I'm going to fight for when I'm in Congress, focusing both on the 17th district, but also the kinds of changes that we have to enact at the national level to protect people across the country, housing affordability, universal childcare, Medicare for all, all of these things, which are absolutely important. Now, in legislating locally requires a moment to, I suppose, compromise, but also when you have to draw a hard line and turn the gear in spite of the kind of rage that might be directed at you. This is something that I am very familiar with. It's one thing to negotiate across the aisle. It's another thing to negotiate away our rights. And so a hard line for me is absolute clarity on protecting women's rights, protecting our constitutional rights, that sort of thing.

Moderator 18:21 Thank you very much, Effie. And next we have Cait Conley. Cait.

Cait Conley 18:24 Thank you so much, Marcia, and such an important question. When we talk about the corruption, greed, and cruelty that we are seeing coming out of the Trump administration, enabled by cowards in Congress like Mike Luller, it's impacting communities across this country and across our district. Not just Democratic communities, but American communities. And that is where oversight is essential, and we have seen Congress forego that responsibility. I know what oversight looks like from Congress because I've worked with Congress before. I've worked with members and committees, I've helped draft federal legislation, I've overseen executed national budgets. I know how Congress is supposed to work. I've been on the other side of federal oversight. And I can tell you the dereliction of duty that we are seeing out of this Congress is truly unparalleled in modern American history. And so we must lead from the front. That means holding investigations into the abuses of power and the weaponization of the executive branch that we are seeing across this administration. That means undoing the harm that these individuals put in the one big ugly bill, things like ensuring we restore Medicaid cuts and funding to plan parenthood and stop the war against women's health care. There are so many things that when it comes to undoing the pain and cruelty and raining in this administration's abuse of power, holding leaders accountable like Cash Patel who still sits there. These are the things we must do. And again, we are fighting for not just democratic communities, but American communities and a future. Because since Mike Lawler has been elected, I can tell you, there's not a family here that can say it's any easier to put food on the table, a roof over their head, put their kids into a place where they have a better future, or keep the lights on or afford health care, and that is wrong.

Moderator 20:00 Thank you, Cait. Next year, John. John, please.

John Cappello 20:04 This is a great question to start out with because this is a fundamental question. This is why we're all here. There's no doubt that Congress has abdicated its responsibility. Their job description is in the Constitution of the United States, and they're failing to live up to it, whether it's oversight, power of the purse, they're failing. But it's not about just talking about what we're against. It's about what we will do. I took an oath to the Constitution of the United States, and I plan on fulfilling that constitutional oath. We live in a binary political system. We have two parties, and we need two functioning parties, and that requires us to be a representative for everyone in this community. And over the last nine months, after entering the race, I've talked to people across this community. Again, they're tired of the cast, they're tired of the confusion, and they want somebody to be there to listen to their concerns, and to address those concerns. As an Air Force officer, a diplomat, a nonprofit leader, I've worked across cultures, I've worked across political differences, built partnerships, built alliances, built coalitions. And that's what I will bring. Those are the skills I'll bring to Congress, and that is the approach I'll bring to Congress. Thank you.

Moderator 21:22 Thank you, John. Mike, please.

Mike Sacks 21:29 This moment requires nothing short of a third reconstruction. If you just look what happened last night with the Supreme Court, pretty much saying that Republicans always win when they want to whitewash an extreme gerrymandered black people out of power. This is part of the Supreme Court stealing away Congress's power that Congress hasn't already abdicated. We are in a moment now, a dangerously anti-democratic moment, where we in Congress have to take our power back for the people. So what does that mean? That means coupling aggressive oversight, where we bring in the bad guys who've hurt us and stolen our money for two years and two years forward. Make a show of it. Hail them in. If they don't want to cooperate, we put them into inherent contempt in the jail, in the house basement, and put a video camera on them. Make a show of it. And we couple that with extreme partisan gerrymandering, combating the stealing away of the Voting Rights Act, and putting back in place reproductive freedoms, comprehensive immigration reform, all of the things in our own big, beautiful bill, if you will, on day one of Congress. And we put that forward. We pass it. We say this is what can happen if we can have nice things in this country. And we tie the people we brought in to expose it in their damaging and hurting our democracy and all of us, tie them to the president who tries to veto our bill and say they bought this guy to get an hour away. And for two years, we should spend 120th Congress building momentum towards having a president that's willing to sign those bills and make this reality for all of us in this country.

Moderator 23:08 Thank you very much, Mike. And finally, Beth, David?

Beth Davidson 23:11 This is such a great question. I was watching the news yesterday morning and a journalist, I really respect Jim Bandai was talking about how we've been talking to voters around the country who are tired of all the infighting. Yes, they want Democrats and elected officials will stand up and fight for their values, but not necessarily always be fighting each other at the expense of getting anything done. And so what I bring to this race and what I would take to Congress and what will still be a divided 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. And yet I've been able to deliver results in just two and a half years on the county legislature, three years by bringing people together. I passed common sense gun safety reforms, passed unanimously and was signed by the county executive the next day. Just a few weeks ago, I unanimously again stepped up to pass a gas tax cap so that families could get a little relief at the pump. And in terms of oversight, we do as a legislature oversee Rockland County Community College and a number of other county initiatives. So I do know the importance of oversight. And I'll also say that bipartisan compromise is going to continue to be important. Just today, for those who might have missed it, the House did pass a measure directing Donald Trump to end the war or see congressional approval to continue it. And four Republicans, you know, shocker, spoiler alert, not Mike Lawler, did vote for that bill with one Democrat voting against. So it is going to be important to get things done. Thanks.

Moderator 24:44 Thank you very much. Now, question two. How would you work to address the current tensions around immigration and immigration enforcement? And we've got first up is Cait.

Cait Conley 25:01 Marsha, it is so important that we ensure in this country that the rule of law applies to all. And that includes federal agents, cabinet officials and even our president. That's the America I believe in. And 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 need investigations deep into every level of leadership, inside advice, which needs to be reigned in and completely overhauled. We need to make sure that federal agents who have broken the law are held legally accountable and that leaders who have allowed for this culture are removed. We also need to fix a broken immigration system. Because right now what we are seeing is a struggle where for literally decades America has failed to provide our immigrant neighbors, so many of whom are parts of our community, many that have been, they've been here longer than I've been alive, are just as American as us. And we have failed, failed to provide them a pathway to citizenship. We must protect our dreamers. We must protect those who come here and are part of our communities and that is not happening with this administration. I am watching the country that I was willing to die for become something I barely recognize because of this administration and people like Mike Lawler who refused to rein it in. That must end.

Moderator 26:29 Thank you, Cait. John, you're next.

John Cappello 26:34 Thank you. I think, look, we've been kicking the can down the road on immigration for decades, decades and decades, and it's time to stop and make some serious choices. Look, the fear that I saw knocking on doors, walking around the district, it's just so unacceptable in my own hometown, people answering the doors afraid of what I was there for. And that starts with, I think, 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, right? We need to split those two things, and that's an important start in normalizing and working out the tensions in immigration. But that's step one. We need to take a long, comprehensive look at what it means for immigration in this country. And that means providing a clear, fair path to citizenship. People need to know what it means, what path they need to take to come to the United States. This is in the interest of the United States, it's in the interest of our economy, and it's who we are as a people. So there's two things. It's in our interest, and this is who we are. We're a nation founded on immigrants. We need a clear, fair path to coming to this country.

Moderator 28:08 Thank you, John. Mike, you're next.

Mike Sacks 28:10 We need to begin the 120th Congress recognizing that we are the confrontation party against administration dedicated to hurting our neighbors. This means using the power that we do have to stop the insanity. So yes, I'm for abolishing ICE because we don't need it. We have immigration enforcement and customs enforcement. We can put that back in the INS that we had before the DHS was created and ICE was created in 2002, 2003. But more so, we cinch the purse strings tight to ensure that this president and this administration will stand down if they want any more dimes from us. But that's just step one. Second, we need to build more again towards structural reform, because back in 2013, we had a comprehensive immigration bill that was ready to go with bipartisan majorities in the Senate and in the House and a president ready to sign it. But what happened? The Republicans who didn't get the message from the 2012 Republican autopsy to be kinder and gentler in immigration decided to filibuster it. A minority of a minority got in the way of our being able to pass a comprehensive immigration reform so they can keep a festering wound open that allowed Donald Trump to come in and unleash the fascist hell on our neighbors. So we need to build a movement, a politics towards getting back to having the opportunity to pass comprehensive immigration reform that's humane, that builds up security at the border and has a pathway to citizenship for dreamers and those who've been here for, as it be said, longer than some of us have been alive. That way we do that, we come in in 2029, ready to go, ready to pass those laws and ready to confront the Supreme Court if it gets in the way. We need to nuke the filibuster to do so in the Senate.

Moderator 29:48 Thank you, Mike. And finally, Beth, and we have two more, Beth.

Beth Davidson 29:56 Sure, thank you so much. So after the horrific murders of Renee Nicole Goode and Alex Prettie in Minneapolis, I can tell you what I'm doing in the Rock and County legislature, you don't have to ask me what I might do in Congress. I stepped up to introduce a bill called the Safety and Dignity for All Act, and I'm very proud of the coalition we're continuing to build about around that bill, adding to sponsors a couple of weeks ago, and holding public sessions around the first our public sessions around the county, and I'm not giving up, even though Mike Lawler and his MAGA allies in Rockland and elsewhere have attacked me relentlessly for it. People constantly ask what Mike Lawler's red line is, and I'll tell you what my line is. I would never work for any company that helps Donald Trump and ICE track, target or detain immigrants and spy on US citizens. I will always protect our civil liberties and our immigrant neighbors here in the Hudson Valley and in Washington DC.

Moderator 30:49 Thanks. Thank you, Beth.

Effie Phillips-Staley 30:52 Thank you so much. So, abolishing ICE, I want to speak about the word abolish because I say it in the truest sense of, I suppose, the abolitionist tradition, when you remove a system that has been so abusive that it should not continue to exist. Now, that does not mean that there should not be customs enforcement. There absolutely should be. It existed before ICE was created in 2003. And that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be a department that manages immigration and naturalization, because of course that existed before 2003 as well. It's the system that my mother came through when she immigrated to the United States in 1968, I believe. So I would abolish ICE and I would replace it with a humane system because the way ICE has evolved in the last 23 years has been towards cruelty, has been towards the separation of families, has since been weaponized by the President of the United States as a paramilitary force that abuses American citizens and non-citizens alike, separates families, puts them in private prisons that cannot be monitored for their safety. Anyone who experiences any kind of abuse, whether it's lack of food or rape, has no recourse. That must be abolished.

Moderator 32:29 Thank you very much, Effie. We're on to question three. If elected, what would you do to lower the cost of living for your constituents? And we start with John.

John Cappello 32:45 Thank you. That's the that's the million dollar question. No pun intended. We have to start, I think, by looking at some big, big, big issues that the tariffs that are driving up costs. Right now, there's a clear line between bad decisions that are being made in Washington, D.C. and how it affects us on a daily basis, whether we're at the gas pump, going to the grocery store or paying our energy bills. The decisions that are being made in some respects and arbitrarily have been catastrophic for the for our economy and for our national security standing in the world. So eliminating tariffs that are driving up the cost of transportation, of goods and services, and of, again, transportation would be would be my the first thing. I think looking at the unintended consequences of the war also, it has affected us dramatically, directly here in Rockland County and across the United States, driving up prices of oil and fuel, which affects many other things. So focusing on the big, big picture items, I think, helps address the way that we're affected here in Rockland County.

Mike Sacks 34:14 Thank you, Mike. Trump and Waller ran on lowering prices and making your cost of living better. Has that happened? Bare what? 485 people in this chat screaming, no, it hasn't. Instead, as John was mentioning, the tariffs have driven up the cost of everyday items and as well as housing costs and building costs. Meanwhile, the stupid unconstitutional and illegal war in Iran has been stealing money that could go towards our relief to go towards what war is going to end with a worse than status quo. Come on. What we need to do isn't just stop those days because those are the bare minimum, but also address the rising income inequality that is leaving people struggling, even with it with even to have even to make ends meet with one good paying job. We are now living in the tail end of what I like to call zombie Reagan ism. Right. The greed is good. Our tax cuts solve everything that will trickle down to all of us, which law are still espouses isn't helping anyone. In fact, it's left us with the putrefied remains of Trump ism hurting us all. So how do we defeat this vast income inequality? We can start also by lifting all boats with raising the minimum wage $20 an hour. Then we can attack the monopolistic concerns that have created the concentrations of power that then funnel money back into the Republican Party to prevent us from passing laws that ease the burden on all of us, such as Medicare for all. So we don't have to choose between our health care and heating bills and people can pursue the American dream without worrying about paying someone else's health care. These are things are all possible if we just eliminate all the structural barriers Republicans put in the way over the past 40 years to keep us from delivering for the people.

Moderator 35:55 Thank you, Mike. Beth.

Beth Davidson 35:58 Thank you. Well, this is this is the question. You know, when people ask me what my top five issues are, I say affordability, affordability, affordability, affordability, affordability. And this was an issue back in twenty twenty three when I was running for county legislature knocking four thousand doors. And so I'm proud that when I was elected, I was able to be part of the team that cut taxes and held taxes steady this year because the tax burden is just absolutely crushing on families here in the Hudson Valley. And again, why I stepped up to pass a gas tax the second the Iran war started, right? I fill up my gas, same gas station tank at the same gas station as everyone else does. So I know how expensive it is and stepped up to make sure that we could cap the sales tax on gas. But look, we also need to look at housing. I'm proud to be vice chair of the first ever housing committee so that we're creating more housing. It's the only way we create more competition and bring down costs so that more people can own homes. Health care. We have to restore the Affordable Care Act tax credits. I knocked a door a couple of weeks ago where someone told me that his he'd lost his job and his ACA premiums had almost tripled. And, you know, families in the Hudson Valley can't afford that kind of extra load. Child care has come up consistently in this campaign for me. And as a working mom, I know how expensive it is and how hard it is to find quality child care. And we need to finally find a way to put together this patchwork of systems that we currently have to make it easy for everyone. And so we don't keep losing and having what we call the brain drain of breadwinners here in the Hudson Valley and making it harder for two parent households to work. And health care and obviously the cost of food, as John said, fuel is also making food more expensive. I'm also proud to have stepped up to pass food relief when SNAP benefits were shut off, but it's only put a tiny tip of the iceberg. We have a huge food insecurity problem that we have to solve as well. Thanks.

Moderator 37:44 Thank you very much, Effie.

Effie Phillips-Staley 37:48 Thank you. You know, when when I first decided to run, it was really important to me that the policy that we frame in advance is situated in the needs of people, not what I think needs to happen, but what the constituents of this district need to happen, which is why we spent an immense amount of time speaking with people across the district about their budgets. We specifically asked about their budgets and they identified it a series of pain points that that make a lot of sense. And that became the basis of what we call the suburban progress agenda that is available on my website for those who want to go deep. But I'll give you the top lines. Of course, it's housing. This district is short sixty six thousand housing units at every price point. And until we get that inventory up, we're not going to be able to level up and bring the costs down. And that is something that Congress can certainly incentivize. We know that the state of New Mexico has been very successful at creating universal child care for all families. That is something that we can absolutely do at a national level. Health care. Everyone will say this, but I think it is time for Medicare for all. Our current system was too easy to dismantle and had terrible health outcomes to begin with. So and it's incredibly expensive. So now is the time. Many states, including New York, sort of have it on deck. We need to make it easier for states to pass these laws and we need to push it forward at the federal level. We have the money and capacity. We can do it.

Moderator 39:31 Thank you, Effie. And on that note, oh, no, we have Cait. Cait, sorry.

Cait Conley 39:38 Thanks, Marcia. Like this question, Marcia, it's not a hypothetical. It's my family. You know, I was raised here in the Hudson Valley by a single mom, me and my sisters working for the postal service. And so when we talk about the struggles over the last 14 months on the campaign trail going to every corner of this district, I've heard heart-wrenching stories about how people who lived here 20 years ago in the same house with the same job were doing fine. They felt great. Now today are barely getting by. And the reality is there's no silver bullet solution. There's no one thing. It's all of these things adding up. So yes, we have to undo the harm of these illegal foreign tariffs that have jacked up prices on everything from groceries to prescriptions. We also need to make sure we're introducing a public option, like Effie said, to help drive down the cost of health care because the system is broken and is unaffordable and isn't working for people. And we also need to go beyond that, though. So yes, we need to build more homes, but we also need to make sure that people can afford to live in the homes we're building, to buy the homes we're building. And that means reining in our monopoly utility companies that are extorting people for energy. 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. That means you don't have to put 20% down to get a competitive interest rate and not pay PMI. It's time that we start investing in the people that are serving our communities. They earn it.

Moderator 41:14 Thank you very much. And along that same vein, question four, what steps would you take to protect and improve access to health care, quality health care? And for this question, Mike, you're first.

Mike Sacks 41:31 Yeah, first step is to restore the custom Mike Lawler was the deciding vote to get done in this district. That's that's the first thing. That's the reverse the harm that was done by the Trump administration and this Republican Congress and Mike Lawler as the tide breaking vote. One. But beyond that, we need to recognize also that half measures and reforms. We don't need to pursue them when we have a 51 member or 51% majority. We don't. We can spend 120 of Congress putting forward a plan for Medicare for all that covers cradle to the grave, dental, medical and vision insurance. So that people in whatever taxes they might pay in that is less than what they'd be paying towards health insurers and private equity owned doctors in their copays, deductibles and premiums. And when we have a system where people are actually seeing their tax dollars at work for them and we're joining the rest of the first of the industrialized world with universal single payer health care health care. Then we can finally break through this moment where we've been keeping at each other's throats fighting over a small patch of ground instead of pushing through and having policies that serve for all of us. If you remember Social Security, well, not many of us were alive when Social Security was passed, but Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Great Society and the New Deal. These are progressive policies that are big swings and they were denigrated as communism and socialism when they were put forward. But once they were actually enacted, they have not been repealed and everyone who opposed them, not pretend they're the biggest friends of those bills. We can do that with health care. If we have something we deliver for everybody instead of something where people in the state will ask for them, then we can have something where if anyone tries to take it away, we all take our pitchforks out. We can be transformative and we just so will it.

Moderator 43:11 Thank you, Mike. Beth, you're next.

Beth Davidson 43:14 Thank you. So 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 know what it's like to fight with your insurance companies. It can feel like a second job, making sure you get the life saving treatments you need. And so I do believe we have to reform our health care system, adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act. I think it should have been present from the start. And many of us refer to it as Medicare for all who want it. I think that's what's achievable the most quickly to cover the most people right now. I want to expand Medicare to include vision and dental and long term care. Of course, prescription drugs. That's another huge issue. And so we need to stop the price gouging and the corporate greed from the insurance companies. It's a great start that we are able to cover insulin for diabetics under Medicare. That should be for seniors. That should be for everyone. And I also want to touch from a minute on Medicaid in case we don't come back to it, because I've learned so much about Medicaid and really what it is. It is low income health care for health care for low income people, but it's so much more as I've learned. It's transportation to jobs, supportive housing, mental wellness care, and so many wraparound services that ensure that everyone in our community can leave productive and purposeful lives. And so restoring the funding that was cut from Medicare, excuse me, from Medicaid will be one of my top priorities in Congress. Thanks.

Moderator 44:43 Thank you, Effie. Cait. Beth, I'm sorry, I'm getting confused again. Effie, you're next.

Effie Phillips-Staley 44:53 I'm sorry, am I next or is Cait? Forgive me. I apologize. You're. I'm happy to go. I will go. You're after Beth. Got it. Okay, great. No, thank you so much. So, I mean, look, the seven largest health care companies last year made $1.7 billion in profits. While, I don't know if you saw it on 60 Minutes, people were lining up for three days sleeping in their cars to be able to access dental care. This is the kind of nation we're living in right now where the profits of companies are prioritized over the health of the American people. And I will say, like you've heard me say it many times, the people are the nation. So when we deny our people their health, we are undermining the health of our nation. So I believe firmly in advancing Medicare for all. So many developed countries have it. I lived in the UK for four years. I experienced it. It works. It makes people's lives better. And we have the capacity to make this happen here. If we tax fairly right now, the burden of the cost of existing in our nation from school to health care comes off the backs of working people when it should be coming off out of the pockets of the billionaires that we have. Fair tax reform is essential to this. But Medicare for all Act already exists. I would co-sponsor it. It has a careful plan to phase it in over four years, and it would save almost 100,000 lives a year.

Moderator 46:46 Thank you, Effie. And Cait, you're next.

Cait Conley 46:49 Thanks, Marcia. I believe in America where affordable quality health care is the right for all people, not just the privilege of the wealthy few. And the system right now is absolutely broken. Even President Obama says when they passed the Affordable Care Act, that was never meant to be the final destination, but only the first step. I do believe the next essential and urgent, like we must do this even if Trump is sitting in the oval, urgent, next step is implementing a public option. So we can have plans introduced into the marketplace where we don't have private sector middleman's profiting to drive down prices and allow people, regardless of their job status, marital status, or age, to buy into Medicare if they choose to. I believe that is an essential reform that we must make. And people can't wait three, five, seven years until Democrats control more elements of government to get this done. People need health care now. They're losing it. We must also restore the cuts that this administration made to Medicaid and the premium tax credits absolutely undo that harm. But we must also further reform Big Pharma and rein it in, ending things like pay for delay schemes and making sure that Medicare can negotiate for all drugs, not just a random number. These things, this is all part of how we actually make health care work and accessible for all people. And again, not just the elite or the wealthy few.

Moderator 48:19 Thank you very much. And John, you're last.

John Cappello 48:26 I mean, look, it's clear. I think we need to restore and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, protect and expand where necessary Medicare and protect Medicaid. All of those, of course. But let's take a step back and see why we're in this situation. I mean, health care is a business, but it's not a business, right? It's about protecting people, protecting the health of our citizens. And the fact that there's no reason why the most prosperous country in the world cannot figure out how to provide health care coverage for everyone. We could do it through taxation, technologies. All these things are available for us to make this. It's a political decision. And so it's about incentive structure, right? The first day I would be in office, I'll have a line of lobbyists waiting outside the door to share with me their great ideas for policy. And in that line will be big pharma and other health care related companies. This is not about only profit, right? We have to protect our citizens. And the incentive structure, which I've been talking about from the beginning about changing the way money is used in politics, I think will be an important foundational change to how and allow us to address this health care issue. Thank you.

Moderator 49:59 Thank you very much, John. Now we're on to question five. What should be the role of Congress in foreign policy actions and decisions regarding current wars and conflicts? Beth, you are first.

Beth Davidson 50:20 Absolutely. Well, what we have to do from the jump is once we take back the House and put the Speaker's gavel in Hakeem Jeffery's hands is reclaim our role on the world stage as a beacon for democracy as a reliable ally. Our friends need to know that they can count on us. And that would include, I know you're speaking about wars, but there's a lot of other foreign policy issues I think we need to tackle right away from rejoining the Paris climate accords to rejoining the World Health Organization. Putting funding, restoring the funding to USAID. And those aren't unrelated to the wars that we see happening. I feel as though we kind of lost our way with lost our taking our eye off the ball when it comes to Ukraine. There are a number of Ukrainians who live in the 17th congressional district. Even a great Ukrainian restaurant, Taste of Ukraine in Nyack, make sure you come by, but they've definitely felt forgotten as other wars have raged on. You know, the conflict in the Middle East. As I said, Congress is finally ready to assert its War Powers Act. It has taken far too long, finally stepping up and telling the president that they won't continue to back his war and that he needs to stop until they approve more funding. And it's good to finally see that, and it would be great to see more leadership from the House in providing oversight over Pete Hegseth, over his so-called Department of War and how they're conducting themselves. So oversight will be a huge piece of this as well. 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, and Congress should push that too. Thanks.

Moderator 51:57 Thank you, Beth. Effie, you're next.

Effie Phillips-Staley 51:59 Thank you for this question. Congress certainly needs to assert its role as a check and balance within the federal system of government. It seems to have abandoned that completely. Mike Lawler seems to be perfectly happy to throw away his power as a member of Congress and defer entirely to the president, which is very dangerous for our democracy. That is not the kind of member of Congress that we need. You know, I would say what we are lacking, both at the presidential level, but I think also in the cowardice of Congress right now, is a moral compass. We seem to treat life like it's very cheap. This has got to stop. You know, I was just reading the Pope's latest treatise, actually, and he discusses this as well on a religious level. He said that a justified war, the moral war, as a framework is not something that should exist anymore because we see too often excuses to fund governments that commit grave human rights abuses or to go straight into war as justifying some kinds of means that's more important than the lives of people. So I guess if I go to Congress, which is my plan, I would take that kind of thinking and make sure that we really stick to the laws that we have around human rights as it relates to funding wars, the Leahy laws in particular, and prioritize people's lives and humanity again.

Moderator 53:48 Thank you, Effie. Cait, you're next.

Cait Conley 53:51 So as someone who has led America's sons and daughters in multiple wars and combat zones for this nation, I have to tell you that anyone who has been to war and I specifically will tell you that the last thing I ever want to see is any generation of sons and daughters in any country go to war. And with that, what we have seen out of this administration and the absolute failure of this Congress to rein in a draft dodging president and a Secretary of Defense, who knows nothing has literally made this country less safe, not more, is unacceptable. Mike Lawler, yet again, was not part of the solution. He continued to give Donald Trump a blank check on the war in Iran, refusing to support the worst powers resolution to rein him in. That is unacceptable. We need to do more than that, though, in Congress. We do need to restore funding to USAID. We need to invest in prevention of conflict, not just conflict. And I will tell you, we have to rein in this administration and the corruption we are seeing in the DOD, specifically with a Secretary of Defense who continues to punish our brave service members who are women or people of color, yet again denying promotions to women and minorities again this week, as these public servants who've gone out and served this nation are getting discriminated against openly by this administration. And Congress is doing nothing. It's unacceptable. The absolute absence of values is unacceptable. And Mike Lawler is at the heart of that.

Moderator 55:27 Thank you. John, you're next.

John Cappello 55:29 Thank you. I think this is another example of where Congress has abdicated its responsibility, its roles and responsibility, whether it's oversight funding for these actions, international actions. Look, the United States is safe, secure and prosperous because of its alliances, because of its partnerships around the world. The world looks for the United States for stability. And this administration has clearly and deliberately changed our focus from partnerships, from alliance, from working with our partners, with countries, to going back to a 19th century power politics, sphere of influence, transactional effort. That is not who we are. And that is not what makes us strong. That is not what makes us secure. And that is not what makes us prosperous. I'll say it again. Look, I've worked in places in Eastern Europe, in the Middle East. People complain about the United States oftentimes, about how we act. We tend to overreact. But at the end of the day, I'm telling you, they look for us as a stable partner, and we have to reinstitute that from day one. Thanks.

Moderator 56:52 Thank you very much, Mike.

Mike Sacks 56:55 On day one, when we have a president to join the 120th Congress and the 121st Congress, then we will be able to reinstitute that. And we will have a civil service, our foreign service, come snapping back ready to serve to ensure that everyone around the world finds hope with the beacon of democracy in the United States. But right now, we have an administration that's dedicated to murder. Murder. Murdering people on the high seas without any due process. It's not active war, but murder. People going in boats in the Pacific and in the Caribbean, because we want to say what, they're drug dealers. But we don't know. And that was a big deal some time ago. We've become a nerd to it. We can't be a nerd to that. Beyond that, we have a policy of murder with defunding USAID and letting children and people around the world die in the orders of hundreds of thousands that would have been alive, but for Elon Musk's taking a chainsaw to USAID. Those are about two things. We can go into our stupid wars that we should not only stop, but we should prevent, and as members of Congress, we should get in the way of their propagation. But then we also need to have a Secretary of State that doesn't spend his day trying to defend a dozing president and is sleeping right next to him by lying to members of Congress just today, or was it yesterday, a day's run together. Being presented with a picture with Trump sleeping right next to him, a review saying, no, no, Trump's never falling asleep on my watch. We have a personalist president who's conducting foreign policy based on his whims. When he is gone, we need to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again, and Congress can be a check on an executive that decides to run rampant with American taxpayer dollars.

Moderator 58:32 Thank you, Mike. Now we're ready for question six. The rising use of artificial intelligence is creating concerns over the impact on the job market and the environment. What role should Congress play in relation to AI? And Effie, you're first.

Effie Phillips-Staley 58:55 Well, the role of Congress in general is to represent the people and to be a check and balance against the other branches of government. It is our job to legislate. And right now we have a technology that is advancing so quickly, that's transforming so fast that I sometimes worry if Congress as an institution has the capacity to even keep up with it in the first place. But it is something that we must do. I have a 19 year old son who just came back from his first year in college. And the way he is trying to plan his future is actually very frightening because we've allowed an industry to charge ahead, focused on its own financial advancement without thinking for a minute about the impact on labor within this country. So I would put a very, first of all, I would convene experts because let's face it, the technology is incredibly complex. Experts who both understand the technology and have the people, our lives, our work, our ability to thrive first, not profits. And from there, begin to regulate how we ensure that this technology actually works for the people of the United States and not for the profit of those companies that create it because they're not interested in the people, they're just interested in money.

Moderator 60:36 Thank you, Effie. Cait, you're next.

Cait Conley 60:39 We must absolutely have federal regulation on AI to rein it in and make sure it is used for good and not public harm. And I have to tell you, when I was working with members of Congress and committees on some of these national security technology issues, the level of frustration I would have as a public servant watching the inability for members to understand this technology. We're trying to get them to regulate and to understand advanced national security technology essential for keeping American families safe, and they don't even know how to work their flip phone. Like this cannot be what the American government continues to be because we'll continue to fail. We watch as Congress failed to regulate social media companies and now it is tearing families, our country, the world apart, filling our lives with this information. We can't afford to fail again in AI. While I was at CISA, we were working on ensuring there were guardrails and regulations around AI and critical infrastructure. There are some very, very common sense things that we should all be agreeing upon. You shouldn't allow an AI model to teach someone how to build a chemical or biological weapon, right, to build a bomb. These are things that should be common sense and aren't political. This goes back to regulating AI shouldn't be a partisan issue. It's a public safety and service issue. I think it's really important to have people in there who understand the technology to make sure we do this right because we cannot afford to make this mistake. And I promise to lead the charge on regulating AI companies so we don't suffer. And instead we see it be used as a force for good to do things like cure cancer and reverse climate change.

Moderator 62:15 Thank you, Cait. John.

John Cappello 62:19 Yes, I mean, I'll just kind of take where she left where Cait left off. I mean, AI robotics is creating a technical revolution that that's just that portends tremendous advancement. Right. But but it also given that given that tremendous technology. I mean, we've gone through revolutions before, haven't we? We've got the industrial the industrial age from horsepower to to machine machines. Revolutions are dramatic, make dramatic change. But Congress is absolutely behind in in managing this situation. We need guardrails. We need regulations. It cannot be left up to the industries that have clearly an interest. It doesn't matter if it's a drilling company or a somebody that produces metal. The fact is, these companies cannot be made to regulate themselves. And the fact that the administration, the president wants to reduce or minimize the right rules and regulations is is not is not the right direction. And this is where Congress has an absolute responsibility. And it goes back to, again, the structural foundational issues of the influence that money will have in the decision making process. Thank you. Thank you, Mike.

Mike Sacks 63:55 Yeah. So I tend to think that we are spending all our time talking about issues that really matter. Right. Democracy, reproductive freedom, immigration. We're certainly triceratops and T-Rex fighting over our patch of land. And then we look up and there's a meteor coming and that meteors AI. Right. It's going to be a massive technological national security economic disruption. Frankly, I think it's a solution looking for a problem. Forced upon us by the same oligarchs that were sitting on Trump's dais during the during his January 20th inauguration of the Capitol. I don't like it. I don't like having it be forced on me whenever I search something. I do not like it one bit, but it's here. So what are we going to do about it? Well, there are several things we can do about it. One, we can look towards FDR's work progress administration when he put people to work that were put out of work by the Great Depression. We can have something of the same for the coming white collar and blue collar jobs, apocalypse for automation and for AI. Well, we can have a jobs program to get people putting forward being useful and finding dignity through work that AI robbed them of. One, two, we can have a domestic inspection regime sort of like OSHA that was put in place to make sure there is workplace safety. We can have an OSHA for AI. We have inspectors going in, making sure that the general AI companies in the US aren't flipping the switch to make sure the machines can't not turn themselves off. And then we need to also lead the way in a global framework like IAEA for inspections to make sure that national security is being respected in all of the countries that are working with AI. So we do not have, say, a rogue nuke being powered by Oscar, whatever you want to call it, you know, Claude, whatever we want to call the person's name that isn't a real person. But ultimately, the United States can lead the way both in securing economic and national security protection from AI. Thank you, Mike. Beth?

Beth Davidson 65:39 Thank you. So this is such a good question. And, you know, like everyone, I recognize the many opportunities that AI presents. But I think we're heading towards a really dangerous place with a growing ecosystem of surveillance that, frankly, is freaking the people I've talked to out and really making young people in particular. I have a number of young volunteers who work with our campaigns who are worried that AI is going to take their potential jobs away. And so, yes, Congress needs to step up and mandate better protections for our children, independent safety testing for the powerful new AI models we're seeing. I'd love to see a national data privacy law and enhanced consumer protections. You know, we're seeing surge pricing on everything from groceries when you go to Instacart, you know, just like gas or airline or hotel prices. And AI is making that possible and really hurting small businesses. We need better regulations and penalties for things like deep fakes. And I'm really proud of the work that the Rockland County Legislature did to ban deep fakes locally in our county. And we need to invest in protecting our workforce, as Mike said, making sure we're upskilling existing employees and investing more in trade schools like BOCES that are going to create the jobs that AI can't replace. We already have several large data centers. That's another huge offshoot of this growing AI problem. With another on the horizon, there's possibility of the largest data center on the Eastern Seaboard right in East Fishkill. 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. Thanks.

Moderator 67:12 Thank you very much. Now, you've all been going a little bit over the allotted time, so we're short on time. I'd like to squeeze in one more question before closing statements. So if you could do me a favor, try to make your questions within a minute. I know that the allocated time is more, but try to shorten them. Question seven is, would you support changes to the Supreme Court, such as term limits or increasing the number of justices? And first is Cait.

Cait Conley 67:47 Yeah, so we have seen the most politicized Supreme Court in modern American history. Everything from Citizens United being overturned and what we're looking at now with the level of corruption that we are seeing across the branches of government. I want to say we need to address corruption head on. So I am a supporter of Supreme Court term limits, absolutely, and passing an amendment to make sure that gets done. And I believe that is something we have bipartisan support in across this country. But the problem goes so much beyond that. We need to root out corruption in government period. And that's where I am very proud to have been endorsed by Citizens United to be leading the charge to make sure that we also have term limits for members of Congress. Because being a politician shouldn't be a career. We also need to ensure that people not only don't do insider trading and stock trading, but I believe should require members of Congress to divest of their personal stock holdings. And yes, ban them for becoming lobbyists. These are all the things that are the other parts of this equation to make sure that government is working for the people and not for the people in office to profit from them. We need people who are going to take ethics pledges and then stand by them, not use them as a smokescreen. And right now we are seeing that in the Supreme Court. We are seeing that with members of Congress. And this is why I'm very proud to be leading the charge on the unrigged Washington pledge. And again, ensuring that what we're trying to do is get government to solve people's real problems again. Not to have politicians profiting.

Moderator 69:15 Thank you, Cait. John?

John Cappello 69:17 Yeah, I'll keep it to a minute as much as possible. Yes, this is part of the foundation of my campaign is that we need a code of ethics, a binding code of ethics for this Supreme Court at a minimum. And we have to have a conversation to figure out how to impose term limits to this court as well. This is clear. It's been politicized, as Cait said. And look, we've gone through this before, in some respects, during Watergate. In response to a president who threw the separation of powers out of whack, we've got to restore balance and accountability again. What did we do the last time this happened? We established rules. We established laws. We established institutions to reestablish guardrails. And that's what needs to happen. I mean, we had the Federal Election Campaign Act in in 74, right? Family Control Act. We had a couple other things that that tried to reestablish balance and accountability. And we have to do that again today. And this is starting with the Supreme Court. I look forward to Mike's comments on this.

Moderator 70:27 Mike, you're next.

Mike Sacks 70:28 Yeah, this is my bread and butter. This is my life. This is my livelihood. The Supreme Court is the main maker and breaker of federal policy in this country. That's it. So we can talk about term limits, which are necessary. We can talk about code of ethics, which are necessary. But they're not sufficient to what needs to be done in order to get our democracy back. Because right now we have a Supreme Court that is literally stealing our power of Congress. Our power to declare as we the people what the Constitution means. And arrogating the power to itself to ensure that when Trump's gone, they will still be sitting there in judgment of everything we do. Everything. So yes, we need to add seats to the Supreme Court. Four more justices in the mode of Katanji Brown Jackson, who believes we should defer to Congress's power, absent clear constitutional constraints, and enforce the reconstruction amendments against the states when they try to be racist. One. But two, beyond that, we need to pass every law that we do, whether it's overturning Citizens United or overturning the Calais decision, with jurisdiction stripping provisions in them. Yes, we can do that. Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution, the Exceptions Clause, where Congress can say that we can say money is not speech and corporations are not people, and the Supreme Court or any federal court or state court, none shall have the power to review the constitutionality of what we the people say. We can do that, frankly. I'm doing that with my day job right now. Stay tuned for a member of Congress, but introducing it in this Congress. Yes. This is what we need to do. If we do not have that idea, if we're not willing to confront this Supreme Court with all of our power in Congress, then we will be thrown right back out of office. The fascists will come back in, and we will be repeating the cycle all over again. We need to break that cycle and bring ourselves to a new era where we can serve all the people, rather than just the billionaires who bought the system to defeat us.

Moderator 72:03 Thank you, Mike. You're welcome.

Beth Davidson 72:05 Beth? Thank you. Since I'm with the women, League of Women Voters and presumably many women watching this, I'm sure many watching will remember the night that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. It was the second day of Rosh Hashanah. We were all sitting outside, and we saw the news popping up on our phones, and my girlfriends and I looked at each other and said, well, that's the end of Roe v. Wade. Our husbands looked at each other and said, no, you guys are overreacting. They'll never be able to fill the seat that quickly. It took forever. They wouldn't let Obama fill the seat before that, and look where we are. Donald Trump has totally reshaped not only the Supreme Court, but so many of the local courts below that have made it more and more difficult to believe that we have a real third branch of government and an independent judiciary, starting with, of course, having an acting attorney general who was his personal attorney. So, yes, we need stronger ethics rules up and down, and particularly for Supreme Court justices. I absolutely, so that we're not back in the same boat again, support term limits for justices as well. We need more transparency. We need to make sure that Supreme Court justices can't take trips and benefit from big donors, and then turn around and rule on things that might impact them. I'm proud of the trust and transparency agenda that I've rolled out as part of this campaign, which goes beyond the judiciary, obviously, to members of Congress, that we're banning candidates, excuse me, members of Congress from trading stocks, from holding interests in companies that they would be responsible for overseeing and closing the revolving door so that no members of Congress become lobbyists. Thanks very much.

Moderator 73:41 Thank you, Beth. Effie?

Effie Phillips-Staley 73:44 I will be very brief, because it's tough to follow Mike Sacks on a question about the Supreme Court. Look, any Supreme Court that can justify racial profiling in terms of allowing ICE to just look at a person, look at their skin color, their assumptions about who they are, and then detain them without due process, it's entirely out of control. I absolutely believe that we need to increase the... Frankly, I think we need to throw everything at it that we can legally to bring this court under control before it creates more chaos and causes more damage. So yes, to increasing the number of justices. Yes, to term limits. And yes, to very clear ethics guidelines, because it is outrageous that in our country it has come to this.

Moderator 74:39 Thank you, Effie. And guess what? We're right on time for our closing conch statements. We will now move to those. As I said earlier, closing statements will be given in the reverse order as the opening statements. Each candidate will have up to one and a half minutes to make their closing statements. And we are starting with Beth.

Beth Davidson 75:08 Thank you so much, the League of Women Voters, for putting together this important conversation. And thank you to everyone who joined us this evening to hear from us, because we are all very different candidates and it's critically important who we choose to go up against Mike Lawler. This district has rejected DC-picked candidates twice. New York 17 deserves a congresswoman who didn't just show up here because they saw a political opportunity but really knows our diverse communities and is already doing the work to put this country back together. We're going to win this election by holding Mike Lawler accountable for his radically out-of-step record and by showing voters what's possible when leaders are willing to step into the breach for the people they serve. 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'm also the only Democrat who's proven I not only know how to fight, I know how to win. And when we're going up against someone like Mike Lawler, that matters. I am so proud of my work to elect dozens of Democrats all across the country. And I'm even prouder to have 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. I'm running for Congress because after living and serving here in the Hudson Valley for 20 years, I know how to roll up my sleeves and deliver results that make a difference in people's lives. That's the leadership that meets this moment, and it's the leadership I'll take to Congress next year. I humbly ask for your vote on or before June 23rd. Thank you so much.

Moderator 76:36 Thank you very much, Beth. And Mike, you're next.

Mike Sacks 76:41 All right, everybody. So first to my four fellow colleagues and candidates, guys, this is, I think, our penultimate time together before the election day has come. So been lovely being with all of you. And as Beth mentioned, we all are pretty different. We have so much similarities, but it's your job to pick who you want your way of writer to be. Because this might blow some of your minds, but I think virtually all of us can beat Mike Lawler. Lawler has never run, as I said, while tied to the mass of a ruling regime dedicated to hurting people. He ran in 2024, where there was, I think, a plus four generic ballot for Republicans. Now, even among Democrats, even among independents and non-voters who are planning to vote now, it's like plus 15 for Democrats in generic ballot. So Lawler will probably over-perform Republicans on the whole, but he will not beat that wave. And it's on you guys to ensure that that wave exerts a gravitational pull so we can splash over Lawler as much as possible. And if we could, we could all try to all together and be one big super candidate for you, but you have to choose among one of us. So it's on you to see what we've said tonight. Think, who do you want to represent you in Congress? It's not me, fine. But here's my pitch to you, right? Each person here stands for something, something specific, but it's local governance, representing, unrepresenting communities, national security, all of that, right? But the battle we're waging right now is in the attention economy, in the media, and in law and politics, and the history of how we got to this country and how to get us out of it. And that is where my deep expertise comes in. I'll be ready to go on day one in Congress to bring the fight and the fire to combat those who've stolen our power so we can bring it back, take it back, get a trifecta, and turn the page on zombie Reaganism and deliver us into a new era that serves all of us. Thank you.

Moderator 78:18 Thank you, Mike. John, you're next.

John Cappello 78:21 Thank you. And again, I want to thank the League of Women Voters for doing this this evening, for everyone for showing up. It's a great group. And I know we want to go watch the Knicks win. Look, I want to come back to where I started, talking about systemic change and about doing politics differently. That's not just a slogan. It's something that we need to do. It's necessary to do. I'm part of a coalition that's 110 different candidates from around the United States, congressional candidates from around the United States, 40 different states that are committed to implementing those five things as a way to restore balance and accountability. But this is not just about reform. That balance and accountability, again, will restore the service, public service. So we know that we're sending, the people we're sending there to D.C. are committed to serving the working class and the working people of this district. But it's not just about reform. This is about opportunity. And we have an opportunity to change the way we do politics. I would argue that the system right now is not set up to make the types of change that are necessary to address all of the issues, the very important issues that we talked about this evening. And the only way that we're going to make progress on those issues is if we send someone different to D.C., someone that's capable and willing to make the changes necessary to change the system. Thank you very much for listening tonight, and I appreciate it.

Moderator 79:57 Thank you, John. And next is Cait.

Cait Conley 80:00 So when I was growing up, New York 17 was in the Bronx. We keep going. We have a census. We redraw the lines. Coming out of 2021, the redistricting effort. New York 17 is now four counties. Northern Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Southern Dutchess. And it's important that we remember, and they taught us to this as a young army officer, that the fastest way to lose the current war is to fight the last one. We got to recognize that to solve the problems on this so many important policy issues we talk tonight, we have to win, because that's the only way we get to govern and fix this. And winning today's New York 17 means having a candidate that can put the whole district in play, all four counties, not just parts of it. And that's why I'm incredibly proud to say that I'm the only candidate that has earned endorsements from elected officials in all four counties. I've been endorsed by the Putnam and Dutchess County Democratic Committees, by Congressman Pat Ryan to our north, by the New York State Teachers Union. We've built this incredible coalition all across the district that I'm so incredibly proud of. And that is going to be how we beat Mike Lawler, is continuing to build out this coalition and offering voters a person, and not just a party to unify. Because in this purple district, where 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated or independent, we need somebody who can reach out to voters across party lines and bring them together to beat Mike Lawler. 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. So I would love your support in this fight to make sure we send Mike Lawler packing this November and fight for a future in America that we believe in and we are proud of, and is the force of good that we know it can and should be.

Moderator 81:36 Thank you very much, Kate Effie.

Effie Phillips-Staley 81:39 Thank you so much to the League of Women Voters and everyone who has it, all 437 of you who are logged in tonight. I got into this race because a group of Latino activists in my community asked me to fight for them, not because the money was there, not because the Democratic establishment was behind me, but because not a single voter in this district can afford to be written off. We cannot afford that. Not Muslims, not Latinos, not young people watching their generation get priced out of the place they grew up in or their planet burn up. Not anyone. The system keeps telling us that we have to shift to the right, that we have to trim our positions to be palatable to donors and hope that somehow that's enough. But that strategy has lost this seat twice. It leaves people in Spring Valley and Haverstraw and Ossining with no real reason to show up. So I am offering something different. 66,000 new homes, universal childcare, Medicare for all, an immigration system built on dignity, not fear, and a foreign policy that applies the same human rights standards to everyone. Plus the structural independence to fight for it because I don't know anything to the people or the establishment that benefit from keeping things broken. This district deserves a representative who tells the truth about what's wrong and has the courage to fix it. That is me, and I thank you for your vote.

Moderator 83:20 Thank you very much, Effie. So that brings us to the end of the forum. Thank you to the League of Women Voters of Westchester and Rockland Counties for hosting the candidates forum, to the candidates for their willingness to serve in a volunteer capacity, and to all of you participants for your community involvement. Thank you also to our League of Women Voters team who put together tonight's forum. Please consider supporting the work we do by joining the League or by making a donation to our Education Committee. Primary election day is Tuesday, June 23, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Early voting begins on Saturday, June 13 to Sunday, June 21. For information on registering to vote, your voting location or timing on the early voting days, please consult vote411.org, call the district clerk, or look to the district website under voting. That concludes our candidate forum for the evening. Thank you, all of you, and good night.

Paul Adler 0:00 who does double duty as the president of the Niagara Ranch, Nikki Hines. And we're also grateful for the collaboration with the League of Women Voters. They're outside, and so we're out there and we're working with them. And just to remind folks that there's literature in the back from the candidates on the back table. So if you're interested, please do that. So at this time, I'd like to call on my co-chair for this event, Sonia Tracy, for the purposes of opening remarks.

Sonia Tracy 0:37 Thank you, Paul. Thank you so much. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. I bring you greetings on behalf of the Spring Valley and the Niant NAACP. Thank you for joining us tonight for this important candidates forum for the New York 17th Congressional District Democratic Primary. We're grateful that we have gathered here as a community engaging in one of the most vital responsibilities of a democracy, which is informed participation. Forums like this give voters a meaningful opportunity to hear directly from those seeking to represent them and to understand their priorities. And of course, to compare the visions for the future of this district. The NAACP has a long and proud history of promoting civic engagement, protecting voting rights, and ensuring that every voice is heard. Tonight's event continues that legacy by providing a fair, respectful, and nonpartisan space for dialogue and discussion. We ask that everyone in attendance help us maintain a spirit of respect and openness throughout the evening. While we may have different perspectives, we are united in our commitment to strengthening our communities and upholding democratic values. I want to extend our appreciation to the candidates for being here tonight and for their willingness to engage directly with us. I would also like to reiterate that the end of the NAACP is a nonpartisan organization whose sole purpose is to engage citizens in the electoral process. We do not support candidates, but rather we study the issues and take positions on the issues which affect citizens in various communities. So again, on behalf of both branches and the Civic Engagement Committee, welcome. Paul, back to you.

Paul Adler 3:27 Thank you, Sonia. Sonia and I have been doing this for many years now. Too many years, too. I'm proud to say this is my 49th year as a member of the NAACP. At this time, I'd like to call on the president of RCC, Dr. Bill Mulaney, who has just distinguished himself as one of the great presidents here at the RCC campus. And those of us that love Rockland know that this is probably the greatest gem we have. This is one of the best assets Rockland County has. This is community college. So please join me in a round of applause for Dr. Mulaney.

Dr. Bill Mulaney 4:26 Thank you, Paul. Good evening, and welcome, or I should say welcome back to the ellipse of Rockland Community College. RCC is deeply committed to being a place where learning, dialogue, and civic engagement come together. Events like this allow us to fulfill one of our central responsibilities as a community college, serving as a public forum where members of our community can gather, listen, question, and participate in conversations that matter. For more than six decades, RCC has been an open access institution dedicated to expanding opportunity and strengthening the social and economic fabric of Rockland County. We take pride in providing a space where civil discourse can flourish, grounded in respect, evidence, and a shared commitment to community well-being. I want to thank all the candidates, the NIAC and the Spring Valley branch of the NAACP, and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this evening possible, our facilities team, our public safety, and the staff of Corte Logistics. Your efforts ensure that events like this blend smoothly and safely. I also want to thank all of you for being here. Your presence reflects the strength of our community. Whether you're a student learning how civic processes work, it's nice to see some young friends in the back of the room. Thank you for coming. A longtime resident or community partner, your participation makes gatherings like this meaningful. Tonight is an opportunity to listen, ask questions, and to engage thoughtfully in the democratic process. On behalf of RCC, I'm pleased to welcome you and wish you a productive, engaging, and respectful conversation. Thank you.

Paul Adler 6:04 Thank you, Dr. Mulaney. At this time, I would just like to recognize, because no NAACP event for the last nearly 50 years is complete without recognizing Mother Pratt. This time, I'd like to call on a gentleman who has been the longtime leader of the Spring Valley branch of the NAACP, someone I've had the distinct privilege of working with in the clergy for social justice and the East Rampo issue. He is a real social justice warrior. Please join me in welcoming Willie Trotman.

Willie Trotman 6:54 And thanks, everyone, for coming out. Just again, like to acknowledge Sonya Tracy of Indian Street, Lisa Walker from our civic engagement committee of the Spring Valley NAACP. Welcome, everyone. Tonight is a significant night in that we, as the democratic process, is in trouble, seriously in trouble.

Paul Adler 7:20 If I go back to 1950s and 60s when I went to school with all black and brown kids,

Willie Trotman 7:27 we're rapidly heading there now, rapidly. And so to our five democratic foes who are running for Congress, no matter who is the winner, could just please let's stick together as one. For the past year and a half, we've seen the destruction of people. It's going to take us another 50 to 75 years to correct that. Think about what they are complaining about in the Lincoln Mall in New Jersey. People are talking about even maggots.

Paul Adler 8:08 You can't be sanitary like that. This is so-called America, you know what I mean? This is the place for all the veterans fought for. This is the America we do not know and we need to take back. The 17th District is very, very important. Very, very important. Understand that we need you, all of you collectively, to represent all of us. I just want people to understand that while the NAACP

Willie Trotman 8:39 is nonpartisan, I have a different definition of partisan and nonpartisan. Understand something. When Barack Obama became president, that was not politics for me. That was history for me. 500 years, we cannot find a damn female to run the United States of America. That's not politics for me.

Paul Adler 9:01 My mother cared me for nine months. You tell me she can't be president of the United States.

Willie Trotman 9:09 There's something wrong here. And so there's a passion that I have within

Paul Adler 9:16 and that you guys can represent for the future of America, for our children who are giving Spring Valley

Willie Trotman 9:25 and their kids who are afraid to go home because they think their parents are not gonna be there. This is the world in which we live in now.

Paul Adler 9:36 And don't tell me about immigrants. I was a slavery grant. That me and my forefathers were both slaves. But everybody else pretty much except those people from Hillburn, et cetera,

Willie Trotman 9:47 they were born here and everybody else is an immigrant. So we talk about immigrants and think about it. Somebody stood up at the border for three years

Paul Adler 9:57 just trying to come here to be a human being and we send them back.

Willie Trotman 10:03 There's something wrong with that.

Paul Adler 10:04 There's something inhumane about that.

Willie Trotman 10:07 And so we need to correct that within the Democratic Party. And we're counting on you all as collectively and as a woman to do that. Thank you very much.

Paul Adler 10:16 Thank you, Willie. And now someone who has really distinguished herself as a true leader, filling big shoes, literally and figuratively in the person of Wilbur Aldrich who couldn't be here tonight, our former regional directive, but she is not only the president of the Niant Grants but the regional director of the NAACP, a real firebrand and someone that has redefined leadership here in the NAACP, Nikki Hines.

Nikki Hines 10:55 Thank you, Paul. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Let's try it again. One more time, one more time. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Better, because we have to be awake and alive to be able to hear what our five candidates have to say. I don't know how I'm going to top Willie Chapman who is our my own personal historian because he has a wealth of knowledge for here in this county and beyond. As Willie said and Sonia said that the NAACP is nonpartisan and they are right. We are nonpartisan, but we are political as hell. And so I will remind you of that tonight because we are, we have to be. We are nonpartisan, but we are political as hell. Tonight is the night for us to really listen not just with our heart on who we like and who we want to be, but with our head and really understand what is at stake, not just for you as an individual, but for everyone in New York, 17th District. That is the important part, not just for self, but for everyone. We cannot be like the other party. It is not, it is not about party and I've said it so many times, it is about humanity. It is about what we want to see again for all people. And so I am glad that we chose this night to have a candidates forum because for us it is our last before the primary election. And so it is important for us in this room and as we stream live on Facebook for everyone to listen. Now I know that you all have been doing this. I don't know how many times, how long and you're probably tired of it, but you chose it. And because you chose it, you have to be right here with us. And so for us, this is our last for us to be able to hear you, we'll see you, but for us to be able to hear and really know and understand what you are going to do, one for me in particular, for black folks. Because we know that if you do right by black folks, then all folks benefit. And so I want to say thank you for your time and thank you for putting yourselves in it. And again, no matter who wins, we want to see you do right by all people in New York 17. Thank you.

Paul Adler 14:41 So Tara Carter is right there. Tara is the timekeeper. She just became the most important person in the room. Sarah will hold up these signs. We ask that you comply with the signs. That's for the candidates. I know I can't stop all of you from talking, but I can stop the candidates from talking at times. So this is how we're going to do it. This is opening statements are two minutes. We will have a Q and A portion for about 45 minutes with NAACP Game Changer questions. And then we'll open it up to the audience. There are cards that have been distributed. And if you want a card, just raise your hand and I will tell you that any card that has an ad hominin attack in it, like your mother wears army boots or something like that, that card will be discarded, right? So we will not have any ad hominin attacks that's not been our way here. So there'll be that. And then the closing will be two minute statements as well. So, and at this point, I'm going to just start right here with Mike Sacks and ask him to please open with a two minute opening statement.

Mike Sacks 16:12 Hey everybody. Thanks for being here. Thank you Paul for the introduction and to everyone else who introduced us. It's been two minutes. I'm going to talk reasonably fast. My name is Mike Sacks and I'm a dad of two boys, aged nine and 12. I live in Croton-Hudson, I'm a lawyer and a former political and legal journalist. I cover the Supreme Court, Congress, the White House, 2016 campaigns. And what I learned along the way is that every wrong turn America has ever made is because the majority of white America did not listen to the majority of black America. I'm going to tell you a story. I'm going to draw some dates because we're here with the NAACP. The LDF, the Legal and Education Defense Fund, headed by Thurgood Marshall in 1954, won Brown versus Board of Education. That was a landmark decision, but it was an accident of history that he had nine justices on the Supreme Court that would vote for him. After that decision, nothing happened. The South waged massive resistance until the March on Washington and the Civil Rights Movement led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Those acts have not been repealed by the Republican Party because they know that if they try to repeal those, they'll be thrown out of office so fast. So instead, what happens? Instead, the South tries to play some fast and loose with voting rights. In 1980, the Supreme Court says that there needs to be intentional discrimination to violate the Voting Rights Act section two. Well, you know you can hide intentional discrimination, so Congress goes back and creates amendments that says no one can have effects of discrimination also to ensure voting rights. We need to protect those. John Roberts, the Chief Justice, then a young lawyer in the DOJ, said, no, I don't like that. I'm going to tell Reagan he shouldn't do it well. Congress will pass bipartisan majorities, Reagan signed into law, and then what happened 40 years later? The Supreme Court, headed by John Roberts, has its revenge and nullifies those amendments to the Voting Rights Act and says that Congress cannot do anything to fix it. So we have now reached full circle with the Supreme Court in 1950s and 60s that did what it took with one person, one vote to break the back of Southern apartheid.

Paul Adler 18:10 None of the Supreme Court looked at

Mike Sacks 18:12 and actually creating Southern apartheid again. We need to have people in Congress who understand where the power is and how to attack that power structure, design, perpetuate the power, republican power, and amount of the people's will. We can take that on, but we have to be having, we have to have the awareness and willingness to do it. I see stuff. I'm sorry, but thank you, guys.

Paul Adler 18:36 Director Parr, we have it going. Can I have Effie, if you would, please?

Effie Phillips-Staley 18:41 Thank you so much. Hi, everyone, I'm Effie Phillips-Staley, another candidate for Congress, New York 17. Fifth year, as a trustee in the village of Tarrytown, have worked my entire adult life in the nonprofit sector in every role, from receptionist to executive director and board member, always focused on social justice because I learned early from my mother, an immigrant from El Salvador, that we can't expect people to just do things for us to make things equal. We have to fight to do it ourselves. I have to ask the audience a question. I know this isn't typical, but how many of you have attended one of these before? Amazing. How many of you have decided on your candidate? Got it. Just wanted to get a gauge of the room, and so I'm gonna speak quickly about the policies that I'm advancing as a candidate. It's called the suburban progress agenda. This was developed after speaking with people throughout the district and asking them specifically to reflect on their budgets and tell us what the pain points were. And so this is what the policy platform that I am bringing to the campaign, which you can see in immense detail on my website, FV4Converse.com. Housing affordability, Medicare for all, because I believe housing and healthcare are human rights and the government needs to implement them fairly. Universal childcare. New Mexico's already done it, done it for everyone at every income level, it's possible. And what I call justice at home and justice abroad. Justice at home is making sure that everyone has the right to vote, that people are treated equally under the law, that ICE is abolished. It is absolutely critical that we rebuild that system, not from where it is right now. And then justice abroad, which I will discuss later.

Cait Conley 20:49 Thank you.

Paul Adler 20:50 Thank you. That was a great update, very good. Cait?

Cait Conley 20:59 So first, good evening and thank you to Sonia and Paul for making tonight possible. Thank you to Mickey Hines and Willie for bringing us all together. And thank you all for being here. I am Cait Conley, I'm a proud West Point graduate, Army's Special Ops Combat Bed has 16 years and six tours. I'm proud daughter of our Hudson Valley, where my family's roots here go back four generations with blue collars I get to the Montrose Brickyards. When we talk about what has guided us in life to include sitting before you tonight, 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. And Willie's words earlier, could not express more of what is at stake. I have to tell you over the last 14 months, I've gone to every corner of this district, all over Rockwood, whether it's celebrating pride, whether it's going to the NAACP Gala as a center for safety and change, all of these incredible places. But I will tell you the concerns and all of these different places are the same. It is people who are worried that we are watching as our neighbors lose rights, as healthcare becomes a political weapon that is being denied to women, that is being denied to working families. As we sit and watch a weaponization of the executive branch, the denial of voting rights and equal representation to people in our nation. We are watching as we lose the America that is Willie brought up for generations. So many have fought and sacrificed for. That is why we are doing this. Because 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. That is not the America he is fighting for. And so thank you for being here tonight because defending democracy is the biggest team sport out there.

John Cappello 23:10 Thank you, John. Good evening and thank you again to the Spring Valley 9th NAACP's for everyone for being here. It means a lot that you're taking time out of your busy schedules to be with us, to hear what we have to say and to give us your input. I'm again, John DeCullo from Suffolk, New York. Went to the Air Force Academy, graduated, became a pilot, served the Air Force for 25 years. Also served as a diplomat, spoke for talk back at the Air Force Academy 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 work in other countries and those same institutions are under pressure here in the United States. From day one, when I got into the race in September, I said we need to do politics differently. I committed that we need to do politics differently. Last nine months, walking this district, again, every corner of the district, I've heard over and over again the frustration, the tiredness of the politics of polarization and division. People are tired. They're tired of voting against someone. They want to vote for someone. 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 when we need a code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Without doing those five things, those structural things, does anybody disagree? Then why haven't we done it? Well, we don't. Because the system rewards the status quo. And until we change who we send to Washington, we're gonna get the same results. That systemic change has to occur so that we put service back into public service and all the things we're gonna talk about tonight can be implemented.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_08) 25:18 Thank you again for being here.

Beth Davidson 25:26 Thank you so much. Thank you all for being here. Thank you to the NIAC and Spring Valley NAACPs. Thank you to Paul and Sonia. I'm so lucky to be able to partner with you on so many initiatives for our community over the years. For those of you who haven't met, 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. And President Hines may have borrowed the line from me or I'm stealing it from her. The NAACP is nonpartisan, but you are political as hell. And this is the moment to fight for our communities. The communities where we are raising our children, where we are growing our businesses, where we are educating students for the jobs of tomorrow and where we are building a better future for all of us. And you're rightly focused on the 2026 election because this is where we stop the Trump administration from its attempt to erase our history. Before there was Brown versus Board of Education, there were two schools in Hiddelburn and to undermine equity. I am so proud to have been part of the racial equity journey in NIAC Public Schools. Thank you to everyone in this room who has helped. In that journey, we are making a difference and lifting outcomes for all children. I'm happy to say that and grateful to the voters of District 10 and the Rockland County Legislature to say that alongside Dr. Dana Stilley, I'm continuing that fight for all of our communities standing up to Donald Trump and Mike Lawler in real time by securing millions of dollars in food relief for families who depended on snacks that could keep food on the tables, 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 to our communities for our communities against ICE. And thank you to everyone in this room who's been part of that coalition that will endure long past November. 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 and continuing to take the fight to Donald Trump and Mike Lawler every day. That's what I'll do in Congress for this community with your support.

Sonia Tracy 27:32 Thank you. And now we will begin the questions and Beth, since you have the mic, we'll start off with you. The question is accountability and misuse of federal resources. On your first day in Congress, will you commit to co-sponsoring or introducing legislation to claw back the one point, almost eight million billion dollars diverted to projects like the White House Ballroom, the Arlington National Cemetery Arc and to strip Trump's name from the Kennedy Center? What specific legislative vehicle will you use and how would you build a coalition to achieve such?

Beth Davidson 28:34 Absolutely. So thank you for that question. Yes, this is corruption of the scale we've never seen in this White House, almost 1.8 million dollars, but 1,776,000 dollars to be exact. Isn't that cute, 1776? Trying to make a point about, yeah. And how ironic also that that fund would go towards insurrectionists who beat up police officers and terrorized our capital. There is legislation that is being proposed, I believe it's starting in the Senate, to ban the use of funding for any future compensation fund. It looks like it's been halted in court, but since we never put it past Donald Trump to try something a second time, there is legislation to stop that and redirect that funds, those funds towards stopping child sexploitation, towards the National Counterterrorism Center and putting money back into healthcare. And I think those are much better uses of the taxpayer funds and I'll build a coalition just like I do here at Rockland County. We do have a Democratic majority in the legislature, but we have a Republican county executive and I work with two Republican town supervisors and 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, happy pride everybody. We did pack the room, it passed unanimously and he signed it the very next day. And I have to say it was a great moment because gun safety advocates don't always get to see wins, especially at the local level. So it showed the power of their vote and voters will see the power of their vote in January too when we put Congress back to work for the people. Great, thank you.

Sonia Tracy 30:29 Just to remind her, we ask that you contain your answers for one minute and we've missed that direction. Pam Kieser. All right, we'll fit, okay, thank you. And stand corrected. We'll finish this segment in two minutes and then going forward, we'll do one minute answers. All right, next we'll hear from John. You're next.

John Cappello 30:58 So honestly, I don't wanna wait till the first day I'm elected. I think we should be fighting that and working on that today. Corruption is not a partisan issue. As I said, the basis of my campaign is restoring balance and accountability. Accountability being the operative word there because there is an absolute lack of accountability. Congress is advocating, has advocated its responsibility of oversight. This is clear and it's unacceptable. There are plenty of things we could do when we take back Congress, but I think the American people writ large are tired of this corruption. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, people are tired of the chaos of the corrupt action in our faces, in our faces. I hear that across the spectrum in this community. So it's not just us sitting here at the table that wanna make this change, that wanna take back Congress's role of accountability, but we need to do this as a body, as a functioning body. My experience has been to build coalitions. Part of the question was how are we gonna do this? I've spent my career building coalitions, building partnerships, building alliances at the national, international level. And this is something that I think we need to establish in Congress, the ability to talk civilly and to talk about these court issues. And quite honestly, stealing from the American people is not a hard issue. It's not a hard issue.

Cait Conley 32:45 Thank you. Kate Metz, you're next. Tony, absolutely yes, everything you just said. I mean, what we were seeing coming out of this administration where they're gonna take $1.7 billion of our taxpayer dollars to sit there and reward the January 6th riders that abused, assaulted, and led to the deaths of law enforcement officers. That's just straight up un-American, and it gains all the values that our nation stands for. What we should be doing is addressing the real problems that our nation is facing. But 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. As I tell you, the privilege I've had on this trail of spending time in these organizations, these institutions, that are creating pathways to economic success and prosperity for this generation and the next that don't put families and students into lifelong student debt just trying to make it to the middle class. We need to be doubling down on these programs. That's where our taxpayer dollars belong in creating economic opportunity for the next generation. And so that coalition that we build, that is the easier part, because I will tell you 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. That's a red-weighted blue issue. And so yes, this is about finding solutions to help all American families to include ours and all of our communities, especially our minority communities that are suffering even more with the assistance that they deserve. And so when we talk about the future and where our taxpayer dollars belong, it is investing in that. It is bringing people together. It's making sure that they can afford healthcare. It's making sure that they don't go bankrupt trying to pursue economic opportunity. That's where government should be serving, not itself. Thank you. Thank you.

Sonia Tracy 34:49 Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Can I ask you to repeat the question? Absolutely. I'll be delighted. Accountability and misuse of federal resources. Question. On your first day in Congress, will you commit to cosponsoring or introducing legislation to pull back the $1.776 billion diverted to projects like the White House Ballroom, the Arlington National Cemetery Art, and to strip the Trump from the Kennedy Center, which is a National Cultural Institute. What specific legislative vehicle will you use and how will you build coalition to achieve this?

Effie Phillips-Staley 35:43 Thank you so much. I think one of the most extraordinary things about the time that we're in is that our democracy seems to be hanging by a thread. And some of you might argue that we've already entered into something like an autocracy. And an aspect of how we got here is the immense amount of work that the Republican Party did in understanding our political and legal systems, dissecting it, finding loopholes, and creating legal avenues to misuse its power. It's project 2025. It's something that people laughed at for a long time, except I think most of us in this room understood that when Trump says he's gonna do something, he's very serious about it. And so we're seeing the legal dissolution, mostly legal, often not legal, but dissolution of our democratic processes. And so one critical thing is that we have to form a committee to look carefully at project 2025, the legal loopholes that it identified, and we have to shore them up. We have to learn from this catastrophe and rework our political processes so that they can't be weaponized against us again. I think that's absolutely critical. So yes to all the things that you said, this 1.776 billion, which is absurd, Trump on the Kennedy Center, I think they're already, are gonna take his name down, thankfully, because the courts aren't working in that way. But I believe that having worked as a trustee in the village of Tarrytown with independents, with Republicans, we have passed extraordinary legislation around housing affordability, around rent or protections, because we all care about our village. And so that's the kind of work that has to happen on the congressional level. We have to A, take the majority back, but B, work with our partners for the project of strengthening our democracy again. Thank you. And last, Mike. Thank you.

Paul Adler 37:58 Thank you.

Mike Sacks 37:58 So project 2025 weren't legal loopholes.

Paul Adler 38:02 It was a result of a counter-revolution under a constitution that the conservative right wing

Mike Sacks 38:07 of America has been waging for the past 50 years.

Paul Adler 38:11 Okay, now, the archway,

Mike Sacks 38:13 the Kennedy Center role, a little bit from Kennedy Center, you guys know the poem Ozzy Mendias by Shelley. I call Trump Dozy Mendias. He falls asleep everywhere and is trying to put his name on everything, although we're gonna smash it all to bits when we get back and uproot everything that he's put in place and just try to have us remember him forever. It's gonna be dust, but we're not like that. So day one, day one, what we need to do isn't just cinch those purse strings tight, because we won't be able to get past Trump's veto. We need to recognize that we are starting in the 120th Congress on our own constitutional rejuvenation, a reconstruction, if you will, a reempowering of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, beginning with Congress taking its power back from the courts and from the executive and back to the people.

Paul Adler 39:03 That means, on day one, we need to come forward with bold, progressive, legislative ideas.

Mike Sacks 39:12 Let's think about the new deal in the great society, Social Security, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, progressive ideas that are called communism when they were proposed, and Supreme Court's trying to strike them down,

Paul Adler 39:25 but they stuck and now we have them and they transform into society.

Mike Sacks 39:27 We need to do that again

Paul Adler 39:29 with Medicare for All,

Mike Sacks 39:30 with restoration of reproductive rights, with the new Voting Rights Act, all of the things, and we can do that as our own one big beautiful bill on day one. And that agenda that we set, come up with the aggressive oversight we're gonna have with the bad guys that have stolen from us and hurt us over the past few years, and for the next two years, together we can build momentum towards the fact that whoever comes out the 2028 presidential primaries will be carrying our flag. So we can talk about bipartisan bridge building, but you know what, have you seen the Republicans lately? Have you? Our reconstruction will be a partisan project, so we can get to the point where they want to have bipartisan, they plan our turf.

Paul Adler 40:05 Thank you.

Sonia Tracy 40:06 Thank you. I'm going to hand off to Paul for the next round and be reminded, your answer should be one minute. Thank you so much.

Paul Adler 40:29 I was asked by Wilbur, this only requires a hand raise, how many members, the candidates here, are members of the NAACP?

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_08) 40:41 Good question. Thank you very much. Wow, look at that. Oh. I'm sorry. There are cards in the back.

Paul Adler 40:50 We can remedy that tonight. Okay. Voting rights and electoral integrity, black and Latino voters in Rockland and across New York 17, continue to face voter, face voter suppression tactics, including aggressive purges of the voter rolls, reduced polling locations and threats to non-citizen communities that shield lawful participation. What concrete legislation will you champion in Congress to restore and strengthen the Voter Rights Act? And how will you fight Republican efforts to federally create state voter protection laws? Beth?

Beth Davidson 41:36 Well, 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 Cal A has made that, would probably 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 for the People Act. And that is because the provisions in that piece of legislation, which include the prohibition on random voter purges, automatic voter registration and to partisan gerrymandering aren't race-based. And so it would probably survive scrutiny that came out of Cal A, which Justice Elena Kagan said renders the Voting Rights Act pretty much a dead letter. So this is something we need to work on. I would also propose a carve-out of the filibuster. I mean, I hope the Senate would once we take back the Senate with an exception for voting rights that we can get this across the finish line and obviously ban federal funding for the use of ICE polling stations. Thank you.

John Cappello 42:46 I think, you know, not having to reinvent the wheel is an important part of this process. Educating people, getting people to understand, look, the Voting Rights Act was the foundation. This is when America truly became a democracy, right? And that is a foundation for this country. We need to go back to that. The fact that Americans feel comfortable overturning that, stating that there is no problem, right? The problem solved is part of the problem. Now some of them may be disingenuous and racist but many of them are ignorant. We have to deal with that ignorance and we have to explain, we have to show people that the problem is not solved. We have not come to grips with race in this country for the beginning. We need to have that. We need to have a national conversation with how we treat native Americans and African Americans. And I'm sorry, it didn't get to the rest of my answer.

Cait Conley 43:55 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 that they perceived in terms of Democrats and minority communities and women. We have to continue to fight back and not let things like the Save Act which they continue to push pass. 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 so we can help these entities, these organizations that are out there trying to increase access and voter registration to disenfranchised communities and helping state and local governments secure polling locations and increase access. Those are things we can do. And we do need to push for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And then force the Supreme Court to rule yet again and to disenfranchise American citizens with their fundamental rights. And then we need to push for Supreme Court terminals. Whoo!

Effie Phillips-Staley 45:03 So yes to the Freedom to Vote Act, yes to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. But I'm gonna answer this question a little differently because as a local elected who's run for office many times and who first chose to run for office to support Hispanic communities of which I am part of, I think that an even bigger problem is not something that the federal government can manage, it's how we act within our local Deaf Democratic Committees. So are we doing the work of reaching out to communities, all communities, earning trust, developing legislation that is needed based on needs that are defined for us and then getting it done. I would argue that most committees focus on high propensity voters and ignore everybody else. And that is a structural barrier to participation. That has been happening for a long time. So we can talk about federal legislation and that's very important. But we have to talk about how we act at the local level and whether or not we are being inclusive or we're hoarding power, I think there's an awful lot of hoarding power.

Mike Sacks 46:21 If we pass a term on this law, the Supreme Court will strike it down. If we pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Supreme Court will say section five is unconstitutional even if we update the preclearance formula the Supreme Court struck down in 2013. And the Supreme Court said, also we cannot again put back in power the 1982 amendment to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that Supreme Court said was unconstitutional just a few weeks ago. So what do we have to do? We have to take on the Supreme Court. We have to add seats to the Supreme Court, but more than that, we need to disempower the Supreme Court. So when we pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, when we re-give new life back to what they took away just a couple weeks ago, when we pass the Freedom of Vote Act with multi-member districts and abortion representation, we often have a provision that strips the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to review the constitutionality of our voice. That's article three, section two of the Constitution.

Paul Adler 47:14 We can do that. This is what we have to do,

Mike Sacks 47:17 not yesterday, not tomorrow, today, with the bill of political will for that in the 120th Congress. That is everything.

Paul Adler 47:31 I just want to remind everyone, in light of this question, we had a collaboration with the League of Women Voters. I'm privileged to serve on that board, and I see Gloria Hillsman, the CEO of only 50. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's some very important New York State election dates. There's still time to register folks, folks to change their addresses and to get an absentee ballots out before, if you can't make early voting, Sonia.

Sonia Tracy 48:08 We're going to do these a little bit differently. So we're going to start with Cait. Next question, one minute answer. Immigration and community safety. ICE operations in Rockland County have separated families and created fear in immigrant communities, including among longtime residents with deep roots here. Do you support ending mass deportation operations targeting non-criminal residents? And will you push for a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and long-term residents? And what will you say to constituents who argue immigration enforcement makes communities safer? One minute answers, thank you.

Cait Conley 49:05 So absolutely, we have been failing our immigrant neighbors, many of whom have been contributing, texting 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 owe it to that. That is also the most American thing to do. We must protect our dreamers. And yes, to all of those protected status as you talk about it, to include, we need to get a pathway for our TPS protected Haitian brothers and sisters that are here to get them on a pathway to citizenship by extending TPS status long enough for them to get through the process. You know, I'm incredibly proud to do work with FARA and the Haitian American Nurses Association of the Hudson Valley, that they lead the incredible service that they give to our communities, right? To include serving our veterans and so many of the VAs here across the Hudson Valley. So yes, the government is failing. We must reign in ICE. I want to hold every one of those federal agencies committed a crime legally accountable. We need to be focusing on making sure that drug cartels and human traffickers and terrorist organizations are coming across the border, not going after grandmas and nurses.

Mike Sacks 50:09 I'm coming in hot tonight, guys, if you haven't noticed. So, structure, yeah, look at that, a lot of this bottle of water. Structure, structure, structure. We had a comprehensive immigration reform bill that was ready to go with majorities in both the House and the Senate with the President ready to sign it in 2013. What happened to that bill? It got filibustered by Republicans, a minority of a minority got in the way of the Democratic majority, not just big D but small D, in cleaning up and fixing our system in a humane way that would have had the Dream Act involved, that would have been given permanent status and pathway to citizenship for our neighbors who are now being terrorized because we've kept it a festering wound for the last 10 years.

Paul Adler 51:02 If we want to get anything done,

Mike Sacks 51:04 we must urge the Senate to abolish the Senate filibuster, not just piece by piece, but across the board.

Paul Adler 51:10 And we need to use the majorities we have to make real change for people that they can feel and we can put it in place so that it does not get repealed

Mike Sacks 51:19 and we can turn the page on zombie Reaganism. Thank you.

Paul Adler 51:23 Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 51:24 Thank you, everyone, for your take on that question. This is very personal for me. My mother immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in 1968, and that was under Immigration and Naturalization Service. That was long before ICE existed, which was started in 2003 as a result of the War on Terror when immigration and naturalization was combined with customs enforcement. I do not believe these two departments should be combined. I think what we see now is a militarized paramilitary force that the federal, that the executive branch is using it well with the kinds of grave human rights abuses that is completely outrageous. So you will hear me say abolish ICE. I know some people have a real problem with that because they conflate ICE with law enforcement. I don't believe ICE is a credible law enforcement and I don't believe that it can be reformed. We have models that have worked in the past in our nation and that's what we need to return to.

Sonia Tracy 52:37 Next year we are from John and then Beth, in that order.

John Cappello 52:43 So the first part of your question, yes, I support a support law, that's an easy answer. 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. It will take time to do, but we need to specifically put guard rails on the immigration enforcement system. Revamp ICE, strong structural restrictions on it. And I think this helps us get to the point where we solve and reach the goals we need to of immigration enforcement and separate the issue of going after grandmothers and others that are here and not criminals at all.

Sonia Tracy 53:57 Thank you, Beth.

Beth Davidson 53:59 Thank you, so this isn't something you'd have to ask what I would do in Congress. It's work I'm already doing right now. I stepped up early this year to introduce the Safety and Dignity or All Act based on Westchester's Immigrant Protection Act, which to your question, Sonia took two administrations to pass, but it did pass in 2018. And crime actually has gone down to Westchester between 2020 and 2024. So a false flag that passing this bill would increase crime in Rockland County or anywhere else for that matter. And I'll say when Michael Aller came after me to your question of building coalitions, within 48 hours I put together a coalition. Folks, including folks in this room, President Trotman, President Heinz, I see Pastor Brandon McLaughlin, because it is impacting everyone in our community. Domestic violence, victims are afraid to report crimes, families are afraid to go to food pantries. There's a 10% chronic absenteeism rate in East Ramapah 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. And I'm proud of the coalition we are building, grateful to the governor for what she has passed. We're gonna keep standing up for people

Sonia Tracy 55:07 here in Rockland County, thank you. We're moving right along. John, let's hear your answer to this one. Weaponization of the Justice Department. We have witnessed that the DOJ and federal agencies use to investigate, prosecute, and intimidate political opponents, journalists and civil rights advocates. How will you use your platform in Congress to hold the executive branch accountable? And would you support independent oversight legislation, including a special counsel statute with teeth to prevent the DOJ from ever again being used as an instrument of political revenge?

John Cappello 56:05 Yes, so we've gone through difficult times before. 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. And this is not just about 2026 or 2028, we have to be prepared to do exactly what you're talking about. Institute new laws, institute organizations to prevent that from happening. Who would've thought we had to put laws into place to prevent the president's son from getting money from foreign country? That's different than what you're asking, yes. But the point is we have to be prepared to put those very specific guardrails back in place. Guardrails we didn't know we even knew, we didn't know we needed. So it comes down to also the structural change. The incentives, why are people so afraid to stand up to Trump? Why? Because they're worried about their job, not about public service. And complete that thought in the conclusion. So yeah, stick around.

Sonia Tracy 57:21 Thank you so much. Gayne, let's hear your answer to that.

Cait Conley 57:24 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 like Sarah Fitzpatrick from the Atlantic who exposed Cash Patel's drinking and ineptitude. We have to make sure that there are pro-admissions that are written into law that don't allow for political appointees to have a level of presence that they do throughout our departments and agencies. I think we need to prohibit certain political appointees and certain departments and agencies like the FBI and Department of Justice. 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 doubled. So these are all the legislative measures we must take to prevent this from ever happening again. But there also needs to be oversight. I know what that is because I've been on the other side of it. I've worked with members of Congress. I've worked with committees. I know how oversight is supposed to work. And this is about holding these people in front of committees and making them testify on the roof. Thank you.

Sonia Tracy 58:37 Would you like to take this question next? Yes? Mike, rather.

Mike Sacks 58:43 Thank you about speaking to what Kay said. Primetime programming to make sure that right was the Trump show coming from Congress. On Monday night, we were bringing the criminals for Crime Night Tuesday night in competence. Wednesday night, the clowns. Thursday night, that's the criminals already. Friday night, T.J. had Trump's goons in competence and fools. We'd clip him up, send him all over social media, get it everywhere. That is the oversight we need to have and if they don't go play along, inherent contempt, put them in jail and put a camera there even for a reality show. We can do those things in Congress with our power. Beyond that, have you ever heard of the unitary executive theory? Something that the majority of the Supreme Court believes that had handed Trump his immunity for crime while in office and also believe that special counsel and independent counsels are unconstitutional and says that presidents can be able to hire and fire whomever they want at will, political reasons, without independence or insulation. That is what we're up against right now. It's like, keep going back to what we have to do because there is a dead star waiting at everything we do to try and strike down what we believe is good government. Trump is a result and a symptom of that and we need to get past that now.

Effie Phillips-Staley 59:51 Thank you very much. Next, we'll hear from Effie and Ben. Well, I know a little something about law affairs as it's now called. The kind of abuse of power that you see at the, with the Trump administration, is such a catastrophic precedent to use our system of justice to punish political enemies. It is outrageous. My version of it was when Mike Lawler tried so hard to get me kicked off the ballot by taking me to court and I will tell everyone a little secret. When our lawyers were in chambers and the judge asked Lawler's lawyer, what are you doing? He said, sorry, I don't have any proof yet but my boss won't let him back down. This was said in chambers, right? And so we need to punish people who weaponize our political and legal systems to try to take advantage of any political judge they could get to run for office, right? Whether it's, I was glad to share that secret.

Paul Adler 61:03 Thank you.

Beth Davidson 61:04 So when we look at the weaponization under the current Department of Justice, we only have to see who he's targeting to understand what this is really about. The National Abortion Federation, the city of New Haven over its immigration policies. And of course, our own Attorney General, Letitia James, who has knocked back down in the face of any of Trump's threats. And makes us love her even more. Obviously, oversight will be a huge part of this. And I also hope that when the Senate is asked to confirm the acting into a permanent Attorney General, maybe the ones like Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn, who Trump has rendered lame ducks will grow a spine and not approve the President's personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, as the Attorney General, who has proved himself to be completely corrupt going and interviewing Jillian Maxwell in jail and cutting her a deal and doing so much of the rest. So a lot of this falls in the Senate hand and to all of us who go to the ballot boxes in November.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_08) 62:14 Thank you.

Sonia Tracy 62:15 Okay, thank you so much for this question. And we'll start with, Beth, you have the mic. Economic justice and federal funding for black communities. Rockland County's black and brown residents have historically been underserved in federal infrastructure, housing, and small business investment. Given the current administration's rolled back of DEI programs and targeted cuts in HBCU funding and minority business programs, what is your specific plan in Congress to redirect federal dollars to close the racial wealth gap? And what committees will you seek assignment to in order to make that happen, Beth?

Beth Davidson 63:16 Sure, so we saw during the campaign what the Trump administration and how they built about DEI, right? They taught us the most accomplished sitting vice president and presidential candidate at DEI hire. So we knew what they were all about. And yes, one of Trump's initial executive orders in March of 2025 was to end funding for the minority development business program, which was a lifeline for so many, creating tens of thousands of jobs, directing billions of dollars in projects. And that does trickle down to us at the local level. And so we have seen that happening. And so to serve on the commerce committee 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, as well as investing in public and private partnerships and making sure that when we have programs like during the pandemic, I spoke with lots of business owners and black and brown businesses who were unclear how to apply for PPP funds. We need more direct help to make sure that every business can access the resources it needs. Thank you.

Sonia Tracy 64:27 John, you'd like to take that question?

John Cappello 64:30 Sure, I'll take off what Beth left off. I think that the key here is focusing on the local organizations that are doing the work here in the community. What better way to know what the challenges are within the community than to focus on those who identify those problems, build organizations and opportunities to solve those problems. And that is absolutely my responsibility as a member of Congress at the federal level is to make sure that the organizations that have identified challenges that are working to solve those challenges have the environment and the resources to do that work. Minority-owned businesses are, is the best way to make direct impact in a community. And in terms of congressional committees, of course appropriations would be great, wouldn't it? But I'm not sure that a first term Congress person would have that opportunity, thanks.

Sonia Tracy 65:34 Okay, thank you, John.

Cait Conley 65:35 Thanks, thanks. I think there's two incredibly important parts to this. The first is 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? And the first, I believe we need to be expanding something called the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant Program within DHS. It's called BRIC Grants that FEMA administers. And this is how the federal government is driving federal dollars to help local communities actually invest and improve their infrastructure and also mitigate the effects of climate change. I believe we need to start prioritizing communities that are the most set back economically to ensure that the dollars are going where they are most needed. That includes a lot of areas right here within Rockland County when you compare it to the rest of District 17. The other part is those job creation, right? And so going back to expanding the apprenticeship opportunities that the Department of Labor and Department of Commerce are offering, so we are specifically trying to help these minority business communities, especially small businesses, that need the most help as they're trying to provide for their people in an era where costs are so high. And 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 to and related. Great, thank you for that.

Effie Phillips-Staley 66:53 So 26% of small businesses in New York are actually minority owned. So it is outrageous that we have a federal government, Trump administration, that removes anything within the support it offers that's targeted specifically to the needs of minority communities. It's outrageous. These were put into place to allow people to have access that was otherwise restricted and now that check is gone. So we really have to go back at the federal level and reinstate the work of ensuring that we see everybody who is working hard to make their lives better and to advance their businesses. I believe that the role of government is exactly that. It's to ensure a level playing field and that people have the resources to thrive because when people thrive, the nation thrives. And so I think the Small Business Administration is exactly where I would like to be to help businesses with that, so thank you.

Mike Sacks 68:04 First, in public option five, I wish us to take divorce healthcare from employment altogether, Medicare for all. Just take that off the small businesses and shoulders and invade businesses and shoulders. All right, second, we talked about Trump getting rid of the Minority Business Development Act. Guess what? A Trump judge in 2021 declared unconstitutional while Biden was in power. When Trump is gone, these judges and the Supreme Court will still be there. I know I'm a broken record, but this is where the power is. Not just the Minority Business Development Act, but the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. Also deemed unconstitutional during the Biden administration. So everything that Trump in-source in his own DOJ and the Civil Rights Division out to protect white people has also, it's going to be outsourced once again to Trump-aligned and MAGA-aligned law firms that are going to be finding lawsuits against organizations that even have their own diversity training programs like PayPal, like Starbucks, like Pfizer, all of whose programs were challenged in court as violating the Civil Rights Act of 1871. This is the project. We need to have people in Congress who are aware of that and we're going to take on the court. So Judiciary Committee is what I would do. Thank you.

Sonia Tracy 69:10 Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Paul Adler 69:19 Thank you, Sonia. That completes the portion of the NAACP Game Changer questions. We're now going to go to the questions we've received from the audience and in no particular order. And we'll start off with Effie. All the candidates, so this is a question to all the candidates. Three candidates said they're not taking PAC money support. Please update your position and express how you feel about dark money that they collected.

Effie Phillips-Staley 69:53 Not taking PAC money, not taking special interest money. Look, Citizens United was a catastrophe. It was a catastrophe because it is, it really prevents ordinary people from running for office. You have to have some access to money in the beginning or you have to have complete buy-in from political systems that are willing to bundle and funnel money your way. I think that reform of Citizens United is really what needs to happen to enable the truest kind of representation possible. Representation from working class people, representation from people of color, and in a way where you can be a public servant instead of a servant to the donors who fund you. And I think that this is absolutely critical. When you see the system like the one for state run offices where small dollar donors trigger a seven dollar match, like a one dollar, that's when you're working for the people. Otherwise, you're working for developers, you're working for all sorts of other people who may have different interests than the regular working person.

Paul Adler 71:11 Can you hear the question? Through all the candidates, three candidates said they're not taking PAC money support. Please update your position and express how you feel about the dark money that they legally collect.

Mike Sacks 71:26 I was inside the Supreme Court with the oral arguments for Citizens United. I was actually first in line, came down 11 p.m. the night before to check it out, knowing what was going to happen. When we talk about ending Citizens United, okay, fine, also, I'm not taking dark money, not taking any corporate PAC money, so that's just not happening in this campaign. But in order for us to overturn Citizens United, and also the portion of Buckley versus the Leo in 1976 case that said money is speech, what do we have to do? Add cease to the Supreme Court, constitutional amendment, or a statute which I'm working on in my day job to say money is not speech, corporations are not people, and then strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to review the constitutionality of the act so that it can be enforced. If we do not have the structural understanding of what it takes to take our power back, then we'll be thrown back out for not delivering, and the fascists will come back in power. You wanna get rid of dark money? You take on the billionaire back system designed to block us.

Beth Davidson 72:37 I have not and will not take any corporate PAC money. I'm very proud of the more than 25,000 individual donations that have made up more of the two million dollars that we've raised in this campaign. Candidates can't take dark money. It's actually individuals, independent expenditures that are raised into groups called the bench. They can do research on it, and it's been covered extensively where crypto, AI, private equity hedge fund, other interests have poured money to be poured into districts like this. So I'm continuing to build my grassroots network, 3,000 donors from inside New York 17, so that I also answer to the voters and not the donor class or special interests, thanks.

John Cappello 73:27 This is at the core of my campaign. I mean, it's, so to answer directly, no, I have not taken nor will I. Citizens United has absolutely been a catastrophe, and it has introduced a level of corruption within our political system that we've just come to accept, come to accept that the amount of money is normal, and it buys access to deny that, is to deny reality. And this is one of the fundamental change that we have to have, because at the end of the day, we keep doing things the same way. We're gonna get achieved the same results. But stop doing it.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_08) 74:14 So there you go, it's clear.

Cait Conley 74:30 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 unravelled Washington pledge where we are committed to not only now taking corporate back 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, things like ensuring you do not become a lobbyist and prohibiting that afterwards when you're a member. All of these things make sure that when people are there, they're serving the people not themselves and not their financial interests. That's what I'm unwaveringly committed to. And I'm incredibly proud of the money we've raised in this campaign, over 28,000 donations. 90% of which are under $100. This is about people having a voice and making sure we send Michael all their packing in November. That's what this is about.

Paul Adler 75:30 In the past five years, grocery prices for individual items have increased. It is expected to continue to increase, making a major percentage of one's wages. How can you make these prices more affordable as a member of Congress? Effie?

Effie Phillips-Staley 75:51 This is such a critical issue that has come up in so many conversations that I've had with people because what a government should be able to do is enable people to have a good education, have a well-paying job, be able to put food on the table, ensure that your children are healthy, all of these things. So what we have to do is we have to look very carefully at the kinds of absurd tariff system that has been put into place by the Trump administration and make sure that the ones that are the most harmful are reversed. And we actually have to invest, I believe so strongly, in local agriculture, local agriculture. This is something that is suffering in our nation that requires so many subsidies. But how do we make it so that people are fed by food that grows locally, that those farmers are fairly compensated, and that the costs are affordable given that you don't have the kinds of transport that is required? This, to me, is a very critical thing that we need to do locally and nationally.

Mike Sacks 77:03 Yeah, we stand up and repeal Trump's tariffs that haven't been struck down by courts. One, two, we can have a minimum wage that also arises with inflation, which we haven't done in a very long time, so that people who are struggling to get by and afford quality food for their families don't have to borrow on what, something else they belong in order to buy strawberries

Paul Adler 77:29 for the week. Come on.

Mike Sacks 77:31 Let's actually have a system federally that sets a minimum wage and then combats income inequality, which brings us to the zoo, but let's zoom out a little bit. We're in a system right now that are the messages of the greed is good, income inequality, tax cuts solve everything type mentality. I argue right now we're in that sort of future five remains of that era, and we need to actually push past it. We do that by using the majorities that we have to implement economic policies that combat inequality and make sure that every American is able to live with decency and dignity on a single job, and the super rich aren't running away with all of our money to their super yachts.

Paul Adler 78:15 Thank you.

Cait Conley 78:16 Great. So 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. So people aren't going into lifelong student debt just trying to have a career and make it to the middle class. 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 where you don't have to put 20% down to get a competitive interest rate and not a PMI. I believe we need to be doing additional measures to make healthcare more affordable. Going back to, there is no silver bullet for the affordability crisis, but there are a lot of little things that we can and must do to make sure that people can afford to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. The other part of this is raining in monopoly utility companies. Look, part of the reason why you see people struggling, it's like, yes, the first time, the average is your first time going by right now at 40 because no one knows the money to buy a house, but people are struggling to live in the homes that they own because of things like that.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_08) 79:26 Yes.

Beth Davidson 79:33 So again, this isn't something that's happening somewhere else. One out of six children in Rockland County don't know where the next meal is coming from. Just think about that. 19 Miles is the crow flies from New York City, the richest city in the world. And so 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, which is also then driving up the costs of food and everything else. I'll tell you that when we didn't step up and pass $2 million in food relief during the shutdown, what we did was put together packets, given the funding for people to put out emergency, people to people to put out emergency packets and other nonprofits. The line was two hours long and I'm sad to say we ran out on the first day. That is the level of food insecurity in this community. And so when you ask about communities, committees we would like to serve on, I actually would wanna serve on the Agriculture Committee because it does deal with WIC and SNAP benefits and making sure that everyone is fed in our community. Thank you.

John Cappello 80:41 So of course the tariffs are a huge issue. And as Beth points out, it's not the only one. The war choice, the bad decisions that are being made in Washington are clearly having a direct effect on our pocketbooks. And this is an important message. Our prices go up, prices go down and we look at this all the time. But these decisions did not have to be made. They were made unfortunately, ridiculously, hurting not just hurting the United States around the world, but hurting people in their pocketbooks on a daily basis. And we need to be hammering that message home that these poor decisions, that full prices are not just going up arbitrarily, it's happening because of four really poor decisions. I think it's not just about the prices though. It is about people who are not able to even purchase food. The level of need in this district is unfortunate and high. We need to support those organizations working at the local level of food pantries and food banks that are doing very important work.

Paul Adler 81:59 How do we guarantee healthcare for everyone, especially after the GOP service, how vulnerable the Affordable Care Act is? I will say this, Dr. Helene, we need a course on handwriting. I think that's a course we need here at the Community College. Especially after the GOP showed us how vulnerable the Affordable Care Act is. Beth?

Beth Davidson 82:27 Sure, so going back to President Hines's request of us is that we really keep this focused on what we can do for black and brown folks. Let's start by acknowledging that racism is the public health crisis of our time. I made sure that I reviewed the statistics that maternal morbidity rates are three times the higher for black women than they are for white women. Diabetes, black adults are 60% more likely to suffer from diabetes, which is why Medicare covering insulin was so important and something we need to keep building on. Cardiovascular rates the same. 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. And while we're already looking at rising food costs, gas costs, we haven't talked about childcare, another huge crisis in this community and in this country. That having to pay those extra costs is just too high a burden to bear. Thank you.

Cait Conley 83:38 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, as I said earlier, 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. I want to give a huge shout out to Renaul Julian and Kalvatne Gagai and what they have done to stand up a nursing certification program at Khan Bay to help expand access to nursing certification programs, especially for the Haitian community right here in Rockland County. How we need to be investing in community college programming to help expand access to these certification programs in the same emotions. You also get better healthcare when you have more members of the community who are doctors, who are nurses, who are physicians that understand the needs of the community and are prioritizing them.

Mike Sacks 84:47 Let's be clear why the ACA has been under constant attacks since its inception, even though President Obama took a Heritage Foundation and missed Romney plan. It's because it was done by President Obama, who was black. That's why there's been a constant war on Obamacare. Now, when we have a 51% majority, we need to treat that as the same mandate to help people that Trump's treated as 51% majority to help to hurt people. Why would we do something half measured and a reform if we can actually turn the page and deliver on something that, frankly, the Republicans built up a structure to stop, which is healthcare for everybody where President Reagan come from, from arguing against head healthcare for everybody on behalf of the American Medical Association in the 1950s. We can beat back that reactionary understanding, create a new structure where we deliver for everybody and people can't say, well, that's just for them, I don't want them to have it, or everyone has it. So if anyone tries to take it away, we all take out our pitchforks. That is the way forward. Be big, be bold, and be fearless, and we can turn the page and have nice things.

John Cappello 85:59 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, everybody has coverage. And the problem stems, again, from, healthcare is a business, but it's not a business. It's about individual health, right? But the structure is, 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, and it goes back to my underlying contention is that we have to change the way we're doing all of it, by just pulling balance and accountability, and healthcare is absolutely key in that, in that restructuring.

Effie Phillips-Staley 87:09 So we, you know, thank you, higher mortality rates for the black community, worse health outcomes and even higher incomes, premature death rates for black residents, nearly double those of white residents in Rockland County and in Westchester County. An aspect of this is simply access to good, consistent healthcare, right? And this is why I stand for Medicare for all. We see it in so many countries. I have had the benefit of experiencing it for four years when I lived in the UK. This is not a radical idea. The United States is the exception by not guaranteeing that every person has access to comprehensive healthcare. And so, like we saw in Canada, it started with the state, Saskatchewan, spread to the entire country. We can do it that way, beginning with states where O'Connor has legislation to enable it to make it easier for states and the federal government can work at the same time, Pramila Jayapal, Bernie Sanders, advancing this. It's possible, we need the political will, and that's what I'm gonna buy.

Paul Adler 88:33 Thank you, and because of time constraints, we have one more question, and then I believe the candidates will be here for a bit to mingle with folks from the audience. Do you support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, FE?

Effie Phillips-Staley 88:56 Having traveled to Israel and the West Bank, the things I saw were deeply chilling. The executive director of Bethlehem spoke at length about how deeply traumatizing everybody felt after October 7th, and how difficult that is to continue to deal with. And in the West Bank, we saw similar pain. I think governments have bailed at this for a really long time, but the people that don't are civil society, the organizations that bring Palestinians and Israelis together to visualize a future together moving forward. And so that is what I would fight for, not the politics of military-industrial complex, thank you, or conquest, or the borders that are never fixed, but bringing people together who are directly impacted to visualize a future together. So I'm gonna take a second here. So I would not presume to impose a state that is not determined equally by Palestinians and Israelis working together. It's their land, and we have to support that decision.

John Cappello 90:24 Short answer, yes, I do. For those of you who don't know, I mentioned that I served in a diplomatic post, two diplomatic posts. The second one was 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. I've traveled that whole region extensively. Two states for two people, two prosperous, secure nations is the answer, and it will require strong leadership from the United States. That is clear, that is clear, and that's not what's happening, unfortunately. 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. Just like I don't support the President here, we do not have to necessarily support the direction that government is, but two states for two people is the path forward. Yes.

Mike Sacks 91:43 Thank you, Mike. Two states solution is frankly the only way forward. It is, unless we wanna wish away the national ambitions of two different peoples, one of whom does have a state with agreed upon, not in the peace treaty, but internationally agreed upon borders, we can't wish away those borders. Nor can we wish away the national aspirations of the Palestinians. Nor should we, as the United States, support any government in Israel that's led by colonists, a racist, banned political party, banned in the 1980s by Israel. Now the two ministers in there who are doing more damage daily to Israel's futures of Jewish and democratic state than any Hamas incursion or Iranian threat. Every time the answer is, the lesson's never learned. The solution is political, not military, and the question is how to respond, or how to respond, not whether to respond when it comes to violence. We need to have American government that's aggressive towards peace, empowers the peacemakers, and puts us back on the way towards who stays solution rather than the same with the people who are the heirs of the Ayatollah Ben's assassin currently in the Israeli government. Thank you. Thank you.

Cait Conley 93:04 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, and that needs to be the goal. Israel continues to be the only democracy in the Middle East, and we have a responsibility to continue to ensure the safety and security of the Israeli people. 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. This is what we need to be focusing on, is the future, focusing safety, security, and peace. And how do we maintain that? I will also say, though, that what we have seen is also a rise in anti-Semitism right here in America, based on what we're seeing overseas as a justification to pursue some of that hate. And I think that's the other part of this that we need to be calling out. Anti-Semitism, just like any other form of discriminatory aid, has absolutely no place in America. It's not acceptable. And we can't allow that to become who we are, period.

Beth Davidson 94:09 So I was so privileged to be at the annual fundraising brunch for the Holocaust Museum and Center for Tolerance and Education. It's hosted right here on the RCC campus. I encourage everyone to visit. It's a world-class museum where our moderator, Paul Adler, was honored last Sunday. And it was such a moving program overall, so many Holocaust survivors and family members, generations getting up, being asked to stand, and being honored. And right in the middle, clapping and giving several standing ovations, was Dr. Syed Ali, the imam of the mosque in Southern. And I say that to say that, in Rockland, we have a saying that when they come from 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. And I continue to work and hope and pray and build bridges where I can't ensure that doesn't happen. I believe in a 23-state solution where all the regional partners come together and support a path towards peace. Thank you.

Paul Adler 95:23 Well, the mic is hot. We now come to the two-minute closing statements, and we'll start with that.

Beth Davidson 95:30 Thank you so much. Thank you to Paul and Sonya. You've done an awesome job moderating. Thank you, Dr. Mullaney and RCC, for hosting us to the NIAAC and Spring Valley NAACPs. It's been a pleasure to be here with all of you. And I'm just gonna close with a question that I often get on the campaign trail. You should be asking anyone who runs for an office like this, any office. And that's what gets you out of bed every morning to do this. And we know for Mike Waller, it's doing whatever Donald Trump asked him to do. But for me, it's always been about the people, the families I served on the NIAAC school board, the children I served as a founding member of the SOAR mentorship program to help disadvantaged students across nine public schools, and the 20,000 Rocklanders I currently serve, healthcare workers who are terrified of losing their jobs, people with special needs who are terrified of losing their benefits, immigrants who are terrified of being ripped from their families and disappeared. These are all constituents that I'm fighting for every day, and that's the fight I'm ready to take to Donald Trump. And Mike Waller in November. But first we have to win. And that's something I know how to do. Winning the first Democratic super majority in Rockland County history, while boosting turnout by 20% over the previous election. I know how to build coalitions and win elections in this community. And that's why I asked for your vote on June 23rd. Thank you very much.

John Cappello 96:54 I started my discussion talking about change and what I think it needs to restore balance and accountability, and that's essential. We need systemic change to change the incentive structure if we're going to accomplish all the things we talked about this evening. All the very important issues, local issues, national issues we need to restore balance and accountability. I'm part of a coalition of over 110 candidates, congressional candidates from around the United States that have taken that pledge, those five items I mentioned, from 40 different states. And I think by doing these things again, we restore trust, a rooting trust in a system and in the people that we are sending there that they are not going to self-serve, but to restore service into public service. But this is not just about reform, I would argue. It's about opportunity. It's about making sure that people in this community have the same opportunity that we have. I can tell you the day I knew that I wanted to be a pilot. 10 years old, I knew I wanted to fly. Long story, however, I didn't do it because I was a child prodigy. I did it because we had community. My father was a fireman in New York City. He always worked more than one job. He raised us in a solid middle-class upbringing, community, high school. I had teachers, Mr. Galandas, Ms. Russo, Mr. Jager. They guided me, they mentored me, they pushed me. And we have a responsibility. I have a responsibility to make sure that the people in this district, kids in this district have the same opportunity that I have. And that's why I'm doing this. And I bring all the experience that I've had the honor to accumulate over the years to this fight. Thank you all for being here, for listening, and I hope to have a chance to meet you all later. Thank you.

Cait Conley 99:14 I think how Willie and Vicki provided the opening remarks was an incredibly important point when they talked about how the NAACP is not a partisan organization. What we talked about tonight, the type of America that we are fighting for, the issues that we are fighting for, healthcare, equality, justice. Those aren't partisan issues. Those are American issues. That is America. Where freedom and justice and equality for all, where the American dream is for all. That's what this is about. And we talked about throughout tonight how these are not normal times, these are not normal stakes. This is not a normal election. And we talked about a lot of really important issues tonight. But I will tell you that 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. I'm meeting Mike Lawler. That is the mission we share for this November. Setting and packing and making sure we help take back the House. And now we have a check on this Trump administration on the reign of terror and chaos that they're bringing to our streets. And now we are ensuring that America's best days are still ahead of us. That is what this fight is about. And while we all understand the stakes and the challenge, November is still going to be hard. 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. And so this goes back to, I'm incredibly proud of the momentum and the team we've built across this district. With endorsements from over 60 current and former elected officials and committees in all four counties of this district, which we are gonna put in play to make sure we win the majority from Mike Lawler. I'm proud of the support we continue to build with endorsements from the Putnam County Democratic Committee, the Dutchess County Democratic Committee, Pat Ryan, our Congressman to the North, the coalition that will take this seat back from Mike Lawler. So thank you all. I hope to earn your support on June 23rd.

Paul Adler 101:23 Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 101:31 Thank you to the NAACP. We are so grateful for this opportunity to speak to all of you about all of our platforms and I know I speak for the table since we've said this many times. We're gonna come together at the end of this and we're gonna crush Mike Lawler without hesitation this many times. You've got a person in this room has the power to help take back Congress and I'm grateful for you for exercising that power. A critical reason why I ran is because I believe strongly that both parties, but the Democratic Party, which is my party, has systematically left it's a large part of its base to the side because it focuses so much on the high propensity voters, those people who typically turn out and completely ignores those who don't. This is critical because I'll speak from the perspective of the Hispanic community. 30,000 registered Hispanic Democrats in New York 17 and only 5,000 vote. Only 5,000 vote because we have a party that does not do the work of going into communities, understanding the needs, defining the problems and solutions to them and delivering them. That is why we see such low voter turnout. It is essential that within our own races and the work we do within Democratic committees that we are building community. I believe we have lost this race twice because we have failed to. And I will say that Mondaire won this race as a progressive and he lost it as a moderate. So I think it's absolutely critical that we pay attention to the kinds of needs that are populist needs. Please look at my suburban progress agenda and let's fight to win this back by taking care of working people.

Mike Sacks 103:53 The district Mondaire Jones won in 2020 is not the district like Lala won in 2022 or 2024. The good news is that 2022 and 2024 were very different elections than what we're gonna see in 2026. Lala ran as a fake moderate to what reigned in the excesses of a woke Biden and Harris administration for ticket splitters across the district. Fine, Lala has never run when tied to the mass of a ruling regime dedicated to hurting people and being the deciding vote in the Congress at that. Have you seen the numbers that there was a plus four Republican advantage in the generic ballot in the 2024 election among non-voters and independents? Do you know where it is now? Double digits plus like 15 for Democrats. Lala might overperform that, but he won't be able to overperform plus 15 Democratic generic ballot. So I want you all to understand it's making it internalize something. We will win. There is a wave coming now. It's on us to make sure the wave is as huge as possible to splash over Lala, but we will win. And it's on you to pick your wave rider. I think that virtually everyone here on this stage can and will beat Mike Lala. Remember with the primary, we will join forces like Voltron to make it happen even more. But, but, think about what each of us stands for what you've heard tonight, right? National security, local governance, military, underserved communities, right? Okay, all of that, right? I would argue that every single thing that every person on this stage stands for flows directly through my expertise, which is the media and the attention economy, and which is law and constitution and a deep knowledge of our history of how we got to this point. I'm hoping to fight the fascism, turn the page. I'm hoping to get in there for as long as it takes, which I think might be two or three terms, to do the job and make sure that we don't have a 50-50 country, but a 65-35 country that breaks the gridlock that's been artificially constructed to keep us punching at each other, as well as up at those who've been in this, who put us in this position in the first place. We can do that. Pick your wave rider. Thank you.

Paul Adler 105:56 Good evening.

Moderator 0:00 It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, good Friday morning everybody. Today we continue a series of forums with candidates in competitive congressional primaries in New York. These are also of interest nationally, largely because the New York Democratic primaries reflect tensions in the party and the American people as a whole nationwide. And also in this case, because New York's 17th congressional district covering four counties north of New York City is expected to be one of the most in-play swing districts in the country in November, with Republican Congressman Mike Lawler seen potentially very vulnerable in a district that has gone back and forth in recent years. So control of Congress, you might say, could run across the Tappan Zee Bridge. New York 17 includes all of Rockland and Putnam Counties, also Westchester, north of the Bridge, north of the Tappan Zee, or Mario Cuomo Bridge, as you prefer, and Southern Dutchess County, from the Connecticut line west to around Hopel Junction, north of I-84. According to Data USA, the district is about 63% white, 10 to 12% Latino, 7% black, 5% Asian. Notably, it's got both suburban and rural areas with some small urban pockets, meaningful Orthodox, Jewish, and Haitian communities, among others. And it's genuinely a purple district, voting majority for Kamala Harris in the last presidential election, though the Republican Lawler won for Congress. Joining us now to answer some of my questions and yours are the four candidates considered the most serious contenders in the Democratic primary, based on criteria that we use. For example, they each have more than 500 donors. They are Rockland County legislator, Beth Davidson. Her campaign website calls her a bipartisan problem solver. Cait Conley, a former Biden administration National Security Council member, and an army veteran whose website starts with, she never backs down from a fight. Cait Conley, Effie Phillips-Staley, a Tarrytown Village trustee, a nonprofit executive whose website bio begins that she has dedicated her life to social justice and public service. And Mike Sacks, a lawyer turned TV journalist, as his website says, it also calls him the progressive choice for New York 17. So thank you all very much for engaging in this forum and in our electoral process. Welcome all of you to WNYC. Hello. Hey, Brian, thanks for having us. Thanks, Brian.

Cait Conley 2:58 Awesome to be here.

Moderator 3:00 And it looks like...

Cait Conley 3:01 What's your first time guest?

Moderator 3:03 Ms. Phillips-Staley is not yet hooked up from what I can tell. And listeners, the format for this forum will be informal and conversational, not a formal debate. I'll pose questions and try to moderate in good faith. There will be no opening statements. There will be closing statements at the end. And listeners, you can pose some questions too. We'll take those by text for this forum since there are so many candidates, 212-433-WNYC-212-433-9692. And listeners, we will look for questions that seem to come from undecided voters in the district as a first priority to the extent that we can tell. The polls seem to indicate a large current share of undecideds. So it matters, you know, what these candidates say between now and when the voting starts. We ask you listeners not to fill our inbox with speeches or endorsements. The candidates can argue their cases for themselves, right? But feel free to text questions that you think might help to clarify something about this field to help you or others make up their minds. So undecideds from New York 17, first priority if you're voting in a Democratic primary. But anyone else may text a question too, 212-433-WNYC-212-433-9692. And now we have Effie Phillips-Staley also hooked up. So Ms. Phillips-Staley, hi, you can hear me, right? Welcome to the show.

Effie Phillips-Staley 4:37 Thank you so much. Yes, I can hear you. Thanks for having me.

Moderator 4:40 So candidates, let's start here. I assume that almost anyone who votes in this primary is hoping to flip Congress blue and see Congressman Lawler defeated. So let me invite you each first to take a minute or so and say why you think you're the best position to beat Mike Lawler in the general election in November. Now we randomly selected the order for closing statements, and based on that, we'll go in a different order for this first question. So Ms. Davidson, you go first. Why would you have the best shot at defeating Congressman Lawler?

Beth Davidson 5:14 Thank you so much, Brian. That is the right question. Mike Lawler has won this district twice for three reasons, and I'm the only one in this primary that really neutralizes all three. Mike Lawler knows this district inside and out, but so do I. As a resident of the district for more than 20 years, I live and breathe the issues of voters every day. I know this district just as well as Mike does, but unlike him, I actually fight for it. It's no secret that Mike Lawler's made serious inroads with Jewish voters, and having served on my synagogue board, I'm a trusted Jewish leader in my community on both sides of the river. My campaign offers a home back to the Democratic Party, to Jews who swung over to Trump and Mike Lawler last year, and I have a lot of support in the Jewish community and the ultra orthodox community as well. Mike Lawler's from Rockland, and that's where we've lost this twice. 40% of the primary, 40% of the general, and the only candidate who can deliver Rockland County. As a Rockland County legislator, I roll up my sleeves, fight for my community every day, and I led a slate of Democrats to win the first Democratic supermajority on our legislature, so I know I can win Rockland.

Moderator 6:21 Thank you very much, Ms. Davidson, Ms. Conley.

Cait Conley 6:24 Thanks so much, Brian. So, the way we win New York 17, as you mentioned in a purple district, is by having a candidate that puts all four counties in play, that can reach out to the 28% of folks who are unaffiliated or independent, who are registered voters, and be a candidate that appeals to voters is not just a party, but a person, and building that coalition, I'm super proud of what we've done in the Democratic primary, where I'm the only candidate who's been endorsed by elected officials out of all four counties. And when you talk about bringing people together in November on election day, I don't like to quote Mike Lawler often, but I enjoy quoting him here, because he talks about New York 17 being the district of heroes, where over 50% of households are either service members, veterans, first responders, or law enforcement. And my ability to connect with this community, one where my family goes back four generations in the district, 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.

Moderator 7:28 Ms. Phillips-Daily, why do you think you would be the best position to defeat Mike Lawler in November?

Effie Phillips-Staley 7:33 So I actually think that Mike Lawler has won twice because the Democratic Party has lost it twice. Because when we look at someone like Mondaire Jones, he won as a progressive and he lost as a moderate. Having run for office three times in this district in one, I have seen from the inside the degree to which the Democratic Party focuses only on high propensity voters and ignores everyone else, people under 44, Latinos, so many communities. I got into this race to do the work of building the base across the Democratic Party by putting forward a platform that isn't framed by Mike Lawler, but is framed by the needs of the people. And that is all around affordability. So I don't know that anyone else in this race is looking carefully and reaching out to these groups. That is what I am doing. I believe we can win it with a strong Democratic base.

Moderator 8:36 All right.

Mike Sacks 8:38 Thank you very much. And Mr. Sacks. All right. Let's blow some minds here. Virtually anyone in this race can beat Mike Lawler in the general election. Why? Because he has never run in this district while tied to the mast of a regime that's dedicated to hurting people. In 2022 and 2024, he ran as a member of an opposition party. He ran as someone who is promising, perhaps in this district, to bring a false sense of moderate ticket splitting to what he threatened would be the excesses of a woke Biden or Harris regime. Right. But what has turned out is that he has been the deciding vote in Trump's efforts to steal and pick our pockets. And then he just puts pennies back and says, look how much I've done for you. Well, in this moment now, the general, the generic ballot in 2024 was like plus for Trump. Now among independent and non voters, it swung to double digits generic plus for Democrats. So I think that right now there is a wave coming and now it's on us to help make that to be part of the gravitational pull to make the wave as big as possible to sweep over Lawler. But it's up, it's on the voters and on the listeners of this, of this radio program who are living in this district to pick your wave rider. Who do you want to represent you in Congress? And that's what this.

Moderator 9:56 Thank you very much. Let me follow up with the four of you on some of the things that you talked about there. Miss Davidson, your website describes you as a bipartisan problem solver. It came up in one of your answers that Lawler touts his bipartisan voting record, you know, relative to many other Republicans as it gets rated by independent agencies. But Miss Davidson, you tout yourself on your website, as I said, as a bipartisan problem solver. The others don't use that term explicitly. But it's one thing to do that in a county legislature, maybe another thing in Congress in our polarized era. So what would that look like for you?

Beth Davidson 10:42 Sure. Well, let me say that I call myself a bipartisan problem solver because I govern in a way that represents the people who sent me. My current county legislative seat is only 48 percent registered Democratic, and I won with 57 percent of the vote. So Republicans and independents already vote for me, and I was sent to New City, our county seat to represent them as well. And so I would use the same the same tactics and I would say talents that have made me successful in Rockland in Congress. You reach across the aisle to solve problem by problem. It's how I, you know, unanimously passed gun safety legislation unanimously recently passed a tax cap on gasoline to help people at the pump, as we see, you know, gas coming to five dollars a gallon. It's just by rolling up your sleeves, finding common ground and delivering for the people you serve. And that's what I don't know what I'll do in Congress.

Moderator 11:34 Would that be your approach? I took it from your initial answer that that maybe that's not something you would frame as a priority, but maybe I'm wrong. Mr. Sacks.

Mike Sacks 11:46 Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you say my name. So no, I believe that we have to have a new reconstruction. That project of renewal will be a purely partisan one. We are now dealing with a Republican Party on the national level that are nihilists that have been dedicated to constructing a system in which they get to rule no matter the people's will. So when we get a 51 percent mandate and it should be treated as a mandate, we should use it to help people as opposed to hurt people, which is how Trump uses his 51 percent mandate now. And you've seen what happened to his poll numbers in the tank across every issue area along with Republican to enable him. It is on us as Democrats as the party that supports democracy to renew our multiracial democracy to ensure that what we want as as the majority passes. We deliver things that hurt people like Medicare for all so that we can turn the page on this era and have Republicans plan our turf if they want bipartisanship.

Moderator 12:38 So a fairly clear distinction there between the first two of you on bipartisan versus partisan approach, Ms. Phillips-Staley, where would you place yourself in that?

Effie Phillips-Staley 12:47 Sure. Like the job is to represent everyone, is to fight to represent everyone as a trustee in the village of Tarrytown. I've actually had the ability to work with with Republicans, with independents to pass legislation that actually attacks redlining, that allows accessory dwelling units. These are pretty progressive efforts to solve the housing crisis. And I pride myself in my ability to do that. I mean, look, my father, a high school educated veteran, was a lifelong Republican. And I think that the affordability crisis that we have in the policies that we develop have to speak to everyone. He's the measure like if my policies would work for him, I know I'm getting it right. So so, yeah, I have no trouble working across the aisle at all. That's the job.

Moderator 13:46 Ms. Connolly, same question.

Cait Conley 13:48 Yeah, Brian, I have to tell you, over the last 14 months on the trail, meeting voters everywhere, what I will tell you, we have heard left right center everywhere, is that people can't wait another three, five or seven years for government to do a job and deliver results and actually solve their problems. So, yes, regardless of how the balance of power shakes out, we've got to work to actually deliver results for people in our communities across the Hudson Valley because they can't wait any longer. And I'll also tell you that the dominating sentiment I hear is frustration with both sides of the political aisle. Voters are frustrated both political parties because they've seen politicians who got us into this mess more focused on getting reelected or the next job than actually delivering results and solving problems. And that has to fundamentally change. I think that's what we represent is the next generation coming in who's saying we're going to do things differently. We got to focus on solving people's real problems. And when it comes to beating Mike Lawler this fall, it's got to be yes, we need to get in there and fight back against the corruption and the greed and the terror that this administration is bringing. What we are fighting against matters, but what we are fighting for matters too. And that means we got to solve people's problems.

Moderator 14:53 Let's know if you're just joining us. This is one of our candidate forums and competitive congressional primaries in New York. We have four candidates with us in New York, 17, the district north of the city that Republican Mike Lawler currently represents, considered one of the most high profile swing districts in the country for control of Congress. Our four candidates are Beth Davidson, Cait Conley, Effie Phillips, Staley and Mike Sacks. Again, we're inviting your questions, which we'll get to some of as we go in texts today. Just text no calls because we have so many candidates here. Two, one, two, four, three, three, WNYC. If you want to text a question, two, one, two, four, three, three, nine, six, nine, two. For cost of living is front and center for so many voters this year, almost everywhere, according to the polls, I want to ask how you each think you would be the best one here to effectively address the cost of living or affordability, as many people use that word now through your work in Congress. And I will note that, Ms. Phillips, Staley, you are the one of the four who brought up affordability explicitly in your first answer, so I'm going to let you go first here. Why do you think you would be the best on that issue?

Effie Phillips-Staley 16:14 I think the most critical thing here about my campaign and the way I work is that we center the needs of people. And that means when we developed our policies for for this race or for this campaign, it was based on talking to people throughout the district and specifically asking them where the pain points were in their budgets. Right. And we developed what's called the suburban progress agenda out of those conversations. It starts with housing affordability. That is the issue that came up the most. And the district itself is short sixty six thousand housing units. If we can meet the goal of building that that will help level out prices, it will help level out rent. Childcare is a massive expense for families that comes up constantly. And so, look, New Mexico was able to pull off universal child care. This country can do it, too, in this district can do it, too. Medicare for all. Everybody here, everyone is experiencing the crunch of the cost of health care and going up because of the actions of Trump and Mike Lawler. So we have to think big. We have the capacity to create a new system. And of course, I could go on this Conley.

Moderator 17:34 Why do you think you would be the best for affordability?

Cait Conley 17:38 So, Brian, this is a struggle that my family goes through and has been going through for generations here as raised by a postal worker and a construction worker. I've got two sisters who can't afford to move back to the district and raise their family in the communities that raised us here in the Hudson Valley. And so when we talk about what it's going to take, we've got a first undo the harm, and that means things like ending illegal foreign tariffs that have jacked up prices on everything from prescriptions to groceries. That means reinstating things like the premium tax credits for the ACA and restoring funding to Medicaid, where our most vulnerable can afford health care. But it also means we have to find new solutions to the problems that are plaguing our communities, the housing crisis. Yes, there is a shortage, but also we have to make sure that people can afford to buy the homes we are building, and that is where I believe 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. All it means is you don't have to put 20 percent down to qualify for a competitive interest rate without paying PMI because the federal government would back 25 percent of your mortgage to a private lender. These are programs that work. We need to start expanding them and incentivizing public service and making it so that people who serve our communities can live in them.

Moderator 18:58 So it would be certain job categories who would qualify for that help with the mortgage?

Cait Conley 19:05 Correct, Brian, focused on public servants so that they can actually live in the communities that they are serving. Because right now what we're seeing is that's not the case.

Moderator 19:15 Mr. Sacks, why do you think it would be the best for affordability? Mr. Sacks, I think you're having a little trouble hearing me.

Mike Sacks 19:26 OK, I got you now. So one of the great things about being in these multi candidate forums is that you get a lot of great ideas coming at you and they're all quite good. And I'm happy to incorporate them as well. But we have to look at the structural issues for why we have an affordability issue, not only because building an autocracy is expensive when they're using our money to kill people in the streets of Minnesota, but also because we are stuck in what is a zombie Reagan era where the idea of tax cuts solve everything and greed is good has led to astronomical income inequality between the very top and the rest of us. How do we get ourselves out of that? It's about attacking the very structures that Republicans have built to keep that going well past its expiration date. We need to fix a stream partisan gerrymandering, nuke the Senate filibuster, confront the Supreme Court so that the policies that everyone else here, including myself, espouse can actually be made law and deliver relief to the American public. People are fed up with Democrats because we don't deliver. Why don't we deliver? Because every time we try, Republicans get in the way or a few members of ours in the Senate say, sorry, we can't do that. Even when we have majorities, if you want us to deliver, we need to also tear down the entire structure Republicans have built up over the past 40 years to keep their exhausted political ideas alive.

Moderator 20:34 You just said end the filibuster. That's something that President Trump wants right now so Republicans can get things through the Senate without having to get to 60 votes. Why would you want it?

Mike Sacks 20:45 Because the filibuster is only ever only ever protected Republicans from the consequences of their policy ideas and protected Republicans from the consequences of Democrats policy ideas. So if Trump wants to nuke the filibuster and push through awful, hurtful policies, let him be his guest. And then his his his his poll numbers will plummet even further. The Senate will fully turn Democrat and then we will come in and be able to benefit from that by actually passing Medicare for all comprehensive immigration reform, housing reform, Green New Deal, all of that. So people can actually benefit from it.

Moderator 21:15 If anybody else here would support abolishing the filibuster, if so, speak up.

Beth Davidson 21:23 I would. Beth Davidson.

Effie Phillips-Staley 21:26 Yeah, same, same.

Moderator 21:28 Phillips-Staley and Miss Conley.

Cait Conley 21:31 I think we're taking the wrong approach, trying to root out political corruption. I am a proponent of imposing term limits for members of Congress, because I think a lot of the issues we are seeing is we have too many people sitting on the Hill who are there for themselves and their own personal enrichment instead of actually the people they're supposed to be serving. So I think we're we need to get better people there doing things for the right reasons. And that means putting in term limits, banning stock trading, forcing members of Congress to divest of their their stock interests. Those are the types of things that I push for.

Moderator 22:03 Miss Davidson, you haven't had a shot yet to say generally why you think you'd be the best at bringing more affordability to the district and the country if you serve in Congress. So go ahead.

Beth Davidson 22:14 Thank you so much. I've been running on a relentless affordability agenda since day one of this campaign, and as you'll probably hear me say over and over, I'm the only one that's tackling the crisis in real time. I've cut taxes on the county legislature. And as I just said, we reached across the aisle to unanimously pass a cap on the sales tax on gas here in Rockland and also echo what others have said, which is that 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 by balancing the need for new homes with preserving the quality of life for current residents. And I'll also add that the child care crisis is huge for families here in the Hudson Valley. And as a working mom, I certainly know that firsthand. And we also have to end the tariffs that I know from small businesses that I shop at and have shopped at for the last 20 years who are hurting. And it's also stopping new projects from coming into the Hudson Valley because of the added expense, the chaos and the unpredictability that the tariffs cause.

Moderator 23:15 Let's stay on affordability for a follow up from a listener who asked a specific affordability question. Listener writes, Mike, 20 something adult children and I are still trying to decide who to support. Our biggest issue is the fact that it is increasingly difficult for our recent college grads to find jobs. And when they do, they often don't pay enough or provide health care. What can you do in Congress to help them? Ms. Conley, you want to go first on this?

Cait Conley 23:44 Thank you so much, Brian. And thank you, Alyssa. And this goes back to we have a responsibility to ensure the success of the current and next generation and the frustration your kids are feeling is incredibly deserved and we have to do better. So I believe we should be doing things like putting a cap on the interest rates for federal student loans so you don't have kids that are saddled with lifelong debt, just trying to get a degree to make it to the middle class. I think we need to be investing in programs like I mentioned, a public service loan program where we are reinforcing the importance of public service and critical career fields we need, but also helping people live in the communities that they are serving. I think the other part of this is investing in our educational programs like BOCES and CTE. So, again, the pathways to the middle class are more robust and we're meeting the economic workforce and the changing dynamics that we're seeing play out before our eyes. And so there's no silver bullet solution to how we address the affordability crisis. But, Alyssa, we can absolutely make a difference in ways that help drive those things down. And I'll tell you, 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.

Moderator 25:00 Mr. Sacks, creating more jobs. We know there's a job shortage for people graduating college right now and also also health care is in the listener's question. And I did hear you before site Medicare for All. Go ahead.

Mike Sacks 25:15 Right. And I'll get to Medicare for All in a moment. But there is a coming white collar and blue collar jobs apocalypse for entry level and even mid level professionals through automation and through AI. So I get thinking about what happened last time. There was a similar kind of jobs apocalypse on a grand scale, which was the New Deal era, trying to get out of the Great Depression. And FDR put forward a works progress administration to put people to work that would be able that that was beneficial not only to the community, but to themselves and to allow this country to be lifted out of what was then a pretty bad moment. So we need to think big in terms of helping people coming out of college or coming out of high school who may not have the opportunities that their parents had in a better economy or in a more job rich era. And that can be something that the federal government can do if we have the power to deliver with a majority. Now, as for Medicare for All, yes, no one should have to choose between their health care and heating bills. And when the taxes that you pay to give health care for yourself and for everyone goes directly to your own benefit and it's less per year than your premiums and your deductibles and your and your copays, then that is a transformative bit, not just of good policy, but power politics. Because once we have that in place, Republicans try to take it away. All of us will take our pitchforks out and say, all right.

Moderator 26:29 And I know Ms. Phillips-Staley also cited Medicare for All. Ms. Davidson and Ms. Conley, do you support that? What we might call Bernie Sanders style Medicare for All. Ms. Davidson, do you?

Beth Davidson 26:40 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, including the caller's children to buy into Medicare and and expand Medicare to include a vision and dental again, as someone who wears glasses.

Moderator 26:58 So to buy in with the premium, which I think is different from what Phillips-Staley and Sacks are saying. Ms. Phillips-Staley, you want to pick that up?

Effie Phillips-Staley 27:07 Sure. Yeah. So I think we are at a critical and transformative moment in our nation where we can put Medicare for All out there and make it possible. Look, I believe that health care and our health is a human right. We see nations around the world. Nations that we fund with our tax dollars are able to offer this to their people for us as the wealthiest nation in the world. This is something that we absolutely can achieve and that is guaranteeing that every person has a right to the health care and access that they need. I don't think we need to compromise on this anymore. I think half measures have got us where we are to the most expensive system right with the poorest outcomes. So it's time to just get it right.

Moderator 27:56 All right, Miss Conley, did you say public option before? So that would be like buying in with the premium more like Ms. Davidson's position than Ms. Phillips-Staley or Mr. Sacks were for more kind of full scale Bernie Sanders Medicare for All.

Cait Conley 28:15 I agree that health care quality, affordable health care should be the right of every person and not just the privilege for a wealthy few. And I think the current system is incredibly broken and it does need some significant, significant fundamental change. But with that, I also see how families can't afford to wait three, five, seven years for us to do some grand overhaul and they need immediate relief. And that is where I do believe that a public option where folks can buy in at any age regardless of marital or job status and still allows people the freedom of choice to keep their own employer or union health care plan is the most realistic and possible thing to actually impact people's lives now. I think it also goes beyond this, though, we've got to rein in big pharma. We got to do things like ending pay for delay schemes and we got to let Medicare negotiate for all generic prescription drugs, not making up some random cap in number.

Moderator 29:11 When we continue with this forum for Democrats running in the primary to oppose Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in New York 17 north of the city, we'll get to how much each of you wants to focus on Donald Trump in this campaign. If you are for trying to impeach him, if the Democrats take the majority again or other ways of opposing the Trump agenda, we will also get to aid to Israel for military purposes, which I know has divided some of you. And we'll take more calls or not calls, but texts from listeners. Listeners, stay with us. Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Brian Lehrer on WNYC, as we are continuing in our lead segment today with our series of forums with candidates in competitive congressional primaries in New York, also of interest nationally, mostly because the New York Democratic primaries reflect tensions in the party and the American people as a whole. And also in this case, because New York 17th congressional district covering four counties north of the city is expected to be one of the most in place swing districts in the country as the winner of this primary will face Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in this purple district. Our four candidates are Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson. Her campaign website calls her a bipartisan problem solver. Kate Connolly, former Biden administration, National Security Council member and an army veteran whose website starts with she never backs down from a fight. Effie Phillips-Staley, a Tarrytown village trustee and nonprofit executive whose website begins that she has dedicated her life to social justice and public service. And Mike Sacks, a lawyer turned TV journalist whose website calls him the progressive choice for New York 17. And candidates, here's another listener question via text. Listener writes, my name is Silas. I'm an undecided voter from Rockland County. Here's my question with Trump sending ice to terrorize our community communities. What are you doing to fight back against the administration's use of immigration enforcement to intimidate and arrest law abiding immigrants? I will note that another can another listener texts how the can how do the candidates feel about ice funding? So, Mr. Sacks, I don't think you've gone first yet in any of these rounds. So why don't you take that up on ice funding and how you would fight back presumably presumably you would want to against immigration enforcement the way it's being pursued?

Mike Sacks 32:06 Of course, I'm out for abolishing ice. I don't think that means giving up a border security or giving up criminal prosecutions in ways that protect our communities from those who wish to do them harm, whether they're here legally or illegally, whether they are citizens or not. But abolishing ice has nothing to do with that. When you have a president's mass fascist brigades being deployed to American cities to terrorize people, that bankrupts any level of legitimacy that this organization, this this entity ever had, if it had any to begin with. And we can return to the the pre DHS, pre Patriot Act, pre 9-11 border security and immigration and immigration system we did have for enforcement. That works just fine.

Moderator 32:59 And this kindly abolish ice. Miss Connolly, would you use that term?

Cait Conley 33:05 Brian, 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. I am watching the country that I was willing to die for becoming something I barely recognize. I'm not OK with any of that. It is unhinged. It is un-American. I believe in an America where everyone is beholden to the rule of law, the president, cabinet officials and federal agents included. And so what I have called for is the impeachment of Kristi Noem and she is now gone. I've called for thorough investigations at every level of vice to ensure that anyone who has violated the law to include these federal agents are held legally accountable and that leaders who have overseen this are removed and fired because this cannot be what America becomes. But the weaponization of the executive branch has also gone well beyond just this. We've seen it with Pam Bondi and the DOJ. Again, she needed to get impeached and she is gone. But what we are seeing with the weaponization of the Department of Justice and FBI is also un-American.

Moderator 34:11 How would what you're describing be different from or better than, in your opinion, what Mr. Sacks just laid out?

Cait Conley 34:19 I believe there needs to be legal accountability at every level within ICE, DHS and across the federal government. I believe the abuses we've seen aren't just contained to those areas. But I do believe we also need to reform our immigration system. Like we need to not just rein in ICE, but fix a broken immigration system that's been failing our immigrant neighbors. America should be a place where our immigrant neighbors live in hope, not fear. And it has been a system that has been broken and failing people for generations. We need to be protecting our dreamers.

Moderator 34:50 Ms. Davidson, same question.

Beth Davidson 34:52 Sure. Well, again, you don't have to ask what I might do. 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. And, you know, I have to bring up what's been in the news a lot lately. I'm glad to hear that Cait Conley is taking such a strong stand on ICE. But she is on the payroll of two AI firms that help Trump and ICE track, target and detain law abiding immigrants and U.S. citizens. And if you look at the website of a company she works for, it says that they support and accelerate the mission of Trump's DHS. So listeners really need to wonder who's going to fight against ICE in Congress. The one who's already doing it or the one who's helping other companies.

Moderator 35:36 Ms. Conley, you've got name checked there. So you get a chance to reply.

Cait Conley 35:41 So I am incredibly disappointed to see one of my primary opponents, Beth, taking a page out of Mike Lawler's playbook and using these lies, although not surprised as a fellow political operative to see her doing this, it is already been public. 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, and I'm proud of that. I have never and do not work for Palantir. I have never and do not work for ICE. And my work does not support that. So let's focus on running on truths and actually delivering for people, because what voters are sick of is politicians and political operatives who continue to use lies and pretend like they're delivering when they're not. Going back to you, she's touting and dealt her campaign around this legislative initiative that she introduced, which has not even gone up for a vote in a Democratic supermajority of her own county. If she can't get things done in her own local county, how is she going to get things done in Congress?

Moderator 36:43 Ms. Davidson, I think you get a right to continue here.

Beth Davidson 36:46 Absolutely. 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 medium national income working for these companies. And I didn't bring up Palantir, but interesting that Cait did. And I'm very proud of the coalition I'm building around the Safety and Dignity for All Act within 48 hours of Mike Lawler attacking me. I mobilized a dozen nonprofit leaders standing in support of my bill. Five hundred people came to my county legislature meeting the next night, and we are continuing to continuing to build a coalition that's going to help us win this election and pull Congress back to work for the people and not for the very wealthy, like a lot of the dark money donors that are funding Cait Conley's campaign.

Moderator 37:40 Ms. Phillips-Staley, you on abolishing ICE, Ms. Conley, one more time, but briefly.

Cait Conley 37:47 So like Beth, who also filed an extension for her personal financial disclosure, I filed and submitted mine twenty four hours after she did. And so when we're talking about being transparent with voters, look, you're talking about someone who has claimed that she's about stopping data centers and is pushing for this. Yet when you look at the results she's delivered on her own watch in Rockland County, we have four data centers that have grown up. Well, she has, again, been on her watch in the county legislature. She owns hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks and companies related to data centers. And so what people are sick of is people saying one thing and doing another. All right. I'm going to focus on results.

Moderator 38:30 So very interesting exchange between the two of you, Ms. Phillips-Staley, you haven't gotten a response yet on whether you would abolish ICE or how you would change immigration enforcement or try to as a member of Congress if you're elected.

Effie Phillips-Staley 38:44 Sure. So, you know, I just want to clarify that neither Connolly or Davidson have said they will abolish ICE. It's because they will not abolish ICE. I will abolish ICE. And this is something that is very personal for me. My mother came to this country from El Salvador through the department that was once called Immigration and Naturalization Service after the war on terror in 2003, it became ICE, was combined with customs enforcement. And now that is why you see this militarized you know, paramilitary force for the executive branch. Given the horrors that it has committed, it cannot continue. We can separate these departments again and turn immigration and naturalization back into a civil effort, which is what it should be. Again, it's what my family came to this country under as a look, it's a trustee in the village of Tarrytown. We work closely with our police to make sure that everyone feels safe. The county of Westchester has already passed the kind of legislation that Davidson is attempting to get through in in Westchester. It was introduced in January with great fanfare and nothing has happened since. Right. It hasn't even come up for a for public hearings. So I would say I applaud that legislation. It is essential, but it's got to pass. It's got to pass. Who is the holdup and how is she going to get past it?

Moderator 40:18 Let me go to another listener question. Listener texts. Good morning. APAC is once again funneling large amounts of money into some campaigns. Would you accept this money or not? How might this affect your approach to representing the district? And I'll broaden that listener's question beyond APAC to say I see that some of you have different positions on U.S. military aid to Israel and different characterizations of Israeli actions since the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack in their operation in Gaza. So let's see. Ms. Phillips-Staley, why don't you go first on this?

Effie Phillips-Staley 41:03 Sure. You know, as this is the question that since I began running has come up the most with everyone. I have spoken to on the trail and they have they're trying their best to hold all the candidates accountable. I responded by actually going to the West Bank, going to East Jerusalem, looking at the conditions that are there. And I can say that I saw with my own eyes that these are apartheid conditions. These are not conditions that we should be supporting with our tax dollars through military aid. And though it is controversial, I also believe that what is happening is a genocide. So we've got the Leahy laws. We should not be advancing aid to anyone, to any government that is committing human rights abuses. And I'll say when I was there, like I spoke to Israelis, I spoke to Palestinians and what they both said to me was that the only way we can stop the violence is to put pressure on this government through sanctions. And when you hear that from a person who might end up dead in a matter of days, that is something I take very seriously. So that is my position on this.

Moderator 42:25 Let me let me clarify one thing with you. When you talk about no military aid, there is a distinction that many Democrats make between no aid for offensive weapons, but they would support continued aid for the Iron Dome and other things they consider defensive on Israel's part. Where are you on that?

Effie Phillips-Staley 42:48 The purpose, to be clear, the objective is universal human rights and the safety of everyone, right? Israelis and Palestinians. But the way to achieve it. I believe is by putting the might of the pressure of the United States on the government of Israel, right? And that is by sanctions. So to me, it is not about defensive or offensive. If we are prioritizing the safety of everyone, we need to put all the pressure we can on the government of Israel to stop the cycle.

Moderator 43:30 So not only no aid of any kind for military purposes, but sanctions. Ms. Davidson, how similar or different are you on that?

Beth Davidson 43:39 Sure. And so to your question about APAC originally, let's be clear, APAC is squarely in the camp of Mike Lawler. And I believe we need to get all big money out of politics, which is why I introduced a trust and transparency agenda for this campaign yesterday. And I've been clear since the beginning of this campaign that just as I love America and disagree with just about everything the Trump administration is doing, I can love Israel to which my family has a very personal connection and disagree with almost everything that Bibi Netanyahu is doing. And unlike Mike Lawler, we need to keep talking about him more in this debate. I wouldn't send a blank check to Bibi and Trump to to now fund an illegal and immoral war in Iran, which I'm sure we're going to talk about as well. And so as someone who's lived experience is fighting anti-Semitism and raising a Jewish family, I'm the kind of Jewish Democrat you want in Congress right now, because that's what would inform my decision making in Congress.

Moderator 44:33 But how much of a cut off of military aid do you make? The offensive versus defensive distinction? And would you agree with Ms. Phillips-Staley that the U.S. should place sanctions on the Israeli government?

Beth Davidson 44:48 I do not. I think that we need to lead from the front and regain our diplomatic stance as the beacon of democracy in the world, making sure we honor our commitments and protect Israel as the beacon of democracy in the Middle East.

Moderator 45:04 So Iron Dome, yes. But you would vote for the Block the Bombs Act, which is more for offensive weapons, or would that not be accurate?

Beth Davidson 45:14 I'm running for House, not for Senate. I'm not going to say what I would have voted for then. But I do believe we need to exert more diplomatic pressure. What I'm calling a 23 state solution. The United States has just gone this alone for far too long. And the other countries in the region need to step up.

Moderator 45:30 Ms. Connolly.

Cait Conley 45:34 So as the only person on this call who has been to war, who has been to wars in the Middle East, I will tell you, the last thing that you ever want to see that I ever want to see is another generation of anyone's children in any country have to go through that. And I do believe that we need to be using pressure to ensure a two state solution, that cease fires are upheld, that we are giving safety and security to all people, that we are focusing on reconstruction and how do we get what I believe needs to be a third party peacekeeping force at both sides can agree to to help ensure that cease fire conditions are maintained. I do think we have a responsibility to continue to support the Israeli people and ensure their safety and security. And I am incredibly concerned about the rising antisemitism that we are seeing in our country, even in our district. And that is no place in America hate against any group has no place in America. But what we are seeing with this administration continuing to get us into more and more conflicts enabled by people like Mike Lawler, we just saw with the War Powers Resolution last week, Mike Lawler voting to yet again, give Donald Trump a blank check for the war in Iran.

Moderator 46:50 But that's where we're on the question. The question is funding to Israel for offensive weapons or no.

Cait Conley 46:59 So if he brought this up, there are laws already that govern what age should be provided. The Leahy laws apply their state department oversight requirements. What I have seen happen is politicians cosplaying military professionals trying to hand select what systems should or should not go when they don't understand what those mean. And so what we need to be focusing on is how do we ensure safety and security on both sides? How do we make sure that we are enforcing the standards that apply and making sure, again, that we're not just focusing on the past, Brian, like everyone keeps talking about the past.

Moderator 47:35 We are bringing up standards that are already in the law. Do you think that the Biden and Trump administrations have complied with that law, with the kind of aid that they are giving to Israel for military purposes? Just trying to clarify.

Cait Conley 47:53 They're continuing to support our ally in the Middle East, which is the only democracy, and we are continuing to see escalating conflicts across the Middle East. These are things that we need to be running in and stopping, but we also have to acknowledge the threats that continue to exist. Mr.

Moderator 48:10 Sacks, go ahead. Do you want to finish the thought real briefly?

Cait Conley 48:17 I just I hope we also talk about Iran, Brian, that's all.

Moderator 48:20 I think you're going to broadly agree on Iran and we're going to run out of time soon, but Mr. Sacks, you on aid to Israel, you haven't gotten a shot at this yet.

Mike Sacks 48:30 Yeah. So I've been following this obsessively for the last 20 years. And if someone asked me 20 years ago, will you take APEC money? I'd have said no, because they've been pushing Israel further to the right into an anti-democratic abyss, making it jeopardizing its own survival as a Jewish and democratic state. Mike Waller claims he's and he's pro-Israel, but he stands next to Itamar Ben Gavir, who is an ally of Yitzhak Rabin's assassin. So for me, I stand with organizations like J Street, which favor stopping funding for offensive weapons in Israel so long as the occupation continues to be entrenched in the blockade of Gaza and the destruction of society there continues alongside with Hamas's own terror there. I'm also for if Israel wants funding for defensive weapons, which we should absolutely provide, we can sell that to them because they have the money for it. So that is where I stand. That's in conjunction with J Street's position as well. But I believe that we need to be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine because there's no way out other than a two state solution. I believe the occupation has been a cancer in Israeli society rather than a reflection of it. And I think that's something that the post October 7th response from Israel into Gaza has opened up as a debate within the Democratic Party. What is the occupation? Is it a cancer on Israeli society or a reflection of it? I think there are parts of the Democratic Party now that think of it as the latter. I do not. But I think we need to put every bit of American muscle behind empowering the opposition party in Israel who are standing up for its democracy as a Jewish state and also sanction Israel like Ms. Phillips-Staley. Would you say I would restore the sanctions that Biden put on the settler movement and the settler leaders in is in the West Bank. I don't believe the government needs to be sanctioned. I think I'd be voted out this September. But the opposition party there is led by Naftali Bennett, who himself is a settler, does a kinder, nicer one. But that's still a settler who has expansionist policies. We need to empower the party in Israel that's focused on restoring its democracy to ensure that there's peace and security, both for Israel and Palestine, borders and a security borders and security agreement that the entire Arab world through the Arab Peace Initiative was pushing for back in 2002.

Moderator 50:39 OK. I want to ask you all one yes or no question because I teased it earlier. We're just going to do yes or no and not really arguments. And then we'll do closing statements. Does anyone think if there's a Democratic House majority that you should consider impeaching President Trump again? There is a movement now asking Congress to do that over several alleged offenses. Yes or no. Would you be interested in an impeachment inquiry into President Trump for a third time if you're elected to Congress? Mr. Sacks, yes or no?

Mike Sacks 51:14 Yes, absolutely. The fish rots from the head and we can do more things than just impeach. We can also have aggressive oversight every single day of those who've been hurting us, stealing from us, and then we can also perform a progressive legislation to give you the idea of what this country can be more on.

Effie Phillips-Staley 51:30 Absolutely. Yes. We need to use all the powers we have to to address his horrendous behavior.

Moderator 51:37 Ms. Conley, yes or no?

Cait Conley 51:40 Yes, but I think we need to look more broadly to you at the cabinet officials who are violating the law and hold them

Moderator 51:44 accountable as well. And Ms. Davidson.

Beth Davidson 51:47 I'd consider it, but it's very far down on my list. I'm interested in solutions now to make people's lives better every day.

Moderator 51:54 All right. Now it's time for closing statements up to one minute each. We randomly selected an order. It'll be Conley, Davidson, Sacks, Phillips, Staley, up to one minute each. Ms. Conley.

Cait Conley 52:07 Thank you so much, Brian, and to the listeners for tuning in. We talked about a lot of really, really important issues today and we have a lot of work to do in America to make sure that our best days are still ahead of us, which I fundamentally believe, but the only way we make that happen is if we get to govern to fix these things and the only way we get to govern is if we win. And so at the end of the day, 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 in the country. And when it comes to beating Mike Lawler, this is going to take a hard fight to bringing people together across the district. We have watched Mike Lawler take on and beat two Democratic politicians already. He has never had to face someone like me. We want a different kind of outcome. It's time for a different kind of Democrat.

Moderator 52:54 Ms. Davidson.

Beth Davidson 52:56 Thank you, Brian, and thank you to everyone who's tuned in this morning to hear from us, because we are very different candidates and it's critically important who we choose to go up against Mike Lawler. This district has rejected D.C. picked candidates twice. New York, 17, deserves a Congresswoman who didn't just show up here because they saw a political opportunity, but who really knows our diverse communities and is already doing the work to put this country back together in this primary. I'm the only one who's fighting back against Donald Trump in real time, passing common sense, gun safety legislation, lowering costs for our families and standing up to ice. And I'm also the only Democrat who's proven I not only know how to fight, I know how to win from electing dozens of Democrats all across the country to leading the slate that delivered the first ever Democratic super majority to the Rockland County Legislature right in Mike Lawler's backyard. I'm running for Congress because after living and serving here for 20 years, I know how to roll up my sleeves and deliver results that make a difference in people's lives. That's the leadership that meets this moment. And it's a leadership I'll take to Congress next year. Thank you all again. Mr. Sacks.

Mike Sacks 53:58 We need to break the billionaire back system designed to block us, period. And we right now need people in Congress, not just who are telling us what we will do, but how we will deliver it. Absent that, absent a vision for the how, for delivering for the American public, we will be thrown out of office for not delivering and the fascists will come back in. So how do we turn this page? We need to find where the power is and Trump won't be in power forever. We in the 120th Congress need to set an agenda with bold progressive legislation akin to the New Deal and the Great Society that delivers for real people and all the people. And in doing so, we need to set the stage for an alternative vision of what America can be so that the 2028 elections can follow with presidents who follow our lead. When we have a trifecta, we need to make sure we tackle extreme partisan gerrymandering, the Senate filibuster and take on this Supreme Court, which is the final boss constructed to prevent us from getting our will. That is the vision we need to take forward so that we can enter a new era. We can have a political system that serves all of us and we can have bipartisanship on our terms in a country that works for all of us.

Moderator 55:01 And Ms. Phillips-Staley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 55:04 So I got into this race because a group of Latino activists in my community asked me to fight for them. So not because the money was there, not because the D triple C or the establishment was behind me, but because there isn't a single voter in this district that we can afford to write off. Not Muslims, not Latinos, not young people watching their generation get priced out of where they grew up or their planet burn up. So the system keeps telling us that running scared is the only path forward, that we have to trim our positions down, that we have to be palatable to donors and really hope that's enough. But that strategy has lost this seat twice. It leaves the people in Spring Valley and Havastra and Osning with no real reason to show up. So I'm offering something different. Sixty six thousand new homes, universal childcare, Medicare for all and an immigration system built on dignity, not fear. And a foreign policy that applies the same standard to everyone. This is the structural like I but I just want to be one more thing. Working Family Party endorsed. Proud of that. I'm the real progressive in this race.

Moderator 56:16 All right. Well, thank you all very much for engaging. Early voting begins on Saturday, June 13th around New York. Primary day itself is Tuesday, June 23rd. All four of you, thank you very much for engaging in this forum. We hope it helped inform those listeners who might be voting in this New York 17 Democratic primary. Thank you all again. Thank you for your time today. Thanks for having us, Brian.

Audience 56:41 Thanks, Brian. Thanks, Brian. WNYC's journalism and storytelling is heard by millions of passionate listeners. Sponsors of our program and gain our listeners attention and their respect. Learn about how your organization can support WNYC and WNYC Studios at sponsorship dot WNYC dot org.

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 0:00 All right, welcome everybody. It is seven o'clock Thank you very much for joining us. Love to see this full house. So many engaged voters Welcome. My name is Victoria. I'm going to introduce My colleague on the government relations committee our chair and the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce Greg young

Greg Young (Chamber VP / introducer) 0:22 Good evening So my name is Greg young as Victoria said I'm the vice president of the Greater Austin Chamber I'm also the chair of our government relations committee Althema Goodson who was our president couldn't be here tonight So really excited to welcome you on behalf of the Greater Austin chamber First want to thank everybody here for coming out tonight. It's gonna be an amazing event Thank you to my fellow Austin chamber directors who put the work in day in and day out But really to Victoria Garrity who's sitting right next to me and really did the real work to get us here tonight I also want to say thank you to Rob and Amy who are the owners of Hudson Valley books for humanity for hosting us and I would like to also then take a moment just to welcome the elected officials in the room. We have our town supervisor Liz Feldman We have village trustee. I saw Pat Yoast is here Village trustee Dana White is here We have our receiver of taxes Holly Perlowitz is here with us leaves this evening We have We have Sue Donnelly Okay, Karen Datori our village manager. It is a nonpartisan event and Lastly, I'd like to thank our candidates for being here tonight for sharing their Perspective plans and ideas for our future. We have John Cappello We have Cait Conley We have Beth Davidson We have FB Phillips daily We have Mike Sacks Welcome everybody When I first suggested the Chamber of Commerce start a government relations committee back in 2024 We knew there was an immediate need for our businesses to have a direct line of communication with our elected representatives Little did I know just how important this committee would become from local lobbying to county collaboration to events like tonight in which we take partisanship out of the conversation and we speak directly to the needs of small businesses community building organizations and local economies Chambers of Commerce play a key role in voicing opinions questions concerns and successes of our constituents And it is nothing short of an honor to have these amazing candidates here to speak directly to our members and our local businesses And awesome and beyond Small businesses are the backbone of this country But we are often an afterthought in this chaotic world of partisanship and charged rhetoric tonight We turn the conversation and we shine a light on the little guy For local businesses. We don't think about year-end ROI. We don't think about shareholder earnings We think about we think about paying the bills this week We think about last month's razor thin margins and whether we can afford to keep that vital staff member We wonder whether we'll make next month's mortgage payment The candidates this evening have been tasked to speak on topics that relate to feedback collected directly from our local business community Topics such as affordable health care housing renewable energy immigration reform LGBTQ plus rights AI and much more So tonight I thank everyone for coming out this conversation is more important than ever before The decisions made at the upcoming midterm elections will undoubtedly shape this country for years to come So without further ado, I turn my mic over to Victoria get ready to start us

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 4:01 Thank you everybody who's here Okay So we are going to go right into it with questions We're gonna have the format for this evening is There will be five questions for each of the candidates each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond Then there will be a lightning round of questions Many of the people in this room Contributed to a long list of dozens of topics and questions that you would like us to ask We are including as many as we can tonight if your question was not asked or if you are not satisfied with how it was Addressed I encourage you to stick around afterwards. The candidates have been invited to stick around afterwards chat with them there's information for the campaigns at the back of the room follow up with the campaigns and If you are registered Democrat, you have a primary election coming up in June If you are not a registered Democrat this evening still really matters for you If you feel really motivated to want to work with one of these candidates Doesn't matter if you can vote for them in December and June June June June You can get involved you can Talk to voters you can learn more about the election. You can knock on doors You can tell your family and friends about how important it is to vote and why you're supporting the candidate that you are So at this point all the candidates know each other quite well After months on the campaign trail campaigning in this race is more than a full-time job so We have invited all of the candidates who will be participating in the June primary tonight Candidate night will be a little different than most that they have participated in Usually they are organized by partisan organizations. The Chamber of Commerce is not a partisan organization. So Candidates, we don't want to hear how you're going to defeat the incumbent in November What we want to hear is how you if elected will fight for our community as Greg suggested Tonight's questions will be through the lens of small businesses and our local economy so after those five questions, there will be a lightning round and We have several questions I think the list got down to I kept hearing it down so we could fit as many as a possible But like still get out of here tonight Several questions where we would ask you to respond ideally with one word But if you could do it with the if you have to do more than one word Which sometimes will probably be necessary one sentence as few words as possible And then and like I said, this is the for some people the beginning of a conversation There's still much much more to come before the election election day It's June 23rd for the primary and on June 24th All of the candidates correct me if I'm wrong have indicated that they will be supporting whoever it is These candidates are all in the same party. So they will be supporting whoever is the winner So Those applause were perfect It's like I've literally got a little picture of applause in my notes next says our intention is to keep the formal Q&A to one So we're already up to 707 To make that a remote possibility We ask you to refrain from clapping or any other reactions during the program That said let's begin by welcoming all five candidates with a round of applause Okay, the order the candidates are seated was randomly selected before they sat down tonight We will begin with John Cappello move down the row and then the next question Mike will start and we'll go in rotating in order So our first question is related to health care Many of us are small business owners and we value the work of our employees But we cannot afford to offer health care insurance to them often Having health care insurance tied to employment for most Americans limits creativity and entrepreneurship Those who take risks and leave steady employment benefits often do not seek medical care when facing a crisis The big beautiful bill cut Medicaid from 17 million Americans and ACA subsidies were cut from 24 million Americans Do you believe that health care is a human right and? What federal programs will you fight for to ensure that everyone in America has access to reliable? affordable health care John your first

John Cappello 8:55 Thank you. Thank you all again for being here. Thank you for the question and I'll get right to it Um, yes, I believe health care is is a human. I mean, there is no Reason why the most prosperous country on the planet cannot provide health care for all people We could find a way to do this And I think we are all committed to to make sure that that that happens. Look, this isn't an abstract issue in New York 17 Medicare ACA coverage of Effects medic Medicare over 200,000 people in New York 17 are on Medicare. That's about 27% Of the population within within the district that's significant and that's a that's a real everyday issue for folks So starting number one is to make sure that the ACA subsidies are reinstated and supported protect at all protect Medicare find solution to Medicare for everyone it is going to cost them. 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

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 10:21 Mike and anybody can you meet her if you have the question?

Mike Sacks 10:24 It is madness that we have employer-based health care in this country We need to sever that connection between employment employment and health care and have a Medicare for all of its country To me that no applause no applause no applause you're eating into my seconds everybody So it's not just good policy It's good power politics if we are to turn the page in the past 40 years of gridlock that have had us punching at each Other instead of punching up with those who are trying to keep us from actually having health care as a human, right? Then we need to push forward Boldly and strongly impressively we talk about Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security Those are politically untouchable Republicans try to repeal them, and they'll be thrown out of office so fast The same can be the same can be done with Medicare for all when we have policies that serve everybody Not just some people so that people can say well that's for them not for me We can slash their funding from waste fraud and abuse the Lawler tries to do We have policies that serve everybody make everyone's lives better and it's cheaper in the tax dollars We pay then what otherwise we would hang out-of-pocket for premiums deductibles and co-pays Then if anyone tries to take this away from us all of us including those who thought of a threshold would be socialism We'll take our pitchforks out and say don't you dare? This is how we have a transformative change in this country to ensure We are happier healthier and freer to pursue the American dream It's the only way. Thank you

Cait Conley 11:57 So 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 So larger companies that are trying to give their employees family 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 and We have seen this administration instead of trying to solve this problem. Just add fuel to that fire And so 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 We see the pressure it's putting on local hospitals right here in northern Westchester Like open door right down the road the incredible work it does for this community with Lindsay Farrell at the helm 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. Hi

Effie Phillips-Staley 13:39 Thank you everyone for being here. So I don't know how many of you saw the 60 minutes episode where people were waiting in their cars for three days in line for Dental care something that is Poorly covered under our current systems and it is appalling in a nation as wealthy as ours that anyone has to sleep in their car For three days to get access to free health care. So I firmly believe in Medicare for all We are the wealthiest nation on this planet. We certainly can't afford it. It is not enough to reinstate the ACA tax credits which are important in the interim because we see countries around the world who have significantly better health outcomes the US our health outcomes are terrible and it's the most expensive Health system in relation particularly to how terrible the care is so we can Make Medicare for all happen We certainly can do it by taxing fairly And what that means is taxing the rich no loopholes No sheltering funds. We need wealth taxes for multi millionaires and billionaires who can certainly afford it and can invest in the health and well-being of our nation because as I Like to say when we invest in the people we invest in the nation No one in our country should suffer from lack of health care. Thank you all so much for being here tonight

Beth Davidson 15:20 It's so inspiring to see this standing room only crowd and a bookstore always one of my favorite places I'm Beth Davidson. Health care is a extremely personal personal issue to me the two-time cancer survivor 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 obviously for me Medicare for all being an ultimate goal But I'm very concerned about the whole we have to dig ourselves out of with this budget The Affordable Care Act tax credits must be reinstalled immediately. I met someone on the Austin train station a few weeks ago platform whose Premium went from a hundred and sixty eight dollars to three hundred and eighteen dollars. This isn't something that's happening somewhere else It's happening right here in this community and I'll fight like heck to make sure that we get those tax credits back Along with reinstating the funding to Planned Parenthood which provides Affordable health care to so many in our community women and men and in that funding has been under attack constantly and and Fortunately, I know the Supreme Court did uphold Women's right to choose in one way today, which we're all grateful for but we have to keep pushing to refund that and lastly we Have to address an unaddressed health care crisis Which is the fact that the largest killer of American children in this country is gun violence And I'm deeply committed to passing needed reforms to make sure we bring that to an end as well

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 16:50 Thank you everybody for sticking with the time constraints for those of you who can't see we do have a time keeper up here For sir, yes Happens to my husband So they're giving a 30 30 second warning and then a stop and so for everyone has done a good job at wrapping up When they have told to stop I also want to point out if you are standing in the back of the room There are four seats up front here You are welcome to come and sit up front. We do have quite a few more questions to get through

Mike Sacks 17:19 We do bite though

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 17:21 All right. Next up Mike. You're gonna be the first one to respond to this question It's about energy and climate even when the administration even before the administration began the war with Iran Which resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz? We were facing an energy crisis Meanwhile, the impacts are increasingly being felt in tangible ways Affordability is more than a campaign buzzword It is the reality that drives decisions about whether to start a business how many employees to hire and how much you can pay them and Whether a potential customer feels they can afford to go out to dinner or sign up for guitar lessons or buy a new home Or even just fill up their gas tank Investing in renewable energy is a matter of national security. It provides jobs It would improve affordability and it is a critical step in addressing the climate crisis Meanwhile, the current administration is undermining badly needed renewable energy projects in our region by yanking funding and permits and suing New York State If elected, what would you do in a short medium of long term to address both our energy and our climate crisis?

Mike Sacks 18:28 Thanks for the question short term We renew and restore the tax credits towards Renewables and sustainable energy that were put forward in the invest in the inflation reduction act under the Biden administration that's Immediate that's required and I say as in Congress in the 120th Congress We play hard ball since the purse strings of the power of the purse tight and don't let any money go to this administration until they Free up and restore the funding that they had cut during this past done once we gain a trifecta Political momentum we'll gain from our hardball with this president and the Supreme Court over the next two years once we get in there We go forward with the Green New Deal We push forward hard and fast and strong as possible to ensure that we get good paying union jobs to create more sustainable infrastructure to add to more electrification beyond just the tesla chargers down at a bite in the shopping center miles down the road and We just go full throttle to be competitive with the rest of the world. That's leaving us behind Now we just spent a billion dollars to cancel contracts for wind farms off this off the coast of the state When we could be using that money to actually build up sustainable energy in this country and especially in this state

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_00) 20:03 Thank you

Cait Conley 20:15 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 And it's about darn time that our government treated it as such But instead of washington being part of the solution They are the problem Whether it is rescinding the tax incentives that were already driving renewable energy investment 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 We do need to be investing in modernizing our infrastructure to support our communities I'm incredibly proud of the work that liz feldman town supervisor here has done for Ossining and leading the charge to include holding mike lawler accountable in terms of what this community needs We need to be very real renewable energy is not just the best way forward It is the most cost effective and immediate way forward for addressing the affordability crisis But the federal government has a role to play in helping communities get there I didn't listen to the 30-second mark or the hint so I got victoria's. Yes. Sorry

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 22:01 Um, i'm, sorry. Could you repeat the question, please? Absolutely So do you need the preamble or just the question? Just the question. Okay if elected What would you do in the short medium and long term to address both our energy and our climate crisis?

Effie Phillips-Staley 22:14 Got it. Thank you. I mean one of the wonderful things about being a trustee in the river towns Over in terrytown is that working here in westchester? We see so many wonderful Examples of local municipalities sort of taking on the issue of how we address climate change locally So I know in terrytown, for example, we did Uh the climate studio with cornell university to help us understand how we could transform our waterfront in a sustainable way We've rezoned to allow battery storage units, which is absolutely critical For our energy grid moving forward so we don't have to pull from peaker plants Like cold plants in the middle of the country that are very expensive battery storage units help us keep our prices down Um, you know croton with the extraordinary solar panels that I think that village makes Uh $40,000 a month in that goes into the coffers of the village to help with other things We can learn so much from each other to put together a wonderful Patchwork of energy resilience that brings costs down across new york 17 We've already got the jump in many ways But what we need is the federal government to invest in the incentives So when again as a trustee in the village of terrytown, we were able to work With our previous member of congress to get sort of the tax credits. We need like to advance uh solarizing the village This is exactly the kind of thing that I will push for in a situated way understanding that each municipality has its own needs And the federal government should be here to help them with that transformation

Beth Davidson 24:02 So i'm missing the phrase that since supervisor feldman already got shouted out. I want to shout out Your mayor rica levin for proclaiming that she wanted uh austin to be the greenest village in the hudson valley And I know you're well on your way and I also 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 a an environmental issue a national security issue. It's a job. It's a jobs issue We had shovel ready projects ready to create jobs put people back to work People who will do their full day's work and then come to your small businesses To eat to get their haircut to shop for their families. This is an A cut that has really impacted had a ripple effect on our communities. Um medium term. I would say is the Chair of the rockland county legislature's environmental committee This is something I wake up and fall asleep thinking about all the time how we can make the difference We can at the county level around the edges by putting uh ev chargers in our parking lots by putting solar In our parking lots and on our buildings and then i'm also proud to say it's about Stopping the kind of dirty energy. We don't want so i'm proud to have passed the first county-wide resolution in new york state Opposing project michael maple the dirty pipeline expansion that is relevant here because it would have started on your side of the hudson Run underneath uh right next to the indian point. Uh, what could possibly go wrong? And and pop up in rockland dumping a dirty air compressor in the town of ramapo where children already have unequal health outcomes In terms of asthma and other health effects. So It's about stopping what we don't want and investing in what we do and that's about taking back the power of the purse when we take back

John Cappello 25:43 Thank you 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 national security strategy We have a we have a National security strategy. We have a national or national military strategy. We need a national energy strategy And that means we set goals objectives. We set funding for this Uh, we set that funding To meet the goals and objectives here at a local level fund things at the local level. There are there are amazing opportunities uh in the new york 17 in the hudson valley for developing producing renewables and clean energy short term And this is this is what the uh, the ira the inflation reduction act did I provided over 300 billion dollars of funding grants incentives and those were cut We have to change the inset the way we incentivize right now. We continue to incentivize Fossil fuels, right? This is this is our this is our energy policy. We incentivize through tax credits, whatever Fossil fuels until that changes and we do that through a national Energy policy will continue to fight these same battles, but but that's um, I think doable and needs to be a priority

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 27:09 Thank you Okay, this next question and uh, kate you're going to get us started. It's about housing When the 2030 census comes out new york along with other blue and purple states in the northeast and midwest Are going to lose representation in congress to states like texas and florida where populations are increasing We are not meeting the housing needs of our current and future residents And I say this as an environmentalist And as a former village mayor This is in large part due to policy decisions Ossining is doing more to build housing to meet demands of our growing and socio-economically diverse community With construction of three relatively large developments underway or slated to begin soon We're doing more than most but getting these developments takes years to make happen even in a community that welcomes it Land use policies are based are passed at a local level, but there are things congress could do To incentivize building homes and reduce the skyrocketing cost of a home The 21st century road to housing act is a rare example of bipartisan legislation sponsored by democratic senator Elizabeth warren and republican senator tim scott and it passed overwhelmingly in the senate But has stalled in the house Other potential efforts congress could support are increasing the low-income housing tax credit The yes in my backyard act which incentivizes removing restrictive zoning and land use policies Investing in infrastructure projects like roads water and sewer systems and transit access Which are necessary to support increased housing development? And initiatives to increase lender financing for condos and co-ops to help working people build equity If you are elected to congress What initiatives would be at the top of your list to help meet the need for housing in our area?

Cait Conley 29:12 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 This is about the future of our community and also our country And so when we talk about how do we fix this? 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 Because trump has no idea. Sorry. I know it's not political, but he has no idea what he's doing Or how real business is run? So we have to do things to actually lower the cost of home construction and allow smart and responsible buildings to occur The second part of this though is we need to make sure that people can afford to buy the homes We are building and that is where whether it is low income tax credit To help folks who are socio-economically diverse be able to afford homes I will tell you the thing that I am championing and would be a major priority for me if I the privilege of being your Rep is introducing america's public service loan program Which mirrors the va loan program that i've been it 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. Thank you

Effie Phillips-Staley 30:55 so When when I first started this race, it was really critical to speak to people about what their needs were This was the foundation of what we created calling which we call the suburban progress agenda Housing was of course the top thing unequivocally and i'm not surprised by that because there's a trustee in the village of Town just a couple weeks ago. Our own firefighters came in and said, you know We are losing firefighters because they can't afford to live In the village at all. There isn't sufficient housing So I invite you all to go to my website look at the suburban progress agenda if you want to dig into details But the top line is that within this district? We need 66 000 new homes at all price points to be able to start to bring The cost of housing down and that's over the next 10 years So what can the federal government do so establish a federal tax credit for new construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing? In all parts of the district not just I mean, of course, i'm a big fan of having things Near transit zones, but really in all parts of the district we have to cut red tape for integrated communities And so what that means is income tiers of diverse income tiers So if we build in that way and not just you know, the four bedroom homes that are all at the same price Then we incentivize The ability for people at different incomes to buy housing Um You know We talk about um capping rents within the suburban progress agenda and we talk about creating Intergenerational wealth by giving uh, thank you, uh cash to first time home buyers. I Encourage you all to go look at it for all details

Beth Davidson 32:45 So i'm going to go ahead and and go back to this budget For next year and where we're going to have to dig ourselves out from when we retake the house And that's the fact that um, the trump administration cut 3.8 billion dollars from hud programs And that's you know, the people who need assistance the most and developing housing for those who need assistance the most Uh, you should be so proud of yourselves here in austining that you do require a 10 affordable unit Percentage for for new housing projects built here with a density bonus for those who include more affordable housing units in their projects That's really important and and what they've learned in places like croton is that people want to live in mixed housing They want to live with different kinds of people up and down the socio-economic spectrum maple commons had a had a Lottery and it went really quickly because people wanted to live in a diverse community And I know you've found that here in austin and we found it where I live in nyak as well We do have the first I helped start the first ever housing committee as a county legislator where we have a housing action loan opportunity program incentivizing developers to Pay into a revolving fund and then when their project is done the money goes back to incentivize the next developer There are ways that we do that the federal government can support Incentives so that every local community can build the kind of housing that's right for them So much of this is about education There are so many communities that know we need more housing, but don't want it in their backyard We have to make them understand why it's so important transit oriented development is a huge part of that as well Which will not only solve our housing crisis, but help Put it by putting more people in mass transit and cars off the road for our green energy goals as well. Thank you

John Cappello 34:25 So you so he said, uh, we're not meeting demands. I think that's the understatement of of the evening so far I mean what do what do Families want they want safe neighborhoods. They want housing they could afford they want good strong schools, right? and and The housing I you know, we all talk to a lot of people doing this Over and over the number of young people that are leaving the area because they cannot afford to live here It's it's obscene So what do we do? Um, I have benefited also from the veterans VA loans, I think that is a model an absolute model that we that we could apply nationally We want people who serve in these communities to be able to live in these communities nurses teachers first responders And so a so a public service loan program is absolutely an imperative In rockland county. There's that the halo program which helps to rehabilitate and build of Affordable housing and senior housing. I think that's a very good model that could be applied at the at the local level as well Um I don't think about that

Mike Sacks 35:49 Very rarely in these times do we have veto proof majorities in congress for massive Bills that are transformative and you mentioned one in the wind up the 21st century Housing for the 21st century act. It actually did clear the house. I have a number here 390 to 9 and it's I think in the senate Marked up right now, but one way or the other Yeah, one way or the other there are numbers to actually achieve what we're talking about for housing In legislation that currently exists that have bipartisan numbers to overcome any veto that trump might put on And then when we have the presidency, sorry to get partisan, we can actually fully fund it fully Executed fully effectuated. So a few things that are part of this bill Three prong make it easier to build new housing, right? expand financing options and modernize existing housing programs So that means increasing fair housing act multifamily family loan limits expand the home investment partnerships program eligibility Allow community development block grant funding to be used for building affordable housing, right? This is all there This is policy that is already existing like so many of our other other problems We have policies currently in place and bills that have been introduced over the past several congresses That only need to have that only need the numbers to be passed And we are lucky now that this particular issue Has animated people on both sides of the aisle And we can push that through if this congress doesn't do it We can do it The next congress and if this congress does push it through we can ensure that we build political momentum to have a president and an executive Then we'll actually see it most robustly executed and enforced Stop. Okay, cool

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 37:28 Okay. Thanks for the update Next one is about corporate corruption Corporate corruption is one topic that voters of all ideologies strongly object to The most brazen examples of corporate greed capturing our government Is the tech with the tech oligarchs like elon musk tim cook mark suckerberg and jeff bezos and ironically The u.s government is the only entity strong enough to rein in corporate greed Right now tech oligarchs dictate the rules and operate with less oversight than small businesses Like the hudson valley books for humanity have to deal with Nobel prize winner for his work in ai jeffrey hinton believes that there is a 10 to 20 chance that ai will And this sounds like we're being overly dramatic We'll wipe out humanity in the next three decades 10 to 20 percent Would be low if it were a grade in school. It is too freaking scary for us to ignore this. So if elected What is your strategy to address corporate corruption? And to control and harness ai's capabilities and risks fh you're going to be in

Effie Phillips-Staley 38:44 Yeah, you know, we're worried about ai destroying us in 30 years I'm worried about my son not having a job in four when he gets out of college This is Look i'm i'm this is what i'm going to blame it on and be very clear like the absence of a clear campaign finance reform Is is really at the source of all of these problems whether we talk about? This nightmare of ai that's on the horizon or our environmental issues that Everything sort of boils down to our government prioritizing corporations and people over profits and treating Corporations like their people and then prioritizing them It is insane The government has been operating under this false belief for a while that somehow If the government acts like a business that it's going to be more efficient and I completely disagree It is the job of the federal government to mitigate these dangers to the people right, and it's the job of Our elected officials to be servants of the public not of corporations and so This is One of the main reasons why I decided that I wanted to run and it's why i'm running as a progressive and it's why I'm not taking any corporate dollars any path dollars any Sorry So to be clear because we have to transform the nature of government because it is not doing the job of protecting us In all of these ways I just want to say

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 40:28 This is not a rally So, please Do your best to refrain from cheering

Beth Davidson 40:35 Well, it's not like we didn't know what we were in for with this administration with a inauguration brought to you by right amazon All of the all of the oligarchs that you mentioned So they've had a foot in the door of this administration in this white house in state one And that is that does stem right into all of our suspicions of the greed that is happening from and the Between the government and big corporations and tech oligarchs in particular And I suspect if we saw the list of who's funding the ballroom, it would be pretty close But I also just as a you stole my line at the as a mom of a freshman in college I too have the same worries. I wonder wants to be a journalist at that This is something that we all have to worry about but but everyone has to worry about 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, you know Basically manipulate the market and and have price controls based on you know, just like we buy airline tickets There's more and more, you know What people not what something's worth or what how much it costs you to make it as a small business But what people are willing to pay for it And so that's something I think we really need to rein in that people are kind of going to sleep on right now As well as obviously deep fakes and private to have supported legislation in rockland county to ban deep fakes and county government It's already causing harm to people's reputations. All of us on the stage will probably be unfortunately Victims of it at one point or another 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

John Cappello 42:15 look ai has the Chance to be transformative. We all we all know that right and everybody uses chat gpt right here. That's one of the most basic forms Four years ago. I couldn't spell chat gpt, but we use it and it helps us It's a tool and it has the chance but of course there need to be clear guardrails There needs to be control and that's the role of government But I want to talk about really the root of the problem you're talking about with corruption From from day one. I said we needed to do politics differently when I ended the race and what is what is what does that mean? If you mentioned campaign finance reform Well, I think we need to restore balance and accountability the accountability piece is what you're talking about When we talk about corruption, where is the accountability who is holding the government who's holding these businesses accountable? That's the job of the legislative branch and they're not Why? 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 code of ethics for the supreme court Those five things done together restore balance and accountability and it changes the system Does anybody disagree that we should do those things? Is anybody talk to me afterwards if you agree 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 and we're going to continue to get the same results

Mike Sacks 43:52 We need to send someone to dc who knows how to get those results. Do you know who does disagree the supreme court? We can talk platitudes about profits over people. I agree with that epi But how are we going to overturn citizens united so long as we have this supreme court? We in congress have the power to overturn citizens united not by just over not by just expanding the court, which we must Not by constitutional amendment, which will take too long By by passing a simple law saying money is not people and money is not speech Incorporations are not people and then stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction to even review the constitutionality of that So that we the people as evidence in congress are the main constitutional actors in this country Article three section two of the constitution. We can do that and take our power back. That is how we do it Nuke the senate filibuster take on the supreme court pass laws that directly confront those who have been bought and paid for by corporate interests At the end of the last election cycle trump had that ad trump is for what homeless for they and them the anti-trans ad We are for you The dais on inauguration day Of the tech oligarchs with a leading charge of the ai movement generative ai Trump is for they and them. We are for you. We need to have A work progress administration style new deal style jobs program for kids like Effie's kid best kid my kids when they'll reach that age We need to have an osha style inspections regime for Safety and ia ea international for safety for ai to make sure it doesn't Thank you destroy us all. Thank you

Cait Conley 45:35 So i'm very proud to be part of the unrig Washington movement where i've committed to not taking any corporate pack 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 die best of any stock interests 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 We have regulated other technologies We have regulated the airline industry We can regulate this we are able to do this And I started to do this during my work at sissa 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 Okay

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 47:12 This is the last of the 90-second responses And beth is going to begin. It's about immigration Ossining is a community of immigrants generations of new americans came to ossining from ireland Italy and portugal and today the largest group of new residents in ossining are from latin america families with mixed documentation status are our neighbors Our classmates our co-workers our customers and our fellow local business owners Ossining has certainly had a number of visits from ice So thankfully not the high-profile acts of violence with impunity that the nation witnessed in minneapolis this winter What are your ideas for creating an equitable and honorable immigration policy?

Beth Davidson 48:02 So thank you for that question and this has been the centerpiece of my campaign Not by design, but not but by necessity. It is the moral calling of our time We are a nation of immigrants and ossining is a community of immigrants Nyack where I live and certainly the village of haberstrah the village of mount kisco On our side of the river and they've all been really impacted by The cruel and callous tactics of ice So I was proud to step up as a legislator and again you invented it here in rockland and west tester Excuse me, the immigration protection act. 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've heard from our domestic violence prevention nonprofit that women are afraid to report Domestic violence abuses because it's a tactic of an abuser to intimidate you by threatening to deport you if you report them Food families were afraid to go to food pantries because they're afraid of ice Rating the food pantry. We have a local school district with a 10 Chronic daily absenteeism rate because kids are afraid to go to school And I say all that knowing that you have similar problems over here and it must be rained in I want masks off cameras on and a safe and sane Path to legal immigration, especially for our dreamers and especially for those who work and sustain our small businesses I know that in on both sides of the river. There are small businesses, especially in the hispanic community that have really suffered Bakeries who are losing customers and it goes on down the line. So this must be addressed at every level. Thank you

John Cappello 49:45 So for me the the entering argument is We need community 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 for 40 40 some odd years And we keep coming into this do loop where we're where we're having these arguments and inexplicable Policy so we need 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 this is what's necessary and it needs to be done at the 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

Mike Sacks 51:06 I don't know about you guys, but in my canvassing so far i've knocked on doors where families have been afraid That's happening. Number one abolish ice No need for it to exist when we can have criminal enforcement and border enforcement without terror two We have a solution. We had one Remember after 2012 when obama won and the republicans had their autopsy and they said they had to be Kindler and gentler and less racist and actually welcome the stranger in this country Yeah, remember that remember in 2013. There was bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that focused on humanity not cruelty Unlike the 2024 one where we had planned their turf for the hope of winning and then trump spiked it told his guys Not the past that he came in to run on Concentration camping people in 2013. We had it Why did we not get it done? Wasn't us wasn't democrats. Sorry again Because there were enough republicans who did not get that autopsy memo and decided to filibuster the bill There are bipartisan majorities in both chambers of congress and a president and obama willing to sign it with a dream act with funding towards immigration judges With border security with all of it We can do that again, but we have to do what is possible We have to do what is necessary to tear down every obstacle in the way of our delivering for people Nuke the senate filibuster take on the supreme court if they dare get in the way That's the answer to everything to every bit of policy, but most especially this one

Cait Conley 52:45 So saturday, I have the awesome privilege of being at the epic free ossening barbecue just down the road And talking about a celebration of ossening and the community that we are All I could think about though is I was sitting there serving the fried chicken And watching these incredible families come through and a shout out to The rotary clubs and mack galotting galotta house who made it possible and also the chamber alfima greg who were there But as i'm sitting there or standing there next to supervisor feldman and we're serving fried chicken All I could think about was 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 That's why i'm doing this because the country I fought for is becoming something I barely recognize And I refuse to let that happen on my watch 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 There are people in the barbecue who lived in austin longer than i've been alive And are just as american as anyone in this room We are failing them. It's time for government to do its damn job

Effie Phillips-Staley 54:22 Uh, so that this is I think it's personal for a lot of people. It's certainly personal for me My mother immigrated to the united states from el salvador in 1968 when it was still immigration and naturalization service And it was a service that enabled people to immigrate here sort of guide them through and either you qualified or you didn't But we know in 2003 Under the war, you know pushed this war on terror That changed ice was created Uh immigration and naturalization was combined with border enforcement So whenever you hear somebody say like oh, we can't abolish ice because we have to make sure we stop drugs on the border That's a terrible conflation of this kind of criminal behavior That does need to be taken care of with immigration and it feeds the kind of discrimination that we see Against so many people who come to our country including people from el salvador, which is where my family's from So that is what I would do. I would abolish ice Separate immigrations and customs enforcement which needs to happen from immigration and naturalization I also think that we have to talk about what's happening right now We really have to work to pass new york for all It is essential that we do that now We can't wait until we get into congress to begin to change these things we can do it at the state level So I want to advocate for that I want to say there are other things that we have to make sure that we do and that's when we put laws forward To help people we have to make sure That we fight to pass them. Thank you, right? That's very critical

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 56:11 Very good. Okay. Well, thank you very much. That was it for the 90 second responses now lots lots fewer words There were so many questions that were asked by Many of you here in this room and so we are trying to incorporate as many as possible Uh, and some of them have been touched on by various responses already tonight So you'll be able to just like quick quick quick. Tell us yes or no You kind of know where you stand on some of these um, some of them Uh, you may want a few words to respond to but I will I use up my discretion when you use More words than necessary before we move on that said Many of these are really great topics and we could spend all night talking about them So, um, I encourage everyone if there's a candidate you want to learn more about follow up with them They all really want to hear from you um, so Who's next? John we're starting over again, right? Okay This is probably a yes or no one and I think I know a lot of the responses Do you support overturning citizens united?

John Cappello 57:13 Does anybody have any questions? Yes, I do I told you how we would do it as well

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 57:19 Yes Okay, it's going very quickly. Do you support? reopening indian point No

John Cappello 57:32 No, okay

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 57:34 Would okay. This is a little longer would you fight to protect and ensure opportunities for trans people by supporting measures including but not limited to establishing a federal transgender bill of rights Passing legislation to prevent state governments from criminalizing gender affirming health care And passing legislation to standardize and simplify the process for updating federal documents such as passports and social security records I think this I think kate starts

Cait Conley 58:04 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 is as an attack on all of our society So absolutely. Thank you

Beth Davidson 58:22 As you may have read in the new york post over the weekend i've passed policies to protect trans students and i'll take that same dedication

John Cappello 58:29 Yes, I take that very seriously Yes, that's the equality act as well

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 58:35 Great Here's another one. You could probably i'll do it answer in unison. Do you support the john lewis voting rights advancement act? Yes, very good CD17 is one of the few competitive congressional races in the country This is in large part because new york is one of the few states that prevents gerrymandering through a bipartisan commission While new york system is imperfect It is clearly a more fair representation of the will of the people Then the redistricting battle that began with the texas legislature and california voters and now is poised To skyrocket to a new level with the recent decision by the us supreme court Which has de facto wiped out the last remaining protections afforded by the voting rights act So two part question Do you support the freedom to vote act or some more updated version of it if you can come up with something? It is designed to use nonpartisan independent commissions to draw congressional maps similar to new york's approach And it is intended to prevent the packing crack redistricting practices happening in full force right now and Would you be willing to consider? Implementing multi-member districts and ranked choice voting for congress. It's not your turn yet Mike go ahead epi Yes, yes, yes

Beth Davidson 59:53 Okay

John Cappello 59:57 Yes, and yes A lot of a lot of work to do on that, but but yes

Mike Sacks 60:03 the whole point of our Fighting fire with fire on gerrymandering is to ensure we have an aggregate representation in congress then to ban it all And yes, we do need to implement multi-member district proportional representation so that you people can actually have a fair representation of who they want in power It's absolutely essential and that voting rights management act. Thank you strip the supreme court jurisdiction review it. Thank you

Cait Conley 60:25 I believe voters should choose that are politicians and politicians should not choose their voters

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 60:32 All right So shifting gears a little bit pressure on public schools Related to standardized test scores often leads to arts and music education being cut from school budgets There are things congress can do To help ensure that students have access to arts and music education in public schools For example, do you support increasing annual appropriation for funding through every student succeeds act? This is a bipartisan initiative originally passed in the obama administration It provides grants to prevent districts from having to choose between security technology and the arts and Would you consider co-sponsoring legislation that officially recognizes a transition from stem to steam? Meaning science technology engineering arts and mathematics in federal education grants and who are we starting with this time? I think it is you I think it is you beth

Beth Davidson 61:28 Yes And yes But we first have to restore the massive cuts to title one funding because music and arts are always the first thing to go When title one is cut

John Cappello 61:38 Yes, I mean I I said before for those of you heard I mean education needs to be our next moonshot and that's such an important part of it. I I think steam is a is a great

Mike Sacks 61:47 Underlying concept use of my expository quota with last answer. So yes

Cait Conley 61:54 Yes, and a shout out to mike risco who has been a huge ad to get for this at the community state and national level

Effie Phillips-Staley 62:01 Yes, and yes the absence of an emphasis on the art really undermines our children's education. We have to push for that It's incredibly important. I could talk about it for hours, but i'll spare you

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 62:13 Yes, and no surprise. It was miriam risco who submitted that question Um, the trump administration is currently facing pushback from members of the maha movement Who are fighting against efforts by monsanto bear to avoid accountability? Would you support legislation that prevents powerful lobbyists like those representing monsanto bear from being able to secure Legislative immunity from product liability. John you're first

Mike Sacks 62:42 Yes, of course Yes, same goes for the gun manufacturers

Cait Conley 62:50 I feel like i'm in the middle right now. Yes

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 62:54 Yes Yes All right. So there's a lot of overlap in the ideas among the folks here, but not always Um, here's one that has been mentioned but has not been addressed by all five of you Do you support a national wealth tax for millionaires might you start?

Mike Sacks 63:14 Yes, and the supreme court signaled last term that they would strike it down. So what are we going to do everybody? Yeah, that's like later

Cait Conley 63:22 All right, i'm, sorry, this is not a short answer 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 and not using these like borrow Okay, you can't ask these questions. I know it's a big one. I know I know it's important. We get it

Effie Phillips-Staley 64:02 I'll be very quick when we say tax the rich. That's what that means It's not just increasing the tax rates of plugging the loopy holes and actually making sure that people pay

Beth Davidson 64:13 Agree that we need to make corporations pay their fair share and also bring back the child tax credit That made a huge difference in lifting families out of poverty and we need it back

John Cappello 64:23 Yes, I mean this issue Of course people need to pay their fair share and we have to have a serious serious conversation about that This is not a left or right issue. This is an up and a down issue and that's the way we have to look at this

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 64:36 so Uh, you're gonna start this next one, right? I promise to use one word I think I think you can listen If elected would you voluntarily divest? Any holding of common stock that you currently own and support the banning of members of congress From owning or trading stocks cryptocurrency or prediction markets. You're right. I can't answer those. Yes Yes Yes Yes. Yes Great. Okay Do you support who we started with this time epi, right? Do you support expanding the supreme court to? 13 justices

Effie Phillips-Staley 65:20 I do the gloves are off. We have to do it Agreed. Yes

John Cappello 65:26 I I do in principle I I need to hear more. I need to think that through but I but I think it's a it's a There's always unintended consequences with growing and and I want to be

Mike Sacks 65:39 Diligent about that decision. I've thought this through for at least six years now. Yes, and there's much more we can do

Cait Conley 65:47 I don't think that's going to fix the road issue, which is the fact that we need term limits Listen when this when the lifetime appointment was passed people were not living this long We need term limits on the supreme court

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 65:59 okay, um that's a bigger conversation and Okay. Well, here's the term limits question. It's our last one. It's not about justices Do you support term limits for us representatives and senators? starting with Yeah, who's next?

Beth Davidson 66:24 I actually don't I think there I think it's member to member district to district Some districts have members that have served them well a long time. Some were done with after two years. I think it has to be up to the voters

John Cappello 66:40 Yes, it should be up to the voters, but there should be term limits This is a systemic issue and there needs to be i'm up for retirement age

Mike Sacks 66:49 But I don't think there should be congressional term limits I would look to jamel buoys that call him. It's the new york times He had a very good video about this a couple weeks ago. That explains it far better than I could

Cait Conley 66:58 I think career politicians are at the heart of so much of the corruption and dysfunction Yes to term limits house and senate

Effie Phillips-Staley 67:07 Yes to term limits. It should be public service. Not a career

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 67:12 all right, so Thank you all for your thoughtfulness and candor before we all Grab another drink ask another question and mingle Each candidate has one minute to give closing remarks and please No, excuse me. Excuse me Not a rally. Everyone has one minute starting with John Right, is that where we're up to you started the last you answered the last question first Oh, you did just you just answered the last question first It doesn't matter like anyone, okay, thank you

John Cappello 68:03 First of all, thank you all for being here. It's been a great conversation. Thank you for for moderating For those of you, I had a chance to meet many of you many of you that don't know me I'm from Safran originally brockham 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 a started an NGO that focuses on Helping countries achieve their democratization goals and I tell you that because I think diplomacy is not just a 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 And uh, I appreciate your consideration and I look forward to talking to you more this evening when I have a dream

Mike Sacks 69:06 Thank you. Thank you all for being here. I'm mike zacks I live up dressed up the road in croton on hudson got a couple young boys aged nine and 12 in the public school there I'm a former political and legal journalist. I'm a lawyer. I've covered the supreme court congress the 2016 campaigns that obama biden trump administrations I saw how we got to this point. I was in the courtroom for sittings united. I was on air during january 6th I saw the fascist takeover firsthand I'm running to fight the fascists Turn the page and move us into a new political era where if republicans want bipartisanship They will play on our turf. No more are playing on theirs We can do that. We need to smash every obstacle they put up That is part of the billionaire ballot system designed to block us. The reason we lose power is because we don't deliver Why don't we deliver? extreme partisan gerrymandering senate filibuster the supreme court unanimous we can take it all on with big bold ideas and policy designed to unite all of us to move forward to slay zombie raganism And they get ourselves to a new era. Thank you. Thank you all so much

Cait Conley 70:17 Cait conley incredibly grateful for the opportunity tonight I think there are two questions all of us ou answers too 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 And I will say i'm incredibly proud of the team i've built over the last year with you all Earning endorsements from all four counties in this district with the local elected officials current and former on committees to include The mayor of ossing right here rica. Thank you so much for your love and support the ossington democratic committee Alfima goodson who's not here tonight? So many folks who are leaders in this community who are setting the example and mentoring me to be the best Servant leader for you all in the federal government In terms of that second question your best athlete on day one 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. Thank you

Effie Phillips-Staley 71:30 Thank you so much everyone. My name is epi phillips staley. I am a trustee in the village of terrytown going on five years I've worked my entire adult life in the non-profit sector Everything from a receptionist to an executive always around social justice and inclusion I never thought I was going to run for congress But my community asked me to step up and do it and when your community asks you to that's what you do I am here to fight for affordable housing for just immigration reform. I'm here to abolish ice. I'm here to tax the rich All of these things Um, and here's what i'm going to say like having worked with the local democratic establishment for a long time I love a lot of them and i'm frustrated with a lot of them I think we've lost twice as a result of poor party, uh advocacy for candidates And i'm here to put forward a different, uh option a progressive Option and so if you believe in the progressive movement I ask you to join this fight and to back me and we can take this district. Thank you

Beth Davidson 72:44 Thank you so much to the austen chamber. Thank you. Victoria. You're doing such a great job moderating us keeping us honest I'm beth davison 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 And uh other restaurants and hairdressers and so many who have been impacted by this agenda Life, uh, it's all businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and that blood supply is being choked off by this agenda I'm doing everything I can every day to stand up and fight back in real time as a legislator I've supported our small businesses by cutting taxes investing in infrastructure fighting for affordable housing. We've got a new transit Mass transit i'm really excited about actually mini transit an electric bus that's going to shuttle people around from the hotel to parking So that more people go to small businesses and don't just stay in their hotels at night I promoted equity in education, which is something we didn't really talk about as much but Some small businesses need more help Except we saw that during the uh during the pandemic and making sure that happens as well Running for congress because I know how to roll up my sleeves and deliver results that make a difference in people's lives That's what i'm ready to do with your support on june 23rd. Thank you

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 73:57 All right And with that everyone, please a round of applause for everybody And for Victoria Garrity our incredible moderator happy to do it. It's been a wonderful event Thank you so much for participating and Candidates, you're welcome to hang out Get to know more of the voters Here in our community and voters if you heard something tonight You want to learn more about if you if you heard a candidate you want to volunteer for There's the information at the back of the room. Thank you so much

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_08) 74:46 What's your dog's name

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_00) 74:55 What's your

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_08) 75:00 Pursuits

Victoria Garrity (Moderator) 75:19 I don't know

Mike Sacks 75:25 Is

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_00) 75:55 So there are baked goods by a local bakery over on the tables to the right. Please take some home with you. Take some delicious baked goods from a local bakery. They're delicious. Take as much as

Ed Berry 0:00 Good evening. My name is Ed Berry and I am the political co-chair of the local Lower Hudson Sierra Club and also for my sins I am the co-chair of the state political committee for the Sierra Club. I want to welcome you all to the Climate Candidates Forum for New York 17 Congressional District. The Sierra Club, which is the sponsor of this along with food and co-sponsors Food and Water Watch, the Rockland Coalition to End the New Jim Crow, the Mid-Hudson Sierra Club, and Cohope. Sierra Club is the oldest and largest grassroots organization, environmental organization in the United States. Here, the Lower Hudson Group, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Southern Orange County is comprised of over 7,500 members and supporters, all of whom are actively involved in trying to make our shared space more habitable and safe for future generations. That means breathable air and drinkable water. That means more reliance on clean and renewable energy. This evening, we have the different candidates who are running in the Democratic primary who have agreed to join with us and answer some questions that have been pre-selected. There will also be an opportunity for the attendees to type in questions in the chat and we will go through those and we'll pass them along to the moderator, Michelle Dietrich, and some of those will be answered at the end. We can't guarantee all of them, but we'll try and get in as many as we can. Questions will go in the alphabetical order of the candidates, as will the opening statements. Then at the end, we'll reverse that reverse alpha order for the closing statements. I think that's pretty much the rules and regs with an audience like this.

Effie Phillips-Staley 2:26 I just want to know that they should put the questions in the Q&A. There is no chat.

Ed Berry 2:31 Oh, in the Q&A, my bad. Thank you, Peggy. You've saved me yet again. This evening, our discussion will be moderated by Michelle Dietrich, who is both the founder and chair of the Democratic National Committee's Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis. I'm going to hand over her particular introduction to Paul Presidue, my co-chair, who has worked with her more closely and knows her better. Paul?

Paul Presendieu 3:00 Thank you so much, Ed, and thank you for your leadership statewide for the Sierra Club, politically making sure that we're on the right side of history and putting Mother Nature on the ballot and making sure we know who our climate candidates are. The woman I'm introducing should not need any introduction with fellow members of the environmental community, especially members of the Democratic Party, because she is honestly the standard bearer and our better woman with making sure that the Democratic Party is on the right side of history and advocacy for our planet and our renewable energy infrastructure. Chairwoman Dietrich is a union member, a farmer, and most importantly, a battleground state organizer in the state of Michigan, a labor leader that's also been doing incredible work nationally, and also an environmental advocate, exemplified through her advocacy and creation of the Democratic National Committee's Council on Environment and Climate Crisis in 2019. Also, she's a no stranger to electoral politics. She is an organizer that helped flip a rural seat from red to blue in West Westinaw County, Michigan, and also served as the vice chair of the county government's legislature. For me, it's been an honor working with Chairwoman Dietrich from when I was many moons ago, the environmental caucus chair for the College Democrats of America, knocking on her door, asking her if I could be her squire. And now, currently being in my third term as a young Democrat of America, environmental caucus chair, being on the right side of history with her, knowing that we had to do our best, being environmental educators amongst civic leaders, but also civically empowering our fellow cousins in the climate movement to be able to identify who the best candidates are, and knowing that there is so much power behind our vote, especially during key races such as who you elect to Congress. So with that being said, I'd like to give the floor to the honorable Michelle Dietrich, founder and chair of the Democratic National Committee's Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis.

Michelle Dietrich 5:08 Thank you for that incredibly warm and generous introduction. And I guess I just gotta say right back at you, Paul, because you are an incredible leader who is growing so rapidly, and it's just a pleasure and joy to get to work with you and to watch the amazing work that you do in so many different forums. And thank you to Ed Berry, Chair Berry. Your work is well known and so important, as is this forum, and it's an honor to be here. And thank you to the candidates. I've been a candidate myself. I appreciate your running. So I think we'll dive right in. I'm going to explain the forum structure, and then so that's going to begin with your opening remarks. Then we'll move on to questions that I have been given to read to you. There will be a question and answer period, and then there will be closing remarks. In terms of rules, you will all have equal speaking time. The time limits will be strictly enforced, I think, by Chair Berry, correct? Is that, nope, someone else? Paul. Paul, okay, great. That's how you're going to do it, Paul. So everyone knows you're going to, okay, great. So perfect. There'll be no interruptions. If you need me, you know, if you're fourth in the lineup or you're second in the lineup and you need me to repeat the question, just let me know. Otherwise, I will assume that you're good to go. So, but I'm glad to reread the question, if necessary. And we will be starting the candidate opening statements alphabetically by last name, and then I'm going to be rotating the order in which the questions are asked after that so that no one has to be first every time. So I think that is it, and we are ready to dive into candidate opening statements, beginning with Ms. Conley, please. Michelle, thank you so

Cait Conley 7:21 much, and thank you to the incredible team that brought tonight together and to the incredible work of the Sierra Club for decades in advocating for our communities and our environment. I am Kay Conley. I am a very proud West Point graduate, Army Special Ops Combat Veteran, and my family goes back here in the Hudson Valley for generations of blue collar workers who've helped build it. And I think about my career and the path that I've taken in life in terms of public service, and that was shaped by the values that my family and our communities here in the Hudson Valley instilled in me. 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, working to ensure the safety, security, and resilience of our nation's critical infrastructure that we're going to be talking about tonight. But my life started here in the Hudson Valley during the time when climate change was a heated debate, and we saw it playing out in real life every day. I remember the debates over whether to dredge or not dredge the Hudson River, you know, when we were talking about the PCBs that were impacting our communities and the river and our wildlife and our health and safety. And 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. And with that, I think we've also seen how the generations prior have failed to meet the moment in addressing this type of crisis with the urgency that it requires. And so when we talk about what do we have to do going forward, I do believe that there is a new generation of leadership that's coming up that recognizes that we inherited a world, a country that is worse off than our parents did. And we have to break that cycle. We have to make sure that when I hand this community, this world, this country off to my children, that it is better off, not worse. And so that is why I am doing this. It is why I'm running for Congress, because there are so many issues out there right now that are jeopardizing what has been so true for this country for literally centuries, which is that our best days are still ahead of us. And what we have seen is this administration enabled by cowards in Congress like Mike Lawler don't care about our future. They don't care about our communities. 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 that we're going to be talking about tonight. It's time for change. It's time for a change in leadership. It's time for a change in outcome. And that means putting leaders in place who not only understand the crisis we're facing, but most importantly, how to get to the solutions to solve them. And that is where my experience working at CISA, working with FEMA on critical grants to help repair our critical infrastructure, to ensure its security and resilience are going to be so essential. And a great example of this is the Building Resilience and Infrastructure and Communities grant program that this administration, like so many other great things, has absolutely clawed back and I believe are going to be essential into powering and driving this critical, critical change and course forward that our country needs. And so I know I saw the sign, Paul, it's working great. But in short, I am doing this because I love my community, I love my country, and I love this world. And I believe that climate change is going to be my generation's true litmus test for whether or not we can be leaders of change. And I am stepping up to do this because I believe we can solve these problems. But it is going to take a new kind of leadership that's focused not just on the white papers and having more discussions, but we know the problem. It's time to deliver solutions. And that's what I've done my whole life for this country, leading America's sons and daughters in some of the most dangerous environments in the world to keep our communities, the American people, our world safe. And that's exactly what I will do as a member of Congress, that I can promise you. So thank you all for the opportunity to be in front of you tonight. Really looking forward to the discussion. And

Michelle Dietrich 12:02 thank you all again for putting this together. Thank you, Cait. Moving on to Ms. Davidson.

Beth Davidson 12:10 Thank you so much to the Sierra Club and all of our coalition partners for hosting this forum, along with Michelle, so that we can all talk about the climate crisis, which is one of the most important issues facing us in this critical midterm election. For those of you who don't know me, 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. And it's because of that that 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. I'm going to start with a quick story. When my then 12 year old son interviewed my in-laws for a project for our synagogue, 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. That is how the climate crisis is impacting our young people, my kids, your kids, your grandkids, more seriously than any of us realize. And as a county legislator, I have a front row seat to the ways in which Donald Trump and Mike Lawler, former oil and gas lobbyist, are making our communities even more vulnerable to climate impacts. I represent neighborhoods who see horrific flooding multiple times a year, from storms that occur not once in a generation, but repeatedly in a single season. I represent a county who regularly sees children with asthma and elevated lead levels in their blood, many of whom already have difficulty accessing health care. I represent a county with multiple waterfront villages who depend on a clean and thriving Hudson River for recreation, economic vitality, public health, and our very way of life, and are still traumatized by the repeated leaks at Indian Point, along with Holtech's continued threats to release radioactive water into the Hudson. You'll hear me say repeatedly tonight that you don't have to wait to see what I might do in Congress to fight the climate crisis. I'll tell you what I'm doing right now to take the fight to Donald Trump, Lee Zeldin, Chris Wright, and yes, Mike Lawler, in real time. 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 taking on salination issues in our rivers and streams as a result of the increased use of road salt we're seeing with these tough winters, which I know is impacted Putnam has already done excellent research on this that we're looking at in Rockland as well. I'm working to reduce PFAS and PFOA in our wells, our aquifers, our streams, our groundwater. I'm demanding better state enforcement of our phosphorus rules, the runoff from the fertilizer that big box stores sells causes the harmful algal blooms that we're seeing not only in our rivers and streams, but the largest one in recorded history that moved down the Hudson last summer. And I'm proud to have with the support of many of the folks on this Zoom, passed the first countywide resolution in New York State opposing project Maple's pipeline expansion. I spent the first 17 months of Trump 2.0 doing what I've done here for the last 20 years, organizing alongside groups like the Sierra Club on both sides of the Hudson to oppose their harmful cuts and toxic policies while also using my platform as a legislator to take the fight to Donald Trump and Mike Lawler in real time. That's a record and a commitment I'll take to Congress if you send me there next year. Thank you.

Michelle Dietrich 15:25 Thank you so much, Beth. Moving on to Ms. Phillips-Staley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 15:35 Thank you all so much for having me here. Thank you, Michelle. Thank you, Paul. And thanks to everyone who is watching, who I know is a committed advocate for the kind of environmental changes that we need to see for our region and, frankly, our planet to thrive. My name is Effie Phillips-Staley. I am a three-term trustee in the village of Tarrytown, where I have raised my family. I've also been a lifelong social justice worker and advocate, particularly for the Hispanic community as it relates to environmental justice and civic engagement, disaster relief, and so many things that sort of impact communities of color disproportionately. But I want to talk a bit about what I do as a trustee in Tarrytown, and I will say I first ran for office at the urging of my daughter and my community, but my daughter in particular was very scared about what climate change will bring to our future. And I wanted to model for her what we could do at a local level to really make a difference. So I am currently the liaison for TEAC, which many of you may know, but it's our Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Committee. And what this means is that I listen closely to the community, to experts, and to residents who care very much about our environmental sustainability in Tarrytown. I take their ideas, I take their research, I bring it to our trustees' sessions, and we advance it into law. And so what that really means about me as an elected official, it's that it's critical that we listen to the community and advocates like all of you to help us advance what needs to happen at a national level. And this is what we're going to need from Congress. So this is what I want to say to all of you, especially in this moment, that as a member of Congress, I believe firmly that the direction of our environmental advocacy really needs to come from you, from the subject matter experts, from the scientists, from the people who are directly impacted, and that it is my job and our job as a public servant to really advance that through the political process. And that's something that I am very skilled at because of my role within the Village. So I'll say this, what my record really sets apart is that I know how to navigate community, committee structures, how to build the coalitions necessary to overcome the status quo, how to whip the vote, which is really important, and how to push projects through opposition from special interests, which are always present. We see it every time we sit at the dais. So again, I'm ready to bring the same municipal to federal strategy to the Sierra Club's agenda and beyond. So whether it's mandating green infrastructure and public housing or strengthening the EPA to force corporate polluters to pay for local water remediation, I know how to take the gear of government and actually make it turn. So again, I've done it at the Village of Tarrytown level, advancing local policies that prove we can advance sustainability. So again, I'm not here to advocate for a vision. I'm here to implement one that is informed strongly by organizations like the Sierra Club. So I offer myself to you in Congress as an advocate for what you need and promise you that this is something that I will absolutely push through within that role. I have the track record to prove it, and I look forward to learning from you and to advancing the vision that you know our district and our nation needs. And so thanks so much for having me. I

Michelle Dietrich 19:53 look forward to your questions. Thank you, Effie. And now moving on to the last opening statement,

Mike Sacks 20:00 Mr. Sacks, please go ahead. Thanks, Michelle. Thanks, Paul. Thank you, Sierra Club for hosting the Zoom. And thanks to all 158 participants right now watching. Hopefully the questions will zoom up to also 158 for everyone here to participate as well. My name is Mike Sacks. I am a dad of two young boys right now downstairs watching television. So I'm here in my hermetic sealed chamber with a blurred background addressing you all as opposed to where I usually sit with a much better background. My personal background, I am a former political and legal journalist. I am a lawyer, and I spent my career in print, TV, digital, streaming, every area of media, delivering to the public for all to understand where the power lies. I covered the Supreme Court. I covered Congress. I covered the 2016 campaigns. I've covered the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. And what I learned having a front row seat, sometimes quite literally from the Citizens United oral arguments to being on set as the feeds were coming in from DC on January 6th, is that for too long, we have oriented our policies and our politics towards those who are seeking to capture our government and the main driver throughout probably 50 years now have been the fossil fuel and oil and gas lobbies. They've been at war with landmark legislation put forward by the environmental movement, whether it's the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act or the establishment of the EPA. So that the good that those laws and the administration of those laws have done would be crippled by successive Republican administrations or by Supreme Courts that have been captured by that big money. In my reporting, in my education, in my career, I've been laser focused on finding, rooting out, exposing, and combating those now dark money elements that have stood in the way of ensuring that my children right now downstairs watching television can have a clean and secure and stable environment so that they don't have to say what best child so unfortunately said that they fear they will not live until 35. We need to reorient our politics and our policies back to the people in the People's House in Congress. For too long, we have lived by and lost by a Supreme Court that we thought would be our savior, that denied standing to the Sierra Club in the early 70s to stand for the trees and those that would be destroyed, and by an executive who, when in good hands, seeks to project the environment only to get that cut down by the Supreme Court and in bad hands, deregulates everything on behalf of the fossil fuel industry that pays for their campaigns to get into office. Meanwhile, we have members in Congress like Mike Lawler who are all too happy to take those checks, run them to the bank and stay in power accordingly. So we need to take on that power structure that has been erected so to keep us and the people and our planet from achieving a livable planet for posterity. And that's done by passing laws. That's done by eliminating the obstacles to pass those laws such as the Senate filibuster. It's done by keeping laser focused on the final boss that stands before us, the Supreme Court, because when Trump is gone, they will still be there. When Trump is gone, there will still be Republicans who have exact identical environmental policies as he does, seeking to reverse or gut the laws that have already been passed. So we must amend, we must add, we must create new innovative and current environmental laws, acts of Congress that cannot be struck down, cannot be watered down by Supreme Courts and administrations. And I'm coming to this race with that sense of power. How will we use our power when we have it to ensure that we make achievements that are durable and sustainable so that they cannot be repealed or watered down as we move forward? That's why I'm running for Congress, across all issue areas, but the environment has been the through line from the very beginning of the right wing capture of our government.

Michelle Dietrich 24:23 Thank you. Thank you, Mike. We are now moving on to the questions part of the program. There are five total questions. I will ask the question. Each candidate will get one and a half minutes to respond. So the clock starts after I finish asking the question. Again, I will be rotating who goes first. And if you need me to repeat the question, if you're the second, third or fourth candidate, I'm glad to do so. Please just ask me at the beginning. And that will not count as part of your time. So the first question, we'll be asking Beth Davidson to start with the reply. And here's the question. The climate crisis is immediate and urgent. At the same time, the Trump administration has gutted funding for climate research, slash staffing for the EPA and other climate related agencies, rolled back decades of climate related regulations, and dismantled the very legal foundations on which EPA oversight of emissions was based. Do you support the goals of 50% reductions in emissions by 2030, and a net zero economy by 2050? What would you do in Congress to reach these ambitious but urgently needed goals? And would you vote to end subsidies for fossil fuels and to ban deep water drilling for oil? Thank you so much. And the answer is yes, yes, yes,

Beth Davidson 26:03 to all of the above. And I'm sure you'll hear the same or similar from all of my colleagues here because we know what happens when Democrats are in charge. That's why we have to take back the House. 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. We need to end Trump's tariffs that are driving up the cost of materials to build clean energy projects. But again, I don't need to tell you what I might do in Congress. I'll tell you what I'm doing right now as chair of the Environmental Committee. I've actively opposed new fossil fuel development in the Hudson Valley, as I said, organizing with food and water watch to pass the first county wide resolution against Project Maple in New York State. I've approved funding as well as the people serving on the county's new climate smart communities task force. Like Tarrytown, we want that bronze certification sooner rather than later. Because when you achieve bronze or silver certified, you get access to grants and more support, which clearly we're not getting from the federal government right now. As chair of the Environmental Committee, I've preserved hundreds of acres of open space, which is really important because forests are what we call carbon sinks and help offset our missions. And I'm tackling the dearth of mass transit here in the Hudson Valley, especially in Rockland. I recently secured funding for a new fully electric minibus in NIAC breaking news. You'll get to ride that starting this spring, to shuttle people from parking lots so we can get some cars off the road. And I will also in Congress finally work fight to get a one seat ride from Rockland County to New York City to help with emissions reduction. Donald Trump shutting down the Gateway Project has closed off the funding that can make that a reality and also help with our carbon footprints for commuters coming from Rockland and everywhere west of the Hudson. 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.

Michelle Dietrich 27:59 Thank you. Thank you, Beth. Moving on to Effie Phillips-Staley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 28:05 Sure. And yes, we absolutely would support the 50% reduction of emissions by 2030 and a net zero economy by 2050. And I mean, the wonderful news is that New York State has already been an incredible leader in this regard with the goal of a net zero economy by 2040. And as a trustee in the village town, we have taken full advantage of what the state and the federal government has offered and enabling us to advance that. So as a member of Congress, understand deeply what local communities and municipalities need to help meet these goals. Of course, we have NYSERDA, we have the DEC, we have lots of incredible organizations like the Sierra Club and infrastructure in place, but we can't do it ourselves with our tax base. We need the power of the federal government to incentivize these changes to which Beth pointed out that Tarrytown has been able to get bronze status. One of these things that I can say to my daughter, look at what we're doing to help achieve a safer community. In Congress, we need the funding, of course, but we need the EPA to be fully funded and to have teeth in terms of enforcement. How can we really get the job done if we can't force companies like Wheeler Burton to renew their permits, right? And to stop the kind of polluting that they do, we can't have policies just in name. We have to have policies that can be executed. And this is something that, again, I know how to do in partnership with advocates as a village trustee. Would I vote to end subsidies for fossil fuels? Absolutely, because we need an energy economy of the future, not of the past. We can send a person, a group of people around the backside of the moon. We certainly can invest in the kind of energy infrastructure that we need to ensure that our planet remains safe now and into the future. And that's what I would do in Congress. I would fight for that with you. Thank you, Effie. Moving on to Mike. As Beth said, and Effie

Mike Sacks 30:32 said yes to all the questions you posed there. If you look at my website, Mike Sacksburg Congress, there is a section Green New Deal. I support the Green New Deal. And part of the agenda isn't just the transitions, the 20th and 2030 and 2050, as you noted in these questions, but also transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035 through massive public investment in solar, wind, geothermal power. And that's just one of the several things. In the lead up to your question, you had mentioned how this EPA is going about just gutting everything under Zeldin. One of those things is the endangerment finding. Now I want to flash back 19 years, my first year in law school, I had a professor named Lisa Heinzer Ling who was the mastermind behind and the driving force behind the Massachusetts versus EPA landmark decision, five to four decision that went for the environment to ensure that the EPA had to regulate greenhouse gases. Fast forward three years and the Supreme Court decides Citizens United, opening up a flood of dark money and industry money, corporate cash in campaigns. Fast forward to this year and Zeldin is rescinding the endangerment finding, which itself is based on the mass versus EPA decision. Why is he doing that? Because he's hoping that someone, perhaps the Sierra Club will challenge the rescission of the endangerment finding. And that'll get to this Supreme Court, which will rule that the EPA cannot and does not have the power to regulate greenhouse gases, even if a future democratic president administration says they can. So what does that mean? What we must do is legislate these things. We must, in Congress, pass laws that say that the EPA is empowered and must regulate greenhouse gases and must do it not through cost benefit analysis, but through best available science, which by the way, this administration, if you ran the New York Times today, is also gutting all the science and independent organizations within the EPA. So to align their policies with this administration, that's untenable. We must get back to a place where we, in Congress, dictate how the

Michelle Dietrich 32:43 administrations preserve our environment. Time's up. Thank you. And moving on to the last speaker

Cait Conley 32:51 for this question, Cait Conley. Thanks so much. Look, I believe that we can do hard things. And so not only do I believe that, yes, we need to support the climate goals of 2030 and 2050, but I believe we can achieve them. I think this goes back to, though, we have to recognize where we've fallen short for years and how doing differently is going to take different leadership. And that is where, when you look at what this administration has done and where we have to go moving forward, there's two pieces to this. The first is 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. What we are seeing is not just counterproductive, it is harmful. And so we have to fix that. But we also have to go beyond just undoing the harm and recognize we need to disrupt the solutions going forward. And so I do believe that means prioritizing our people and resources. So that is ending subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, taking those monies, those resources, and prioritizing the actual modernization of our grid and these priorities that are going to be essential to a better country, better community, and better world. And so that means we need to update our electrical grid. We need to increase the tax incentives. We need to expand direct investment in solar, wind, and geothermal. We need to do all of these things to make sure that, again, these goals become reality and we don't settle for anything less. And I know how to do that because 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. And I'll deliver here.

Michelle Dietrich 35:10 Thank you. Thank you. Time is up. Thank you. I do just want to alert you, Cait, that you are you're glitching a little bit on the Zoom. So if there's anything you can do on your end for that, it's just a little bit. So moving on to the next question, the first response will be coming from F.U. Phillips-Staley. And I will read the question. And once again, if you need the question, if you did any future speakers, please just ask me. Many politicians are blaming rising energy costs on renewable energy and the electrification of our energy. What is your understanding of the relationship between rising energy costs and the transition to renewable energy? Mike Lawler has spoken repeatedly about an all of the above approach to energy. Do you agree? And do you support the continued expansion of gas pipelines and other gas infrastructure? And you have one and a half minutes again to respond.

Effie Phillips-Staley 36:12 Effie, go ahead. Thank you. So my understanding is really, again, rooted in my work as a trustee, where we're working very hard to change zoning. And we've been successful at this, actually, to allow battery storage units to supplement the energy grid. So we don't need to draw on expensive brown energy from plants so far away during peak usage. And so that is incredibly expensive to draw from coal plants that are in other states to supplement our usage. So I believe that really it's market manipulation by fossil fuel companies and actually by ConEd that really impact our energy prices. And it's a failure of investment, like what we're trying to do in Tarrytown, that gives us the option to have cheaper energy, for example, to draw from battery storage units. So look, I mean, we know that data exists that solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro is better for the environment and reinvest in these things and invest in the jobs to maintain these things. And it's actually better for our economy, it's better for people, and the prices are better. So the federal government absolutely has to push these things. Like in Tarrytown, we once had a municipal energy program established by Sustainable Westchester that gave us the option of getting hydropower-sourced electricity for just a fraction of the cost. These are the kinds of things that I would push to reinstate because I know exactly how it hits the wallet of people at home. Oh, and there's more, I'm sorry, and I'm used up all my time. No, Mike Lawler, I don't agree with Mike Lawler. And no, no more pipelines.

Michelle Dietrich 38:10 So moving on to Mike Sacks, please.

Mike Sacks 38:16 Yes, all right. So to take a question by question, what's my understanding of the relationship between rising energy costs and the transition to renewable energy? It doesn't even need to be my understanding. I'm looking right now at a paper in the electricity journal that came out just a few months ago from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory called Factors Influencing Recent Trends in Retail Electricity Prices in the United States. And what they found is that the combination of high renewable portfolio standards and costly or low renewable energy supplies in a select few states, well, it shows that historical deployment of clean energy has no correlation with costs. And actually in states with the highest increase in renewable generation from 2019 to 2024, Iowa, New Mexico, South Dakota, they've seen the largest decrease in electricity rates. So that first question, that's my understanding. There is no connection and blaming rising energy costs on renewable energy and the electrification of our energy is a canard. I wonder who's putting that into our water system. Lawler has spoken repeatedly about all of the above approach to energy. Do I agree? Not when we don't have to. No. We have access to clean renewable energy that's now for the first time globally, producing more energy than we need. We have access to that technology if we just will the investment in it, which we did in the Biden administration and we can do in the future. Do I support the continued expansion of gas pipelines and other gas infrastructure? No. As Cait mentioned, we can get contracts again with wind farms so that we can have renewable and clean energy right off the coast of Long Island where we did have a contract that this administration cut and paid almost a billion dollars to cut. We have all the resources and technology at our hands. If we just so will it. We can and we will. Thank you. And moving

Cait Conley 40:19 on to Cait Conley. 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 and forces an entire region of energy production to stop is dumb and definitely not helping us in a moment where we are facing an energy crisis. And that is the reality in the Hudson Valley. Like every one of our energy providers is seeking a double digit rate increase. And the reality is going forward. Our energy demand is only going to go up as a technologically driven world drives that upwards. And unfortunately, 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. So the failures of our utility companies to invest in the changes needed to modernize and update our grid is part of the reason why we are facing these incredibly high prices that are only going to continue to go up. And so we have to talk about how do we solve this, right? And to do that, one, we need to focus on policies that are going to deliver real time and immediate relief to actual people. What I mean by that is incentivizing the procurement and installation of renewable energies at homes and businesses, right? Getting people to greater energy autonomy. So they're not reliant on these monopoly utility companies, and they can consume less from the grid because they're producing more on their own. This is possible. This is not impossible. And I can tell you that we also need to be updating our national grid to include right here in the Hudson Valley. 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 and certainly meet the future. And so we must be restricting federal funding from reckless things like gas and fossil fuel pipelines and infrastructure, and instead prioritizing how we build the grid for the present and future that we need focused on renewables. 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.

Michelle Dietrich 42:51 Thank you. And the last person to take the question is Beth Davidson.

Beth Davidson 42:58 Yeah, so all of the above, as also known as let's go nuclear and drill baby drill. No, thanks. The connection between that somehow renewable energy development drives up costs is red herring. Ask anyone who's gotten solar on their homes and they'll tell you their electric bills are a fraction of what they were even at their lowest. 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. 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, 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. As chair of the Environmental Committee of the Rockland County Legislature, I did pass the first county-wide resolution to the question on gas oil pipelines against Project Maple in New York State, which for those who don't know, would have expanded a pipeline, run it right along Indian Point, what could possibly go wrong alongside a fault line, pop up in the historic battlefields of Stony Point, dump a dirty air compressor right in the town of Ramapo, which already has children and families with marginalized health incomes. So this isn't theoretical to me. And so stopping that and stepping up to say no to that was climate leadership in action. In the county, we're also working to implement solar on county properties, install EV chargers and county parking lots. We need to move the needle everywhere we can. And the reason that funding is so important and why we need to take back the power of the purse so that we can help counties do that is because so many municipalities are ready to do the work. New York State, as we said, is leading the way on clean energy goals, but we need the funding and the support from the federal government to do it, finding that Mike Lawler has voted time and again to take

Michelle Dietrich 45:10 away. Thank you. And thank you all for your answers to the second question. We are moving on to the third question and the first person to respond is going to be Mike Sacks. Nuclear energy is not renewable energy, but some leaders argue that it is clean energy and that an expanded role for nuclear energy will be necessary. What is your stand on nuclear energy? Would you support continued subsidies for nuclear energy and its continued expansion, including small modular reactors?

Mike Sacks 45:43 Mike, go ahead. No, I would not support continued subsidies for nuclear energy and its continued expansion, including small modular reactors. My stand on nuclear energy is that we do not need it. We do not need to reopen Indian Point, as Mike Lawler is advocating for us to do, alongside those who are trying to make money off of doing so. We do not need to reinvest in 20th century technology when we have all the 21st century technology at our disposal. I mentioned and talked about in my previous answers that we have our wind, our solar, our geothermal that can drive down energy costs that can make us the world's leading technological advancement of these technologies. We have all of it there. We're ready to do it. We can put forward a Green New Deal where we're also putting to work thousands of Americans, hundreds of thousands of Americans, even millions of Americans, to ensure that we are the ones, not China, that are leading the way to ensuring we have a planet that's safe and inhabitable for our children. It's all there. It's all there. We got started four years ago. We can get going again, but nuclear is not the answer. Absolutely not. The answer is clean, renewable energy. We can do it. We just have to have people in Congress ready to fight for it and ready to take down every

Michelle Dietrich 47:10 obstacle that stands in the way to make sure it happens. Thank you. Moving on to Cait Conley.

Cait Conley 47:20 Mike Lawler's little PR stunt just shows he's trying to distract us from the real issues that he and this administration continue to fail to address. Indian Point is not the solution. 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 that they would only discover years later. There is no excuse for us trying to reopen and utilize Indian Point. There are far smarter and faster ways to get after this problem, and this goes back to how government continues to fail, but where there is a path forward that is better in every way. 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. And so focusing on how, again, we can get to greater residential and business energy autonomy through tax incentives that also stimulate the American domestic manufacturing base for solar, for wind, for geothermal, for renewable. We should be making America a global leader in renewable energy and using this crisis as a catalyst to do it, to use the whole quote, never let a good crisis go to waste. Well, we're facing an environmental crisis and an energy crisis. We've got two of them. So let's harness it and do something real. Let's drive change. And so I am not supportive of reopening Indian Point. I'm incredibly supportive of us doing things that will actually alleviate the cost of energy today on people. And that is where, again, renewable technologies that are already there, helping with residential solar, helping with community solar. These are things that we must do more of. A key part of that is going to be FEMA brick grants. This is a multi-billion dollar federal grant system that I'm very familiar with because it's this I worked with FEMA on helping infrastructure projects related to this with state and locals. And this grant program is something that I think we need to hypercharge. This is the vehicle that we can literally help use to drive into the future of a renewable and better, more modernized energy grid across the Hudson Valley and across the country. But this goes back to having partnership at the federal level to help our state and local governments deliver. And that is where we know Mike Lawler will not be that partner. 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. And like I said before, my generation, we are dealing with the failures to address climate change head on. And we are committed to breaking this cycle. And that is going to take investment and prioritization on new and smart solutions and getting away from old solutions and dumb excuses, but focusing on what we really need to deliver. So as a member of Congress, I will fight like heck to deliver brick grants to our communities to help lead the charge nationally on modernizing our grid and building up a domestic manufacturing base for renewable energy. So America becomes not just the proponent and advocate and champion, but the world leader in this space. And that'll

Michelle Dietrich 50:51 also bring jobs and economic opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. And next up is Beth Davidson,

Beth Davidson 50:59 please. Thank you so much. Such a good question. Again, opposing nuclear energy, particularly at Indian Point is something I'm doing right now, standing up to Mike Lawler in real time. When Mike Lawler brought Secretary right up to Indian Point to announce their plans to restart nuclear at that 64 year old bucket of bolts. I picked up my environmental advocacy activist in Rockland because we got a carpool, be environmentally friendly, to zoom up to Buchanan to meet my fellow environmental activists from Westchester and join a press conference saying hell no to nuclear at Indian Point. I'm a two-time cancer survivor. I'm not interested in being a three-time cancer survivor. The idea that restarting nuclear at Indian Point will somehow lower our energy costs is ridiculous. By the federal governments and whole tech's own admission, it would take five years minimum and between eight and 12 billion dollars to bring Indian Point back online. Plus, as I've said, people are traumatized. I met an elementary school teacher, a retired teacher up in Peekskill who still remembers having iodine pills and permission slips for every kid in her class, just in case, God forbid, something happened at Indian Point. And I think this was part of the question about nuclear, elsewhere, small modular reactors. When it comes to nuclear anywhere in New York State or anywhere in the country, I would need to see the science to show that it's completely safe, cost-effective. We're just not there yet. It's not safe by measurable standards and not cost-effective. It's the most expensive way that we can create new energy. So I would want to see that research and science before I would ever vote to subsidize that kind of project. 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. Haverstraw Bay is the largest marina on the Eastern seaboard, completely dependent on the Hudson for its commerce, public health, way of life to stand up and say, hell no. Mike Lawler has been attacking me for my stance on this issue, which tells me I'm exactly where we need to be. Thanks.

Michelle Dietrich 53:07 Beth and moving on to Effie Phillips-Staley, please.

Effie Phillips-Staley 53:11 Thank you. So my stand is that nuclear is the technology of the past and it makes no sense to throw good money after bad, especially since renewable energy is the future. And those funds have been horribly cut by the Trump administration in a way that undermines all of our futures. So no subsidies for nuclear energy, federal economic resources, really has to go to renewable technologies to upgrade our infrastructure, for workforce development, for our most vulnerable residents, like vocational job training, for unionized labor around these new technologies. And I would say, particularly for residents in environmental justice zones, like Buchanan and Peekskill, where Indian Point is located and where Indian Point has been a problem for many decades. We have to be looking towards the future. We can't keep bringing back technologies of the past just because lobbyists push Mike Lawler to do it, just because his donors push him to move in a direction that's against our interests and in the interest of their profits.

Michelle Dietrich 54:36 Thank you, Effie. Moving on to question number four. And I have to say, thanks for making me sound smart, Sierra Club. These are great questions. Nearly 25, oh, and this first, this question will go first to Cait Conley. And again, it's one and a half minutes each. Nearly 25% of our greenhouse gas emissions come from mining and drilling on our public lands. And given the great harm that it causes to our air, water and wildlife, would you oppose any new drilling on federal lands and national parks? And second part of the question, would you support legislation to repeal drilling in the Arctic Refuge, new areas in the Gulf of Mexico, and previously protected areas? And Cait, go ahead.

Cait Conley 55:29 Thanks so much, Michelle. Absolutely. I would absolutely oppose any new drilling. And I would absolutely viscerally support any efforts to repeal the drilling that has already been improved. And the critical areas like you talked about, the Arctic Refuge off the Gulf of Mexico, this is, again, where we see this administration so reckless, focused only on money and profits, and not on protecting our future. And that is inexcusable. And this goes back to, I will be a fierce advocate for protecting our most sensitive and important lands and our natural environments. Because going back to, I believe we can solve these really hard problems, like reversing the impacts of climate change. But we have to stop doing the harm. And I am incredibly proud that 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. And I think this, again, must go back to, we have to be directing funds away from these traditional forms of fossil fuel energy development and consumption towards cleaner, renewable, and more efficient means that are also faster to deliver and develop. And that is going to take disruptive solutions. But I very much look forward to holding this administration's leaders in front of committees and having them answer for the recklessness of their decisions and holding them accountable for their failure to lead this country down the appropriate path just to, again, line the pockets of their billionaire buddies. This is just another form of corruption and how this administration is truly ruining this country. And why this November matters so much to make sure we get Mike Lawlor the heck out of here. And we have people that are going to stand up to this administration. Thank you.

Michelle Dietrich 57:28 Thank you, Cait. Beth Davidson.

Beth Davidson 57:33 Thank you. So Nerd Alert, I wrote extensively about this over about six years of writing for the Sierra Club. And this came up time and again, I could at one point rattle off all the national monuments that Donald Trump was shrinking and trying to drill on. So I agree, yes, we must stop drilling in the Arctic Refuge and the Gulf of Mexico. But make no mistake, Trump administration is looking to make an unprecedented grab once again of federal lands and waters. They're targeting waters not only just in the Arctic, but alongside Hawaii, if you can imagine that. 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, public comment periods. I've submitted public comments on lots of things and know how important that is, and any oversight by the US Forest Service. They kept leasing land right near national parks, like arches that my family was so lucky to visit last summer, absolutely stunning, highly recommended. And then Trump took the unprecedented step of shrinking national monuments, like Grand Staircase-Escalante, which the Biden administration reversed, but he's looking to take back. But guess what? During that point, no big energy companies swooped in, no big oil companies, no gas companies. And so it was all, again, a red herring and a money grab and a power grab by this administration. And now they're doing it again. The Interior Department is looking at scaling back at least six national monuments, spread across Arizona, California, New Mexico, and again, Utah, where I spent two weeks last summer. Many of those monuments protect the Colorado River. So this is also a clean water issue, impacting drinking water and wildlife for the entire region, along with millions of years of indigenous history and culture that local communities have fought for years to protect. 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. That's something we really have to look at doing so we can protect our national parks while opposing fossil fuel projects there as well. Thanks.

Michelle Dietrich 59:30 Thank you, Beth. Effie Phillips-Staley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 59:33 So yes, I will oppose any new drilling, fiercely oppose any new drilling in the Arctic Refuge, the Gulf of Mexico. And of course, in our national parks, it is actually a great joy that my family and we are big national parks fans. But I think it is critical not just to oppose, but to gain and mobilize environmentalists and organizations across the district and the nation to really, really push this by signing on a letter to the US Department of Interior, but really more than anything that's showing power. Because right now, Congress seems to think it's okay to advance the agenda of corporations, of the fossil fuel industry, and they do it over the needs and the will of the people. And we have to shift the Overton window on this. We need to make our elected officials feel the pain and not so much work for the people who donate to their campaigns, but work for the people who actually elect us to put us into office. I think that is absolutely critical. So again, no drilling in these places, but we have to really focus a national movement so that the Overton window shifts within government, and government recognizes its true job as a public servant of the people and not of corporate donors.

Michelle Dietrich 61:12 Thank you, Effie. And Mike Sacks.

Mike Sacks 61:15 I'm going to zoom out a bit, because when you go last in one of these Brown-Robbins, then everyone's occupied the field. So I want to build on what Effie was just saying, and frankly, what Cait and Beth were saying as well. How do we achieve what we're talking about? Well, we have right now been living in a point where we shouldn't be here. Drill baby drill should not even be a thing anymore, but for the zombie Reaganism we're living in, where corporate money keeps alive what should be politically exhausted positions among the Republican Party, and keeps us then hitting each other on this very small terrain where we should be punching up at those who are keeping us from actually advancing to where we can be into a very new political era. So that sounds all, you know, generalities, but let me tell you how we're going to do that, where we can use the 120th Congress with a majority in the House, if not also the Senate, to present the American public with an alternate reality of what we can be when we are all in it together. This isn't just environment. This is voting rights. This is reproductive freedom. This is immigration. This is everything that we've been fighting about. Health care. All of it. We can put forward legislation that is big and bold and is reflective of where we actually are as a country, what we need to do, and the problems we can solve, the way we did in Reconstruction, the way we did in the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the way that we did in the Great Society. We can do all of that. But we do that by hailing in the bad guys using our oversight power to talk about the criminals, the corrupt, the incompetence who have bought this government and bought this Senate and bought this current Congress and the Supreme Court to block us from getting stuff done to delivering for the people what we promise. That's how we slay the zombie Reaganists who actually shouldn't even have any sway at all in our government at the moment. This is how we're able to actually effectuate good policy that helps all the people so that when Republicans even try to say we're going to take that away, all of us get our pitchforks out. That is how we move forward. That is how we turn the page. And we have a government that serves all of us.

Michelle Dietrich 63:18 Thank you. And moving on to the fifth question. In Rockland County, oh, and the first person to answer this is going to be Beth. In Rockland County, nearly all of the drinking water is contaminated with multiple PFAS chemicals, some of which have been found toxic even at the lowest detectable rate levels. At the same time, the EPA has proposed rolling back regulations on PFAS chemicals in drinking water. What would you do in Congress to address the contaminations of our drinking water and our exposure to PFAS and other toxic chemicals in thousands of consumer products? And would you support a ban on PFAS in nonessential products?

Beth Davidson 64:01 Beth. Again, yes, absolutely. And thank you, Peggy, who I know I'm sure had a hand in this question for her many years of advocacy as part of the Rockland Water Coalition because 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 we know, it causes hormone imbalance and other reproductive problems. So this is something we need to tackle immediately. Westchester also has a huge problem as does Putnam. And again, Mike Lawler voted to defund clean water projects in Putnam and Westchester in Austin and Pleasantville, along with a clean water project up in Mayapack. While I support a ban, I can also tell you what I'm already doing right now to fight for clean drinking water. As Peggy said, in 2020, local sampling indicated PFAS and all of our water sources. So Veolia, but also small water suppliers in Nyack and Suffern and our wells as well and our source water. So this is a systemic problem that requires a systemic solution. And so 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 and locking in PFAS regulations at the current federal levels before they're rolled back, which are actually a bit better than New York States. I've also passed resolutions supporting Senator Harkum's Plastics Packaging Reduction Act, and I'm pursuing remedies to end road salt contamination. PFAS, unfortunately, not the only toxin that's in our water. The road salt that's increasingly, as I said, in our water can lead to health problems like hypertension, while hurting biodiversity. And as I said, I'm also, I've worked, partnered with the county executive working across the aisle to make sure, to ask New York State to actually enforce fertilizer runoff laws so we can end that problem as well. Thank you. Thank you. And Effie, you're muted.

Effie Phillips-Staley 66:11 So thank you. I've met with many advocates across Rockland and really throughout the district about this issue. And I believe it is essential that in the first 100 days of congress that we convene a national task force that unites subject matter experts with residents on water pollution to really discuss this begins again, I spoke about shifting the overton window. In the last question, we are in a situation here in this county with extraordinary PFAS pollutants, and yet it's shocking that we aren't able to identify and penalize the corporations that actually are the source of this pollution. So we also need to make sure that the EPA actually has the teeth to penalize and hold corporations accountable. We need to invest in additional research so that we have an ability that is better than it is now to eliminate the PFAS pollution that's within our water. And I will say this, we also have to use this task force to look at current provisions within the Clean Water Act to codify stronger protections like this is essential. The private sector needs to be held accountable. They keep dodging it to protect their profits. We need to stop the way they prioritize their profits over our health.

Michelle Dietrich 67:38 Thank you. And thank you Evie and Mike, you're muted. Mike, you're muted.

Mike Sacks 67:55 Sorry, I was just reading the question out loud so you didn't miss any substance there. But what would I do in congress to address the contamination of our drinking water and our exposure to PFAS and other toxic chemicals and thousands of consumer products? Well, we legislate. We legislate and we then have oversight. We bring in the people who are getting in the way of our legislation and we say, do you want those guys to win or do you want us to win? Make a show of it on the house floor. That's one way. Also ensure and have oversight over the members of our administration like Lee Zeldin and the EPA that are at this very moment rolling back the PFAS and the PFAS regulations that the Biden administration put in. They've delayed the reporting requirement saying that the new rule will likely come at the end of the year and they're creating new carve outs for industry so that they do not have to abide by whatever rule they're going to put forward that'll be still less protective of PFAS than already existed. Those are a couple of things. So I would support a ban on PFAS in nonessential products, but these have to be also very well written. So to avoid the Supreme Court saying that it's not constitutional, which then we would have to confront the Supreme Court. They also have to be written in a way that could preempt states from undercutting, but also allow states to be more protective if the federal government falls behind. But there are many different ways to do this along with every other kind of pollutant in an environment under the Clean Water Act or Clean Air Act that we can fight to ban and ensure that we have safety and health

Michelle Dietrich 69:23 for our children and ourselves in perpetuity. Thank you. Mike and last, Cait Conley, go ahead.

Cait Conley 69:32 So on this one, I kind of want to throw out the flag of like it is inexcusable that is 2026 and we are sort of talking about a failure to actually address PFAS. I think this is a really important reflection of an example of a public health failure candidly at every level of government. Like we've known PFAS is bad since the 70s, right? In 1998, the EPA received its form declaration that PFAS was a major health hazard. And to Mike's point, there has been legislation, right? But it hasn't had the teeth and I think that's been deliberate. 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. We have known PFAS is terrible for decades and we're just still talking about, oh man, it's bad. We should study it and maybe do something. And I think this gets to the point of why people are so frustrated with government. Enough with the excuses. Let's start acting because this problem is not going to fix itself. And so I do think there's some really important things for PFAS specifically that we need to do and I promise to be committed to. I think number one is making sure PFAS is designated as a hazard and substance under the comprehensive environmental response compensation and liability act. We've got to, to Mike's point, give people teeth to actually enforce these things and hold those who are responsible accountable. And I think that is the biggest point here is we have allowed these legislative loopholes to happen and didn't shut them and enough is enough. But I think this PFAS issue is emblematic of what we've seen across the environmental sphere, where again, we recognize a problem, but we don't actually fix it. We spend decades saying that's bad, getting worse, oh man, instead of actually doing things. And I think it is that frustration that you're hearing from me and my generation where we're like enough is enough. We've been saying it's been a problem for a very long time. Let's actually get together and deliver results that are making people's lives tangibly better. And so thank you. I see the X Paul. I was going to keep going, but I respect it because Michelle's really enforcing it.

Michelle Dietrich 71:46 Thank you. So we're going to switch it up a little bit. That was the end of the five questions. There is a bonus question and you're going to have 60 seconds each to answer it. The order is going to be Effie, Mike, Cait, and then Beth. And the question is what is your stance on data centers? And Effie, you are going to go first. Thank you. So watch the time.

Effie Phillips-Staley 72:12 I'm watching it on my phone too. So data centers are a perfect example of government failing to take charge of a very serious situation because frankly, I don't think it's a failure of government to take charge. I think it's a willful oversight because of how politicians are funded. AI centers draw from our, they pollute our water sources. They make our energy bills higher. I mean, AI itself is completely unregulated in a way that's destructive not only to our environment, but to ourselves as well. So I would say that what we have to do is be very strict with these new technologies to ensure that people are put first and not profits. These companies are all about profits and all about advancing technology at the expense of us and our jobs. And we need government because government has the power to fight back against

Mike Sacks 73:13 the billionaires. Thank you. Mike. Sorry. Repeat the question one more time. Thank you.

Michelle Dietrich 73:21 What is your stance on AI data centers? Oh, they're awful. They suck up all of our water. They

Mike Sacks 73:28 emit pollution into the air and they don't provide any actual secure lasting jobs, all in service of a solution to a problem no one was asking for. It's a problem that didn't even exist. So I oppose AI data centers and to the extent they are an inevitability, then we need to ensure a proper regulatory regime so that they comply with the statutes on the books, whether it's the health and safety of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, so they're not putting effluents into our various streams and waters around them, or OSHA to ensure that there's workplace safety in there. And we also need to create an entirely new regulatory regime to ensure that there's not just national security, but also worker safety within the AI industry. And global, like an IAEA inspections regime to ensure that the AI industry doesn't overcome safeguards to our global safety from nuclear weapons to actual worker safety. Thank you. Thank you. And Cait.

Cait Conley 74:42 Yeah, so I've spent quite a bit of time over in Orange Town and Rockland County, where you see people living through the impacts right here in New York 17 of data centers popping up, where they've got three, a fourth is on its way. I think this goes back to the importance of local officials who are approving these projects need to understand the harm that they're going to bring. And I think this goes back to the importance of having federal regulation, because what we are seeing across the country, and even right here in New York 17, is 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, and it doesn't have to be that way. And they're not creating long-term jobs. And with that, we've got to make sure that we are putting our priorities on, how does any project help improve the quality of living and the quality of our communities, period? And that means investing in infrastructure, not helping diminish it or utilize it without giving anything back. 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. We can mandate things to make sure they are better going forward than what we were seeing play out. 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.

Michelle Dietrich 76:11 Thank you. And Beth.

Beth Davidson 76:15 So I'm going to agree with Effie that it's bad policy, but it's also bad planning. And I'll talk about what that, I mean by that in a second. We already have multiple large data centers in Rockland. Another one on the horizon in Orange Town, as has been said, they create noise. They bring fire risk. They are major energy sucks. They destroy habitat. And I'm grateful to my friend assembly and Pat Carroll, who's introducing legislation requiring data centers to cover the increased utility costs. So the cost of increased demand are passed on to the rest of us rate payers. Equity is a huge piece of all of this. I meant to mention that with PFAS, too, because filtering PFAS could be increased costs on rate payers if we don't demand more from the utility companies. That said, as a legislator, here's what I mean about bad planning. I would love to bring in different kinds of companies, manufacturing, health care, innovation, and clean energy jobs, as we all want. But what holds us back is the lack of affordable housing. Almost every problem we experience in Rockland and around the Hudson Valley is tied to lack of affordable housing. As chair of the environmental committee and chair of our new housing committee, I hold those two things in tension, and I recognize that one thing data centers don't need, people. So if we want to bring in companies that actually create jobs with people in them, we need more housing.

Michelle Dietrich 77:32 Thank you. And I want to thank all of you for really keeping with the time limits and making that easy. It's just so important to keep it fair for everyone. So thank you. We are moving into, it's all great. I'm really looking forward to the audience, Q and A part of this. And as I understand it, the political co-chairs are going to be, I'll be calling on them to pose the questions. The response is one minute again per candidate. And I think in the interest of making sure we get more questions, we're going to keep with this rotation where I just quickly call on you rather than have a more informal response. So first question, I'm not sure who's going to pose it, but please go ahead.

Paul Presendieu 78:23 Thank you, Madam Chair. So I'll field the next first question in the chat. And this is from Dr. Courtney Williams, the City of Peekskill, who shared, given a lack of a functional environmental protection agency, how will you ensure the Title V air permit oversight delegated to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is done? And how can we hold polluters accountable and shut them down if necessary?

Michelle Dietrich 78:52 Thank you. The order is going to be Mike, Cait, Beth, and Effie. And again, you can ask co-chair Paul to repeat the question if necessary. Mike, go ahead. One minute.

Mike Sacks 79:02 Yeah. So the Title V re-permitting issue with the Wheel of Greater Incinerator and Peekskill is a real big problem. It's a 40-year-old polluting apparatus that gives everyone asthma. And the only reason it hasn't been shut down is because there are local interests that don't want it to. So as a member of Congress, if we can't get the federal government to actually issue the permit, then we have to lean hard on those in Peekskill who find themselves either benefiting from the status quo or find themselves unwilling to just change to find new solutions. But there are new solutions available. You know, we can go to zero waste policy. We can advocate that the federal government to ensure that we here in our district can adopt a zero waste policy that limits the amount of incineration that the Wheel of Greater needs to do in the absence of our being able to actually shut it down and create a new solution that doesn't give everyone asthma.

Michelle Dietrich 80:11 Thank you, Cait.

Cait Conley 80:14 Yeah, so I'll try to go through this quick, but I think there's a few very solid things that we can do. So one, 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. And so broadening who can actually hold these polluters accountable within a certain time period. And I think that is really important and will help insulate us in the future if we ever have an EPA again that fails to meet the moment. But that gets to my next point, which is, we can't allow this to happen again, right? I think this goes into codifying requirements and strengthening the requirements of the EPA and potentially making the EPA head not apolitical appointee. Because I think so much of this comes back down to leadership. And the leadership we have seen this administration bring in has led to departments and agencies straight up not doing their job. And that is not something we can afford to happen again. So I do believe that we need to relook who is at the head of the EPA and whether that should be a political appointee or not. We need to make sure we are restoring funding for both enforcement and personnel at the EPA once we take the house back and we're able to do so. And then the last part is, I think we need to hold hearings on the Title V backlogs and expired permits in our region. Because these are issues that must get addressed. And excuses? Like, we're out of time.

Michelle Dietrich 81:34 Thank you, Beth.

Beth Davidson 81:37 Thank you, Courtney, for all your advocacy on this. And yes, Wheelibrator has been a nightmare for your communities and for your children. It's just why I opposed Project Maple because I foresaw the same nightmare happening with a dirty air compressor right in the middle of Ramapo. I was doing some research for my day job earlier today and came across the American Lung Association's Clean Air Scorecard. Rocklin got an F. Westchester got an F. Putnam got an F. Dutchess came in with a D as the winner of the group. Not that that's a winner. And so this is a problem that's happening across New York 17 and something we have to address. Dealing with our current EPA administrator, hauling them in front of an oversight committee. Yes, restoring funding for enforcement and personnel. And guess what? 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.

Michelle Dietrich 82:47 Thank you, Beth. Effie.

Effie Phillips-Staley 82:51 This to me is a situation that neither party gets a pass on. Like the willibrator situation with Title 5 has been happening for such a long time. Republican administrations, Democratic administrations, nobody has plugged the loopholes that allow them to actually enforce anything. So I would say that as a member of Congress, I would use my power in partnership with all of the advocates who understand what has to happen with Willibrator to put pressure on every level of government, including the federal level and the EPA, to ensure that this situation is enforced and that we deal with this. It cannot go through another election cycle. And frankly, I believe that the activists here should hold every level of elected office accountable, make sure that they commit to this or vote them out or vote them out. And I would ask you to hold me accountable as well in Congress, because this is something we have to deliver on now.

Michelle Dietrich 84:05 Thank you. Moving on to the next question.

Paul Presendieu 84:12 So question number two comes from Lisa Lindblum. Please list what you think are the three most important environmental problems facing Americans in New York 17 today?

Michelle Dietrich 84:25 Great question. It's going to be Cait, Beth, Effie, and Mike. Cait?

Cait Conley 84:31 Yeah, so clean water is the first one, right? Because we talked about PFAS contamination, and it goes beyond that. So 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. That's outrageous. I think to Effie's point, we need to be holding people accountable for a failure to deliver on something that's pretty darn basic. And that's just clean water. 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. And that's going to get worse, not better. And so that is we are investing in renewable energy here locally, and helping with the tax incentives and other financial breaks that minimize the barrier to being able to actually pursue those things. So that means reinstating the tax incentives where you could write off 30% of the installation of solar on your home. That wasn't enough. I think we have to go further. I think we have to do a far better job of subsidizing residential and business solar and geothermal right here in New York 17, leveraging federal grant dollars. Again, take it away from fossil fuel. They don't need the help. And Mike Lawther in his gas lobby, like we know why he's not fighting for this. We know where his loyalties are. And it is certainly not with us or what we are trying to do for our future.

Effie Phillips-Staley 85:53 Effie. I'll be very quick. It's Beth next, right? Beth, I apologize.

Michelle Dietrich 86:03 Beth, go ahead.

Beth Davidson 86:04 Sure. So I have to start with and showing my bias to someone who has to maintain and pay for county roads. 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 where we see even over the winter worrying periods of not enough rain that we have to then moderate in the summer. And as chair of the task force on water resources management, happy to have the opportunity to promote water conservation. It's hugely important. I'd also obviously say clean air as we see because of projects like Wheelabrader, like the other dirty energy projects we see around the region. We've seen an increase in lung cancer and asthma among children and adults in the Hudson Valley and in Rockland specifically. And then I would also say the lack of public transit. We're not going to be able to reduce our carbon footprint in the Hudson Valley, particularly in Rockland, if we don't have better transit options. And so I did used to take public transit to the city every single day, you know, drive to a train, to a subway, to walk another half a mile took about two hours there, an hour and 45 minutes back thanks to Express Stop and Pearl River. We could talk about transit oriented development there another time, but that's a huge need as well.

Effie Phillips-Staley 87:28 Thank you. And now, Effie. Thank you. So quickly, of course, infrastructure is a trustee. This is something that we deal with constantly. We have infrastructure that was designed for a different climate. It is something that absolutely has to be rebuilt and with federal support because a local tax base absolutely cannot do this. It impacts everything from our ability to build new housing to our ability to be safe as it relates to insurance for housing and so many different things and costs. Yes, for clean energy, we need to have clean water, you know, clean air. All of this is true. But what I would say is we have to pay special attention to climate justice zones because these things disproportionately affect the poor, disproportionately affects people of color. We are in an administration that thinks we can erase these things, but it is we cannot. We need to take care of the people who are burdened the most. And so we have to name these things and be accountable to it. Thank you. And Mike.

Mike Sacks 88:40 Each of the three things my colleagues said, the substantive issues are correct and we could just close our eyes and pick any single one and that all presents a really big issue for us. But they all exist because of three structural issues. This current Congress, this current president and this current Supreme Court, all enthralled to a Republican party that has been bought by special interests, including the fossil fuel industry, dedicated to keeping us where we are right now. We can retake Congress and stop Congress from being a problem and start being a part of the solution so that we could present issues and present answers to each of the three things my colleagues provided so that we can deliver for the people of New York 17 and across the country solutions to the environment that we've been blocked from doing for the past 40 years. We have to end this past political era where we've been fighting over a small terrain because that's been dictated by those been funneling money into our system. We have interest in keeping us there. Take back Congress. We lose the issue of that and then have to fight the president and when the president's gone we'll have to fight the Supreme Court. But we can, we can build that political power to unlock this era and bring us into something new where we serve everybody.

Michelle Dietrich 89:58 Thank you. And I'm going to ask our co-chairs if they think we have time for one more question.

Paul Presendieu 90:05 What are your thoughts, Ed?

Ed Berry 90:06 We have one more or? We're at 830 and we did tell people we were going to end at 830. So I think we should end. All right. Sounds good. Being respectful, being respectful of everyone's time. I just think that's the best way to go.

Michelle Dietrich 90:29 Did you want to move into closing statements?

Ed Berry 90:33 Yes.

Michelle Dietrich 90:33 Okay. And those are going to be in the reverse order of the opening statements. And so, and they are two and a half minutes each and we're going to begin with Mike Sacks.

Mike Sacks 90:47 Thank you, everybody. And again, thanks for everyone watching. You've noticed the theme perhaps in all of my answers, not just what we have to do, but how we have to do it. Focus on the power centers and take them out. Now, it's not quite May the 4th, but there is a Death Star lurking deciding that that's aimed its laser at our planet to destroy us. That is the US Supreme Court. So I could give a final paroration of why you should vote for me, but I just want to give you where I'm coming from and what my worldview is here to save our world. After that 2007 case that talked about Mass V EPA, which said that the EPA actually had to protect against greenhouse gases and citizens of the United came down and things changed. We had a Supreme Court by a five to four vote with no reasoning in 2016 striking down President Obama's Clean Power Plan. That was by executive regulation. Then we had a Supreme Court that struck down Biden's Clean Power Plan just like a couple of years ago. All the while we had a Supreme Court that in between served Republican administrations letting Trump do what he wanted to do in 1.0 and that's now getting ready to allow polluters to get around state lawsuits when this professional EPA won't step up. Every which way Democrats when holding the White House have tried to help the environment. This Supreme Court has nuked it. Every which way Republicans when holding the White House have tried to deregulate and hurt the environment. This Supreme Court has blessed it. When Congress has the power to create new legislation, not executive action, but legislation to hem any future president in who wants to deregulate and to empower any future president who wants to ensure clean air and clean water in this country. We must do so as a confrontation to this current Supreme Court. So if they dare try to get in the way again if we hadn't already by now, we add seats, we reform, we create term limits so that we have a congressional supremacy in this country. Not a rule by courts, not a rule by president, and definitely not a yes king. But we must take the power back in Congress. We must be not only the first branch, but the primary branch of government that dictates how the people want this country to be. Not a capricious executive and not unelected lifetime tenure judges. That's the only way forward and that's the only way we can actually pass laws and protect our environment. It's the only way. And I ask you to join me and join us in ensuring that be the case by taking back 120th Congress and creating this alternative vision taking on that Death Star.

Michelle Dietrich 93:49 Thank you. Effie Phillips-Staley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 93:53 Thank you all so much for your time and for hosting this forum and for your exceptional questions, which we all learn from all the time because the key for a member of Congress is truly to represent the kind of advocacy and expertise that you put forward and advance that so that it becomes the law of the land. And I know in many ways that feels like it has been impossible. I remember being a kid during the Carter administration, if you can imagine that. We were embroiled in a conflict with Iran at the time gas prices were out of control. But when I was in elementary school, we had all this curriculum around renewable energy. And for me, it was a wonder. At that time, I thought, wow, this is really the future. And I especially remember the lessons around solar. So I get the disappointment that younger generations feel about the failure of this nation to advance and a green future that we needed in the 70s and still need now. I know that every single person watching this is equally disappointed. But I think the lesson to me is not so much that politicians have failed to turn the gear. It's that they have chosen not to. And the reason they have chosen not to, or let me put it this way, the reason they choose to ignore this critical thing is because it doesn't benefit who they believe they are serving, which are corporate interests, which is the billionaire class. We have the technology, the capacity, the know-how, the activism to advance these kinds of changes. But it's really been our government working for who they think their actual masters are, which is not the people. So I put myself forward to you as a true public servant. I take no corporate PAC money. I take no special interest money. And not only that, I am going to fight those forces to dial back Citizens United so that we can actually work to serve the people. Time is short. We need to get it done now. We need to change our system of government that keeps us down.

Michelle Dietrich 96:29 Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 96:29 And we need to advance our future with green energy. Thank you all very much.

Michelle Dietrich 96:34 Thank you so much. Moving on to Beth Davidson.

Beth Davidson 96:38 Thank you, Michelle. You've done an awesome job moderating us tonight. And thank you again to everyone in the coalition. Effie, I will see your Jimmy Carter and raise you former Vice President Al Gore. We all remember his awesome movie An Inconvenient Truth. We had the companion book. But what have we seen since? All two convenient lies about clean energy and how expensive it is, how hard it would be to do and why we have to continue things like dirty oil and gas pipelines, clean coal, which we all know is not a thing. And that's why we have to beat him in the fall. And so I've talked a lot tonight about what I've done as a Rockland County legislator, as an environmental committee chair, the newly appointed member of Rockland's reconstituted agricultural board. We used to have hundreds of farms here in Rockland County before the tap and sea opened. We're down to just five. And I will fight with every tool in my tool belt to make sure that we protect them along with all of our beautiful green spaces and wildlife while continuing to confront the climate crisis. But my environmental leadership actually goes back much further. As a staffer for Emily's List and multiple congressional campaigns, I've helped to elect dozens of environmental champions to the House, to the Senate, and to governorships. As a community advocate in NIAC, I've served on the steering community for the greater NIAC bike and walk master plan. I volunteered for the next Parks Conservancy and the tree committee. As a Girl Scout leader, I did annual cleanups with my troop for Keep Rockland Beautiful. You want to know some of the things that we found in the Spark Hill Creek. And as a member of the NIAC School Board, I supported solar and other LEED certified projects as part of our physical plants while supporting outdoor science education for our young people. Getting out there and in hip boots a couple of times myself. And as a longtime writer and strategist, I've worked with Sierra Club National, Food and Water Watch, Wilderness Society, Environmental Working Group to raise millions of dollars as well as vital awareness for critical environmental and public health causes. As we've said over and over tonight, the world is on fire and 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. Water Task Force is a joint effort between myself and our Republican County Executive Ed Day and I've delivered unanimous votes on much of what I've talked about tonight. And we also can't afford to put someone without a proven record of running and winning tough campaigns. 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. Clean energy and climate justice to close it out are issues that motivate voters especially young voters and 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 and fight for all of us as well. Thank you very much.

Michelle Dietrich 99:29 Thank you and Cait Conley.

Cait Conley 99:31 I always feel like it's really hard to have a closing statement and when Mike Sacks leads with the Death Star and I mean in terms of some excitement here but I could not agree more with some of what has been said in terms of this country is at this crossroads because politicians have sold out what is best for political ambition. We need fundamental change and I do believe 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. You want to talk about people benefiting from what is happening. 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 and we talked about a lot of really important issues tonight about climate, about our infrastructure, about how we both combat climate change and the affordability crisis and all of these things are so, so important. The sad part though is we don't get to fix any of that with Mike Lawler sitting in the seat. So when we talk about what we need to focus on, 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. And when you talk about what it takes to win New York 17 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. People who still share our values about what America is and what we should be fighting for every day. And that is where I'm incredibly proud of the incredible campaign that we have built. 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. I'm super proud to have just received the endorsement of the New York State Teachers Union, the Putnam County Democrats last week because they see in me the leadership that's not just going to talk about problems and write more papers and studies but actually deliver and do things because that's what I've done my whole life. And that's what I promise you all that if I have the privilege of representing you, we will fight every day to make sure America's best days are still ahead of us. And our Hudson Valley, the American dream that I got to live here, the first in my family to graduate from college going off to earn degrees from West Point from Harvard for MIT serving at the White House. And I'm only 40, right? I'm just starting. That's because of what this community enabled me to have the tools to do. So thank you all for the time tonight and for everything you care about and fight so hard for.

Michelle Dietrich 102:20 Thank you. Thank you all so much for your thoughtful engagement in this vital forum. I'm going to thank you alphabetically by first name this time, Beth Davidson, Cait Conley, Effie Phillips, Stanley, Mike Sacks, and I want to thank the co-chairs. Ed Berry and Paul Pressendu, putting something like this together is a lot of work and it was incredibly well organized and I know other members participated in putting things together too. Thank you to all of you. We all live on the climate front lines. So I heartfelt thanks for this forum.

Beth Davidson 102:59 Thank you so much.

Mike Sacks 103:00 Thank you guys.

Beth Davidson 103:01 Thank you all. May the fourth be with you.

Ed Berry 103:08 I want to thank everyone for everything this evening. I hope this presentation helps citizens clarify their thinking in this important race. I want to thank the candidates and the moderator for their participation, for their hanging in there and answering all of our questions and making time for their busy schedule. I'd remind the audience that the primary election is June 23rd. And I want to thank you all for what I think was a very elucidating evening. Thank you and good night.

Moderator 0:00 Welcome, and thank you for joining us for the Jewish Democratic Council of America's New York's 17th Congressional District Democratic Issues Forum. My name is Susie Stern, and I am chair of JDCA. JDCA is the political home and voice of Jewish Democrats advocating for policies and electing Democratic candidates who share our core values. Since the 2020 election, we have held issue forums such as this in Democratic primaries to provide opportunities for candidates to speak to issues of importance to Jewish voters. We are grateful to those of you who have joined us today and hope you find this forum informative. Most importantly, we hope those of you in New York's 17th Congressional District will vote on or by June 23rd. These are historic moments when our freedom, our rights, our democracy are all at stake. On these issues and countless others, Democrats in Congress are a crucial line of defense for our values. This is why JDCA is working to ensure Democrats win back the House majority this November. Make no mistake, the path to Democratic's winning back control of Congress runs directly through New York's 17th Congressional District, where the Jewish vote will absolutely make a difference. New York's 17 is home to one of the largest Jewish voting populations of any congressional district in the country, and JDCA is proud to play a role in engaging these voters in this critically important election. Today, we are thrilled to be joined by the two leading candidates running in this primary, and as a former Westchester resident myself, I'm proud to see that two strong and incredibly qualified Democratic women are vying for this seat, Cait Conley and Beth Davidson. JDCA is mobilizing millions of voters across the country and will be helping them make informed decisions at the ballot box, and we will be issuing forums like this one. And we're really happy to be able to bring you both candidates today so the voters can make their own decision about which candidate most closely aligns with their value. So before we begin, I will quickly go over the rules which have been shared in advance with the candidates. First, this is an issues forum and not a debate, so the candidates will answer questions by addressing the audience, and they will not engage with or address or refer directly to one another. Second, there will be no rebuttals. If this rule is violated, candidates will receive one warning, and after that we will mute candidates for violating this rule. Three, candidates will not ask for your vote or financial support, but they will be sharing their views on a range of issues of importance to Jewish and Democratic voters. Fourth, there will be a time limit, and candidates will have two minutes for introductory remarks followed by questions when they will have 90 seconds each to answer, and then we'll have two minutes in closing statements, and we'll rotate the order for responses. As a reminder, we will kindly ask the candidates to adhere to the time limits and the rules, but we will be keeping time throughout the forum with a Zoom timer. When the time has expired, a bell will ring, which sounds like this. All right, thank you. So those are the rules, and the candidates know them, and now we are ready to begin this forum, and I'm going to hand it over to JDCAs CEO Haley Sohrfer to moderate today's conversation. And thank you all for joining us. Thank you so much to Susie for kicking off today's important conversation. And I want to thank our candidates for joining us, as well as all of you. So we are going to start today with opening statements from our two candidates, starting with Beth and then followed by Cait. Over to you, Beth, for your opening statement.

Beth Davidson 3:54 Thank you so much. Thank you so much to JDCAs for hosting this forum. I'm Beth Davidson. I am a former NYAC school board member. 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. As a Jewish mom of two and a former synagogue board member who's lived here in the 17th Congressional District for 20 years, the issues facing our Jewish community here and around the country are not issues happening somewhere else. They're happening in my community. They're happening in my county. They're happening in my family, and I'm leading on them every day. It's fair to say that I'm only a public servant today because my synagogue, Beit Am Shalom, in Westchester asked me to step up and serve first as a member of the board. That's what inspired me to run for school board and then for the county legislature where I'm fighting for all of our diverse communities. 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. I'm the strongest candidate in this primary because with me, Democrats and Jewish Democrats in particular don't have to choose. I bring a strong voice against anti-Semitism but also in favor of clean water, gun safety, hunger relief, lowering costs for working families, fighting for affordable health care, a proven record that I bring on so many of the issues that we all care about. So if you felt homeless, you have a home in my campaign. Welcome home. As Susie noted, New York 17 has the eighth largest Jewish community in the world. That's one of the reasons I was asked to run. We don't win New York 17 without bringing Jewish voters back into the Democratic fold or without doing better in Rockland County, which I'm sure we will talk about, the county I call home. So I'm excited to dive more into my record on the issues that matter, not just to Jewish voters but to all voters in the district. Thank you.

Moderator 6:01 Thank you, I'll now hear from Cait.

Cait Conley 6:03 Hi, thank you all so much for dialing in today. And Hailey and team for having us. I am Cait Conley, I am a proud West Point graduate, army special operations, combat veteran and daughter of our beautiful Hudson Valley here. My family goes back in the district for generations. I was raised by a single mom who's worked for the US Postal Service, serving communities up and down the Hudson Valley for 48 years. She just retired in March, super proud of her. And then my dad, who's from Southern Dutchess, born and raised, who was a construction worker. And I was a junior in high school here in the Hudson Valley when the terror attack on 9-11 happened. And for me, that is the first time I felt the call to serve. And that is where I went home that night and so my mom, I belong in the fight. And so I went off to West Point, graduated the top of my class 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, specifically in the counter-terrorism world. And then my last two years in uniform, I was at the White House serving as the Director for Cramter Terrorism on the National Security Council. And then served as a senior executive at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, where I helped ensure the safety and security of our nation's critical infrastructure. That's everything from the water we drink to the energy grid powering our lives to our election system. And it is there that I fought back against Trump's lie that the 2020 election was rigged, working with election officials from both sides of the aisle all across the country. I say all of that because after everything that I have seen and done, I never thought I would feel like the greatest threat to our country, to our future, would come from within our own borders. And that is what we are seeing play out with this administration enabled by cowards in Congress like Mike Lawler. I am watching the country that I was willing to die for, but I've lost more friends than I can count fighting for becoming something I barely recognized. And that is unacceptable. So I am proud to be in this fight and win back New York 17 as a critical part to winning back this country. So thank you for the time today.

Moderator 8:15 Thank you. We will now move into questions on a range of issues of important to Jewish voters, starting with affordability. With rising prices and stagnating wages, the basics of a middle-class life are harder to afford and the American dream feels further out of reach for too many American families. New York is one of the top 10 most expensive states, and this is felt in New York 17, with over 10% of the population living below the poverty line. If elected, what are the first steps you would take in Congress to lower costs and increase affordability for the people of New York 17? We'll start with Cait and then Beth. Cait.

Cait Conley 9:01 When we talk about the affordability crisis here in the Hudson Valley, it's not a hypothetical for me. It's something that my family experiences. I was raised by a single mom working for the post office raising three girls. And so when you see what families are struggling with, there's not a single issue. It's everything. It's the fact that it is harder to put food on the table, a roof over your head, afford to keep the lights on, afford health care, and give your kids a better future. And so with that, what we have to do to get this country back on track to make America work for working families again starts with undoing the harm of this administration. 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. But we have to go beyond that too because this isn't just about undoing what has happened, but it's also about what are we fighting to fix, right? Such as what we're fighting against, but what we are fighting for. 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. But 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. We need to make sure that we're also creating more economic opportunities. That means investing in our public education and pathways to the middle class like BOCES here in the Hudson Valley.

Beth Davidson 10:33 Thank you, Beth. Thank you so much. So what I bring to this race is that I think voters around the country and certainly in New York 17 are tired of empty platitudes and empty promises that so many candidates make. And so what I'll say first and foremost is you don't have to wonder what I might do when I get to Congress. I can tell you what I am doing right now and have been doing to lower costs for families in my district 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 who were losing their snap benefits during the shutdown. Just a few weeks ago, moms always think three steps ahead as moms on the call know. 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, especially as we head into the summer season. And I'm currently a vice chair of the new housing committee to make sure we create affordable housing and a huge problem for those of us here in the Hudson Valley. So when we get to Congress, the first thing we have to do is undo the massive Medicaid snap plan parenthood, other housing, other funding cuts that are really causing pain here in the Hudson Valley and around the country and then tackle the things that we know we need to accomplish in order to bring down costs and help every family succeed. For me, that's been childcare is something I've heard a lot about on the campaign trail. And so something I know we need to accomplish, we have a huge brain drain of two working parent households that can no longer afford their childcare and to have both parents working. So that would be at the top of my list, thanks.

Moderator 12:10 Thank you, we will now discuss healthcare. Last year, Republicans passed the largest cut to healthcare in US history as part of Donald Trump's so-called big beautiful bill. In New York, 140,000 people will now face staggering increases in terms of the price of their healthcare and 450,000 New Yorkers are set to lose their healthcare altogether. Nearly 40% of the people of New York 17 are enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid. What is your plan for expanding access to affordable healthcare? We'll start with Beth followed by Cait, Beth.

Beth Davidson 12:47 Thank you so much. And yes, as you noted, a huge proportion of folks in the New York 17th district depend on Medicare or Medicaid. Fully 44% of people in Rockland County where I serve depend on Medicaid. So you may have read in the paper a couple of days ago that both Nyack Montafure and Good Sam hospitals are in danger of closing because they are so reliant on Medicaid payments to keep their doors open. So again, this isn't happening somewhere else. The huge Medicaid cuts that are coming next year are going to impact every service that we have to offer here in Rockland County and other counties across the country have to deal with as well. To lower costs, we again have to restore those funding cuts because we know that cutting off Medicaid, hospitals are still gonna treat everyone who walks through their doors. And so the influx of people without insurance that we see coming into emergency rooms are going to push up costs and lower payer standards for the rest of us. And so that's something we can't have happen. We also have to restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies. I didn't realize until this campaign how many small business owners, entrepreneurs, consultants rely on the Affordable Care Act. And so we have to make sure we restore those subsidies because people are already seeing their premiums triple. And in a time when people are being crushed by so many other costs like childcare, as I mentioned, housing, rising energy costs, food costs, we have to make sure that we bring down the cost of healthcare.

Moderator 14:18 Thank you, Cait.

Cait Conley 14:20 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 even President Obama a few weeks ago talked about how the ACA was never intended to be the final destination, but just the first step of progress towards driving towards that kind of America. And we have failed to make the necessary progress since then to help address the healthcare shortages in this country. The first thing we have to do is undo the harm of this administration. That means reinstating the premium tax credits. That means reinstating full funding to Medicaid. But we have to go beyond that too, because we also see people not on these programs now getting pushed into making choices between keeping their health insurance or paying their rent. 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. We also need to make sure that people can buy into these plans in Medicare like plan at any age regardless of their job or marital status. And so with that, a public option I do believe is a critical step forward, but we can't stop there either. I believe reigning in big pharma is an essential step and Congress has failed to do this effectively. We need to make sure that schemes like pay for delay are ended. And we need to make sure that we're enabling Medicare to negotiate for far more drugs than they currently are today. We can't allow the pharmaceutical industry to remain a black box where we are all literally left footing the bill while they make record-setting profits.

Moderator 15:56 Thank you. Now on to the issue of antisemitism. New York 17 has one of the largest Jewish voting populations in the country. We know antisemitism is unfortunately on the rise and President Trump has failed to increase and even for a time last year froze funding for the nonprofit security grant program which provides critical funds to protect synagogues and other religious race nonprofits as well as our Jewish institutions. Polling indicates that 94% of Jewish voters believe antisemitism is a real problem and only 19% approve of how Congress is responding to antisemitism. If elected, what steps would you take to combat antisemitism and protect the Jewish community in and beyond New York 17? We'll start with Cait and then Beth.

Cait Conley 16:52 I fought overseas to make sure that every American here, every person had freedom, equality, and equal protections under the law and to make sure that hate and discrimination do not have a place here. There is nothing more un-American than that. And I'm very proud of the work I did at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or our teams across the country or some of the ones going out and helping faith-based institutions with physical security measures to help strengthen that given the rising tide of antisemitism and violence across this country. And I believe it's those types of programs that we need to be expanding upon. But what you've seen with this administration is instead of investing in agencies like CISA that are crucial to helping those out on the front line, they've actually slashed the budget and cut staffing there by a third. So we need to reinstate programs that are out there meeting faith-based communities, especially our Jewish community and giving them the need to ensure the safety and security of their people and their community. We need to go beyond that too, though. What you saw was slashing of budgets in the Department of Education. And that's where you have essential programs that ensure that antisemitism and other forms of hate are not permitted at schools and actually launch investigations both on college campuses and in public schools. And you have seen, unfortunately, this administration literally tear back the funding that goes to all of these types of programs that were actively on the front line helping fight against these causes. And I promise you, I will be a staunch supporter of this community. And again, in my America, hate has no place.

Moderator 18:29 Thank you, Beth.

Beth Davidson 18:33 Thank you. So again, another issue that is very personal to me when I drop my kids off at Hebrew school, more often than not, there is a cop car nearby. When we have our Shabbat services and especially our High Holiday services, there's always a lot of security. When I was on the board, I had to be trained in security myself, wear a lanyard just in case something happened. But I've been leading on this issue for a number of years, which is what gives me such credibility with voters, particularly Jewish voters in the district. After a horrific stabbing in Muncie that you may have remembered a few years ago, I helped to organize a summit of five towns against hate. I've also pushed as a member of the next school board to invest in Holocaust education programming. I'm sure you know that a worrying percentage of millennials in Gen Z don't know about the Holocaust, don't know that 6 million Jews were murdered. And so this is a huge education issues as well. And I'll say that's been 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 and Donald Trump play lip service to fighting antisemitism, but he sure turned a blind eye when Trump's DOE fired 90% of its staff at the department's Office of Civil Rights, which responds to complaints of antisemitism around college campuses, which was such a huge problem last year and continues to be. It was already understaffed and underfunded and they just gutted it more. 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 and recognize antisemitism as a specific form of hate that needs to be stopped. And I see that as being done largely through education. Thank you.

Moderator 20:10 Thank you. Now onto the future of our democracy, which was the number one issue for Jewish voters in the past two elections in the 2024 and 2022 elections. Since taking office, President Trump has gutted our democratic institutions, weaponized the Department of Justice to attack his political opponents, urged states to manipulate elections, and actively defied the constitutions in various respects, including completely ignoring the checks and balances that are enshrined in our constitution. If elected, what actions would you take to defend our democracy, restore the role of Congress, and protect voting rights to ensure free and fair elections? We'll start with Beth and then Cait. Beth.

Beth Davidson 21:01 Well, what President Trump and the Republicans and the people who voted for them seem to forget is that Article I of the Constitution refers to the legislative branch, not the executive branch. The power of our democracy and its republic rests within the people. And so 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. We certainly need to protect voting rights. There's no doubt that this year, if the SAVE Act continues not to, which would infringe on voting rights by requiring federal forms of identification for every voter, for any women on the call, it would be more difficult to vote if you have changed your name so that it doesn't reflect the name on your birth certificate. And lovey would essentially is another poll tax on communities of color and so many other marginalized communities. So when reintroduced next year, if the Republicans try to do that again, we will absolutely strike that down, make sure that it never sees the light of day, but also push forward the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would end partisan gerrymandering that has driven so much of the division in our country and make sure that we protect voting rights in every state and make sure our democracy not only survives, but thrives going forward. Thank you, Cait.

Cait Conley 22:28 I had the incredible privilege of leading the election infrastructure security mission for the US federal government in 2024. And over those two years at CISA, I worked with state and local election officials across this country who have the responsibility of administering our democratic process and ensuring its security and integrity. But Congress plays a critical role in enabling that to happen. And I worked with Congress on this very issue of election security. And that is where things like increasing funding for the Help America Vote Act and enabling states to have greater means to ensure the security of the process, both the security of the administration of elections and security for the people at the polls is a critical step. And so we must continue to do that and do better than what we have. And going beyond that, we have to absolutely shut down the weaponization of the executive branch that we have seen by this administration. And that means holding hearings in which we are holding cabinet officials and other especially political appointees at senior levels in the administration accountable for the dereliction of duty and their betrayal of the oath to the constitution. We have seen the DOJ go after Fulton County, Maricopa County, counties that, again, aren't doing the hard work of bringing democracy to the people. And this is unacceptable. It's un-American, it's unconstitutional. And so we do need to ensure that these individuals are being held accountable through hearings, subpoenas and oversight. And I say this as someone who has been on the other side of congressional oversight as a member of the federal government. I know how it is supposed to work. And as a member of Congress, we'll ensure we are maximizing that authority to deliver.

Moderator 24:06 We will now move on to Israel. It's been two and a half years since Hamas's horrific attack of October 7th. We are grateful for the ceasefire that was put in place last year, which ended the war in Gaza and secured the release of all remaining hostages. What do you believe is the pathway forward to ensure sustainable peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike? And what is the role of Congress in advancing a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? We'll start with Cait and then Beth. Cait.

Cait Conley 24:43 As someone who, as an activity army officer, served multiple tours in the Middle East, including the counter-terrorism fight, having worked alongside the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli Intelligence Community, America has no better or closer partner in the counter-terrorism fight than Israel. I've watched as the Israeli military and intelligence community has literally saved the lives of Americans. And we have to continue to provide a strong alliance where we ensure the safety and security of the people of Israel and that strong partnership that exists. With that, as someone who has been to war, the last thing I want to see is anyone's sons and daughters have to go back to it or see a continued conflict. We need to set conditions for a two-state solution where there is peace and security and safety for all peoples. And doing so in a way that builds trust into that future. I do believe bringing in a third-party peacekeeping force trusted by both sides is going to be a critical step to that. We're going to have to be investing in a reconstruction fund to help rebuild areas that are war-torn and ensure that this generation, the next generation, have hope for a better life. And don't get into a cycle of continued conflict and warfare. And that is going to take all of us investing in that and ensuring those conditions are met.

Moderator 26:00 Thank you, Beth.

Beth Davidson 26:03 Thank you. So again, this is personal to me. My daughter was in Israel for a month in August of 2023 in the most amazing multi-faith, multiracial trip possible, staying in Bedouin villages, meeting with Palestinian teens in the West Bank, staying in Kibbutzim, one of which was attacked on October 7th. And so our family has processed this in real time and it's been painful to our community here in New York 17 to watch how this has played out and the parallel track of antisemitism that came along with it. What we see from Congress is that this has become more of a fight over funding than over values and the democracy that we all want to see in the Middle East and keeping our closest ally of Israel safe. And so what I would like to see from Congress is more of an assertion of that values, more oversight, demanding more diplomatic tools rather than always going to funding fights, as we saw last week in the Senate. 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 and keep not only Israelis, but Americans safe. Note remembering that one out of four Israelis is also an American citizen. So this is a shared problem that demands a shared solution. Some might say a 22 state solution, excuse me, a 23 state solution that also engages other allies in the region and Arab states in the region to make sure we do see that two state solution that I personally and so many of us seek.

Moderator 27:43 Thank you. Last week, the Senate voted on joint resolutions of disapproval to block specific weapon sales to Israel and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for an end to U.S. security assistance for Israel and or for cuts, conditions, or holds on military aid and some sales. What is your position with regard to U.S. security assistance for Israel? And separately, what is your position with regard to weapon sales for Israel? We'll start with Beth.

Beth Davidson 28:12 So as I, yeah, I mean, as I just said, I never want to be forced into this position where we are making that kind of choice. And so the question that I wish we were asking more is how do we use our strong diplomatic power and our diplomatic strength to keep both Israelis and Palestinians safe? 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. I mean, what we're seeing is that the ongoing, what I think is illegal war in Iran is actually making it more difficult to implement the peace plan as a result of the ceasefire. And so it's more important than ever that we understand what is happening with our tax dollars, what aid is being used for, and ensuring that it's truly making Americans, Israelis, Palestinians, and everyone in the region more safe.

Moderator 29:10 Thank you, Cait.

Cait Conley 29:15 So I'm a strong believer that the US does have a responsibility to support our allies in ensuring their safety and security, right? Whether it's the state of Israel, whether it is Ukraine and its fight against Russian aggression, whether it is NATO. And as somebody who has worked on foreign military assistance packages, there are laws and conditions that our allies must meet in order to continue to receive aid. 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, whether this system or that, whether this thing or that, 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. We need to be talking about, again, the processes that are in place to ensure that standards are met for all of our allies who received foreign military assistance. I think we saw to the detriment of the war in Ukraine how politicians interjected trying to think they were military experts on what systems did or did not go. And we hurt Ukraine's ability to defend itself by doing so. And so again, I think we need to take politicians out of that equation and have a discussion on are the standards being met or not? And that is neutral to whatever ally we're talking about.

Moderator 30:38 Thank you. Switching topics to ICE. Under President Trump, ICE has terrorized civilians and communities, including murdering two Americans, separating children from their parents, detaining people in inhumane conditions and sending people to foreign countries they never considered home. Earlier this year, we saw ICE try to build an immigrant mass detention center near New York 17th district. If elected, how would you respond to Donald Trump's immigration enforcement regime? We'll start with Cait and then on to Beth.

Cait Conley 31:13 We absolutely must rein in ICE up and down the leadership chain. I still think that there are accountability measures that we need to use against Kristi Noem, who is at the head of the department when the ICE egregious measures were taken and continue to be taken. And I think we need to ensure that Mark Wayne Mullen and the others in leadership positions are under the greatest level of scrutiny. I think we need to have transparent investigations into the agency and ensure that those who have not complied with the rule of law are held legally accountable. Look, 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. It is unacceptable. And there needs to be legal recourse. But we also need to talk about how do we fix a broken immigration system where we are failing people in our communities. We need to make sure there is a pathway to citizenship for members of our community who have been in our community some of them longer than I've been alive and are just as American as the rest of us. We need to be protecting our dreamers and giving them the legal protections and citizenship that they have earned and deserve. We need to not only rein in and stop ICE and the aggressiveness and the continued weaponization of the executive branch, but we must also fix the real issues in a broken immigration system.

Beth Davidson 32:39 Beth. So this is another issue I'm working on in real time here in Rockland County and around the district. We have a growing Hispanic population. We have a Haitian population that lives in constant fear under the ending of temporary protective status known as TPS. And so from the moment Donald Trump came back into office, immigrant rights advocates on both sides of the river were asking what we can do to better protect our immigrant communities. After the murders of Renee Goode and Alex Preti, everyone was asking how we can keep ourselves safe from ICE who clearly has no regard for human life, either immigrant or American citizens. So 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. And I'll say that the second Mike Lawler found out about that bill, he began attacking me. I first mobilized nonprofits at a press conference in support of my bill. And the next night had 500 people at our county legislative meeting, 90% of whom were in support of our bill because we love our neighbors. And if the federal government in ICE wants to come from my neighbors, they're gonna have to go through me. This is something that we as Jews feel very personal, personally about as welcome the stranger, appears no fewer than 36 times in the Torah. And so as we go forward trying to reform ICE, obviously we need to see an end to masks, we need to see identification and end to warrants without cause, and make sure that we do have a path to citizenship for our dreamers and law abiding immigrants around the country.

Moderator 34:21 We are in the middle of the longest government agencies shut down in history. Congress has been unable to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes funding for ICE. If you were currently in Congress, how would you vote on a DHS funding bill? And what requirements do you think are necessary for Congress to currently, hopefully eventually pass DHS funding? We'll start with Beth and then Cait.

Beth Davidson 34:49 Sure, so I still have a lot of friends in DC and some of them are impacted by this shutdown and haven't seen a paycheck in weeks. And so it is incomprehensible to me as well as unacceptable that we are forcing American federal workers to bear the burden and their families, to bear the burden of this impasse and Donald Trump's refusal to honor American lives and American civil liberties over his relentless pursuit of his anti-immigrant agenda. And so no funding for new detention centers is something for profit detention centers that was mentioned earlier when we heard that they were looking at putting a detention center in Chester when we already have one in Newark that said to me that they were no longer just looking for the worst of the worst of violent offenders, but looking to do larger sweeps. And so we need to make sure we do rein in ICE, but also rein in the funding that makes those detention centers possible. And so 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. And so 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 while cutting healthcare and other things that American families need to survive and thrive.

Cait Conley 36:26 Hey, when we are talking about the 10 measures that Democrats are calling for, it is absolutely disgusting to see how Republicans have allowed this to become a partisan issue. It's not, what we're talking about are measures that will help ensure the safety and security of American families, of people in American communities. I say this as someone, when I was in the military, I started my career as a military police officer doing domestic law enforcement. What they are doing, the Republicans, in putting up a wall against supporting these measures, this is not about domestic law enforcement or even immigration enforcement. This is about Donald Trump and Mark Wayne Mullen and Kristi Noem having the tools to continue to weaponize the executive branch to go over to get out and get after political opposition to stoke fear in American communities. It's unacceptable. 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. Again, this is not a partisan issue and I am frustrated with the Democratic Party because we actually allowed the Republicans to make it a partisan issue in January and February. And so I continue to wholeheartedly support these reforms. I think they are critical to ensuring the safety and security of communities across this country. And we need to remind Republicans that public safety matters and they should be supporting measures like this that are focused on.

Moderator 38:05 Thank you. In February, Donald Trump started a war in Iran without congressional approval, without a coherent strategy and without clear objectives. Earlier this month, he threatened war crimes and pledged that a whole civilization will die. Eight weeks into this war, it appears that we are now in a prolonged military quagmire with global and economic security implications that he cannot find a way out of. Last week, all but one Democrat in both the House and Senate voted to end this war. If you were in Congress, how would you approach the war with Iran, including as it relates to funding? We'll start with Cait.

Cait Conley 38:50 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, and without the support of the American people. As someone who has literally gone to combat zones in the Middle East, I know this story. I've been in it before and it never ends well. And I will tell you as someone who served on the NSC and who worked on countering Iranian proliferation of lethal aid, I've been in the White House Situation Room talking about these problem sets. And the course of action that was pursued was reckless and is not going to lead to a safer America. And that is what I'm concerned about. That's what I fear the most is right now, I am someone who believes Iran should not get a nuclear weapon as the largest purveyor of lethal aid to terror groups around the world. And I do believe we need regime change in Iran. But what this administration did was replace one ayatollah for his son, who's 30 years younger and even more hardline, replace most of the Iranian leadership with even more hardline leadership. And it is only political will change that is going to lead to us ensuring Iran does not get a nuclear weapon down the road. And that is where we have to be very careful to not confuse these short-term military successes for long-term strategic success. And so with that, I think we need to be looking at Americans are already paying the price here at home in terms of the cost of the closing of the Strait of Pramuz. We need to get to a negotiated settlement and we still cannot allow terms to be worse than the JCPOA to be an acceptable end in negotiated ceasefire with Iran.

Moderator 40:35 Thank you, Beth.

Beth Davidson 40:38 So 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. And again, this isn't something happening somewhere else. About a week into the conflict, one of the first service members to die was Major Sorafly Davias from my hometown of Clarkstown. Look, Congress needs to step up and assert oversight over this war that has clearly gone off the rails. We saw Secretary Pete Hegseth fire another secretary, the Senate Secretary of the Navy. And so we need to call him up in front of Congress and make him publicly defend his strategy to get us out of this illegal and unnecessary war. We've talked a little bit about the cost. Harvard policy expert predicted a few days ago that this war could cost at least a trillion dollars to American taxpayers. So we should not be voting to provide more funding. Congress should not. Certainly until Trump has secured congressional approval, which it doesn't look like would happen anytime soon. And thanks to this illegal war, Iran is going to be richer, better supplied and work along with countries like Russia. We've talked about Russia and Ukraine a bit. Russia has made a boatload off this war, no pun intended, as Trump has lifted sanctions and then extended the lifting of those sanctions. So they've made enough money to pay off the war in Ukraine. And what we wanna see out of this is not a more strengthened Iran, but also a richer Russia. So we need to stop the funding until we understand what Trump's off-ramp is.

Moderator 42:18 Right, well, thank you both for your responses to these questions. We now have the opportunity for two minutes closing statements. We will start with Beth and then Cait, Beth.

Beth Davidson 42:37 Thank you so much for hosting us today and for the opportunity to discuss all of these important issues. At the end of the day, I know we Democrats, we Jewish Democrats in particular, all wanna be Mike Lawler. And I believe I'm the Democrat that's best positioned to do it. I have the support of the Democratic Party of Rockland County, as I said, which Mike Lawler has won twice. In fact, 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'm currently, as I said, organizing hundreds of voters in support of the Safety and Dignity for All Act, a bill that I've introduced to protect my constituents from ICE. And what you may have seen in the news, Mike Lawler is attacking me for constantly. And whether it's on this or any other issue, you don't have to ask what I might do in Congress. I can tell you what I've already done. And as I've said, voters want leaders who have proven they will step into the breach and deliver results. I've cut taxes, I've passed common sense gun safety reforms, I've preserved hundreds of acres of open space, fully funded law enforcement, stood up against antisemitism, and so many of the other issues that we care about. And so how we beat Mike Lawler is we organize. We mobilize voters out behind our shared values. I've been building coalitions and winning elections in this community for the past 20 years. That's the fight I'm taking to Donald Trump and Mike Lawler in real time. And that's how we will beat him in November, flip New York 17 once and for all, and put Congress back to work for the people. Thank you.

Moderator 44:15 Thank you.

Cait Conley 44:16 Cait. I'm not a politician. I am a proud patriot and problem solver who has spent my entire life in service to this country. And I am doing this now because I believe it is this next chapter in service and answering the call is people like Mike Lawler, cowards who are enabling this administration, leave the country I love more than anything off a cliff. We have to stop it. And it's not going to be easy, but it's also not too late. In New York 17, we're a critical part of this battle to win back our country. And right now, when you look at New York 17 and what it's going to take to beat Mike Lawler, well, I can't stand him. We can't underestimate him. 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. And that is where I do believe my lifetime of service is going to make a difference. I don't like to quote Mike Lawler, but I like to quote him here because it's part of how I'm going to beat him. He talks about New York 17 as being the district of heroes where over 50% of households are either veterans, the family of veterans, first responders, or the family of first responders. Service here matters. That's why growing up here, I went into the service. I answered the call. And I do believe in a district where 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated or independent, we are going to have to win over not just Democrats. There's not enough to win the district, but voters beyond that. And I believe I'm the best posture to get this done. I'm the only candidate to have earned endorsements from elected officials in all four counties. I'm incredibly proud that Putnam County Democratic Committee just endorsed me on Monday alongside the New York State Teachers Union. We are building a grassroots campaign that it's inspiring people, not just about beating Lawler and what we're fighting against, but what we're fighting for. And the next generation of leadership in the Democratic Party, that is coming up. And while we may never have saw ourselves leading this path, I noticed the right path for this country in our future. Thank you for the time today.

Moderator 46:22 Thank you. To wrap things up, I'm going to turn things over to JDC board member, Karen Kastner. Thank you very much, Hailey. And thanks to our candidates for joining us today. While we touched on some of the issues important to the Jewish voters in today's forum, we also did not have time for everything. And certainly not as much in depth as each of these important topics deserve. We encourage everyone to learn more about the candidates positions on their websites before voting in the primary, which is on June 23rd, and to visit jewishdems.org to learn more about our platform, advocacy efforts, and how we will mobilize huge numbers of Jewish voters in advance of the June 23rd primary. Again, thank you very much for joining us on this very, very important conversation. And thanks again to the wonderful candidates.

Beth Davidson 47:20 Thank you. Thank you all.

Moderator 47:23 Thank you. Thank you.

Audience 0:00 Good evening, everybody. Can we please take your seats?

John Cappello 0:17 Good evening, everybody. Thank you for joining us. Everybody who is here in the room at Haverstoke, the hall, and everybody who is watching the live stream on Facebook. Thank you so much for being here. I'm former state Senator Michael Reiklin-Mellon, and I'm delighted to have the honor of moderating tonight's forum for the five Democratic candidates vying to be the one to take on Mike Lawler in November. So, running for office is certainly not for the faint of heart. As a former candidate and elected official, I know that very personally. Campaigning means taking time away from your family and friends to meet strangers and to ask for their bonus. It means endless hours on the phone asking donors for money. It means having everything you've ever said and done scrutinized and picked apart by bad faith critics. In these turbulent times, it can even mean being on the receiving end of threats and harassment from angry, potentially dangerous people. It's not easy, but these five candidates have all stepped up to the plate because they know that the stakes couldn't be higher. They know that our country is in trouble and the outcome of this election in November may decide whether the Democrats or the Republicans control the House of Representatives in January. So, before we go any further, please give a huge round of applause to all of our candidates for joining us today. This is a talented group of people, and speaking for myself, I am planning to enthusiastically support whichever one of you emerges victorious in this primary, because I have it. So, I know you didn't all come here to listen to me talk. Please just take a moment to go over a few ground rules for the forum, acknowledge the elected officials who have joined us, and introduce our event sponsors to say a few words of welcome. So, here's how this will go. After we hear from our sponsors, I'll start asking some questions. Some of these are questions that I've come up with as the moderator. Some of them are questions that the audience has submitted. One more question. Okay, Nelson, we'll bring it up. I can't guarantee we'll ask every question because we had a lot of questions that were submitted, but some were submitted by people who are SVP'd through the website when they signed up, and others have been handwritten here at the door. There were a lot of great questions, apologies if I don't get to yours, but we're going to try to cover as much ground as we can in the next hour and a half. One of these will have up to two minutes to ask to answer each question, although if you don't need the full two minutes, keep it shorter so we can get to some more questions. Our great volunteer, Heather, is sitting there in the front row. Heather, thank you. When you have used up over 30 seconds to hold up a yellow card, and when you've used up all of your time, she will hold up a red card, so please pay attention there. Thank you. We'll rotate which candidate answers each question, so we won't be the same people going first each time. So I will just say I am not going to be asking questions targeted at one particular candidate. All questions will be directed for all five candidates to answer equally, and I've asked each candidate to please refrain from making personal attacks on any of your opponents here on stage. If there is an attack made and another candidate needs to respond, in my judgment, I'll give them some time to do that. At around 7.45, we'll shift to a lightning round of questions where we've asked each candidate to answer in as few words as possible and really cover a lot of ground very quickly, and finally to wrap up with a one-minute closing statement by each candidate. So now I'd just like to take a moment and acknowledge the elected candidates who have joined us tonight. So in no particular order, we have county legislator Paul Cleary, State Assemblyman Matt Carroll, Sarah Van Yani, running for Georgetown Town Board, Board 1, Paco Cansell, Haverstraw Town Councilman, Rick Julian, former chair of the Stony Point Democratic Committee, Tom Kleiner, former Georgetown supervisor, Mike Poet, mayor of the village of Haverstraw, Jesse Malloretz, Rockwood County legislator, Richard Senna, Haverstraw Village Trustee, Dana Stilley, Rockwood County legislator, Adderick Meeder, New York State Assemblyman, and Mav Khrushko, Haverstraw Town Councilman. I also want to thank the Haverstraw Police Department for providing security. Don't worry, you're making a hard course. Don't worry. I want to thank the Haverstraw Police Department for being here to provide security to keep us safe and to volunteer to help with the event, our public chair, Kelsey, who is helping to stream this on our live stream, Heather, as I mentioned, and others, and I especially want to thank the sponsors of the event, the Town of Haverstraw Democratic Committee and the Stony Point Democratic Committee. We hope that you recognize our friends, and so I'd just like to take a moment to invite our Haverstraw Town supervisor, Howard Phillips to say a few words, followed by Stony Point Democratic Committee chair, Kate Riley. Howard, if you could bring the mic over in the middle of the live stream. Gotcha.

Howard Phillips 5:50 Well, thank you, Elijah, and please, let's give a big round of applause because Elijah has really worked so hard to bring this off. Thank you, Elijah. Welcome to the Town of Haverstraw, especially the candidates. I was in charge of the weather tonight, so you can thank me for that. We're proud to have this here in Haverstraw. You know, we're one of the oldest-named communities in all of North America. When Henry Hudson came up this, he named it Haverstrew, and the name stuck. That's Dutch. In English, it's Haverstraw. But I want to point out one beautiful thing. Of course, we have a great history with the Revolutionary War, but if anybody has a chance, take a look at this beautiful flag in the back of the auditorium here. That flag was carried by the 95th Regiment during the Civil War from Haverstraw. It was in many, many of the really important battles, but it was also at the defining battle of Gettysburg. We're very proud to have that back home. Ladies and gentlemen, we live in the greatest country that has ever existed, and we do because people get involved, and we do because we can hold the base like this. We can agree, we can disagree,

Speaker 7:13 but at the end of the day, we all go in and choose who is going to represent us

Howard Phillips 7:19 in government on all levels. So thank you for being here tonight. I want to bring up another gentleman that worked so hard, the chairman of the Stony Point Democratic Committee, Pete Riley. Pete, where did you go to? Pete, there you are. Thank you, everyone.

Speaker 7:36 Thanks, Robert.

Pete Riley 7:38 I grew up in Haverstraw. And when I was a young boy, we would pack a sandwich, get on our bikes, and travel up to this mysterious place called Stony Point. I've lived in Stony Point now for 30 years, and it's still a mysterious place. You can cross the border from Haverstraw, which is true blue, and go one block into Stony Point, and you're in ruby red. So the Stony Point Democratic Committee is working hard. We have a small but powerful group of people that we have a long-term goal to win back and to make Stony Point somewhat blue, maybe all blue at some point. And I want to take that for a time, and so we can listen to the candidates, but I would just say this. We've got to keep our eyes on the prize, which is really important here, is that we beat Michael Euler at the end. So when we're done, whoever wins the primary, we need to get behind them, and we need to work our butts off so that we win. Thank you.

John Cappello 8:45 Thank you very much, Pete. Thank you, Howard. And once again, thank you so much to the Stony Point and Haverstraw Democratic Committees for sponsoring our event this evening. All right, let's get to it. So let's start out with a question that I think a lot of people have on their minds. Mike Euler has worked twice in this congressional district, and our district is a district that has backed Democratic candidates for president, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In 2022, Mike Euler beat Sean Patrick Maloney, who was thought of as a centrist, more establishment candidate. In 2024, he beat Mondaire Jones, a younger, more progressive candidate. What will it take to beat Mike Euler, and why are you the best person on this stage to do it? We'll start for this round with Effie and move down the road to Cait.

Effie Phillips-Staley 9:37 Press the button. Hi, good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for having me. My name is Effie Phillips-Staley, and thank you to the committees, of course, for putting this together and Elijah. This is, I think, to me a central question of why I got into the campaign. I believe strongly that the Democratic Party has not done the work that it needs to do to be as inclusive as possible with voters who feel disenfranchised. And I say that as a person who has run for office three times in one, as a trustee in Tarrytown, and also as a person who's dedicated my entire professional career to social justice and Hispanic social justice in particular. My mom is an immigrant from El Salvador. My dad, a blue collar working class guy with a high school education. And let me speak about Hispanics first. I know from my experience that the Democratic Party has not reached out to Hispanic voters. There are 30,000 registered Hispanic Democrats in CT 17, only 5,000 vote. So if this party, and this is my campaign, does the work of not only reaching out to the voters who always turn out, like the people in this room, which is really important, but doing the work of reaching out to those who typically don't turn out because they don't feel represented, that is how we're going to get our win number to be able to take this back. And let me say who they are. They're people under 30. They're progressives. They're people of color. And these are people who have lately, in droves, began switching to be independent because they don't feel that the party represents them. I'm running a campaign that's a Democratic campaign to represent everyone and do the work in communities like Haverstraw and large Hispanic populations to make sure that we really turn out the vote and take it back from Mike Lawler.

Mike Sacks 11:39 Hi, everybody. I'm Mike Sacks. To answer your question directly, Mike Lawler has never run for office when he's not been tied to the mass of a ruling regime dedicated to hurting people. 2022 is not 2026. 2024 is not 2026. The political conditions in this moment are fundamentally different in a way that Mike Lawler cannot present himself as a moderate and then go down to D.C. and vote in the opposite way and not be held accountable for it. At this very moment, his major votes have been to ensure that the big, ugly bill passed to then rob from us

Speaker 12:23 and send money to the Trump administration to terrorize our neighbors

Mike Sacks 12:27 and to wage illegal and unconstitutional wars. He's telling us that he gave us a little bit of money back with what he calls a tax-cut bill because he doesn't want to cop to the rest of the bill that he supported. What he's been doing is he's been picking our pockets and then putting pennies back in and saying, look how much I've done for you. In the past two elections, he did not have someone making all of his subtext text. He did not have someone calling him out on his lies. As lies. I was a former reporter. I covered Congress, the Supreme Court, the 2016 campaign, and the Trump and Biden administrations. I'm also a lawyer. I'm pretty good on the Constitution. Lawler is a fundamental affront to our checks and balances. The way he's been behaving in Congress has been ceding our power to a would-be autocrat so that he can somehow find his way to retain his own power and maybe achieve his further political ambitions. We don't have to live that way. But we have to recognize that 2026 is not 2024, not 2022. And we will win. Thank you.

Beth Davidson 13:45 Good evening, everybody. I'm Beth Davidson, proud county legislator for District 10. Welcome, everyone, who's not from here to Rockland and to Hatterstraw, originally known as Hatterstrew or Oadstraw. I'm a real history nerd, and there's so much great history in this town and in this county. So 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. Winning Rockland is something I know how to do very well. Having led a slate of Democrats, shout-out to my compatriots in the crowd, my colleagues, Jesse Malowitz, Dana Stilli, and Roger Paul Cleary, we won the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history while boosting turnout by 20% right in Mike Lawler's backyard. And as we know, Jewish voters did not come out for Democrats in the way that they normally do last cycle. I am a trusted Jewish leader on both sides of the river here in Rockland County, and I see all facets of our Jewish community here in Rockland and across the river as well, where I belong to Beit Amshiloh and the synagogue and Serg Uncle Board there as well. So building the coalition that we need to win is something I've also been doing for a long time, and I see so many of them represented in the room. Give me some love. My mom's demand action volunteers. We've worked together to pass many gun safety, to pass our gun safety bill and do so much activism on that level. We've got our immigrant rights coalition leader, Elsie Garcia, in the room. We've got Dr. Dana Stilli and so many other leaders in our community. That's the kind of—and I've got happy to break news that Joe Koh sitting in the back, LGBTQ activist, is endorsing our campaign. We'll be letting you know about that soon. So that's how we win, and also make people believe that there are leaders who are willing to step into the breach to fight for the communities they serve. I'm excited to tell you about my record doing just that and that's how we beat Mike Waller and Donald Trump in November.

John Cappello 15:43 Thank you. My turn. We beat Mike Waller by doing politics differently. For those of you who don't know me, I'm John Cappello. Thank you all for being here. I'm from Rockin County, down the road in Suffolk. I went to the Air Force Academy, served in the Air Force for 25 years. I was a pilot. I was a diplomat. I served at the US Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. I stayed at the embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. I came back to D.C., worked in the National Security Space, started two organizations focused on helping countries democratize, reach their democratization goals in southern Europe and the Middle East. When I entered this race in September, I committed to doing politics differently. And how does that mean? I think, first of all, we've been living for the past 10 years under the policies of fear and division, politics, specific political strategy of dividing us amongst each other. How do we defeat politics of fear? I would argue it's with faith. Faith in individuals, faith in our neighbors, faith in our system. The fact that you are all here tonight shows that you have faith, that things can change. But there are many people not in this room, many people, let me spoke about, that need to be spoken with. I would argue that the way to speak with them and doing politics differently is through restoring balance and accountability. And I am committed to do that very specifically by five things. Campaign finance reform, term limits, members of Congress should not be allowed to sell a stock or trade stocks while in office, nor should they be allowed to transition to become obvious immediately after leaving office. We need a code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Those five things not only restore balance and accountability, but they restore trust in our system and trust in the individuals we send to Washington to represent us. That's how we do politics differently, and that's what I'm committed to do. Thank you all so much.

Cait Conley 17:49 Good evening, and thank you all for coming out. I am Cait Conley, and Elijah, I am very grateful around the framing in which you've asked this question. So 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. And so when you talk about why we lost New York 17 since we've redrawn the lines in 2021, I would argue it's because you've seen democratic campaigns fighting the last war. And that is why our campaign is approaching us so fundamentally differently, because there are four counties in this district right now that we must put into play. That means we need to go to every corner and try to win by more and lose by less, and build a campaign of inclusion. And when we talk about what it takes to win, 20% of registered voters in New York 17 today are unaffiliated or independent. So that means we need a democratic candidate that can go out and inspire voters to choose them as a person, not just a party. And that is where I do believe my contrast with my daughter could not be starker. We are about the same age we grew up 30 miles apart. We could not be more different. 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. And we have seen, as Mike Waller has faced and beaten, politicians already. If we want a different kind of outcome, we need a different kind of Democrat. And that is where, while I don't like to quote Mike Waller often, I love doing it here, because it's hard how I'm going to be. He talks about how this is the district of heroes, where over 50% of households are either veterans, the family of veterans, first responders, or the family of first responders. I believe that my service that is shared is going to be an important bridge to getting votes across party lines to come out and choose who they want to lead them. Someone that they can trust represents the values that they do.

John Cappello 19:57 So for that question, we'll start with Mike and then go down the line and go back to Eppie. Donald Trump's big beautiful bill, which Congress can waller voted for, is projected to cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance this year, many already have. Beyond that, it threatens the financial solvency of hospitals around the country. What should we do to repair the damage from this Republican attack on health care and how can we build a better and fairer health care system going forward?

Mike Sacks 20:31 I'm an advocate for Medicare for all. Not just because it's good policy, but it's going to be powerful policy. So how we restore what Trump and Waller stole away, how we build a new house in the rubble of the wreckage, is first to restore the funding that they slashed. I mean, that's first and foremost. And if we have the House and not just the House but the Senate, then we can push that towards Donald Trump and make him veto our trying to help people. That'll be good power politics. But on top of that, we need to have policies that themselves serve all of the people, not just someone. Deprive the right wing of the opportunity to say, oh, that helps them. That helps the takers, not the makers. Instead of policies that everyone can enjoy where our tax dollars can actually be seen going directly to our own health and well-being. And mind you, those tax dollars will be fewer than we pay in deductibles, copays, and premiums to insurance companies. And also, less than we pay in taxes to keep the subsidies going for the above-my-care premiums, premium tax credits. When I say that this is good power politics, I mean this. Progressive policies from the New Deal, Social Security, to the Great Society, Medicare and Medicaid, when they're put into place, people like them and they're unrepealable and the right wing has to step the judiciary to take them away to do the dirty work of the elected officials who would be thrown out of office so fast that they dare to do anything about that. So what we must do is have that same type of ambition. When we have 51%, treat that as the same mandate to help people that Trump uses in his 51% to hurt people. And when they get back in power, because there's always a swing in our country's politics, and they try to touch, say, this is what it serves us all, and makes us all happy like people have in every other industrialized country in this world. Good luck trying to take that away. We'll take our pitchforks out and throw them out of office again. That's policy and that's power. And we need to use both of them to ensure that we can serve all the people and not just the few.

Beth Davidson 22:35 Thank you. So the effects of the Big Ugly Bill are not theoretical and certainly not to me. As a Rockland County legislator, I have a front row seat to the ways that this bill is truly hurting our communities. I represent health care workers who are terrified of losing their jobs, and I see at least one year today that I've marched on the picket lines of it. Hello. But it's real. We talked a lot about safety net hospitals as Democrats, you know, out of Washington. That was going to be hurt by this bill. Excuse me, about rural hospitals. But it's safety net hospitals everywhere. And we have one here in Rockland County and many in Westchester and Putnam and Dutchess as well. I also represent families with special needs, kids with special needs, and parents with special needs who are terrified of losing their health care benefits. I've learned so much about Medicaid since starting this campaign. Yes, it is health care for low-income people, but it's so much more. It's supportive housing for people with special needs. It's transportation to their jobs. So many wraparound services that help everyone in our community live productive and purposeful lives. And so that's what I'm stepping up as a legislator to make sure we're funding the nonprofits that take care of everyone who needed special services, but we need more. We also need to worry about everyone whose premiums are tripling because the Affordable Care Act subsidies were limited. And again, so many more people in CD17 rely on the ACA than I even realized before this campaign. It's a significant number. And as a two-term cancer survivor and IVF mom, this is personal to me. I know what it's like to spend multiple hours a day fighting with your insurance companies. And so 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 if that's what's better for them. And again, as someone who's had multiple chronic conditions, I know that I needed extra care and would want that same opportunity to everyone until we have the kind of coverage that can cover everybody. And that also includes bringing vision, dental, long-term care, hearing care under Medicare as well to make sure that everyone is covered to the best that we can.

John Cappello 24:50 I think to start off very specifically, we've got to strengthen and restore the ACA to make sure that it's fully funded, protect Medicare and Medicaid. Those things seem obvious, but we need to fight strongly to make sure that happens. Look, we've done this. We've done this. We've done it at a state level. We saw Massachusetts do it, right, under a Republican government. He was able to put together a plan that was bipartisan and that was the impetus for Obama's plan, right? And I believe that's a really, really strong foundation. I live under a health care plan as a veteran. That also is a pretty good program. We can do this. We can work through this. And I think that health care is and should not be this partisan issue that it's been turned into, unfortunately. There's lessons to be learned. I think we, knocking on doors, Beth mentioned health care workers. The number of health care providers that I spoke with during my time collecting signatures, unbelievable. And it's because the number of health care workers is increasing, is increasing, and it's a huge percentage of the job growth that's occurred over this last year. Protecting them, making sure that they have the programs to continue to serve. The idea that health care workers are not professionals, it's not only just a slap in the face, but it affects the whole program. Because it affects their ability to get grants, to get education, and we need to make sure that those programs are protected, whether it's at FOC or RCC, one of the best nursing programs in the state. And I want to get there. Thank you. Okay, before you speak, just as a note for candidates, we got some reports on the live stream, that was an echo, so when you're done speaking,

Cait Conley 27:00 just make sure to turn your mic off. So, I believe in America, affordable health care should be the right of every person and not just a privilege for the wealthy few. And what we have seen under this administration is that reality has become far more of a distant dream than anything we feel like we could actually live and embrace right now. And that starts, we have to fix it, and that starts with undoing the harm that this administration has caused. Things like reinstating funding to Medicaid, reinstating the premium in tax credits. When you talk about that combined effect here in New York 17, over 37,000 people are likely to lose health insurance coverage because of just those things. But we have to go beyond that too. Well, 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. Just here in the Hudson Valley, the Hudson Pecanic chapter of Planned Parenthood has 11 brick and mortar clinics, two mobile. And in 2024, do you know they provided over 94,000 services like pre-cancer screenings, annual testing, diagnostics. This is basic health care that is being denied. So we must first undo the harm. But the problem goes beyond that. When you look at rising premiums, when you look at the pain that families are feeling, having to look at prescriptions and groceries, that should be unacceptable. I do believe we need to introduce a public option that allows people to opt into Medicare and NEA regardless of marital or job status. And I do believe we need to rein in big pharma. That means ending things like pay for delay schemes. We have to bring oversight to these companies that are literally profiting from denying care to sick people.

Effie Phillips-Staley 29:05 So I just want to start by talking about Lawler's record. He's voted against Medicare drug price negotiation. He takes money from medical insurance PACs and he has offered no health care legislation of his own in his two terms. He has, of course, voted for the big ugly bill, which has slashed funding to Medicare, to ACA, and at the expense of the nation's health. But it's not really like Lawler who has created this problem. He is sustaining it because it's a system that works for him. Right now our health care system is designed for the profit of insurance companies. It is not designed for the health care of people. And we know that because the medical insurance industry pays, what, $400 million a year in lobbying to prevent any real change for benefiting people. So I am also for Medicare for All. I will say first that we have to do the stopgap, which is, of course, funding the ACA, but I am for Medicare for All because I believe we need a system that puts people's health first. Thank you. That's people's health first and not the profits of insurance companies. I will say from a personal perspective, I lived in the UK for four years. It has universal health care. It works. It actually works really well. I can get an appointment there much faster than I can here. And it is something that I see our health and our health care as a human right. A nation as wealthy as ours, as capable of ours, can certainly put together a system that will work for the people if it stops prioritizing the profits of companies and puts our health first. We are the greatest asset for our nation, the people who make the nation. So our government needs to work for the people in this respect and make sure that everybody gets health care.

John Cappello 31:13 Thank you very much. Heather, for this one, we're going to just move things along. We'll do a one-minute response time with us. So the next question, we'll start with that. We'll go over to Hank. We'll come back to Effie and Mike. This one came in, was submitted by an audience member when they RSVPed. What are your plans to address the federal student loan debt crisis and do you support student loan forgiveness or cancellation?

Beth Davidson 31:39 Thank you. What a good question. As a parent with a kid in college and another one in high school, this is something I think about all the time. When we talk about how to motivate more young people out to vote, we need to educate them about really how much this administration is hurting them, especially regarding education from instituting the first federal voucher program to, as John mentioned, decertifying as professional classes of employment, things like nursing, like physical therapy, occupational therapy, which is not only going to put kids in more debts once they get out of school but shrink the workforce we need that we just talked about, the health care crisis we know is coming. And so really important to re-certify those programs and make sure we escape professional level. And also, yes, we're giving student loans for those, particularly starting with public employees, is the right way to start and see where we can afford to go from there. But we definitely need to attack that problem. Thank you.

John Cappello 32:41 Thank you. I think we need to take a step back and look at not just why we're bleeding but the cause of the bleeding. And that's the cost of education has risen so dramatically and I think that needs to be a real, real conversation and that's something that should be done at the federal level and needs to be done. I think we also need to look at what we talk about, not just college. We're talking about expanding opportunities in trade schools, vocational schools. We've got three programs here in this district, between BOCES, community colleges. So I truly believe education needs to be our next moonshot and I hope that we have a chance to talk a lot more about that.

Cait Conley 33:37 As someone who was raised by a single mom raising three girls here in the Hudson Valley working for the Postal Service and comes from four generations of blue collar work, I knew that college was my only pathway to the middle class growing up here and I was the first in my family to graduate from college. And recognizing the importance of keeping those pathways open is essential for the American dream and for America to succeed. So 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 be paying $200,000 20 years later. And that is burdening us for being able to do other things like buy homes exactly. But I do believe we have to go a step further and that has increased the pathways to the middle class beyond just where you're college. And that means investing in things like BOCES, like Community College and other technical certification programs, where you can make a great living and have so much honor of the work you are doing in your communities. And it is this combined approach that is going to create opportunities for today and tomorrow's workforce, which we have to recognize is going to change drastically with the advent of AI products and vehicles.

Effie Phillips-Staley 34:59 So I'm like one of many who put myself through college. I also came from a working class family. My dad was a pressman at the US Mint. My mom was a teacher's aide in public school. She taught English language learners. I benefited from a great public university that only cost $1,200 a semester. And so I was able to put myself, and I'll say this university was UC Berkeley, right? An excellent college. So we have to bring the cost of public education down. We need to invest in our public universities. That's the only way to make it possible. That's how I was able to pay off my student loans because the debt was low. But I also believe and know how crippling the debt is now for families, for young people. You can't afford to buy a house. There's so much that can be done with those funds. I believe in forgiving student loans because I think that money should help strengthen families and it should go back into the economy.

Mike Sacks 36:05 My dad grew up in foster care and dug ditches in the summers to pay his way through State University. I can't do that anymore. Why? Why are things so expensive? Because student loan rates also incentivize more loans be taken out to pay later with USERIA's interest rates. So that universities can jack up their prices and create a vicious cycle. Have you stopped that? Cancel student loans. Here's an issue. We tried that through the administrative process. The Supreme Court struck it down. We need a statute to do so. The Supreme Court might strike that down. We need to try. And the message getting out there is this. Because it seems unfair. I paid my student loans. Why should someone have those forgiven? Well, when the polio vaccine came out, were those who suffered from polio saying, well, you should suffer through polio now, because I didn't have the vaccine. No. That's not what we do. We deliver for people to help people, to ensure people have the greatest amount of opportunity and to keep as much money in their pocket as possible so they can live a good life. We can cancel student loans, do it through statute, and take on the Supreme Court if they get in the way. Thank you.

John Cappello 37:18 Okay. Heather, we can do two minutes again for this one. So the world is increasingly unstable and violent. There's major wars going on in Ukraine and the Middle East. There's ongoing humanitarian crises in Sudan, Gaza, Haiti, Lebanon, and elsewhere. And Trump's making on and off again threats to invade Cuba agreement. What do you see as the proper role for the U.S. in foreign affairs, and how should we approach the international flashpoints that you're most worried about right now? We'll start with John, continue to cake, and come back for us. Great question. One that I thought about and work on. Now, I think this administration has lost its understanding of our role in war. The United States is secure, prosperous, and stable because of our position in the world, because of the relationships we have in the world, because of the partnerships and the alliances we have. The fact that this administration thinks that we could go it alone, that America first means that we could do whatever we want to do 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, number one, and established in the post-Cold War era, number two. So an understanding, re-establishing, an understanding of the importance of the United States, the humility of our power, and to continue to play a leadership role in the world. There are many instances where this is important in Ukraine, in the Middle East. As bad as things are right now in the Middle East, there's opportunity. There's opportunity there. But it will take, and I'm telling you, it will take American leadership. As much as people complain that the United States gets involved and want to be the world's policeman, at the end of the day, people look to the United States for our leadership because it was principled in the past. Whenever, when I was asked to do my job, when I was asked, I always understood that we had leaders that went through a deliberate process, right? I agree or disagree, but they went through, we had leadership that cared, that mattered, that chose to put the interests of the United States above their own interests. We don't have that leadership now. It's clear, and it's unacceptable, and we need to restore our place in the world of, again, humble power to do. Thank you.

Cait Conley 40:08 I think I'll be a little less than John to describe this administration. It is a dumpster fire of incompetence and negligence. Look, 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, and a group of individuals on the cabinet who have less military experience than I do getting us into reckless conflicts because they think war is a game. And I will tell you, as someone who has gone to war numerous times, who has served in combat zones, who has had the privilege and responsibility of leading America's sons and daughters and the weight of their lives on my shoulders, war is not a game. War is something that we must only ever use as a last resort. And I will tell you, for people who have been to war, the last thing you ever want to see is another generation of sons and daughters going to war. So I have real issues with this administration as part of why I'm asking you to give me the privilege of unleashing on them because they need to be held accountable as they send other people, sons and daughters to war, yet would never send their own. What the role that America should play building on decades of global order that we helped shape after World War II is being a global force for good. And that means not just using hard power, but soft power. That means reinvesting in USAID and our State Department and pursuing diplomacy. That means focusing on building and cultivating partnerships and alliances because there is strength and unity and teamwork. What this administration has done is a betrayal of the very American values that we have fought overseas to defend. And that is unacceptable.

Effie Phillips-Staley 42:17 I see the problem in sort of three intersecting issues. We have the dissolving of sort of the global order that emerged after World War II and the horrors of World War II, so the United Nations international laws. We have seen our own nation back away from this for quite some time, and of course accelerated during the Trump administration. And as my peers here have said, we have an immense failure of moral leadership, a government that is defined through an interest in profit, through this kind of aggression, and does not put people first. That is the theme that you can see across everything with our government tonight, from healthcare, housing, all these things. But certainly international policy. We have to put people in their lives first. And then also we have the military-industrial complex. We have profit in four. And an immense amount of lobbying of our government from the military-industrial complex as well. So these three intersecting issues, but I think really accelerated within the Trump administration, has brought us to where we are today, which is, man, I mean, when he says he's going to take Iran, destroy the civilization, who here wasn't afraid of a possible nuclear situation or something very extreme? So the key here is for us to take back Congress, to assert Congress's power, to check the executive branch, and to get this government under control. But more than that, we need elected officials who will bring moral leadership that will put people first. And that means following our own laws, like the Leahy Law, where we do not give foreign aid to countries that violate human rights. We do not do that. So people first, not profits, our lives over everything else.

Mike Sacks 44:35 I'm sorry. By the time we get to the last person's ultimate whisper down the lane, and I don't remember the question.

John Cappello 44:44 So the question was, what do you see as the proper role for the U.S. in foreign affairs, and how should we approach the international flashpoints that you're most worried about?

Mike Sacks 44:55 The U.S., as my colleagues up here have said, is essential in international affairs. So the unipolar world, as much as China or Russia would prefer otherwise, and we've abandoned our moral leadership under Trump. Why? Because Trump represents the supernova, the explosion, the exhaustion of a previous political era that thought might made right and peace was only maintained through strength, and that as much money as we can throw at defense, it means that we will be able to keep people doing our bidding. We're seeing that's not the case anymore. And we're seeing that the big strong man in our office, no one is afraid of him. No one's afraid of him around the world. So you have this conflict between this using military might by a bunch of people that are laughing socks around the world. How can we regain both our credibility and our strength to ensure that we are a force for moral good around the world? It's not just in strength projection, but it's also through having a Congress that's able to expose and hold accountable those who brought us to this point right now. And it's also through then building powers so that we can have another administration coming to office that's dedicated to ending stupid wars, checking unconstitutional wars, and only proceeding to war when there is no other resort possible. So many solutions around the world, so many conflicts are resolvable through politics, not through military. And when we go in, it's not about whether to go in, but how. Multilateral coalitions, approval by the people, not only in the country that you're going to invade because their leaders are hurting them and killing them in scores, but also by the people here in this country who want to help if that's an option. So Obama said, we're not against all wars, just dumb wars. Right now, except for Russia and Ukraine, there is no war we're currently in that we shouldn't be in. So we should be getting out of those and focusing our energies here at home until and unless those abroad ask for our help and we're willing to give it. Thank you.

Beth Davidson 47:19 My grandfather was a World War II hero, served on the USS Indianapolis before being transferred to Pearl Harbor where fortunately he was out doing surveillance and not in the harbor the day of Pearl Harbor. And the idea that we would now be questioning or that our president would be questioning the validity of remaining a member of NATO would be unthinkable to him. And I'm sure anyone else who has family who served either then or in Vietnam, I want to thank my colleague Joe Damiani for his service and all the other veterans who are here with us, including, of course, John Hollow and Cait Conley because 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 and that is what we are currently facing as we have a president who takes us into yet, promises an end to all wars, but is taking us into yet another war with no justification and no end in sight. And of course we have Congressman Mike Lawler who says he's okay with boots on the ground as long as we're going after uranium and he's okay with continuing to fund the war without congressional approval. I would want to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee when I'm elected to Congress and I have such an international community here in CD17 from our proud Ukrainian community, so many different communities that deserve representation and need it. And when you go last, you do want to cover other grounds. I'll also say we're not only seeding our ground in terms of military might, we're seeding it in terms of science. I'm sure that everyone was so excited to see Artemis because it felt like it had been a long time since we've done something really exciting and been a leader also in science and what's possible. And we're also seeing that dialed back as Donald Trump defunds research funding and we're losing so many amazing students to other countries to take their technological advancements and their great ideas to other countries, not only because of the defunding of grants but because of our immigration policies and students who no longer want to come here because it doesn't feel safe. That's how we withdraw further and further from the world at a time when the world has never needed American democracy and leadership more.

Audience 49:30 Thank you so much, everybody.

John Cappello 49:32 Beth, you just turned your mic off, so we've got the echo. Sorry for that. So we're going to stay on foreign policy for one more question. Heather, let's do just a minute on this one. Diving a little more deeply into the Iran war, which has already killed thousands and sent the price of gas, oil, and fertilizer skyrocketing, do you agree or do you disagree with President Trump's decision, which Congressman Lawless fully supported, to take the United States to war with Iran at this time? And what do you think Congress should be doing right now to address this issue?

Cait Conley 50:01 I fully disagree with Trent's decision to launch this into yet another war in the Middle East. I know this not just because I've been there, but also because at the White House, I served as the director for counterterrorism, which included trying to stop the Iranian distribution of lethal weapons to terrorists around the world. Make no mistake, I am a firm believer we cannot let Iran get a nuclear weapon. The instability would cause in this world, in the Middle East, but beyond that, is not something we can let happen. And I do believe the regime, the Ayatollah Khomey, was evil. And what they did to people was evil. But the way Trump has gotten us into this conflict has not made America safer in the long term. We need to not confuse short term military successes for long term strategic victims. The way he's conducted this does not mean Iran will not be able to build a nuclear weapon in five or ten years. It does not mean we have a better Iranian government at the helm, the exact opposite. We just replaced one dictator for his son, who's 30 years younger and even more online. I mean, going back to you, this administration is in common, and in everything it does, we cannot afford to let go of American national security priorities, but how they are conducting this is making America less safe, not more safe. And we are literally paying for it, at the helm in our daily lives, and with the lives of American service members.

Effie Phillips-Staley 51:27 I don't know whether Donald Trump forgot or doesn't care that this nation has immense political, diplomatic, and economic power. And why wouldn't we go there first instead of starting a war like this with a potential for a draft and for those of us with children, like my 18-year-old son? This is not okay. So, of course, I'm very much against this war. I see no strategic advantage to our nation for being a part of this. And what Congress has to do is what it is trying to do, which is exercise its power to prevent this because it has the power to declare war or not. So it's really about what we need to do. We have to flip the House. We have to flip the House to get this back under control because until we have a Democratic majority, it's going to be total chaos as we've seen it, and it has to stop.

Mike Sacks 52:35 What Democrats today voted with all the Republicans, virtually all of them, to not check Trump's war in Iran? Was it a 2014 to 2013 vote? All the Democrats stood against it except for one. So we do need a newly-composed Congress with a greater buffer of a Democratic majority so that we can get in the way and check this rogue regime now in control of our foreign policy and our country. So, no, it was an illegal and unconstitutional war. Enter with no strategic or probably even tactical ambition other than to, what? Knock out the idea. Tell us so that his son, his entire family, who was also killed, gets in power. And shifting justifications ever since

Speaker 53:27 to reveal further the stupidity of this administration

Mike Sacks 53:32 that's playing with our lives and our treasure to achieve what goals that everyone before them said are stupid? No! That's not how we should be proceeding. And we in Congress can stop it. Hopefully, by the time there's 120 in Congress, it will be over. Hopefully, in the worst-case scenario or even the best-case scenario, Trump gets forward and walks away. That'll leave us with a lot of mess to clean up and turn beyond our job to clean up that mess.

Beth Davidson 53:58 We can all have our theories about why Donald Trump started this war. Perhaps the Epstein vials, I'm wanting to distract from that. Perhaps the soaring costs on American consumers. The war he has been waging on working families since the passage of the Big Awful Bill. Certainly, gas prices have been soaring. I'm very proud that 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 when we can using the powers that we can as legislators to make things a little easier. And I'll also say that we need to be very careful as a country that whenever we see power, we create a vacuum that is filled by Russia or China. By lifting the sanctions on Russian oil, Russia has been able to pay off a huge chunk of its debt to the Ukraine war because more money has been flowing into Russia because of this war than ever before. So we need real leadership that's mindful of what happens in one part of the world when we wrongly flex power in another.

John Cappello 55:08 The component of the question was, at this time, you asked about it at this time, I agree with everyone that the incompetence is just staggering since it's war. But make no mistake, Iran is an adversary, a very serious adversary in the United States. One other country in the world has a policy of death to America and has acted upon it. So I'm not suggesting for a second that this war was prosecuted in a good way or an incompetent way or should have been done. However, it's an exact example of what it means for the United States leadership. We could have done this in a much different way and addressed this serious Iranian threat if we had a serious administration by consulting with the American people, making the case why this was important now, consulting with allies and doing things in a way, in a manner that truly addressed the threat, not made it worse. I never will stay on one minute because we want to get to a few more questions before I lightning round. So the next question, I guess we'll start with Effie here. When I was in the Senate, one of the most common complaints that I heard was that Rockland and Westchester had become completely unaffordable for young families and that people who had grown up here were not able to afford to return to the communities and raise them because they simply could not find any affordable apartments or starter homes. In Rockland right now, the median rent is well over $2,000 a month and the median price of a home is over $700,000. What role, if any, do you see for the federal government in addressing housing affordability for people in their 20s and 30s?

Effie Phillips-Staley 57:03 So I think the most... Look, I'm a trustee in the village of Tarrytown. Our job is to manage the zoning and oversee the construction of new homes. And working with members of Congress about this has always been about how can the federal government incentivize the opportunity to create more housing and more affordable housing. So I have an agenda. It's called the Suburban Progress Agenda. And the first thing in that agenda is advancing the building of new housing. We need 5 million new housing units across the United States at all price points. We need 66,000 here in Rockland County to increase the inventory to help make it more affordable and more accessible. And so it is critical that the federal government help invest in this because it's not something that our individual tax bases can handle in our local municipalities. So it has to be permanently affordable housing and market price housing at different price points. It's absolutely critical. And also the infrastructure because it's not just you plop a house down. You need to actually have the infrastructure to sustain that. That is something I would push for very hard when I make it to Congress.

Mike Sacks 58:31 Yeah, the federal role in housing is spend money. As a member of Congress, you authorize and appropriate money to go towards Fair Housing Act, to go towards loosening up interest rates, lowering interest rates, and to go towards easing the restrictions or tariffs that we currently face on housing and building materials. But this is an issue that runs deeper than this administration. You were in the state senate prior to this administration. This is an issue that is not new. And Congress's role to aid the building of inventory, to reverse the pattern that we've seen lately where affordability is not a control list, is simply to use its money and its incentives wisely. That's it. It's as simple as that. And that means also not spending money where we shouldn't be, not throwing money against stupid and unconstitutional illegal wars, and having a health care program that also conserves billions of dollars in taxes and lives every year to compound the affordability that goes towards our housing as well.

Beth Davidson 59:49 Thank you. So, housing is the biggest crisis of our time that is related to so many others. Housing is health care, housing is job security, housing is connected to so many parts of our lives, educational security, food security, that helps everyone, again, live productive lives here in this county and elsewhere. Another area in which Mike Lawler is totally falling down on the job and I'm stepping up. Mike Lawler supported the big awful bill which gutted so many programs and the budget on the table for next year while giving $1.3 trillion to defense spending totally eliminates HUD, Community Development Block Brands. And I'll tell you that's personal here in Rockland County. In the village of Pazer, they have not had new Section 8 vouchers since George Herbert Walker Bush was president. It has been that long. We need to invest in all kinds of housing. I'm proud that there was never, well, there was never a housing committee on the Rockland County Legislature before our supermajority took hold. We now have one. I serve as vice chair. And we started a Housing Action Loan Opportunity Fund, a halo fund, with funding from the American Rescue Plan. So if we can look at creative ways to let communities invest in their own housing, including two developments here in Haverstraw, shout out to Mayor Mike Kohad and Supervisor Housing for how he develops, that's how we build more housing than we need in this moment. Thank you.

John Cappello 61:11 So, yeah, I think there's three kind of specific things. First, tariffs have driven up costs. We need to re-address that or return tariffs to help. I think, of course, incentives that will provide incentives for developers like Halo, that I think are really important and are doable at the federal level. And then I think, 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 live in this community, to be able to afford and live in this community. And I think those types of programs could be implemented at the federal level. It should be implemented.

Cait Conley 61:59 Elijah, the way you started this talking about how my generation can't afford to move home, to raise their families, make communities that raise them, I'm like, that is my family's story, right? I told you my mom learned the proposal service, or it is me and my two sisters here. My two sisters can't afford to move back, right? A lot of the reason I am doing this is because I'm angry. I'm frustrated at a broken political system that has created a country that is literally in a worse place than my mother or father had when they were my age. The average age of a first-time home buyer is my age. It's insane. And so we do have to fix this. I think there's a lot of factors that go into how. Yes, we need to add in the foreign terrorists that are driving up the price of construction goods. Yes, we need to make sure that we are investing in critical infrastructure along with the homes that need to support it, right? That means our roadways, our schools, our sewer systems, our water, our electrical grid. It's too often we see people building without building the critical things around it. And the last part is, I am a proponent. My first big push will be for a public service loan program. That is a public service equivalent to the VA loan program where after 10 years of serving your community, you qualify for the same benefits. We saw a similar program two years ago called the Help Act focused on first responders. I do believe teachers, nurses, first responders deserve the same benefits that veterans do. Let them stay in the communities that they serve, right? Let's invest in them the way they've invested in us.

John Cappello 63:33 The next one, we'll start with Mike. Members of Congress often have the chance to advocate for major federal investments in infrastructure in their districts. What potential infrastructure projects do you think could have the greatest positive impact for Rockland residents and white?

Mike Sacks 63:54 So on my side of the river, they're talking about recommissioning Indian Point. Yeah, right, I heard that. We have an opportunity throughout the district, not only in Rockland, but in Putnam Dutchess and Westchester, to reanimate the investment in green energy, in renewable energy, that this administration has cut off. I just got something like, what, 33% now of our energy production is coming from renewables? I mean, why not start from Texas, a deep red state, which also recognizes that it's worth investing in because of the jobs and money flow into the state because of that. We should be doing that, and the federal government should be back in business to help aid that forward. That's for jobs, which then helps affordability, which helps housing. It's for infrastructure, which then helps our communities thrive and survive in a new era. But that, to me, is the low hanging fruit. That's what we must push forward towards. And it's very easy because everything that's there was put forth in the Biden administration. We can build upon that. All we have to do is reverse the Trump administration's deleterious attacks on our own survival.

John Cappello 65:13 Yeah, the question was, what potential infrastructure projects do you think could have the greatest positive impact for Rockland residents and white? We need a one seat ride into the New York City.

Beth Davidson 65:28 And the Board of Commerce and Mike Mahler is going along with Donald Trump, who has shut down the Gateway Project to punish New Jersey and New York or being blue states run by blue governors who oppose his agenda. And it is hurting us. We are whacked by congestion pricing because we have so many first responders and teachers who drive into New York City. And I used to take the train every day. When I worked in the city, it took about two hours to get there and three different modes of transportation, planes, trains, automobiles, and an hour and a half to get back. And so that 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 we all want.

John Cappello 66:08 Thank you. The problem with this question is it's such an obvious answer that it's going to be repetitive and unfortunate. But look, mass transit in Rockland County is essential. The demographics that are changing continue to change population density. We need to improve the infrastructure of mass transit here in Rockland County, which absolutely includes transit into New York. We are a 20-minute ride from right of drive without driving into the city. But it's so difficult to get there. And there's no real excuse for that. There's ways that we can solve this problem. And that's prime.

Cait Conley 66:59 All right, so I'm going to push back on the premise that we only have to do one thing, because the reality is it's not one thing that's crippling our families. It's all of it in aggregate. Yes, we need to invest in public transit. Yes, we need to hold monopoly utility companies accountable and invest in alternative energy sources that can help people address what are going to be continued rising energy costs. We need to do all of those things. We also need to invest in improving our water infrastructure. I still remember being in federal government service when we saw the New York CLU put out the advisory that tens of thousands of students here in Rockland in 2023 were exposed to lead in their drinking water. So let's be very real. We have a lot of urgent needs that we must be addressing right here in Rockland County. It's not one. And I refuse to accept that a federal government can only do one thing at a time. It is that kind of incompetence. Politicians playing the same games that have gotten us into this position in the first place.

Effie Phillips-Staley 68:07 So of course transportation, I think that's the thing. And to Cait's point, yes, there are multiple things. But I would think about PFAS and how do we make sure that the water here in Rockland County is clean and that we address the sources of PFAS. And one thing that the federal government has not been doing is investing in the kind of technology that we need to be able to actually clean it at more than 60%, right? That is absolutely critical. And right now the Trump administration actually is dialing back regulations at the EPA that would enable more pesticides that contain PFAS to be legal. And so it is essential that we get these forever chemicals under control and that we do it with our immense capacity for innovation, which this administration has been dialing back. And then I will say one more thing. Speaking again as a Terry Town Trustee, we absolutely must modernize our utility grid. It is essential and we need the federal government to help us with this.

John Cappello 69:18 Thank you. We may have increased to the last question before we go to the lightning round. And again, Heather probably just admitted, even though it's a long question, but we've got to make our way to the end. So since the start of the second Trump administration, the federal government has pursued an agenda of mass deportation focused on removing as many undocumented immigrants as possible, including vast numbers of people with no criminal history in the United States. The militarized nature of these operations in Chicago, Minneapolis, L.A. and elsewhere with heavily armed often masked agents roaming cities and stopping or arresting people who they believe look like undocumented immigrants have consumed many people. And the shooting deaths of American citizens, Renee Good, Alex Prettie and Ruben Ray Martinez, by ICE agents have sparked national outrage. So the question, do you believe we should abolish ICE? If so, what would you replace it with to ensure that those immigrants who actually do pose a danger to the community can be found and deported if not, what should Democrats pursue as reforms instead?

Beth Davidson 70:19 So, yeah, thank you. So as an elected official here in Rockland County, here in Hammerstraw, about 60% of residents are Latino in Stony Point. As Pete Riley told me, it's about 30%. And so this is, again, not something that's happening somewhere else, it's something that's happening here in Rockland County. As soon as the Trump administration began, its mass deportations, we had people asking us from the various immigrant rights groups on both sides of the river what we could do to better protect our immigrant neighbors. And after the deaths of Alex Prettie and Renee McCool Good, everyone started becoming scared. So 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, and make sure that we are continuing to build trust between local law enforcement and its citizens by protecting legal immigrants and honoring judicial warrants and following the law. And I'm proud to be doing that, no matter how many times Mike Lawler attacks me for it.

John Cappello 71:26 I'm sorry, but I just wanted to... Do you support abolishing ICE, or are you not sure yet?

Beth Davidson 71:35 I don't think the people who are afraid of ICE care what we call it as long as we are fixing the problem. So I stand by my actions, what I'm doing to protect the people I serve.

John Cappello 71:51 Clearly, what ICE is doing is not... Well, it's portrayed as the guise of... Unfortunately, it's not. It's about fear, and it's about division. And this is not acceptable. Having said that, I think we need to define what it is we need in an implementation agency, right? And that's a really important role. We have to hold ICE accountable, those accountable for what they did, for sure. But we need to understand what it is we want from that agency and then how we get there to develop and build an agency that is effective, efficient, and gets the job done. So I'm not a big believer in just destroying something because I'm disgusted by it. But I think we have to take a very, very strong look at it and see what our objectives are and build an agency that achieves those.

Cait Conley 72:57 We are watching the federal government abuse, assault, and kill the very people it is sworn to serve and protect. And this administration, instead of pursuing accountability and investigations, is lying, covering it up, and justifying it. What we are watching, making a mistake, is both unhinged and un-American. And that must stop. I am all about bringing this agency and all the rogue elements of the Trump administration in. Because let's be very real, the weaponization of the executive branch hasn't stopped there. We've seen it with DOJ and FBI going after political opposition, our own attorney general, right? What we are seeing needs to stop. And I promise you, 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. No one. Period. Full stop. But I will also say, going back to the important issue of immigration, we also need to fix a broken immigration system where we need to be protecting dreamers and giving people pathways to citizenship. There are members of our community that have been here, longer than I know, that we have failed, that we can no longer accept that failure way.

John Cappello 74:10 Just to clarify, is there anything closer to a yes, no, or maybe a question?

Cait Conley 74:19 I'm reading it in all the way.

Effie Phillips-Staley 74:22 I would apologize to be very clear. But I want to also say this. This is really to contextualize it. My mother came to this country in 1968 as an immigrant from El Salvador. And she came through Immigration and Naturalization Services. Service was called a service. It was in 2003 that ICE was created. It's a combination, well, they dissolved Immigration and Naturalization. And they combined, they created a new thing, ICE, that was a combination of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These things used to be separate. They should be separate because when you hear people say, we need to have ICE because we need to control drug trafficking over the border, that conflates drug trafficking with immigration, which this administration weaponizes, and it's wrong. These are two separate things. So we do need to apologize. I believe it's now a paramilitary force. I don't think it can be redeemed. I think we need to go back to Immigration and Naturalization. And then we also need to go back to Customs Enforcement and make sure that they take care of the job of protecting us and ensuring that migrants are actually treated with dignity, like my mother was.

Mike Sacks 75:45 I'm for abolishing ICE, and I also want to make some subtext text here. I think the reason we're asked to leave abolish ICE is because it's a buzzword that people are afraid if we say we'll abolish ICE, someone will say, ah, you are a far leftist who is against law enforcement. Because we remember they abolished the police line six years ago. Now, the fundamental difference between abolishing law enforcement, which I think people like and want, and want to make sure that it serves their communities, and abolishing a paramilitary force that has destroyed any legitimacy it once had. Abolishing ICE doesn't mean getting rid of border enforcement. It doesn't mean getting rid of customs enforcement. It doesn't mean getting rid of those who are trying to make sure that criminal elements in this country don't belong. If they don't belong here, they aren't here. It is not the same as the abolish the police buzzword. Understand that. Don't be afraid of standing up to an organization, to an element in this country that right now is part of a status quo that's only 23 years old. We don't need it. We need law enforcement. We don't need ICE.

John Cappello 76:55 Thank you. Okay, thank you guys. We're going to go to our lightning round questions. We're going to start with some policy ones. All of these have been suggested by members of the audience. So if you could please just do a yes and no, if at all possible. If elected, will you voluntarily divest any holdings of common stock that you currently own and sign on to support the banning of Congress from trading and owning stocks while serving? John? Yeah, I think I made that pretty clear. Yes.

Cait Conley 77:25 Yes. Yes.

John Cappello 77:28 Yes.

Cait Conley 77:29 Yes.

John Cappello 77:30 Okay. Do you support reopening at the end point, Cait? The whole code on this one.

Cait Conley 77:36 No.

John Cappello 77:37 No. No.

Cait Conley 77:39 Hell no.

John Cappello 77:41 Okay. Do you think there should be, John, you mentioned this before, but do you think there should be term limits for members of Congress and if so, how many years should they be allowed to serve? Yes, three terms.

Mike Sacks 77:57 I don't support term limits because I think it deprives us of institutional capacity in Congress. I don't support the gerry talker seat we have, and people should know where to retire. But no, I think one of the reasons we have the Congress we have is because 20 years ago or 30 years ago, I think we're splashing.

Beth Davidson 78:16 I do not. I think term limits are elections for now, and I think we need to fix it through other ways, like fix ending gerrymandering and protecting Congress.

John Cappello 78:27 Absolutely support term limits, 10 years.

Cait Conley 78:32 Absolutely. The average age of the Democratic Congress is like a million years old. I have watched as we have cried. I'm sorry, but hold on. We've literally done work on national security, technological issues, public safety and security with members who don't even know how to work a flip pump. And I mean like business to anyone.

John Cappello 78:52 Okay, next question. I think we're starting with Mike now. Do you consider yourself a Democratic socialist?

Mike Sacks 79:01 I consider myself a Democrat.

Beth Davidson 79:03 I'm a Democrat.

Mike Sacks 79:07 Same.

Effie Phillips-Staley 79:09 I'm a Democrat.

John Cappello 79:11 I'm a progressive Democrat. Okay, starting with Beth, would you support a national wealth tax for millionaires? Yes. Yes, that's something I need to look seriously at.

Cait Conley 79:23 Yes, they need to pay their fair share, but we also need to be very real. You get up the percentage, the issue is loopholes. We can't actually lose sight of what the real problem is, which is we find ways to get out of it whatever the number is. So we need to close loopholes so people pay their fair share.

Effie Phillips-Staley 79:41 Thank you. Kathy? Yes, and it has to work.

Mike Sacks 79:46 Yes, we have to take on the Supreme Court that's already single and strike such a lot down.

John Cappello 79:51 Okay, next question. I've lost track. You started that, Beth. So John, you're next. Again, these are all from the audience. Would you vote to impeach Donald Trump? You know, that's kind of a gratuitous question. You can say yes to our baby. Maybe. Okay, maybe.

Cait Conley 80:09 Yes, but we shouldn't stop there. I've got a longer list.

Mike Sacks 80:19 The fish rots from the head. There's like 18 impeachable offenses a day. I would introduce an article of impeachment and ask everyone else in the majority to do the same. So we had like 230 if we're so lucky to have those. I guess this president.

Beth Davidson 80:33 Yes, and article 25 is an option first.

John Cappello 80:37 And the last policy lightning round before we have some sillier ones. If you don't, and this is a very important one, if you don't win the primary, will you endorse the winner in the November election against Michael? Hell yes. Absolutely. Yes.

Beth Davidson 80:54 Yes, and as a member of my Clarkstown Democratic Committee, I'll be working hard for all the candidates up and down the ticket. Yes, of course I will. Great. Great job.

John Cappello 81:06 So next time is everything. What do you call the bridge that connects nine and ten?

Speaker 81:13 It's the Tappan Sea Bridge.

Mike Sacks 81:22 The Tappan Sea Bridge. I'm sticking with my line answer from last week.

Beth Davidson 81:26 The Pete Seeger.

Speaker 81:30 The Tappan Sea.

Cait Conley 81:32 The Tappan Sea. I grew up with it.

John Cappello 81:34 Okay. The Rockland County has the smallest land area of any county in New York State. More than 30% of Rockland is a state, county, or local park. What is your favorite park in Rockland?

Mike Sacks 81:46 I love Bear Mountain. I've sat through multiple field trips for my children there, and I go to the ice skating rink there in the winter. I love it. I used to be able to see it from my house. And I will go back in any opportunity.

Beth Davidson 81:58 Rockland Lake.

John Cappello 82:01 I just love going up to Seven Lakes Drive.

Cait Conley 82:05 Yeah, Rockland Lake. And shout out to the awesome ice sculptures and what we did a few months ago there, and so they crewed up like that together.

John Cappello 82:14 I love Bear Mountain. Okay. Who is your political idol? I think, Effie, you just started this one, so grab your own first.

Beth Davidson 82:27 Shirley Chisholm. Shirley Chisholm.

John Cappello 82:38 You know, as a kid, Mario Cuomo was somebody that was really impressive to me. And still, his nature really, yeah.

Cait Conley 83:03 I'm thinking of a lot to a New York politician, FDR, his Civilian Conservation Corps. We are still benefiting from almost 100 years later.

Effie Phillips-Staley 83:14 Contemporary? I think Lydia Velazquez is amazing. I love how she won it and held it. Like, she is a queen. I just read Lincoln's biography, which I think everyone should read, and so I'm thinking a lot about Lincoln right now.

Mike Sacks 83:31 And she took mine, Lincoln. But I would go to any of the members of Congress in the Reconstruction. Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner. Those who fought slave power, fought for representative democracy in a more equal country, we need to have another Reconstruction. Nothing should hate it. Those guys saw it through, saw it through, saw it see it through when Andrew Johnson destroyed it. Johnson's our Lincoln. Let's beat this guy and make sure we have a country that serves all of us. Thank you.

John Cappello 83:55 Okay. Next one. I think this is for John. Starting, do you speak any other languages besides English? If so, which ones? According to some of you, yes. Surgeon.

Mike Sacks 84:20 I can read Hebrew, don't understand much of what I am reading, I'm helping my children study from my oldest unstudied department right now, but all my cognitive resources have been pooled in the English language we haven't yet already gathered.

Beth Davidson 84:30 A petit pou de plancet, just enough to order a restaurant some shop.

John Cappello 84:35 All right, starting with Cait, Matt's your Yankees.

Cait Conley 84:39 Not even a question, Matt. Yankees, Don Mattingly is still my room.

Effie Phillips-Staley 84:47 Yeah, the Yankees. You sound very, you sound very heated. My husband convinced me. It took about 20 years. And then I came around, it's her family team.

Mike Sacks 85:04 See, so we're talking about our favorite political people. As Washington said, I kind of tell a lie. I grew up outside Philadelphia. I raised my children to Philadelphia Phillies fans. That's it. I know, okay. That's it. I'm your Met's guy, because I'm from Dander Dogs.

Beth Davidson 85:25 Yankees, although I have to recommend the Rockland Builders for a new and fun brand for a much more affordable as well.

John Cappello 85:36 So I was born in the Bronx. My dad was a rabid Yankee fan. My grandfather loved the Dodgers before they moved to, before they moved down to New York. And he convinced me to be a Met's fan. You can imagine Thanksgiving dinners. Okay, back over to Effie. Political consultants usually tell candidates to stick to a few key points about their policies and their biographies. They tend to be deliberately effective, but it also means voters do not often get a sense of candidates as real flesh and blood people. So what's one thing about you that your consultants will never let you go to the campaign at?

Effie Phillips-Staley 86:17 You know, I'm some crazy, but they have to drag stuff out of me. I tend to be kind of a private person. And, you know, so to be truthful, I can't think of anything. I think people here know that I tend to say the things. I don't hold back.

Mike Sacks 86:37 I'm not very Muslim-able. And I don't keep this a secret. I'm a retired competitive air guitarist. I was active from 2006 to 2010. And there's a competition in Brooklyn on May 9th. It's a Saturday night. I'll skip campaigning and go to that night. I invite all of you to join me because it's the most fun you'll ever have. I promise you.

Cait Conley 86:57 Oh, I think he has to prove it. Let's give him the best one.

Beth Davidson 87:01 After closing statements. Don't get in between me and a karaoke microphone. There is definitely footage. It will definitely, I'm sure, come out at this moment in the campaign.

John Cappello 87:15 This should be a question with a good, comical answer, but I don't even have one. But I'll tell you, they drag stuff out. They want me to talk more about myself. And I just, it's not an easy task, I'm telling you.

Cait Conley 87:33 So I didn't really like desserts or sweets before this campaign. I didn't really eat ice cream. And I have become absolutely obsessed with the Blue Baby Road. I know it's across the river. I promise you it's worth the pilgrimage.

John Cappello 87:49 Okay, you have two more. And I think, Mike, you start this one off. Since we know Mike Lawler has a kind of bizarre obsession with Michael Jackson, including wearing blackface to dress up as Michael Jackson, this one is for him. What's your favorite Michael Jackson song?

Mike Sacks 88:05 Smooth Criminal or Georgie Diana. I'm more of a dark, heavy metal kind of guy, and those are the songs that rock the most. But I'll keep my thoughts on Michael Jackson myself.

Beth Davidson 88:30 The way you make me feel.

John Cappello 88:36 Beat it, I just love that.

Cait Conley 88:43 It's got to be Mike Lawler's video of him moonwalking and trying to dance like Michael Jackson. Sorry, but any time I need to really think about Mike Lawler and not be angry, I just think of that video and I'm like, this is not a serious thing.

John Cappello 89:05 Okay, last question before closing statements. What is your dream 2028 Democratic presidential and vice presidential ticket?

Mike Sacks 89:16 It is way too early for that. Way too early. I'm sorry. I have to put my mic right now, but who knows what's going to happen in the next couple of years. What's going to happen as we see with some dirt bag politicians on both sides of the aisle? So, no, I'm not going to answer this question. I'm going to wait and see and see of how our primary shakes out because we've all been experiencing it ourselves.

Beth Davidson 89:40 Two of my clients, Gretchen Whitmer and Cory Booker. In that order.

John Cappello 89:46 You know, not just the answer, just because it's like a kiss and death. People were talking about this really never, for never on another, right? But I am impressed by Richard.

Cait Conley 90:01 I'm not going to commit yet, because I honestly want to see better leadership coming out over the next couple of years than what we've seen. We need a stronger Democratic army. People are going to fight back better. And I can't say anyone's really blown me away with what I've seen.

Effie Phillips-Staley 90:18 Yeah, I really can't answer this either. And I think my consultant would tell me not to. All right.

John Cappello 90:26 Well, thank you everybody. This has been a wonderful debate. Thank you. I'm going to take the time to come in. And I'm going to ask each of you to make a closing statement of no more than one minute. And we started originally with F.E. So for closing, I think we'll start with Cait

Cait Conley 90:45 and work back this way. So first, Elijah, thank you for doing this. Thank you for everyone who helped put this together. Thank you, Hagerstrup, for hosting us. So many points for your leadership and bringing this together too. At the end of the day, we talked about a lot of really important things tonight. But we don't get to fix any of them unless we win. Because we don't get to go unless we win. And we have watched as Mike Lawler has won this district twice. So what I am passionately focused on is kicking his ass and getting him the heck out of here. And that, I do believe, is still going to be a hard fight. And we've got to be able to have somebody who can get in that arena, take him on toe to toe, and beat him. And that means beating him when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of voters in every corner of this district, every corner of Rockland, every corner of Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess. And I do believe that if we want a different kind of outcome, we need a different kind of Democrat. And this is also about the next generation coming up who's going to do it differently going forward. That's what this is about.

John Cappello 91:47 I apologize if I'm being repetitive, but we have to do politics differently. Again, thank you all for being here. But look around the room. I've knocked on thousands of voters, seriously, talked to hundreds and hundreds of people. And most people are not in this room. They're not here. And we need to talk to them. We need to reach out to them. We need to talk with them and include them. And that includes people that we don't agree with. And because you don't agree with me, does it mean you're my enemy? Which just means that we have a disagreement. We have to get back to that civility. We have to get back away from the politics of division polarization. And that is what I'm committed to do. And implementing those five things helps us to restore the balance and accountability to Congress and to those you send to Washington. Thank you all for being here. I appreciate it.

Beth Davidson 92:54 I want to thank also the Stony Point Democrats and the Havastar Democrats for hosting us here. And thank you, Supervisor Phillips. And thank you all for coming here tonight. But I also want to tell you that there's a very different, another watch party happening about a few miles up the road in Niagara, the Rockland County Pride Center. A community that has been under constant attack since this administration took hold in its second even crueler and more callous term. Their health care is under attack. Our educational rights are under attack. Our identity is under attack. Our ability to travel, get jobs. And so, yes, we all started these campaigns with our big ideas and our policy prescription. But what gets me out of bed every day to do this is that my community, our community, so many of you, everyone in this room and everyone at the Pride Center is really counting on me. And so we're going to meet Mike Lawler by holding him accountable for his radical right wing record by showing people what's possible if you have leaders who are ready to step into the breach, whether it's on drinking water, gun safety, protecting our communities from ICE, and then mobilizing the voters on the ground like I've done here for 20 years so we can flip New York 17 and pull Congress back to work for the people. Thank you.

Mike Sacks 94:07 Every single one of us on this stage is going to work our asses off to meet Lawler. Every single one of us. It's up to you now to pick your wave rider as a wave is coming for him. It's on us to also be part of the gravitational force that sweeps that wave up and pulls it over him, but we are going to win. So look at all of us up here. We each stand for something. I'll posit to you that every single one of their expertise is closed through my own. As a 15-year veteran of the media, of every avenue of the media, I'm very well aware of the attention economy upon which this fight is waged against Trump. As a lawyer who spends his days thinking about constitutional questions on how to take on the structure that Republicans have built up to keep themselves in power no matter what we say, yeah, that's going to be my main objective going into Congress and reorienting our politics back to the people and Congress as Supreme Republic over the other ranges so we can deliver. That's what I'm in this for. I would love your support, and regardless, I'm glad you're here, and I'm excited to meet all of you as we exit the room tonight. Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 95:13 So again, my name is Effie Phillips-Staley, and thank you all for being here. Thank you to Heather Straw. You know, immense thanks to everyone. I see victory in two broadways. One is, of course, we have to defeat Mike Lawler, but the other that is just as critical to me and actually central to my campaign is that we do it with the most inclusive voter pool possible. The Democratic Party has failed repeatedly at being inclusive and in finding in the kinds of voters who have been marginalized forever, and we will not win this unless we do that work. I am dedicated to the coalition building of young people, of progressives, of Haitians, of Ecuadorans, of the LGBT community, all the people who have been last out, and especially the working class. We need to turn out this vote. It's what I'm working on. It's what I'm going to do, and it's how we're going to win, not just to defeat Mike Lawler, but to have a stronger Democratic Party. The same old playbook isn't going to work. We have to be more inclusive.

Speaker 96:31 Thanks.

John Cappello 96:32 Okay. Thank you, everybody, for coming. Thank you, everybody, who is watching on the live stream, and thanks once again to The Stony Point and Have Her Start Democratic Committees for sponsoring us, and, of course, a huge round of applause for all five of our candidates.

Audience 96:50 They've done well.

John Cappello 96:52 They've done well in two months.

Audience 96:54 They have done well.

Howard Phillips 96:55 They have done well in several years.

Moderator 9:15 Good evening. Good evening, everyone. My name is Bruce Campbell. I'm the second vice chair of the Westchester County Democratic Committee. Thank you for joining us tonight. Before we begin, will you please rise with me for the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Thank you. Excuse me, can you please have a seat? We haven't even begun. Tonight's debate is sponsored by the Westchester County Democratic Committee. Thanks go to our chair, Suzanne Berger. I also want to thank Brian Goodman, also in front, who's doing double duty tonight. Brian's on Zoom and will be our timekeeper. And thanks to the other volunteers we had working this evening, they're from Lewisboro, Newcastle, Yorktown, Mount Pleasant and Peekskill. There are also several elected officials who are honored guests tonight. Without recognizing them all individually, I'd like to thank them for coming and attending as well. So we have to start this evening with some breaking news. If you haven't heard, Peter Chatzky, one of the candidates who was invited tonight, suspended his campaign this afternoon. So the field is smaller. And tonight we will hear from three congressional candidates, not four. They have all qualified for the ballot and stood out from the rest when examining several objective criteria. They're standing in public polls or surveys, the amount of money raised, including cash on hand and significant endorsements. They all want to beat Mike Lawler and reclaim the House seat for the 17th district. Please join me in welcoming the candidates. Cait Conley. Cait is a national security expert who served 16 years as a decorated active duty officer. Cait resides in Austin and has never held public office. Beth Davidson. Beth is a Rockland County legislator and also a resident of NIAC. Beth has also served two terms on the NIAC School Board. Effie Phillips Staley. Effie is currently a trust down in Tarrytown where she resides. Hell, Effie is also been an executive for nonprofit organizations. Questioning the candidates will be two veteran journalists who have covered this district and this county extensively. Barrett Seaman over here, wave Barrett. Barrett is the editor of the Hudson Independent. He's also been a correspondent for Time magazine where among other assignments, he covered the White House. In 2020, he moderated the Democratic primary bait for Congress at Mercy College. Jeff Colton. Jeff is the editor in chief of City and State magazine. He's also worked for Political where he co-authored the New York playbook. In 2022, Jeff was named the New York Press Association's writer of the year. And so with that being said, I want to turn the evening over to our moderators. Gentlemen. All right. Thank you very much, Bruce. And thank you to the Westchester Dems. Thank you to our candidates for being here. Thank you for an engaged crowd. Really appreciate this. And this is a very important debate. This is being watched across the entire state. I mean, this is the race that Democrats want to flip in New York. And this is the race that Republicans really want to hold in New York. It's getting national attention. And so it's a privilege to be here on the ground helping with this debate and being engaged here with Barrett. So before we begin, a couple of ground rules in order to avoid delays and to respect the candidates. We ask you no signs or banners and the really hard one, no vocal responses to what's said. I can tell we haven't engaged in cheering crowd, but we really do ask you to just keep it respectful and keep it quiet. And because our focus, everybody here is to hear from the candidates. And we want to focus on that. So please, we don't want to have to boot anybody from this beautiful room. Nobody wants to leave here. It's gorgeous. You know, so I'll leave it at that and Barrett. Okay. And now for the rules. Candidates will have two minutes for the opening statement and two minutes for closing statement. All right. Getting a little closer. Each question will go to a specific candidate. She will have a minute and a half to answer. There may or may not be a follow up question. If so, the candidates will have a minute to respond to that. Then if they choose, all other candidates will have a minute and a half as a rebuttal to what has been said. Time will be kept electronically. We can see it. You can't on the screen that all the candidates, as they say, can see. And so we drew straws for who goes first. So two minute opening statement, and we'll go with Effie first and then Cait and then Beth. So Ms. Phillips-Staley, take us off. Take us away.

Effie Phillips-Staley 17:01 Thank you so much. And I'm going to start by saying this is going to be a debate, but I'm very proud to be on the stage with these other two women who are in this fight. So my name is Effie Phillips-Staley. I am a trustee in the village of Tarrytown, a lifelong worker in the nonprofit sector, always centered around social justice. And I'm a mother who raised my two children in the district, both of whom went to public schools. And I'm running because a group of Latino activists in my community, people who watched Trump win a second term and knew exactly what was coming, sat down with me and said that I should run. And that is something I take very, very seriously. My mother was an immigrant from El Salvador. My dad, a working class guy from Oklahoma. Families like mine and like all the people here represent the best of our nation in this pluralistic society that we live in with its diverse, beautiful fabric here in New York, 17. But for too long, our government has failed to fully represent us. The families in this district are not struggling because of bad luck. They're struggling because the political system that was built to serve donors, not the people, keeps blocking the changes that most of us are demanding. We need 66,000 new homes in this district. We need childcare that doesn't cost more than rent. We need healthcare that isn't a financial trap. And we need an immigration system that is just and does not rip families apart. And we especially need a government that does not launch us into insane, unnecessary wars. What we don't have, however, is a representative with the independence to fight for this. Mike Lawler plays a moderate, but it's to protect a political system that hasn't thought about families in the district for a long time. Thank you.

Moderator 19:11 Thank you. We'll have more chance. Absolutely. Thank you, Ms. Conley. Good evening. Thank

Cait Conley 19:21 you all for coming out tonight and for caring so much to be here. I am Cait Conley. I'm a proud West Point graduate, Army Special Ops Combat Veteran and daughter of the Hudson Valley. My family's roots in this district go back four generations. To my great grandfather and grandfather who worked in the Brickyard and Montrose. To my dad, a construction worker born and raised in Hopewell Junction. To my mom born in Pete's Hill who was a U.S. postal worker for 48 years serving communities up and down the Hudson Valley. And it is the values of my family and our communities that have instilled in me the desire to serve this country and our community. The importance of grit, working hard and courage to stand up and fight for what is right. That's why as a junior in high school at Pine Bush when the terror attacks and 9-11 happened, I went off to serve. I went to West Point, graduate the top of my class, 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. Then going off to the White House and serving as the Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council and then serving as a senior executive at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency where I worked with election officials of both sides across this country to push back against Trump's big lie that the 2020 election was stolen and to ensure the security and integrity of our democracy. And I say all of that because with everything that I have seen and everything that I have done, I never thought I would ever feel like the greatest threat to our country and to our future would be coming from within our own borders. But that is exactly what is happening with the Trump administration enabled by cowards in Congress like Mike Lawler. I am watching the country that I was willing to die for become something I barely recognize and that is unacceptable. And that is why we will take this fight to Mike Lawler and make sure we offer New York 17 the leadership it deserves and this country and our communities

Beth Davidson 21:18 deserve. Thank you. Thank you. And Ms. Davidson. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Thank you so much to the Westchester County Dems for hosting tonight. Thank you to Barrett and Jeff for moderating and thank you to you all for coming out. I'm Beth Davidson. I'm a working mom of two public school kids. My son Hugo is here in the front row and I'm a Rockland County legislator who fights every day for the community I've called home for 20 years. This campaign isn't about me though. It's not about any of us. It's about you the voters and what kind of leadership meets this moment for our community and for our country. To me that means taking it to Mike Lawler with everything we've got and not looking for ways to divide ourselves as Democrats. It means sticking true to our democratic values and not being complicit in this administration's cruelty and lawlessness. I will never work for a company that has anything to do with Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security or Defense particularly when it's engaging in lawless ICE raids or illegal wars. What I will do is step into the breach every day for the community I serve. When Mike Lawler and his allies shut down the government I led the effort to secure millions of dollars in food relief so that my constituents on SNAP could still feed their families. When he brought the energy secretary up to Indian Point I used my platform as the environmental chair to say hell no. And 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. More than anyone else on this stage I not only know how to fight I know how to win. From helping to elect dozens of Democratic pro-choice women across the country to leading the team of Democrats that won the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history on our legislature right in Mike Lawler's backyard. I'm asking for your support on June 23rd so that I can take that fight to Mike Lawler in November and to Washington as your member of Congress next year. Thank you. And now we go to the questions

Moderator 23:45 specifically and this first question will go to Cait Conley. Democratic candidates lost to Mike Lawler in the past two elections. Why would you do any

Cait Conley 23:56 better? New York 17 coming out of the 2021 redistricting is now four counties. When you look at these four counties 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated or independent. We no longer have enough registered Democrats to win this district alone. It's purple. We need a Democratic candidate that will inspire voters to choose them as a person not just a party. And when you look at what it's gonna take to get that done I don't like to quote Mike Lawler often but I'll quote him here because it's part of how I'm gonna beat him. 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 and it's going to make a difference come November. We have seen as Mike Lawler has faced and beaten politicians twice. If we want a different kind of outcome in November we need a different kind of Democrat and I have shown my ability to build a coalition across this district. I am the only one on this stage that has earned endorsements from elected officials in all four counties and it is that kind of leadership of unifying us of building coalitions that I will do regardless of political affiliation to come out and make sure in November we

Beth Davidson 25:21 send Mike Lawler home. Beth it's your turn. Thank you so much. I agree we need a different kind of Democrat this year to go up against Mike Lawler and it isn't someone who has spent the last 10 years in Washington. That is how we got Mike Lawler in the first place in 2022 because Sean Patrick Maloney had spent the previous 10 years in D.C. and had a lot of national support but not a lot of local support. I'm proud to have served this community for the last 10 years and to have lived here for the last 20 building coalitions around issues like clean water and reproductive rights and health care and gun safety. I'm proud to have collected more petition signatures than anyone else on this stage from almost 400 volunteers who went out and knocked doors and gathered petitions for me. This is also a four county strong coalition that I'm proud to build and that I also have would add 3000 in district donors. Those are people that will go out and knock doors for me and vote for me and that's the kind of coalition that beats Mike Lawler in November. I can tell you I've known him for almost 10 years and he would like nothing more than to run against a Biden administration and zyder who just moved to this district.

Effie Phillips-Staley 26:45 Happy. Thank you for this question. I have won three times in this district and had the opportunity to see where the Democratic Party succeeds and where it fails. And I will say that where the Democratic Party fails, is it having a large enough tent that is inclusive of the many people who choose not to vote at all, which would benefit from actually being a Democrat. And I speak specifically about a race in my village, 25% Hispanic. And the first time I ran, I said, okay, this is what we're going to do. We're going to turn out this vote. And that as a strategy was rejected. It was rejected because Hispanics were perceived to be low propensity voters that they didn't matter. And I argue that that is why we lost the last two races, because we're not paying attention to all the communities that we need to be paying attention to the working class people under 30 progressive voters, people of color, all who have felt disenfranchised by this party and by the process. So the regular game plan is not going to win. We are going to keep losing unless we can turn out that kind of vote. And that is entirely what my campaign is designed around, because I see victory in two ways. One, we have to beat Mike Lawler, but we have to beat him with the largest coalition possible. The Democrats haven't been doing it. That's what I'm working

Moderator 28:24 to do. Thank you very much. Now, we just spoke about that a little bit, but I'd like to get a little more specific. Right now, we're obviously speaking to a Democratic audience. You were talking about how to win over, but let's talk specifically. The winner in November will need to win over independent voters, maybe even win over some Republicans. So how would you as a candidate in November reach across the aisle? What will you do to win? You know, specifically non Democrats and 90 seconds on this one, and we're going down the line. So we'll

Beth Davidson 28:59 start with Miss Davidson. Thank you so much. So I'm so proud to say that I do represent a district district 10 in the Rockland County Legislature that is a microcosm of New York 17. It's a district that only has a 48% Democratic registration, but I won it with 57% of the vote, which means that Republicans and independents already vote for me. I'd also note that I've delivered results in divided government, even in a year and a half in the county legislature, I've cut taxes, passed common sense gun safety reforms, preserved hundreds of acres of open space, all by building coalitions to advance the agenda and the causes that I believe in. And so I already know how to work across the island, deliver results. I agree that will be very important in this next Congress. We're going to take back the House. Hopefully we take back the Senate, but we'll still have Donald Trump in the White House. It's going to be a time for bridge builders, and I'm proud to be one of them. Thank

Effie Phillips-Staley 29:54 you, Miss Phillips daily. Thank you. So I always answer this question by saying that if the policies that I put forward and fight for would work for my dad, who was a lifelong Republican, a guy with a high school education, a blue collar, military veteran, then I'm getting it right. The policies that of affordability, of affordable housing, you know, of having a social safety net is exactly how my family was able to move from being working class to to the middle class. This kind of message appeals to everyone because so many people are hurting right now under this administration. And so that's the kind of message I'm going to carry. And again, I'm going to keep my father in mind. As we do this, the working class will benefit from a populist progressive message. And that's what I'm going to take out there. The other thing I want to say is about independence. I know a lot of independence. These are people who left the Democratic Party because they were so deeply frustrated with how difficult it was to get anything in terms of listening to communities, Hispanic communities, communities of color, that sort of thing. The Democratic Party has been, has never been as unpopular as it is right now. And we're losing people in droves. So if we keep our messaging based on the needs of the people, that's how we're going to get people back. And that that is my methodology.

Moderator 31:32 Thank you. And Ms. Conley, winning over

Cait Conley 31:38 independence and Republicans. Over the last year, I traveled this district and met with so many people who expressed the same frustration. And that is with politicians on both sides of the aisle and how corrosive and polarized our country and our community has become. We have to be able to bring people together if we're going to ensure that America's best days are still ahead of us. And that goes back to having a candidate where as much as I cannot stand Mike Lawler, it has to be more than what we're just fighting against. It has to also be about what we're fighting for. And I will tell you my ability to to work and earn trust of people, independents, and Republicans who still believe in this country and true American values, which Donald Trump and Mike Lawler do not represent, they're seeking someone that they can believe in again. And that is where my 16 years of military service, six tours overseas, leading America's sons and daughters in combat zones to defend this nation, to defend everyone in this district is different and allows us to connect and earn respect in a different way. Because I have put it all on the line. It's not about talk, it's about action. And that is where I represent the next generation that is coming up, that has watched politicians and political operatives on both sides of the aisle get our country into this mess. And what I represent is the next generation coming up who will do differently, because we have to to bring this nation together and to win New York 17.

Moderator 33:22 As you well know, we're at war. Do you believe, and I'll address this to Beth first, do you believe that Trump was justified in attacking Iran? And if not, assuming that at least some of that is going to be a knot, how would you fault the decision?

Beth Davidson 33:43 Okay, I've said from the beginning of this conflict that 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. And Mike Lawler, more importantly, has rubber stamped at every step of the way. Not only did he say over the weekend that he would support putting troops on the ground. And let me say this is personal. During the first week of this conflict, we lost a member of the military from my town, Clarkstown. Major historically devious. So this isn't something that's happening somewhere else. It's touching my community very personally. And so I would also say that it's making the entire Middle East more unstable and threatening our democracy here at home as well. And so I support ending this war as quickly as possible. You know, he always says something is two weeks away. And I don't think any of us believe that. But we need to bring this war to a close before anyone else gets killed.

Effie Phillips-Staley 34:51 We are spending $1.5 billion a day on this war, on this terrifyingly unjust war that frankly, I believe was launched by a madman. It's my understanding that decades of military intelligence have indicated that a war like this is not winnable. That it is folly. And yet here we are for reasons that are inexplicable to me. But I will say what we can spend $1.8 billion a day on in this country. If we actually, if our government actually cared about the well-being of our people, that is making sure everybody has health care, being able to fund child care. Being able to invest in housing for people. Being able to work on issues of affordability that we are all struggling with. It is staggering that Mike Lawler has not stood up in defense of the people of this district and the needs of the people of this district. But instead continues to support this president, even when he makes a genocidal statement saying that he would wipe out an entire civilization, right? We cannot flip this Congress fast enough to bring this insanity under control. And I certainly hope, you know, call me crazy. Maybe Mike Lawler will come to his senses and take the lead in trying to change this. I know he won't. And that's why we have to take him out.

Cait Conley 36:34 I've got lots of feelings on this. I'll try to do it in a minute and a half. As the only person on this stage who has actually gone to combat zones, who has fought in wars in the Middle East, I know how serious war and conflict is. I've had the responsibility of America's sons and daughters on my shoulders doing that. And I will tell you as someone who has been to war, the last thing you ever want to see is another generation of America's sons and daughters or any sons and daughters go to war. 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. This is not how this happens. This is unacceptable. Hegseth needs to be held accountable. And the sad thing is we do have real things that we should be spending this funding on. We should make sure Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon as the largest purveyor of lethal aid to terror groups in the world. But what Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth got us into isn't making America any more safe. They've replaced one Ayatollah with a 30-year-younger son who's even more hardline. This is not about national security and America's best interests. This is about incompetence and it needs to end.

Moderator 38:23 Thank you. And actually, we will give a chance to talk more. Don't worry. Because I do want to get, and we'll start with Ms. Philip Salie first on this one, 90 seconds, to get a little more specific on this. I mean, as you mentioned, critics have said that this war has been a strategic failure leaving Iran stronger than it was before. How does this war end and what should House Democrats do? You want to join the House Democratic, at this point, minority, maybe next-year majority. How should the House Democrats respond? So, Ms. Philip Salie.

Effie Phillips-Staley 38:53 The House Democrats, well, I will say the House in general, have been conceding their power for far too long. We are, or Congress is, supposed to be a check on the executive branch, and it absolutely has not been. And frankly, I feel that the Democratic, sorry, frankly, I believe that the Democratic caucus has not been aggressive enough in drawing a hard line about making sure that this war stops. We may not have the votes, but we have the ability to stand up strong, speak very forcefully, interrupt as much as we can, because this war, and I call it a war, and I heard Mike Lawler call it a war too, even though he tries to parse his words about this, is entirely unjust. It's putting us in danger. It's putting the Middle East in danger. And so this is exactly what Congress is supposed to stop. This is what we have to stop. And again, this is why we absolutely need to flip the House.

Moderator 40:09 Thank you, Ms. Conley.

Cait Conley 40:13 So 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. Mike Lawler is the worst of it. We saw earlier this week how Mike Lawler had the audacity to justify Donald Trump threatening to use the American military to commit war crimes. That is the most un-American and unethical thing you could imagine. And you saw Mike Lawler making the case about how it was justified. He is unfit to represent us. And because we have cowards like that in Congress, they are not using the oversight mechanisms that they have. And this is a failure. I say this to someone. I'm the only one here who has actually worked with Congress. It's been four years working with members, working with committees. I've been at the most senior levels of the federal government, from the trenches of combat zones to the White House Situation Room. I know how government is supposed to work and how this administration is continuously failing the American people alongside Congress. And we have to demonstrate leadership where we must explain to people how the long-term security of America depends on responsibility and the use of force should always be a last resort.

Moderator 41:46 Thank you. Ms. Davidson.

Beth Davidson 41:52 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. I agree with both of the women on the stage that this war is wrong, that Mike Lawler has covered up for Donald Trump's insanity. I'm sure folks saw him earlier this week on television, you know, somehow apologizing for Donald Trump saying that, oh, it was just civilian infrastructure. Still a war crime, still a war crime. And the fact that we all had to be glad to wake up yesterday morning is not the kind of country I want to continue raising my children in. And by the way, let's also remember that Donald Trump plays, I guess, multidimensional chess because he also had his vice president doing a MAGA rally in Hungary in the middle of all of this. While we used to be a country that spread democracy, now we have a president who wants to spread autocracy. I've had enough of it. I know we all have. It is time to take back the House and take back the House Foreign Affairs Committee so we can put a stop to this madness.

Moderator 43:06 While we're on the subject of foreign policy, let's turn to another not unrelated area. The traditional US position on Israel is to support and defend it against all enemies. But a significant cohort of the Democratic base feels that Netanyahu government and the IDF have violated international law with indiscriminate bombing in Gaza. Where do you stand? We start with Beth. We take comments.

Cait Conley 43:41 So this is an area where, you know, as someone, again, who has gone to war and seen the consequence of it, we have to always ensure that war is a last resort. 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 so that all peoples can have safety and security. And I do believe just as I am a proud American and pro-American, I can also criticize Trump and this government and what it does. I can be pro-Israel and say we need to have really hard conversations on how conflict is conducted because this is about the safety and security of generations to come. I am also very concerned about what is happening inside of our own borders where we are seeing anti-Semitism rise in our own communities. We are seeing hate take hold. And I blame Donald Trump for a lot of this as he has normalized hate, as he has spread hate, as he has capitalized on it, inflamed it. There is nothing more un-American than hate. This is a nation built on freedom and equality for all. And we have to stop what this administration is doing in ruining the very fabric and foundation of our own country.

Moderator 45:26 Beth, same question, Beth.

Beth Davidson 45:29 Thank you. So 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. For those who don't know, fun fact, it's the eighth largest Jewish community in the world. So this is an issue that touches every corner of this district very personally. My daughter was actually in Israel in August of 2023 for the most interfaith, multiracial, amazing experience she could have had. Also marching in the protests against the Supreme Court issue with Benjamin Netanyahu. And I would also say that as much as I love America and detest the Trump administration, I do love Israel and yet disagree with so much of what the administration has done. And I'd also say that Donald Trump has been far too weak to stand up to Bibi Netanyahu in ways that we should have been all of this time, bringing home the hostages much earlier, bringing the conflict to a close much quicker. Too many people died both in Israel and in Palestine. And I do also hope for a two-state solution, but we're not going to get there unless we engage other countries in the region. And while we're also fighting another unnecessary war right next door, we need to bring all of these conflicts to a close and engage other countries in the region to what I personally want to see, which is a path to self-determination with the Palestinian people and a safe and secure Israel.

Effie Phillips-Staley 47:12 Thank you. Throughout my life, I think the one value that has guided everything I do is putting people first so that everybody has the opportunity to thrive. And I believe that can only happen when universal human rights are actually universal, that they apply to everyone. The Middle East, Israel, and Palestine is a deeply unsafe place. Palestinians and Israelis are both in danger. I was able to go visit Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank in this tiny window of time where it was relatively safe to do it. And I did it because I needed to learn by seeing it, by being there, what the conditions were and why. And when I came back, even before I was back, it was clear to me that Israel was creating terrible apartheid conditions for Palestinians that were unthinkable, unthinkable in the name of safety. But I do not see how this can create safety. We see a situation where the death penalty is now being applied only to Palestinians, where there are two unequal legal systems. It is appalling. And when people spoke to me, Israelis, former IDF members, Palestinians, they said, the only thing that will stop this, that will stop what they called a genocide, is withholding aid to Israel. That that was the only thing and only we had the power to do that. And that's not to make people unsafe. That is to change the direction of a government that they described as becoming fascist. That is where, that is what I saw. And I could not live with myself if I did not say these things to this group. We in the United States have the power to create good in the world. We have immense political power, immense economic power, immense diplomatic power. And we have the ability just as we did with South Africa, and I know this will upset some people, to say, no, a system that is as unequal as this and as unjust as this should not be funded with U.S. tax dollars. And we have a law about that too. It's the Leahy law. It is the Leahy law. I believe that everyone in Israel should be safe.

Moderator 50:09 Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 50:11 And everyone in Palestine as well.

Moderator 50:20 All right, thank you very much. Thank you. And turning to Ms. Davidson first this time. 90 seconds. We want to talk affordability. And the economy and affordability appears to still be voters' number one concern across every poll I've seen, basically. If elected, what would you do in Congress to keep prices down? And please be specific, which prices and how? I mean, what can you do as a Congress member to keep prices down? So again, to Ms. Davidson, please.

Beth Davidson 50:55 Sure. So as a member of the Rockland County legislature, this isn't theoretical to me, and it's not something I'll just tell you I will do down the road. It's something I am doing right now. Moms, we always think three steps ahead. So 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. And this does make a difference where I live. People commute long distances to work, often because they can't afford to live in the places where we work. Another issue that I hope will touch on the cost of housing, which drives all other costs up. We also need to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. That is such a huge weight on so many families, along with the cost of child care. We're seeing a real brain drain from the Hudson Valley because it is so expensive. And I can say this is someone who's raised two children in this district. We have a patchwork of systems that simply doesn't work. I'm so glad to see that we're getting more universal pre-K and 3K, but you can't just carry a kid around in a purse for the first three years of its life. We need to provide affordable, high quality child care because we know that that improves outcomes for all of our children. So those are just something I've already done and something I'm excited to get work to work on when I'm in Congress.

Unclear 52:18 Thank you.

Moderator 52:18 Thank you very much. And Ms. Phillips-Staley on affordability.

Effie Phillips-Staley 52:24 So from 2020 to 2022, inflation rose 14%, while corporate profits rose 74%. That's five times the rate of inflation. So this is not an inflation issue. This is actually price gouging. And our political system lets it happen because the same corporations that are gouging our people are the ones that are funding the campaigns of the people who are supposed to take care of this. And so what would I do if I were in Congress about this? I'd fight for a federal ban on grossly excessive price increases and actually use the FTC to enforce this. That's what they're supposed to be doing. That is what they're supposed to be doing, but they were gutted by Doge, right? And so I'd also fight to repeal Trump's tax cuts. I think that's incredibly essential that handed trillions to the wealthy while working families were told that there was nothing left. And I would pass an ultra-millionaire's tax. That's a wealth tax on people worth over 50 million and the 6% on people worth over 1 billion. So that is what it would create, the funds that we need to find housing, find childcare, find healthcare, so many needs within this district. And I would also work for a microtransaction tax of 0.1%. This would also fuel the coffers as well because people deserve to be cared for. We shouldn't be working on... Sorry, thank you. And Ms. Conley.

Cait Conley 54:13 So I was born and raised here in the Hudson Valley by a single mom raising three girls working for the Postal Service. When we talk about affordability, I remember as a kid literally hunting in the cars and couch cushions to find 50 cents to help my mom buy a coffee at the deli on the way to the post office. It's not a hypothetical. These challenges, these struggles, they're still my family. And so when we talk about what we have to get after this and what makes this administration so heinous, it is a very long laundry list. But what is also unforgivable is how they have done nothing to help. Working-class families and middle-class families across this country and right here in the Hudson Valley. So the first thing 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 at a time where we're facing a housing crisis. We also need to reinstate the premium tax credits. What kind of cruel, I can't curse, cruel, huge thing sits there and rips health care away from our most vulnerable at a time where we're already facing an affordability crisis. But we also need to do more. We need to do things that also solve problems going beyond this administration. And that is where I would champion something called the public service loan program, which is the parallel and equivalent program of what I got to benefit as, as a veteran with the VA loan program. This public service loan program would apply to nurses, to teachers, to first responders who after 10 years of service would qualify for the benefit where they don't have to put 20% down to qualify for competitive interest rates and without paying PMI. Let's allow our folks to live in the communities that they serve. They've earned that.

Moderator 56:01 Thank you. We're going to try to keep a little closer to the clock here as we go forward. Let's zero in on one important aspect of the affordability question, which is housing. So what is the government's role in creating more housing? How should they go about creating more housing funding it? What kind of housing should they promoting? Start that with Beth.

Beth Davidson 56:24 Housing is the crisis that fuels all other economic crises in this country. Housing is healthcare. Housing is job security. Housing is food security. Housing is the wraparound services that helps everyone live purposeful and productive lives. And I'm proud to say that there never was a housing committee on the Rockland County Legislature until our super majority won it because we knew that was the number one crisis we had to step up and solve. We're at least 30,000 units short of housing between Westchester and Rockland. And that's something we need to address immediately. So we did start what's called a halo housing action loan opportunity fund that incentivizes developers to buy in and build affordable housing. And I'm so thrilled that we are starting our first flagship project in New City rehabilitating the decrepit sane building that sat vacant for 25 years until our majority took over and made this a priority. I'll also say at the other end of the spectrum though that we have villages in Rockland County that haven't seen a new HUD, excuse me, subsidized Section 8 voucher since 1989. We need to seriously invest in every kind of housing from market rate to workforce housing to subsidized housing. It's the only way that we can grow and thrive. If we start to see we continue to see so much out migration from New York State, we could lose an additional two congressional seats. That's how vital this is and why it's crucial that we build housing that's appropriate to the area where it's where it's being built and that we make it affordable for people. We are seeing way too many people having to leave the Hudson Valley and we have to do better.

Moderator 58:12 That's the Phillips daily.

Effie Phillips-Staley 58:13 Thank you. As the trustee in the Terry Town housing is what we have relative control over over zoning, over what gets built, over how much affordable housing. We negotiate with developers and we had sort of, to me it was slightly heartbreaking conversation where some of our local firefighters came to us with the problem of we're losing too many of our volunteer firefighters because they can't afford to live in the area. And this has a direct impact on our safety. So what do we need from Congress? What we need from Congress are federal tax credits for affordable construction to enable municipalities to build the kind of housing that we need to keep people present. What we're talking about in the village right now is how do we create affordable housing that's specifically as Beth said for a workforce worker so that we can keep people here. But we also have to incentivize the construction of again at least 66,000 new units within the district at all price points to make sure that the price is level out and that people can afford to buy their first homes that there's sufficient housing that the rent doesn't go completely out of control as it has been. So within my policy platform which I call the suburban progress agenda that is exactly what we are working to do. We need to cap rent increases on subsidized housing and we need to build more subsidized housing. We need and we hear this all the time families complaining that their children can't return to where they grew up and buy a home. So we need to have cash incentives for people who need to buy their first home and want to do it within the district.

Moderator 60:08 Thank you. Thank you.

Cait Conley 60:16 So over the last year traveling to every corner of this district concerns over housing have been shared by so many families that are struggling whether it's folks who have aged out of the homes they raise their families in and want it downsized but can't afford to. I think about my mom who was scared to retire after serving the postal service in our communities for 48 years because she was afraid she wasn't going to be able to afford to continue to live here. To families who are unable to get their kids to move back because they can't afford to buy a home here because they've been priced out and you think about as a nation how we've progressed where in the 1970s the average age of a first-time home buyer was 21 and now it's 40. I mean this is us failing and we must do better and the federal government must have a role in that. 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 to solve hard problems and that is where as someone who has worked with places like FEMA that does grants coming out of the Department of Homeland Security do help our communities build. Yes, we need to roll back the foreign tariffs that have driven up the cost of material goods that are used for building homes but we also need to help provide federal grant funding to our communities to build the infrastructure that those homes depend on. Right now you see across our district how we are getting once a decade rains once a year that are flooding out families that are flooding our streets and communities.

Moderator 61:57 Thank you.

Cait Conley 61:57 We must update the infrastructure and that is the role the federal government should be playing to help us and I will use my experience to do that for our community.

Moderator 62:10 All right, we are switching up a little bit. We are going to do a short answer round right now. So for a change of pace we are looking for short answers you know like 15 seconds or less maybe one word we will see. I will hand it to Barrett.

Cait Conley 62:22 Okay, I am going to. We have been doing so well at the time so far.

Moderator 62:26 That is right. We are running a deficit there. Impeachment is in the air. So let us put aside President Trump because I think everybody in the thing would say we should be impeaching Donald Trump but if you only had one person in this cabinet to impeach who would it be? Great.

Cait Conley 62:43 So I have to say my top two have already been removed. So I am a little sad I missed the chance. It would have been Kristi Noem, Ben Pambondi, Hegseth is who is left and that is a special one.

Beth Davidson 62:59 All good candidates. I will say as a county which has already experienced a number of measles cases, RFK is the one who has to go for me.

Effie Phillips-Staley 63:09 It is like shooting fish in a barrel. You know, Marco Rubio is such a lap dog. Like I think he is somebody who needs to go.

Moderator 63:22 Thank you. Now this is a, look ICE is a big question but we are looking for a short answer because some people are able to say this very quickly. So what would you do about ICE? Abolish ICE, reform ICE, keep ICE as it is and I guess we will start with Beth on this one.

Beth Davidson 63:38 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.

Moderator 63:53 Thank you. Ms. Felix Haley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 63:54 Abolish ICE, it cannot be reformed. Separate customs enforcement from immigration enforcement. Return rather from immigration and naturalization. Return it to what it once was when my mother immigrated to this country. A way to help her come in and that is what we should be doing.

Moderator 64:13 Thank you. And Ms. Conley.

Cait Conley 64:19 When I talked about barely recognizing her country that I love and have fought for and sacrificed for, 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. No one and everyone will be held accountable and that is where raining this in up and down the leadership board needs to happen but we also must fix the broken immigration system where we are failing our neighbors and members of our community. 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. I know this was not a topic to go short. But I know it's just not.

Moderator 64:59 But now I can ask to specify. So is that reform or is that abolish?

Cait Conley 65:03 I believe that we need to promote immigration which means we're going to need immigration enforcement but that has to happen from people who follow the law and adhere to the law and if they don't they will face legal consequences. I'd abolish bias.

Moderator 65:17 Okay. Let's move forward and assume that one of you has been elected to the United States Congress and you're in Washington. Who would you support as your party's leader? Would you support Hakeem Jeffries? Beth.

Beth Davidson 65:30 Yes, I would. I think he has really held the caucus together in a way that the Senate has not been as successful and I'd like to give him the chance to lead our fellow New York guy.

Effie Phillips-Staley 65:46 Matthew. Wow, that's a trick question, isn't it? I'm not super happy with him. I'm going to be honest on an immense amount of things. I think he could be a lot stronger but in the end the Democrats have to come together to be able to fight back the Republicans.

Moderator 66:07 Which is what?

Cait Conley 66:11 Yes, but I think it's not just on him to lead. Like it's on us there to lead and I promise if I am your rep I will fight and go to the mat every day and be as vocal as possible about doing the right thing and calling out what is wrong. That's not on one person. That's on all of us. This is our country. It's ours to fight for.

Moderator 66:33 Thank you and now a commercial break for some restaurant recommendations. What is your favorite restaurant in the district? And we'll start with Ms. Phillips-Staley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 66:42 Oh, that's the hardest question. Oh my god. I love El Prez Albanorreño which is an awesome thing because it's a Salvadoran restaurant. It has the best pupusas lick which my mother always made but she never taught me to make because she thought that was her job. So I'm terrible at making them so I go there to get them and they're delicious. Thank you.

Moderator 67:06 I'm writing these down. Thank you. Ms. Conley, favorite restaurant.

Cait Conley 67:09 The Blue Pig and Croton. There is no other ice cream I have learned and I have to tell you the hardest two months of this campaign was when they were closed and if anyone had seen my garage freezer it may have been stocked with pints.

Moderator 67:22 It is spring again. It's ice cream season.

Beth Davidson 67:24 Throw back open. Everything is right. It's fine.

Moderator 67:27 Thank you and Ms. Davidson, favorite restaurant.

Beth Davidson 67:29 We have an embarrassment of riches in downtown Nyack but I'm going to give a shout out to the taste of Ukraine. It's a wonderful family restaurant and go in and order off the menu. Just go to the table next door and see what the big Ukrainian family is having and ask them to make it for you. It's terrific.

Moderator 67:44 So that's a political statement as well as a restaurant choice. All right. So we're now back to the full questions but let's try to keep it within that minute and 30 seconds please as we go forward. Mike Lawler said that even under the big beautiful bill provisions not a single qualified U.S. citizen will be denied Medicaid coverage. Is he telling the truth?

Cait Conley 68:09 No, he is. Sorry, who's going first? I just was going to yell liar. Let's be real. Everything that comes out of his lips is usually a lie for his own political preservation. We have already seen how Medicaid cuts are impacting 37,000 people just in our district alone. But what he has done is not just wage war on folks who are struggling the most in our communities. 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. Period. Hudson Valley Peconic right here in our communities 11 brick and mortar clinics too mobile and 2024 they provided over 94,000 services like annual exams pre-cancer screenings. Those types of facilities are who Mike Lawler has allowed this administration to rip support away from. There is a war on women's health care and I will be damned if I'm going to let these guys sit by and try to attack us. This is where we are going to take the fight to them and what they continue to do to have policies of cruelty that exploit our most vulnerable in order to line the pockets of billionaires is un-American. It is wrong and it is something that should get him fired in November.

Beth Davidson 69:37 When I first started on the NIAC school board one of my colleagues had a saying that really stuck with me and it was show me your budget and I'll tell you your priorities. Mike Lawler voted to send $170 billion to ICE and DHS while cutting our health care and next year's budget that the president has proposed is $1.3 trillion to defense spending again cutting so many health care and other social services programs. I've learned so much about Medicaid since the beginning of this campaign. Yes it is health care for low-income families but it's so much more. It's transportation for people with special needs to their jobs that also Medicaid helps them get it. Supportive housing it's so many other wraparound services that cover children in elementary schools. We just voted for some Medicaid funding for a program in North Rockland High School for kids with special needs and we're also seeing a mental health crisis in this country that is only going to get worse. I've been speaking with our hospital systems we have two safety net hospitals in Rockland County. Another messaging mistake we continue to make as Democrats is only talking about rural hospitals. Medicaid affects everyone. Medicaid affects the overwhelming majority of the patients at Good Sam and 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. No one wants that back.

Effie Phillips-Staley 71:11 I think it's very telling that shortly after Mike Lawler voted for the big ugly bill he went to a save Medicare rally and that is exactly the kind of double speak that he does. It is appalling. He is absolutely shameless so we have to do and then I'm going to add this again $1.5 billion a day spent on the war in Iraq. So we understand where their priorities are and their priorities are not about serving the people of this district or the people of this nation. It is about serving a rigged system that he benefits from. He is doing a great job at taking care of the people that fund his campaigns that now fund his steak dinners and his very nice hotels. While children go without health care while children with special needs go without health care. My mother is 90 years old. Medicare helps pay for her nursing home and it helps pay for her care as she's slowly going blind. It is absolutely disgusting that Mike Lawler has no moral compass and that he can allow all these people to suffer countless people to suffer and it is not something that we can allow anymore. I will say this. ACA is important. We have to get back to it. We have to protect it but we also have to treat health care as a human right. Thank you. That is why I believe in Medicare for all.

Moderator 73:00 Miss Davidson, I believe you mentioned Indian Point earlier and you're actually going first on this one. Congressman Lawler has proposed reopening Indian Point as a nuclear power plant. Do you support reopening the plant? And if not, how do you think the state of New York should meet its growing energy needs without that? So again, 90 seconds to Miss Davidson first.

Beth Davidson 73:22 Thank you. I think the one curse we're allowed to say here is hell. So repeat what I said, which is hell no. And as the chair of the water task force in Rockland County and the environmental committee, this is something I've had my eye on for a long time. Over last fall when the federal court overturned the Save the Hudson Act, thank you to Assemblywoman Levenberg and Pete Harkham, Senator Pete Harkham, who passed that bill to say that whole tech could not discharge radiological water into the Hudson because we know that no amount of radiation is safe for the human body. I represent three major Rivertown communities in Rockland County. And I know that so many in Putnam and Westchester depend on the Hudson for our livelihoods as well. So absolutely not to reopening a 64-year-old bucket of bolts and if Mike Lawler and the energy secretary think that we can lower energy costs quickly by doing that when whole tech itself and the federal government admit it would take at least five years and cost between eight and 12 billion dollars. I've got a bridge to sell them and you can call it whatever you want Tappansy, Mario Cuomo, whatever. 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. That is our clean energy future. That is our jobs future. That is our healthcare future. I'm a two-time cancer survivor. I'm not interested in becoming a third. This stops here.

Moderator 74:58 Thank you and Ms. Phillips-Staley on Indian Point.

Effie Phillips-Staley 75:03 I mean I suppose it was no surprise to me that Mike Lawler has proposed a reopening Indian point because Mike Lawler does not work for the people. He is not a public servant. He is a person who actually works for the people who fund him. And this is and I think perhaps many of us know that he was I think a gas lobbyist actually before he decided to run for office. So it is absolutely insane to me that we would continue to pour more money into technology of the 20th century when we should be investing in the technology of the 21st century and beyond. It is that simple. It is insane to me. And frankly the only way to explain it is that he's working to line the pockets of the people that he's actually working for. It makes no sense after all the hard work that so many activists did for so long to close down a plant with so many violations and built on two fault lines. Let's not forget that. Next to this populate is insane. So absolutely we have to get our Congress back under control and we need to redirect it on the technologies of the future. We have the money. We have the intellectual capacity. We have the people power. We need to stop wasting time which is why we have to get my dollar out.

Moderator 76:41 Thank you and Miss Conley.

Cait Conley 76:43 So I grew up swimming in the Hudson River during the era of dredge or don't dredge because of the PCBs from the GE plant and Indian points probably why I glow at night at least that's why Riverkeeper tells me it's real. But the reality is 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. Yes we have a real problem that is our energy crisis and the fact that we're going to live in a more technologically driven world where that's going to continue to go up. But when you look at what solutions can provide immediate relief and what we can harness here in the Hudson Valley. It's solar. It's geothermal. It's wind. It's these things that we were doing until Donald Trump and Mueller stopped them. And this is what we should be doing more of. And if we do it right there is tremendous economic opportunity. I want to invest in our public educational systems and then span things like BOCES in our community colleges. I would love for us to have a solar panel repaired installation technician program at BOCES. You want to talk about how we get to greater energy autonomy create programs that allow people to afford to put these types of technologies in their homes and businesses. But the other thing we must do is hold these monopoly utility companies accountable. Where I come from as a leader when you fail you get fired not executive compensation bonuses this is a 15 million dollars Con Ed. They don't get off the hook. They get hauled in front of Congress.

Moderator 78:25 Thank you. Thank you. Every member in Congress talks about the virtues of working across the aisle. So let's say you're in a position to work on a compromise on the based on the Republicans voting rights bill their Save America bill. Is there a provision in that bill the Republican version voter ID proof of citizenship that you could live with?

Cait Conley 78:55 Who's going first? And is this a trick question?

Moderator 79:03 Yeah, F.E. first. Oh, sorry.

Effie Phillips-Staley 79:07 There's nothing I could live with in that bill. I mean this is a very I mean and for very specific reasons. I mean when we think about what it takes to prove you know like what we need a federal ID. I have one I paid a hundred and something dollars for my passport. Right. We need this to register. How are we going to enable people to pay this much money to vote? It's like a it's like a poll tax. Women's names like I have a hyphenated married name. Right. So now I have to go and find my birth certificate to be able to to enroll. I mean this is simply designed to prevent people from voting when we already have a problem of not enough civic engagement. Not enough civic participation. And so we're going to make it harder. There has been almost no fraud that has been identified. So why on earth would we put this many difficult obstacles to be able to do what is at the basis of our democracy. Civic participation. You know we're the ones the people are the bosses. Right. Not not the president. Not Mike Lawler. The people are in charge and this bill is insane. It is designed to prevent the people from participating. It's another slide towards autocracy. Yeah. I can't live with any part of it.

Moderator 80:38 Thank you. I'll never get this straight. But Cait, do your turn.

Cait Conley 80:47 Keep us on our toes. I need you to just hear me and this has nothing to even do with this race. I was literally the federal government lead for election security. Non-citizen voting is not a real issue. Period. It is already a federal crime for a non-citizen to vote in a federal election. This is not a real problem. This is not impacting outcomes of elections. This is a red herring for this administration to create more terms for voter suppression. This is about Donald Trump trying to salvage the 2026 midterm elections for the Republicans because he knows the American people are fed up and he doesn't want to hear their voice. This is about voter suppression. It is very clear. Administering elections is a state's rights issue. It is states that are charged with this duty, not the federal government. And Donald Trump needs to stay the hell out of it because this is about American democracy. This is where state and local election officials who are from our communities, of our communities, have their charge. And I will tell you, as someone who has proudly worked with them on both sides of the political aisle across this country, they are incredible patriots working hard every day to make real American democracy real. And Donald Trump has gone after them. I watch as he incited domestic groups to target election officials. We cannot allow this type of animosity to fester and we cannot allow Donald Trump's disinformation campaign to succeed. So no.

Moderator 82:34 Thank you.

Beth Davidson 82:41 Even the very name of this act tells you everything you need to know about the Republican party and how badly they would like to pick their voters rather than the other way around. The SAVE Act. Save from whom? Save from their own demolition, as we're seeing. Donald Trump always says the quiet part out loud. If we don't pass the SAVE Act, we lose. And that is why they have pushed so hard to do this and why Mike Lawler has gone along with it and shame on him. 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. And these are the very communities that Donald Trump and Mike Lawler say should not have that right. It's disgusting. And as a member of the county legislature oversees our election, our Board of Elections, I know how hard they work. I know how hard they work to make sure that everything is buttoned up and that everyone has a chance to vote. And that's what we need to push towards and absolutely shut the SAVE Act down.

Moderator 83:57 Thank you. Now, we are in a new world of artificial intelligence. Are you more excited about the possibilities or more frightened by it? And what should Congress's priority be in responding to this new paradigm of AI? And we'll start with Ms. Conley here and actually let's just do one minute for this one because you know we're wrapping up here. We got to get a few more questions in. So yeah, one minute. Are you freaked out by AI or are you excited by it?

Cait Conley 84:26 All right. This is going to take longer than a minute. 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 and that will not happen by itself. That will not happen if tech companies are allowed to do whatever the heck they want. That is why 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. Tech companies have failed to do this on their own time and time again from software and the internet to social media. We cannot afford to make this mistake again. And that is why I believe it is so important to have members of congress who understand tech. The average age of a democrat in congress is like a thousand right now. I have literally been in classified meetings with members who didn't understand the technology I was briefing them on. We need a generation that can come in who knows what it is doing to make sure we are putting in guardrails regulating responsibly and in protecting American jobs.

Moderator 85:39 Thank you. That was a pretty good minute. That was good. Ms. Davidson on AI.

Beth Davidson 85:47 As a writer, I definitely can see how my job would be and has been impacted by artificial intelligence. And I'm also concerned about the impact it's having on our schools and on our children and on the ability to create creative problem solvers and critical thinkers. This isn't something we can count on if we don't put serious guardrails on AI just as we have on social media. We also need to be not exporting our chips to China and other countries so that they again beat us at one more game and fill a vacuum of power and influence and we seed that ground once again. I'm very concerned about having no entry-level workforce. And so we need to make sure that we're also incentivizing corporations to upskill their workers because if people don't understand how to use AI, they will lose their jobs. And we do need to make sure that we have real regulations and people in Washington who understand what's at stake and aren't beholden to AI companies.

Moderator 86:48 Thank you. And Ms. Phillips-Staley on AI.

Effie Phillips-Staley 86:55 It's the Wild West with tech, unfortunately. We've seen incredible developments with AI. Of course, it's extraordinary but with absolutely no guardrails. So as a mother with an 18-year-old son in college, the question that I'm getting from him is like, what kind of a job am I going to have when you look at the reports of the kinds of jobs that are going to disappear from AI, which is basically if you're sitting at a desk with a computer, your job might be gone and it might be gone very soon and much faster than any of us imagined. So the problem is, which I tie it to, is that corporations have too much influence over our government. Our government needs to stay on top of making sure that the people are taken care of but it's almost impossible to do in a system like this where elected officials work for the donor class instead of the people. That is something that we have to fix now and we absolutely need to put guardrails on this, not just for jobs but in regards to the military, which is very scary when you see AI combined with the military.

Moderator 88:11 Thank you, thank you. There was in the last election cycle here, $26 million in outside spending. Would you be happy if that super PAC spending went away or are you perfectly happy as long as it's coming your way to keep it around? My best first in the back.

Beth Davidson 88:41 So my secret, my dirty secret is that I actually do love campaigning. I love going to all the events. I love shaking hands. I love learning about people's stories and how we can make their lives better. And I also am a policy nerd. I love learning about every possible law and policy and solution out there but 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 so that we can get money out of politics and put Congress back to work for the people.

Effie Phillips-Staley 89:33 It's my dirty secret too that I love campaigning as well. I like it a lot. And but of course, Citizens United has to be overturned because look, Mike Lawler is a perfect example. This is a guy who works for the people who put him in office in terms of who pays the bills for him. He's not working for the people. So the state of New York with its matching funds with this eight to one match is actually a fantastic policy. I wish it applied at the federal level because those funds are taxpayer dollars and we are supposed to be accountable to the people. So that is a reasonable fix for this incredible problem where you see 25 million spent on a campaign. And what that means is that the only people who can run are people who are already plugged into the parties where the money flows. If we have to compete with with someone who has 10 million, 5 million or, you know, it is impossible for ordinary people to be able to do this. And our House of Representatives should be filled with ordinary people who represent the people, who are of the people, who are not tied to the donor class who have their own special interests.

Cait Conley 91:00 The Supreme Court decision on Citizens United will go down as the worst thing, 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. I don't know if you all read a few weeks ago, but 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. Okay, so whether I like it or not, I would love to end Citizens United. It's not happening. Not right now. When we get to Congress, yes, but not right now. And I think this goes back to the importance of why we were before you, because despite all of their efforts to try to rig November, despite the fact that we are going to have outside groups pouring tens of millions of dollars behind Mike Lawler, we still have to beat him. And this goes back to we cannot take chances. We have watched Mike Lawler take on and beat politicians already. We want a different outcome. You need a different Democrat. So let's kick his butt this November.

Moderator 92:19 Now we're, I want to leave a little time for closing statements. So I want to do two quick short answer questions. Since many of you are about to be walking to your cars, I have a couple car questions. So the first one will start with this Phillips-Staley, again, short answer congestion pricing. This has been put in place by the state. The federal government has tried to stop it. Do you think that congestion pricing should stay in place? Or do you think the price should go down? The price should go up? What is your quick answer on that?

Effie Phillips-Staley 92:49 I think congestion pricing has been wildly successful. And it is something that's good for the environment. You know, I don't know if anyone else drives in Manhattan. I do sometimes and it's significantly better. So I think that that was a win and I would keep it as it is.

Moderator 93:05 Thank you, Miss Conley.

Cait Conley 93:08 So where we really hurt working people was in the fact that we have not invested in direct transit in Orange and Rockland counties in the west side of the river to get directly into Manhattan. It's real easy for people to say that when you don't have to take a two hour bus ride or play train plane trains and automobiles to try to get there. 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.

Moderator 93:39 Thank you. So kill congestion pricing.

Cait Conley 93:41 Yes.

Moderator 93:42 No, Miss Davidson.

Beth Davidson 93:44 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 where we do not have a one seat ride into the city. I did use to commute to Soho from Nyack every single day and it took about two hours on the way in and an hour and a half on the way home. I support congestion pricing with carve outs for first responders, teachers, so many people in Rockland County. Thank you. Commute into the city. So carve outs for them.

Moderator 94:18 And last short answer question is Congressman Michael Alder has made a very big deal of wanting to rename the Governor Mario M Cuomo bridge. Quick answer with Miss Conley. Do you support renaming the bridge?

Cait Conley 94:31 Like I grew up with the tap and see it will always be the tap and see to me. I also want to say we screw this up because they didn't build transit rail transit when they rebuilt the bridge.

Moderator 94:45 Thank you, Miss Davidson.

Beth Davidson 94:46 It costs so much money to rename the bridge and even add an M in the middle when it was forgotten the first time. Let's call it the Pete Seeger bridge. That sounds better to me.

Moderator 94:57 Thank you and Miss Phillips daily.

Effie Phillips-Staley 94:58 Look, I see it, you know, from from my village and I always call it the tap and see. I can't really call it anything else.

Moderator 95:07 Thank you very much. Alright, so with that we're going on to closing statements two minutes each and we're going to go reverse order from what we started with. So we're starting with Miss Davidson, then Miss Conley, then Miss Phillips daily closing statements. Take it away.

Beth Davidson 95:21 Thank you so much. Thank you again to the Westchester County Democratic Committee to our intrepid chair Suzanne Berger and Bruce Campbell for doing so much work to put this together and to our moderators Barrett and Jeff and to all of you for caring enough to come out tonight. You know the one question that I get all the time out on the campaign trail and you should be asking any of us is what gets you out of bed every morning to do this? And tonight you've heard all of our ideas some very similar some different but for me it's really simple and it's my community our community is really counting on me. I'm thinking of the girls who were my Girl Scouts when I was a leader who told me that when their school lunch accounts ran low they were denied a hot lunch. So that when I was elected to the school board I worked hard every day until finally every public every public school child in that public schools had access to a free lunch. I'm doing it for my constituents who are just one medical bill or unexpected car repair away from losing their jobs from losing their homes from losing their child care. This is real to me. Of course I'm doing it for our immigrant neighbors who are terrified of being ripped from their families and disappeared of our LGBTQ community who has been under attack from day one of this administration. Of course I want to be clear that while you've heard different answers from all of us on all of these topics 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 to of course Trump's illegal war. We do it by inspiring people about what is possible when you have leaders who are ready to stand into the breach fighting for clean drinking water fighting for gun safety legislation and protecting our immigrant neighbors from ICE and by winning on the ground as I have done over two decades in this community and by electing pro-choice Democratic women all across the country to stand up to Trump's regime.

Moderator 97:29 Thank you.

Beth Davidson 97:29 And by leading the team that won the first Democratic Supermajority in Rockland County history. That's the fight I'm ready to take to Mike Lawler and to Congress with your support on June 23rd. Thank you.

Moderator 97:40 Thank you Ms. Conley. Closing statement.

Cait Conley 97:44 We talked about so many really important issues tonight and about how we can shape this country so America's best days are still ahead of us and fix the so many wrongs that have happened under this administration led by Trump and enabled by cowards like Mike Lawler. But we don't get to fix any of that unless we get to govern. And the only way we get to govern is if we win. And so tonight and the next several weeks this is about who is your best athlete to get in the arena and make sure Mike Lawler goes home. Make sure that he is unemployed and must find his next career come this November. Because we cannot risk losing to this man. Not again. We've got to have learned that the strategies that were played out the last two cycles have failed and we have to do things differently if we want a different outcome. And that is where I am so proud of the momentum we have been able to build all across this district. Earning over 50 endorsements from local leaders and organizations. The only candidate to earn endorsements from all four counties. We have to win. These are not normal times. These are not normal stakes and they're probably not going to be normal elections. And we still must win. And this is where it comes down to all of us doing our part. Look, Mike Lawler, he and I are about the same age and we grew up 30 miles apart. We could not be more different people. He spent the last 20 years as a political operative while I was leading America's sons and daughters in defense of this nation defending every single person in this district. And I do believe it is my life of service to this nation that will make a difference in being able to get people to vote for me in November instead of Lawler. And when it comes to having your best athlete in there on day one, I've worked with Congress. I've worked with committees. I know what to do and can sprint for us on day one to check this administration to fix the path we are on as a nation. And again, make sure that our country's best days are still ahead of us. I cannot do that alone. And that's why I'm standing before you tonight. I would be honored to have you in the arena with me as we kick Lawler's ass.

Moderator 99:54 Thank you. And Ms. Phillips-Staley.

Effie Phillips-Staley 100:00 We are at sort of a terrifying turning point within our nation. In many ways, I feel that the slide to authoritarianism has moved a little farther than it should. But it is something that we absolutely can and will stop. I am going to argue this. I believe that we lost twice because we were not as inclusive as we should have been that we did not listen as much as we should have and that we took people for granted. And that is what turned people away from our party from the working class. Immigrants, so many, so many. So a critical part of entering this race for me was how are we going to run it? How are we going to be inclusive? How are we going to build the blocks of voters that we need to to once and for all, defeat a Republican who keeps winning in a democratic state? I wouldn't have gotten into this race in the first place if I didn't think it was possible to build that kind of a coalition. And that is a coalition that needs to be inclusive of everyone. Hispanic voters, the working class, Muslims, Haitians, so many people that the party doesn't even talk to, young people. Some of you know that I went on Hassan Piker's show and I will address it. It is because he speaks to young people. Every time you go to an invisible rally and someone says where are the young people? I'll tell you where they are. They're listening to streamers like Hassan Piker. We need to build bridges. We need to make sure that everyone feels welcome. We need to make sure that we turn out the vote in a way that has never been turned out before in this district to be able to win. And that is the strategy that I have built. That is what I am going to do. I welcome you to participate in this because we have a chance to take it in an entirely new way and we can do it together. So I appreciate your support. Thank you for being here.

Moderator 102:26 All right. Thank you so much to our candidates and I'd like to hand it over to the Westchester County Democratic Committee chair, Suzanne Berger. Or maybe to Bruce. That's okay. I was going to introduce Suzanne too. You go ahead. First of all, I want to thank you all for being here tonight. I want to thank these three ladies for offering to step forward in their public service. Let's hear the candidates. And I want to remind you that this is one opportunity. One opportunity to hear candidates. You'll have more before the primary and June 23rd to hear from all of them. All right. So thank you. And yes, the chair of our party, Suzanne Berger. Thank you, Bruce, for all the hard work you and your team did to put this event together tonight. Thank you to Ms. Phillips-Staley, Ms. Davidson, Ms. Conley, our moderators. I really, really appreciate it. I have a few closing remarks. I also want to introduce my fellow county chair from Putnam County, Jen Colomoneco. In the back there. For all of you who couldn't hear well enough or wanted to hear the brilliant statements of our candidates again, I will be downloading this onto our Westchester County Democratic Committee YouTube channel tomorrow. God willing. And so you will be able to watch it there or tell your friends about it. As Bruce said, there will be many other opportunities between now and what is June 13th? Does anybody know? First day of in-person early voting, June 13th. It's right around the corner. Next week there's a forum in Havastraw at Havastraw Town Hall on April 16th. I was advised that the Northern Westchester League of Women Voters is going to do a forum by Zoom the first week of June. And there'll be many other opportunities. I left on the table outside information about our spring brunch. We're honored to have the Attorney General of the State of New York, the Honorable Letitia James as our honorable guest. That'll be May 17th, 1230 to 3 in White Plains at C.V. Rich Mansion. We hope you all can come and have a good crowd for Attorney General James. I want to thank everybody for coming. I want to thank especially the 431 people on Zoom. We had over 500 people register for this event. Some of them decided they'd rather stay home and watch it on Zoom. But we have a full house here. Thank you. Thank you for watching it on Zoom. Thank you for paying attention. This is what makes democracy work in this country. Thank you.

Jeffrey Reyes 0:15 Folks, in primary, I have to thank the congressional candidates for putting yourself out like this. I know it takes a lot of courage.

Tina Volz-Bongar 0:22 And I want to thank the amazing Bill Baker, the Reverend Bill Baker from the church here. I hope you get a chance to meet him. He's around here. And thank you very much. And I want to thank the co-sponsoring groups of the CD17 Community Coalition. And Jen Cabrera, Stephen Papinella from Working Families Party. And we even have a DSA rep as part of our group. But Roth and Invisible Yorktown and Invisible Northern Westchester and Invisible Putnam Progressives. We couldn't do this without you. So thank you. Thank you for organizing. Oh, thank you. Oh, okay. Oh, that is ridiculous. I feel like everybody knows me. So, hello, I'm Tina Fuhl, Spongard, and I'm from Beetskill, New York. And I'm a Democratic Party district leader, but I also happen to have the privilege of organizing the CD17 Community Coalition with an amazing woman, Shannon Powell, who's not here tonight, and she's with Invisible Westchester. So we work with this group of 33 different groups and individual groups, and we have four labor unions who have representatives we meet every week. And we talk about how we're going to organize, how we're going to create the visibility of protests to have people join us and vote out Mike Lawler.

Jeffrey Reyes 2:05 Keeps our immigrant neighbors safe.

Tina Volz-Bongar 2:08 I have to thank, it makes me cry now. The amazing Co-Hope Immigration Justice Committee. I've worked with these women for the last three weeks. It's hard on these questions, and we've been also promoting the passage of New York for all and to the governor. So I want to thank you all for your support. You know, you're amazing. Eric Linder couldn't do this without you. He's from Beetskill Progressives. You'll see him with his camera. And Johnny Garcia. So, give us a wave. He's live streaming this, and so it is my pleasure to introduce the moderators tonight. And thank you so much, all of you.

Jeffrey Reyes 2:53 You're going to make me cry. So it's better.

Tina Volz-Bongar 2:57 Anyway, why don't you introduce yourselves and take it from here, and I would give them the mic.

Nancy Matsunaga 3:05 I'm Nancy Matsunaga with Co-Hope Indivisible.

Pascal Jean Giles 3:08 Hi, I'm Pascal Jean Giles with Rocklin Indivisible.

Jeffrey Reyes 3:13 Hi, I'm Jeffrey Reyes, an organizer, a community organizer at Maguro Action. So Jeffrey Reyes, or can you tell us a little bit about the community action? We're going to talk about the moderator.

Pascal Jean Giles 3:35 Sure. So, the three of us are the co-moderators for this evening. I will be serving as timekeeper along with someone else in our audience. Each of our candidates will have two minutes to answer each question, and as you guys have known before, I will keep you on time. I will give you a 30-second warning when you hit 30 seconds, and then after that, by the time the timer is up, please wrap up and pass it on to the next candidate. Want to try to say anything?

Jeffrey Reyes 4:04 Right. I will share with you a brief description of candidates who are up here tonight. Let's start with John Cappell, a former Defense Attach of the U.S. Embassy in Israel in Serbia. Peter Chavsky, Attached Company Founder and former Mayor of Briar Keith, Maine. Kate Combe, former Director of Counter-Terrorisms for the National Security Council. Beth Davidson, a Rockland County late-slaver. Effie Phillips-State, a non-profit executive and Terry Town Trustee. And Mike Sacks, a lawyer and former TV journalist, from Program Hobson. These are our candidates here.

Nancy Matsunaga 5:12 I'm going to give an introductory statement from Co-Hope Indivisible before we get started, or as we get started. Welcome, everybody, welcome to the candidates. Our country is in the midst of a constitutional crisis and a human rights crisis. The federal government has been demonizing, detaining, and deporting immigrants across the country, including right here in New York, where people with no criminal background are being kidnapped from the streets of towns all around us every day. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE commit horrifying abuses across the country every day. They chase, intimidate, and even murder protesters and legal observers in violation of the First Amendment. They have declared that they can enter any home without a judicial warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment. They detain people without allowing them to see lawyers or appear before a judge in violation of due process rights. But even before the atrocities we have been witnessing, the immigration system has been broken for years. It is a fear-based system that seeks to stop people from coming in and to keep the people who are already here from succeeding. People seeking asylum endure years-long waiting times, detention under inhumane conditions, cripplingly complex bureaucracy, and high fees. They suffer from racism and racist policies, and their suffering has largely been ignored. The threat of deportation for many immigrants is nothing new. It is simply being done more visibly and more cruelly under this administration. Immigrants in our country pay taxes toward benefits that they do not get to enjoy themselves. They work at jobs that no one else wants but that our economy needs. They run our service industries, take care of our sick and our elderly, and provide our farm labor. Yet they are demonized. They are accused of taking jobs away from Americans, of getting free benefits at our cost, even of voting illegally. These accusations are lies that persist and that have brought us to this moment of crisis, in which we are treating millions of people as individuals without civil or human rights. At its heart, this is a values-based issue going to the core of who we want to be as a people and as a country. Do we want to continue with this fear-based, cruelty-driven policy, or do we want to lead with empathy, curiosity, and compassion? So the two big questions that we're hoping to address tonight are, first, how do we get out of this current crisis? And second, how do we begin to forge a new system, a sustainable system that addresses these injustices not only now but for the long-term future? And now I hand it over to Jeffries to give another statement.

Jeffrey Reyes 8:14 Thank you, Nancy. All right. For action, six current commitments from members of the U.S. Congress and other elected representatives to advance the interests of immigrants and the working-class communities. Members of the U.S. Congress are elected to represent an entire district, not just the individuals who cast ballots. Congressional districts are drawn based on total population, which includes children, seniors, immigrants, no citizens, and others who may not be eligible to vote but who live, work, pay taxes, raise penalties, and contribute to the social and economic fabric of the community. While members are politically accountable to voters at election time, their governing responsibility extends to every person they represent. That means listening to and serving all constituents, including immigrants, newcomers, and working families whose lives are directly shaped by federal policy. Effective representation requires recognition that the strength of a district comes from all of its people. And public officials have a duty to ensure that everyone's dignity, safety, and opportunity are taken into account in the decisions they make. So now we are inviting our candidates here to share with all of you an opening statement on immigration. Each of you will have two minutes. This part.

John Cappello 10:12 So thank you for the questions, thank you for putting this together. This is a really important issue, clearly. But I think it's also important to put it into context a little bit, that this fear that you're talking about with respect to immigration, this isn't happening in the back. For over a decade, we've been ruled by fear. This is one issue, one very important issue. 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. This is the strategy. So when we talk about this very specific issue, which is really important, I think we need to keep it in the bigger context. 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.

Peter Chatzky 11:29 I'm Peter Chatzky. These lights are terrible for me. I think I'm in the wrong height. I know you're out there, but all I'm saying is... Raise your hand. I'm not going to be able to see this, but raise your hand. You are a Native American. We are a nation of immigrants. My grandparents came here simply to see America. 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. ICE was budgeted $85 billion last year.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_11) 13:07 Please wrap up.

Peter Chatzky 13:09 Only $1.25 billion went to the ball, and that was mostly for deportation to reach Donald Trump's goal of removing a million a year. We can do better than this. We must do better. We must get back to our roots.

Cait Conley 13:31 Thank you all for putting tonight together. Thank you to the committees. Thank you to the visible. Thank you to all. Thank you to all of you for coming out tonight. Immigration is a critical issue to this country. For 250 years, America has been successful because of immigration, and for us to continue to be successful for the next 250 years, it will depend on our ability to get the immigration policy right, too. Immigration is a core part of who we are as Americans, and it is true to our American values. I am proud to be up here tonight. 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. 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.

Beth Davidson 15:23 Thank you so much to Invisible Co-hosts for organizing this critical conversation about what is emerging as the moral calling of our time, and it's ensuring that the United States of America remains a beacon of freedom for everyone seeking better life. 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. It's a value that's shaped my entire family's ethos and certainly how I've led both as a community advocate and elected official. 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. Advocacy groups like Reactive Ireland, Rockland, and Neighbors Link here in Westchester have long asked what local governments can do to better protect our immigrant neighbors. And after the killing of Renee Nicole Goode, my constituents asked me what we could do to protect everyone from ISIS, barbarism, and lawlessness. 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. Mike Lawler fought wind of it, and he tried to shut me up and shut my bill down. But I'll tell you, if Mike Lawler thinks he can scare me of doing the best thing for my constituents, he doesn't know me, and he doesn't know the people of New York 17. Within 36 hours of his attacks, I'd mobilized a dozen nonprofit leaders at a press conference in support of my bill. The next day, with the help of so many people in this room, we got 500 people to my county legislative meeting, the overwhelming number of which were also in support of my bill. People ask how we beat Mike Lawler. This is how we organize. I have built coalitions in the Hudson Valley for 20 years and won elections in the past 10. I know how to bring people together to achieve results and to turn themselves into actions. I'm taking to Mike Lawler right now, and the fight I'll take to Congress with your support.

Jeffrey Reyes 17:36 Thank you. Hi, everyone. My name is Evie Phillips-Staley,

Effie Phillips-Staley 17:47 three-term trustee here in the beautiful Terry Town and candidate for Congress of New York 17. I want to say first and foremost, thank you to all of you for being here, because each and every one of you holds immense power. You are the ones that hire us, and you are the ones that fire us. And because of you and your activism, we are going to get rid of Mike Lawler, so I cannot thank you enough. And I suspect, I know we're all here, because you're as horrified as I am at the state-sponsored terror that we've all been witnessing. This is personal for me, and I'm sure it is for you.

Jeffrey Reyes 18:26 So I'm going to say that my mother

Effie Phillips-Staley 18:29 is a beautiful 89-year-old morena from El Salvador with a Spanish accent that is like music to me. She became a citizen decades ago, long before ICE, when it was still called the Department of Immigration and Naturalization. But now we have ICE, which has been emboldened by a Supreme Court to commit racial profiling. So what that means is that my mother is not safe, and frankly, we all know that none of us are safe here, not children, not families, not American citizens who stand up to use their voice to stop these horrors, and certainly not our democracy. Quickly, I want to say, in 2017, I am incredibly proud of this village and the way we have resisted ICE since 2017, 2018, Westchester did this as well, and I am going to use my time to thank Beth Davidson for advancing similar legislation in Rockland County, because we have to do it at the local level, and with this kind of legislation, we have to take it to the federal level to protect people's lives.

Pascal Jean Giles 19:46 Thank you, Effie.

Effie Phillips-Staley 19:47 Thankful for all of you, and I will pass the mic.

Mike Sacks 19:55 Good evening, everybody. My name is Mike Sacks. I'm a father of two sons up in Croton-Hudson, and if you've been to one of these before, you hear I like to talk a lot about policy and power, but I'm going to say something personal right now. I want to tell you about my buddy. That's Yiddish, former grandma, and when the Cossacks came to town during the Russian Civil War, in order for her family to be free, a Cossack reindeer. She then trekked across Europe with her mother. Her mother died along the way in a furry mother day, and upon arriving in America with her son, a product of that day, my uncle Jack, she had to start a new life. It wasn't an easy life. She had mental illness. Some predisposed, some surely triggered by the trauma she suffered leaving. Twenty years later, she had my dad. Eight years after that, because of the mental illness, Jewish family services moved for children to foster. While there, he had a social worker, part of the state services, that helped him move towards and through high school on his way to college, where he was able to dig ditches and construction of his way through university. Imagine that. He became a public school teacher, went to law school. Now in success, I had a family, including myself, and when I was born, the only grandparent I had alive was my bub.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_11) 21:26 Please wrap up.

Mike Sacks 21:30 Because of America as a welcoming place for someone who had nothing in the old country, because of communal services, because of state services, because of education available, I am able to sit here now, having relevant privilege. See? It's terrorizing our neighbors. I'm here now to fight for all of them, and ensure that everyone can live and be as free as I and other people on the stage of it, and our children can be as prosperous as I have been in my career.

Pascal Jean Giles 22:04 Thank you, Mike.

Jeffrey Reyes 22:12 Thank you, candidate, for sharing this opening statement on immigration. Now, we are going to go over the topics, and this is going to be the topic number one. The objectives in crisis. We are clearly in a moment of crisis. The big ugly bill that passed last summer with Mike Mueller's support gave $75 billion in funding to ICE. With this surge in funding, the mass deportations machine has gone far beyond reporting the worst of the worst. It has targeted people who have no criminal background and who have been doing everything they were supposed to do to get their illegal documentation. Immigrants are afraid to come out of their house to shop, to go to work, or take their children to school. Immigration justice advocates are afraid that they will be charged if they get too close to ICE. New Yorkers, emphatically, do not want to live like this or to have their neighbors memorized this way. Now, I will pass it to Pascal for the question.

Pascal Jean Giles 23:47 Congressional Democrats are demanding that DHS put in 10 guardrails before they will agree to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security. Please raise your hand if you agree that they should stand by the following guardrails. Number one, immigration enforcement officers should be required to have a judicial warrant to enter people's homes. Number two, immigration enforcement officers should not be allowed to wear masks. Immigration officers should be required to carry and show ID. ICE should not be allowed near sensitive locations such as churches, schools, hospitals, and polling places. ICE should not be allowed to use racial profiling. Use of force standards should be upheld and training should be enforced. DHS must ensure state and local coordination and oversight. Body cameras should be required for accountability, not used to track protestors. Uniforms and equipment should be standardized. And lastly, states should be allowed to sue DHS for the violations of all requirements. So each of you will get two minutes to answer this, and the wrap-up is, of course, for 30 seconds. If elected, on your first day in office, what do you think is the most effective step you could take to address this crisis? We'll start with Mike.

Mike Sacks 25:38 What power would we have as perhaps the only chamber, the only branch that would go into control? That's oversight. So we're immediately moving towards holding accountable. Everyone who would require the DHS and ICE apparatus means if he and Christie know how, we should impeach Donald Trump as well. Whether it means bringing the ICE to agents, masked ICE agents, to sit before Congress, unmasked, be berated, and then examples of it. Whether it also means proposing legislation, not only so the states can sue the DHS, but also so that individuals who've been constitutionally harmed by ICE can sue for money damages, which right now is not possible under federal law and the Supreme Court, which wants to allow that, is no longer. It's called codifying vivis. Codifying, when they qualify immunity, so that then we can also hold federal law enforcement accountable when they violate people's constitutional rights. Those are several, but ultimately what we need to do, and then we, as Democrats, holding the House, can create an alternative vision for what this country can be when we are all in it. That it's based on humanity, that it's based on protection, that it's based on ensuring that those who live among us can feel free and have dignity to live among us.

Effie Phillips-Staley 27:04 To answer this by addressing the list that we just heard first, there is one critical thing that is missing from the Democrats' request in terms of releasing funds for ICE, and that is in these private prisons, there is no ability for a person who is detained in this moment to report and seek any justice for assault and abuse, right? And this is something that Trump undid. He took away the office of civil rights that would adjudicate this independently, and so I actually appreciate the list that they've done, but now a person who is sexually assaulted in one of these detention facilities has to rely on that facility to investigate it. So it is a gross violation of human rights, and I regret that the Democratic Party did not advance that. So to answer the question, we have to cut up the funding for these private prisons and transfer all the non-criminal detainees to community-based monitoring. Apart from the fact that it will allow families to be together again, particularly for these civil violations, which is what this is, our tax dollars are paying for the kinds of horrors that I just described and the lack of oversight. So the way to reduce harm immediately when we go into office is to address this instantly. There's a lot more I can say than there's enough, but I will say this. We need to...

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_11) 28:37 Please, Repo.

Jeffrey Reyes 28:39 We need to apologize. Thank you.

Beth Davidson 28:46 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 Kristina, 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. I'm already doing this work, and so I'm going to continue the fight more directly to Mike Lawler than anyone here on this particular issue. 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. We came very close, in the last Congress, to doing that. 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 and to win. But what I'm going to say is that in a few minutes, we're going to be asked to answer a series of yes or no questions. And in my experience, many places I've lived, but certainly Rockland County, immigration issues are issues that have a lot of nuance and aren't so easily answered with yes or no. So you're not going to hear me give a simple yes or no to every question. I'm here because I have a base in Rockland County. I know how to win there, but to win a place, you have to know its history. And if you know Rockland County, about the brink's robbery, and other high-profile tragedies that are, for better or worse, shaped our community, you understand that issues around law enforcement are really complex. And that is part of the skill set in order to do this job. It's how I've delivered results for the people I serve. I will just say that when my community asked me to stand up and stand in the breach against ICE, I said yes.

Cait Conley 30:26 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. Then we need to ensure there are transparent investigations all the way through ICE. We need to reign that the heck in. We need to make sure that those who have committed abuses are held legally accountable. Again, no one is above the law. And when it comes to everything that Pascal just listed out, what the Democrats are pushing for in this DHS funding bill, it is atrocious that this is even a partisan issue. These are about protecting people. That's American. It's not Republican. It's not Democratic. That's just the right thing to do. So it is insane to me that this is even a debate when you're talking about law enforcement, agents wearing body cans and law enforcement uniforms and needing warrants for actions. That is just law enforcement. I say that as somebody who started my military career as a law enforcement officer in the Army. What we are seeing coming out of ICE and this administration is not about law enforcement. It's not about immigration enforcement. It is about fear and terrorizing our communities. Please wrap up.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_12) 32:07 It's outrageous.

Cait Conley 32:08 It's unacceptable. And I promise you, I will absolutely fight this administration tooth and nail. I've spent the last four years of my federal service working with Congress. I worked with committees. I wrote federal legislation. I oversaw and executed national budgets. I know how to use Congress and the tools and authorities to check this executive branch. And I promise you, I will.

Peter Chatzky 32:31 I want to talk specifically about living the collusion between ICE and local. And to be very clear, local governments should not be doing federal jobs. I will promote the federalization of Westchester's immigration protection. It clarifies the difference between an administrative agency warrant and a fully due process judicial warrant. Every member of ICE, every number of every law enforcement agency needs to understand that difference. Administrative warrants are used for things. We use them in our building code violations. They're used for health code violations. They're not used to eject people out of this country. That is not the proper use. We have to get back to our Constitution, our Fourth Amendment rights. We need immigrants to be treated through our judicial process exactly as an American would be. 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 and be treating immigrants.

John Cappello 34:19 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. I think that so the very minimum first step is the list that was provided. 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, which is another issue, but it's still something that has to be addressed immediately. 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 lady vetting. So any individual that was somehow accused of any sort of war crime or criminal activity would not be allowed to come for training. We couldn't use federal funds, the lady statute says we cannot use federal funds to support anybody that was accused.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_11) 35:50 Please wrap up.

John Cappello 35:51 Sure, wrap it up. 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, for treating American citizens, funding should be cut off to that unit, to that organization,

Jeffrey Reyes 36:11 and that is a part of the second topic. Pollution with the evidence. You are stemming. And CBP often don't work alone. The high quotas for deportations require them to seek local help to find immigrants who have uncertain status. The government offers bribes to get local municipalities and institutions to send them confidential information on immigration status. They try to get this data from schools, hospitals, churches, and other non-profit groups. So school attendance has gone down, and immigrants are not seeking critical medical care. Two H7G aggregates, which were made law in 1996 by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, allow local law enforcement officers to send private data to ICE, appease ICE in raids and arrest, and give ICE access to county jails in order to find and deport more immigrants. These aggregates are expanding rapidly throughout the country. In New York State, New York State alone, at the end of 2024, there was only one 287-D aggregate. Now there are 14. To be clear, these aggregates go above and beyond what federal law requires local law enforcement to most always comply with ICE when there is a judicial warrant or legitimate criminal investigation. So, when my lawyer says that sanctuary laws, which prohibit data serving, make us less safe because they protect criminals, he is lying. Amen. In fact, in fact, it is the two H7G aggregates that make us less safe. If immigrants don't trust the police, they are less likely to report local crime. And our police officers are too busy doing the work of the federal government to focus on the service that their communities need.

Pascal Jean Giles 39:37 To all the candidates, raise your hand if you agree that data sharing with ICE should not be allowed except in cases where there is a judicial warrant or an actual criminal investigation. If elected, what would you do to limit or end this kind of collusion between ICE and local law enforcement and other public institutions? You'll each have two minutes each to answer, and John, we will start with you.

John Cappello 40:07 So, the initial... I agree with Peter, first of all, that law enforcement, not only do they not act, but they don't act in a bad way. And so, the fact that they're operating the way they do on the streets of America, so in fear, division, it's either they're being told to do that or they're being told they're allowed to do that. So, this is an absolute function of leadership, important leadership and destructive leadership. It's clear, when we talk about accountability, we've already talked about Christie. Where else does the thought be? And it's clear that she needs to be held accountable for Congress, answer questions, and probably removed after those questions are posed to her.

Peter Chatzky 41:19 I know many of us are coached to answer the questions I like to answer. I didn't mean to do that. I could repeat what I already said. But I think more to the point, let's just talk about ICE funding for a second. A little bit of good news here. That ICE, the budget, is predicting the next 10. We do have a chance to get in there and pull back a lot of this funding and reallocate it to where it should be. We need to get ICE out of our neighborhoods, all of our streets. It's creating far less safety for all, as well as immigrants in this country. I would push to reallocate that money. Reallocate that money for new courts, for new judges, for faster processing, so that we don't have immigrants coming here lingering with an unsettled stomach. We need to get back.

Cait Conley 42:30 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. Our local law enforcement department should be focusing on our local communities, and that means all members of our communities are regardless of immigration status. That means making everyone feel safe and looking after the safety and security of everyone. 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. We also, I think, should give our local law enforcement credit because we generally talk about those 14 287G agreements in New York State.

Jeffrey Reyes 43:34 Within New York 17, not a single police department has pursued that.

Cait Conley 43:39 We owe them back up. We should make sure at 287G, again, a proposal is made to eliminate it. I will wholeheartedly support it. And when we talk about data sharing, I believe the existing laws are too weak. There's not enough teeth. Look, we just saw in February how a federal court ruled that the IRS illegally shared over 40,000 times data with ICE without holding people accountable and that no one is above the rule of law. The IRS should not have done that. We need to hold people accountable. Data sharing, prohibitions, and regulations that are written into law need to be strengthened. And we need to make sure again that everyone is being held accountable because no one is above the law.

Beth Davidson 44:33 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, and our Sheriff Lupelco takes very good care of our community without colluding with ICE already. And so, by fear of ongoing using law enforcement as the centerpiece of the bill, 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. And this is having real repercussions. Our local domestic violence prevention agency says that clients are increasingly afraid to come forward and report crimes because that's one way a user can maintain control is threatened to have their partner deported. 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 or that the food pantry and ICE might be staking out the food pantries. And so, this is happening in real time. As was mentioned, East Ramaco School District sees 10% chronic absenteeism every single day. So, we need to make sure that that data isn't being shared. And I will also say that everyone to a person who spoke at my meeting, at our legislative meeting, said how much they value local law enforcement. They know our communities. They already keep us safe. And I also want to be clear why we're all feeling so anxious. After Renee Nicole Good 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. That's why we need a multi-pronged approach to this problem, and I'm proud to be part of that process.

Effie Phillips-Staley 46:23 Thank you. As a trustee in the village of Tarrantown, I have the privilege with my peers of overseeing our police department, of interviewing every officer that comes through. And I am very proud of the work that this police department has done with the trustees to ensure that our residents are as safe as possible, because we know from our police chief that the kind of reporting that people would be doing, particularly around domestic violence, isn't happening because of the fear people have of ICE engaging the police with anything. Our police force does not check immigration status. Our police force will only respond to a judicial want. And I would say this, though the county has enacted this as well, it's critical that local municipalities do it, because when the county covers it, it's for county police, not the local police.

Jeffrey Reyes 47:29 And, again, very important. So I would say first, what we have to do, every single person in this room needs to fight for New York for all right now. Right now. And so it prevents this kind of collusion

Effie Phillips-Staley 47:47 and invalidates the kind of collaboration that we see happening, and the federal government has to follow what those of us in elected office are already doing at the local level. We need a national version. Please wrap up. For all. And that is what we will bring when we go to Congress.

Mike Sacks 48:14 We have to repeal 287-G, but that's not it. 287-G is a subsection of I.A. Rivera, from which she was in 1996 law, that was passed into the Clinton era, that made our immigration system more draconian. It allowed for expedited removal beyond what was previously practiced, and this Trump administration has now used that to make it extra expedited and cruel to third countries. Right now, make the room. New York did sue, and they've won the lower levels of the federal courts, and it's working its way up towards blocking that Trump administration. This is a lawful law. What that law also did was a stripped jurisdiction of federal courts to review certain deportation determinations by an attorney general. We can leave jurisdiction stripping aside we've also stripped the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to hear certain cases that harm us when they rule against us, but in this law, we can repeal this law and ensure that federal courts and the lower courts have been doing an amazing job in those cases to stop the lower courts, and they don't know what they would have to work, to review awful deportation determinations. On top of that, let's talk about this law. It came during a point in the Clinton administration when there was still planning on sort of the Reagan ball thing, where you say crime, drugs, and terror, and all of a sudden you go, and we react and move right. We are now in a moment, we're saying crime, drugs, and terror have been exhausted of their meaning. Mike Baller gets out there and tries to say to justify murdering people on the high seas or deporting people to third countries, or decapitating a member of a foreign leader. Those don't work that way. People see through it. There are more of us than there are of them. We have a moment to turn the page, and part of that is turning the page on the policy that are pursued to accommodate the right way. They can accommodate us and come to our side when we start turning the page on. That begins the 120th Congress, where we put forward in our policies envisioning a better world where all those... Okay, good. I'll be done.

Jeffrey Reyes 50:18 Thank you. Thank you so much, candidates, for responding to this question. Now we are going over to the third topic, detention centers and conditions. In 2024, there were about 40,000 immigrants. Now there are about 70,000, the highest level ever in the U.S. According to I's own data, almost 75% of those detained immigrants have no criminal record, and fewer than 2% have any gang affiliation. In New York, the number of prisons holding immigrants has also expanded from two prisons in 2024 to 12 today. Conditions in these detention centers are abominable, horrible. They are overcrowded, and detainees lack access to decent nutrition and medical care. Even young children are kept in detention centers where they suffer great health risks. In 2025, 32 people died in I's custody, the highest number ever. In 2026, so far, there have already been at least eight dead. Some of these deaths are due to the poor conditions, and some are due to the violent tactics, violent tactics of Federal Immigration and Enforcement officers. I's is now planning to buy a warehouse all over the country and use them as detention facilities for an additional 80,000 immigrants as they describe it, like Amazon crime of human beings. Detention centers like these are nothing more than a modern version of concentration camps, shockingly similar to those set up in Germany in the late 1930s. In New York, I's has this office space in New Greensboro. They have said that at this time they are namming forward with plans for a detention center in Chester. If they continue with those plans, however, we could see up to 3,000 immigrants per day deport from New York. Immigrants who, I remind you, mostly have no criminal and are illegal, but I have these questions too, if elect, how would you try to limit or stop the expansion of these detention centers and what do you think the criteria should be for detaining and or deporting immigrants? That's good to you. Second question then,

Mike Sacks 54:32 just a second question.

Jeffrey Reyes 54:33 Okay, what do you think the criteria should be for detaining and or deporting immigrants?

Mike Sacks 54:43 I'll go with the first question. The House controls the first strings. We can say no more money for this. Right now, ICE, this administration, DHS, has spent billions upon billions of dollars to buy up land, usually over fair market value, so to then construct these concentrations. We can say no, no more money. More than that, we can say, yeah, we're not even spending any more money until we apologize. Period. We can do that, we can have those power politics. We're going to bring that fight, we're going to bring the fight back to them. Because when Trump's in power, his cruelty and his corruption opens up new vistas of what is possible for us to fight back and envision a humane country, a humane society that sees our neighbors as humans. We throw them on concentration camps in no better way than to say, you're treating these people as inhuman and have people awaken their eyes to see this and no more saying they're criminals because we know they are not. We see criminals, people won't believe them, they'll be vaporized, and we can move forward with a humane policy. Second question. Deportation removal. We need to have a policy that focuses on the actual offenses done. If someone has committed a deportable criminal offense, then sure, yes, put them through the process, due process. Please reference. Sure. To ensure that our laws are faithfully enforced. But if you have someone who's, what, caught on a civil offense of entering illegally when in fact they're seeking refuge, they're seeking asylum, and they're going through the process entirely, as done, and prescribed by the law, then we should be having ICE stalking the hallways of our federal courts and our detention centers. Thank you. If you heard the last clip, I'll put it in front of you separately. On time. Under budget.

Effie Phillips-Staley 56:49 So the question again is how to limit or stop the expansion of these detention centers, and we must abolish private prisons because it is immoral to allow Wall Street to profit from the incarceration of human rights.

Jeffrey Reyes 57:09 So in Congress, I would like to ban all for-profit private immigration detention centers, but beyond that, really all for-profit prisons across the board because it's absolutely outrageous. And so also, of course, the power of the purse, we must vote no on any appropriation bills

Effie Phillips-Staley 57:34 that allow a single cent to go towards existing facilities and building new ones. We cannot fund that. And we are not a nation, and I want to say this again very clearly, we cannot be a nation that builds its economy on the backs of the detention of human beings. It is appalling that this is even put forward as a way to make money. And so investment in community-based monitoring is an alternative because these are civil issues. People should not be separated from their families, and there are so many ways to keep families together as people await the adjudication of their status. I mean, come on, let's just be decent again. That's really what it boils down to. And so detention criteria, again, status is not a crime. I will say that. I will say we need to focus on the real threats, and we need to do our best to protect, and when I say real threats, I mean criminal threats. We know that these are not criminal threats. And we need to protect our long-term residents, people who have been here 20 years, 30 years, paying taxes without legal status that we have to fix.

Beth Davidson 58:55 So when we talk about the facility in Chester, the situation we just saw play out in Orange County, you know, I exploded the idea of this detention center and the community push back. Then I said it had purchased a detention facility, a warehouse to serve as a detention facility. Leaders on both sides of the aisle stepped up and said, no thank you. And then I said, oh, it was a mistake. We didn't really buy it. And so it seems to have worked for now that we won't have it. And I'll say what I've been saying since the beginning. We already had a detention facility in Newark, and they were planning to put one also just 20 miles north of me in Rockville County in Chester. They're not just looking

Jeffrey Reyes 59:35 to deport the most violent criminals, right? They're looking to do bigger sweeps and come and get our neighbors in the middle of the night.

Beth Davidson 59:40 So let's just be clear about what that's really about. So yes, in Congress, I also would work to phase out private for-profit prisons and make sure we're having more accountability and transparency over the ones that are already there to make sure that we have humane, safe conditions and don't see the kinds of deaths that Jeffers was talking about earlier. And I also don't support the administration, you know, just saying people are suspected criminals as an excuse to gain access to cars, to homes, to people, to schools, to churches. And so absolutely, we have to make sure, and this is the second part of the question, that we are going, focusing as was promised on the most violent criminals and not just suspected criminals, but then we are depending on judicial wants to do that. Donald Trump said from the beginning he was going to go after the quote-unquote worst of the worst, and that's just not what's happening, and it's time to step up and protect our neighbors. Thank you. As a member of Congress,

Cait Conley 60:41 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. I fought overseas to defend the rights of people here in America, and our Constitution says all persons are entitled to do not. So I will absolutely make sure to champion the fact that not just Congress but third party groups get access to these facilities to make sure that we are treating people with dignity and with humanity and to ensure their health and welfare, because in America they should never be put into question. 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. And so, look, we've got to step up. 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.

Peter Chatzky 62:14 Three, part one, we control the budget for these detention centers. Two, we unleash hate. Who is elected? And three, I think most importantly,

Jeffrey Reyes 62:33 we need to clarify who would be subject to imprisonment in the first place. Right now, we have federal crimes

Peter Chatzky 62:42 subject to mandatory detention. Those are violent felonies. They're drug trafficking. They're terrorism. They're child expertise. They're repeat offenders. They are not people who are here without the proper paperwork. That does not qualify. The one exemption, I would say, that maybe deserves imprisonment is somebody who's already been deported and is recaptured in this country. That makes sense. Put them in jail and they have somehow found their way back. Other than that, we need to stop treating immigrants differently than Americans in this country. I would also seek to repeal the Lincoln-Riley Act. For those of you not familiar, it treats non-citizens differently than citizens in terms of constitutions. It allows detention without law for even basic violations, including shoplifting, minor theft, burglary. These are not reasons to put non-Americans on our soil through a different judicial process. We have to get back to what's in the constitution, equal treatment, Sixth Amendment, due process.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_11) 63:52 Please, Rep.

Jeffrey Reyes 63:54 That's all I have to say.

John Cappello 63:56 So most of it's been said, I'll just pop on a little bit. Day one, and 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 you. That's the fact. I think we could impose legislation over it. I will suggest legislation to let localities have a real veto power in what's built and developed within their municipalities, in their districts. I think that's something at the federal level we could do. And then everybody I think mentioned funding, cap funding, and really redirect towards other alternatives. There's check-ins. You could use case matter. There's so many other ways to deal with the people who are caught in the system that are clearly nonviolent, not flight risks. And there's ways we could deal with this. And I think, like I put it, best is in terms of who should be deported, people that are deportable after due process takes place. Those who have committed crimes, I think that's pretty simple. But due process is not an option. It's not an option.

Nancy Matsunaga 65:29 We understood that, I think. Thank you. I'm going to introduce our last topic of the evening, which is about the big picture approach to solving the immigration crisis. Over the past 30 years, our immigration system has increasingly emphasized fear-based security over compassion. ICE has only existed for 25 years since 9-11. Prior to this, a specific immigration-related enforcement agency did not exist. Now that DHS is so outrageously abusing its power, many people are calling for ICE to be dismantled, while others believe there are ways to rein them in. Beyond figuring out how to get out of the current crisis, we're clearly in need of fresh ideas for immigration policy. We're beginning this last topic with one more round robin, which I will be doing. I want to note that in putting these statements together, we were mindful of two things. First, that asking the candidates to make definitive statements such as these can be a minefield. Statements considered too far left can be weaponized against them. But second, that as a committee, we view issues of immigration justice first and foremost as human rights issues, not as political issues. So we are not asking candidates whether or not to abolish ICE, although some of them have already put forth their thoughts on that. But we are trying to understand how much of a role and what role enforcement has in your conception of a new immigration policy. With that said, please say yes or no to the following statements, and if you feel additional context is needed, you have 30 seconds to give that context. All right, statement one, ICE needs to be dismantled and replaced. I'm going to start with John.

John Cappello 67:40 ICE is a symptom of a much bigger problem that starts with would you frame? I think we have to be super deliberate. ICE needs to be reigned in for sure. It's excesses because it's posed in terms of law enforcement. It is not law enforcement. Do we need a migration policy and an organization to control it? Yes. Is ICE it? I'm not sure. The way it's acting now? For sure, for sure no. But we do need an organization. If it could be reformed, I think we have to take a step back and take a look at that. But the way it's operating now is unacceptable for sure.

Peter Chatzky 68:20 Okay, next please. Too late. ICE needs to be dismantled.

Cait Conley 68:24 We need to make sure ICE is right in the hell in and everyone who has violated the law, who has enacted abuses, is held legally accountable. We need to cease racial profiling. We need to make sure that the 10 things that were stipulated in the DHS funding bill are enacted. Those aren't optional. We need to rein this thing in and get it back to what it should be focused on, which is just criminal activity and protecting communities. Its job is to protect communities.

Beth Davidson 69:02 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 bearer, that is just, and that leads with humanity and the rule of law. And that's what I would work bringing people together in forging consensus to achieve that could pass the House and the Senate.

Effie Phillips-Staley 69:37 Justice only existed since 2003. Before that, when my mother came to this country, she came through immigration and naturalization. Since the war on terror in 2003, immigration and customs enforcement was put together. So now when you hear somebody say something like we have to stop the drugs at the border, you can conflate that with immigrants and their process. Ice must be abolished.

Jeffrey Reyes 70:12 Those two elements must be separated because they contribute to shocking discrimination through where we are at this moment. So thank you, Effie. You're welcome.

Mike Sacks 70:24 Yes, to your question. It's not 2017 anymore. We don't have to be afraid of certain words when the proof before us is before all of our eyes. When you have an agency that has shot a woman to death to interface on camera, shot a man to death and is back on camera, and we have the numbers to show what has been going on with our taxpayer dollars in this rogue agency that has set up again as part of the also discredited war on terror. We don't have to worry about those words. We've all seen it. It's a new time, a new era. We can make it so.

Nancy Matsunaga 71:05 Okay, next statement. Yes or no, or 30 seconds. People whose legal status was stripped away by Trump should have that status reinstated insofar as this is practically possible. Yes, absolutely.

Mike Sacks 71:21 And any of his efforts to denaturalize people should also be shut down and reversed. Yeah. Oh, ditto.

Jeffrey Reyes 71:32 I'll repeat the question because I think it's different.

Nancy Matsunaga 71:37 People whose legal status was stripped away by Trump should have that status reinstated insofar as it's practically possible.

Beth Davidson 71:44 So I think it's also not just about what's practically possible, but what we think is appropriate given what we've said about people with violent crimes being deported. I don't know that I ever wanted their status reinstated. They were for that purpose. However, obviously, I would love to reinstate. Again, this is personal to me. Our Haitian community is seeing people deported under TPS. I would absolutely want their statuses reinstated, but I think it's a case-by-case basis and we have to be really careful how we talk about it.

Cait Conley 72:11 The political weaponization of immigration, prosecution, must end. What Trump is doing is un-American. We must reinstate the TPS designations that he revoked and we must do that immediately. And yes, I do believe for everyone whose status was illegally revoked, it should be reinstated. Yeah.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_05) 72:37 That never happens.

John Cappello 72:40 And the point here is the words matter. The words matter. Legal, right? And so I agree that it should be reinstated, those who are illegally.

Nancy Matsunaga 72:58 All right, next statement. Most of the undocumented people in the United States are law-abiding and contribute to our society and economy. Yes or no? Or please explain in 30 seconds.

John Cappello 73:09 Yes, if you agree. I mean, it's been my experience with everything.

Nancy Matsunaga 73:27 Great. Any sustainable immigration policies should include a path to citizenship and immigrants who are already here?

Mike Sacks 73:36 Absolutely, yes.

Effie Phillips-Staley 73:58 And there was a... Immigration has to stop the political football as it has been for so long. We need to prioritize people's lives, our economy.

Beth Davidson 74:11 Yes, and especially for our dreamers. I know a lot of them have felt forgotten about black lives.

Cait Conley 74:15 Yes, the immigrants already in this country deserve a path to citizenship.

Peter Chatzky 74:21 There's a shocker. Yes.

John Cappello 74:25 Of course. And Mike, I think what you were referring, right? Obama put that forth in 2013.

Mike Sacks 74:30 Right, so even when Obama did this,

John Cappello 74:34 we've been kicking this can down the road for 40 years, both parties, and here we are on the stage having this conversation. Obama had a... There were many opportunities to do this. Listen carefully, because this is very similar

Nancy Matsunaga 74:52 to the previous one. Any sustainable immigration policy should include a path to citizenship for the people who want to come here? Yes.

John Cappello 75:03 There needs to be clear, definitive tabs. It should be predictable, clear, so that everybody knows what needs to be done to come here. And that's not the case right now.

Peter Chatzky 75:17 Yes, agreed, and that pathway should include background checks. For 250 years, America has been a beacon of hope

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_02) 75:33 for people to pursue better lives and safety security for their families. I will always support a legal pathway to citizenship for people.

Beth Davidson 75:41 Yes, this is my own family, and very important to me as well.

Effie Phillips-Staley 75:47 Yes, this is all our families, and it has made our nation a quick nation with extraordinary motivation and great opportunity for so many people. So, of course, this is part of the DNA of America. Yes.

Nancy Matsunaga 76:07 Okay. Next, the United States should grant asylum for people fleeing persecution in their home countries.

Mike Sacks 76:17 Absolutely. We have an asylum system as it exists, and it is broken. My job is to read lots of legal cases, and by judges that too often agree with immigration judges that find the fear of someone arriving. Sometimes that's true, sometimes that's not, but we also need a system in which we have judges who can review and then say, yes, you have a credible fear, and you should be able to see asylum in this country and get it sooner rather than later.

Beth Davidson 76:57 Yes. Yes, although it's meaningless if we don't, it has been said full-storm immigration courts to make sure that there's an expeditious act.

Cait Conley 77:05 Yes, and it's broken to the point where it's putting lives in jeopardy. When you're talking about seeking asylum for persecution, time is lives, and so we have to fix this in order to save the people who are seeking it.

Peter Chatzky 77:20 Yes, and the U.S. should also stop persecuting people for whom the U.S. has been their only home.

John Cappello 77:26 And this is the key. Asylum is there for a reason, to protect the most vulnerable, and that is actually absolutely who we are, and the system is broken. For me, it's a part of a greater comprehensive immigration reform. It has to be taken seriously, because we are where people, that's who we are as a nation, and I'm committed to that.

Nancy Matsunaga 77:56 Okay, people should be allowed to emigrate to the United States, even if their purpose is simply to better themselves economically within a certain congressionally mandated quota per year.

John Cappello 78:07 And I think that we answered that question earlier, that there's a path in which

Beth Davidson 78:27 that forum that I looked into it, and it's Congress's job to evaluate that gap and make sure it meets the demand of the economy, colleges, everything else that we know, immigration to thrive.

Effie Phillips-Staley 78:40 Yes, and that cap is too low. I think it was actually Bill Clinton who said that we have 100,000 unfilled jobs in manufacturing, and there is a great benefit to our economy to allow this kind of legal immigration with a path to citizenship, and it helps transform people's lives, and it helps make our nation more economically solvent. So yes.

Mike Sacks 79:07 These visas already exist, and they shouldn't be sold to the highest bidder, as Trump is trying to do.

Nancy Matsunaga 79:17 All right, spouses and family members of American citizens and green card holders should have a reasonably quick path to permanent residency and citizenship.

Mike Sacks 79:26 Yes, and Biden tried to do this by keeping families together, and a federal judge in Texas blocked it. And that would be the fate of any administrative action should we have the White House again, unless we statutorily codify these things. We can no longer depend on a president's pen and a phone. We have courts that are ready to say, you cannot do that because we don't think it's a good thing. Congress should use this power to legislate, to make these things law, so that they cannot be struck down by rogue judges.

Effie Phillips-Staley 79:59 Yes, and I'll say that this is something that impacts my family directly, and I know what it's like to see the children of my own relatives suffer for fear that one of their parents might have to, or for these families to be held in limbo forever. It is outrageous that if a person is married to an American citizen that they have to wait so long, or could potentially be deported. It's anti-family.

Peter Chatzky 80:30 Yes, I agree.

Unknown speaker (SPEAKER_02) 80:31 Yes.

Peter Chatzky 80:33 Yes, and quick, I believe I said in my opening

John Cappello 80:41 that keeping families together is part of it.

Nancy Matsunaga 80:46 Thank you. Which leads me into the last one. We should create policies that help rather than hinder families to reunite or to stay together. This should be simple after the previous.

John Cappello 80:55 Yes, simple. Yeah.

Nancy Matsunaga 80:59 All right. Jeffries is going to ask the final question where you will have a little more time to elaborate on all of those responses you just gave.

Jeffrey Reyes 81:17 Yes, we are. Hey, you guys all good, all right? Once again, I'd like to disclose members of the community or be here. In Spanish, we will be, right? I'm going to say that we are members of the community in Spanish. We are here with them, and with the help of the people of this country. Yes. I just want to thank members of the Hispanic community, CDNY 17 District, who are here tonight joining this eight-direction party. I just want to say also that my wife is here tonight. She's an elementary school teacher in Mount Kisco. Describe what your approach will be to overhauling the immigration system. What values will you hold paramount in formulating any immigration policy? What will your top priorities be? How will you address the millions of people residing in the U.S. who don't have status? What if required to compromise in order to pass new laws? What will be your non-negotiable red line be?

Mike Sacks 83:16 Three minutes, a lot of questions. Central principle, humanity, decency, and opportunity. That's basic. That undergirds our entire national ethos as a country of influence. The system we have, we all know is broken, and as John mentioned earlier, we had a comprehensive immigration forum bill in 2013, which was far more humane, and addressed pretty much every issue from the backlog at the borders, immigration and judges, the pathway to citizenship, to the Dream Act, and it was way better than the one before in 2024, and again, we were playing on their turf to try to get an immigration going before the 2024 election. If you're looking back to 2013, see what we can do to bring that back and also improve it with a way to pass it. It's to nuke the filibuster, because the only reason that didn't pass was because Republicans, not all of them, but some of them, enough, refused to pass it. Refused to pass it to the Senate, even though it had a majority of votes there, a majority in the House, and a president willing to sign it. But now, because of Trump, immigration politics are even more brutal, more draconian on the right than they were, people who'd be willing to sign that law in the Senate on the Republican side are far fewer than they were then, but have hope, because there's still more of us than there are of them. We can pass the omnibus immigration reform in the House when we have it. We can educate the public of its popular provisions to motivate the public in the 28th. We don't have the Senate to get a new Senate in 2020 and get a new president in 2028. We do have a Senate. This Senate must abolish the filibuster and send it to the president's desk so that this president will veto it when we're cruelty. This is how we use power politics. Show the people that we are working for them. Show our neighbors that we are working for them. Show the country we're trying to turn the page from an era where we can be demagogues, demagogues of crime, drugs, and terror, wars that make no difference, that mean nothing when we talk about our neighbors who are doing none of those things. We can do that. That works in a whole host of issues across the entire policy agenda. On immigration, we can lead the way with that. When Trump is in power, and he goes full corrupt and cruel on the policy of murder, we have new opportunities to show what humanity is really about and a hunger among the public to achieve. It will start with the 120th in Congress. Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 86:05 The first part of this question is really about values. I think the most paramount value is putting people first. This is what our government should be doing every single time and that seems to have fallen off. We need to return to a government or enact a government with a true moral compass. What does that mean in terms of immigration? The sanctity of the family. I think no policy is successful

Jeffrey Reyes 86:32 if it requires tearing families apart. That's what we're seeing right now.

Effie Phillips-Staley 86:37 Family unity is the bedrock of a stable society and as a nation, how we treat our families and our children is a reflection of our own humanity. The rule of law must prevail, not the rule of fear. So true law and order requires a system that is transparent, that is predictable and accessible, not one that relies on fear and masked agents with warrantless searches. Again, we all know that is outrageous and I want to also talk about the value of economic solidarity. We must recognize that an injury to one worker is an injury to all. So protecting immigrant workers from exploitation is the only way

Jeffrey Reyes 87:25 to protect the wages and safety

Effie Phillips-Staley 87:27 of every American. I am a supporter of dismantling and replacing it with a civilian-led immigration system and I want to say this clearly. It is our job in Congress to lead and to call out injustice when it happens. That is not a line that I think we need to walk very carefully. I think we have to lead and say what it is. I believe strongly, as I'm sure everyone here does, in federal shield laws,

Jeffrey Reyes 88:07 we must prohibit the use of local police and National Guard

Effie Phillips-Staley 88:11 for civil immigration enforcement.

Jeffrey Reyes 88:13 Full stop.

Effie Phillips-Staley 88:14 Our local cops should not be solving crimes in a, should be, should be solving crimes in our neighborhood and not doing the bidding of federal team squads. And we also need strong foreign policy, right? Strong foreign policy that puts human rights first because we are a powerful nation with an immense amount of needs. If we help people's human rights be advanced internationally, we're going to stop the flow

Jeffrey Reyes 88:49 of immigrants needing to escape terrible situations.

Beth Davidson 88:56 If there's someone going through the same, follow up with me later. So my approach to immigration reform would be the same as my approach to every other policy I've worked on, whether it's on the nice school board in the Rockland County Legislature, and that's nothing about us without us. I'm not going to take credit for that. It was a candidate I worked for, it was running for the Massachusetts State Senate, but it really stuck with me. And it's why coalition building is so important when you're looking at legislation like this and issues like these. I reached out to 4,000 doors for my county legislative race, and to a person, almost every person cited immigration as one of their top concerns, and it ran the gamut of what their concerns were and what backgrounds they came from. Before I introduced the Safety and Dignity for All Act, I reached out to Prieta Barrow, to my initial point, to make sure they thought it was the right time. Because my caller's out there saying, oh, it's just going to result in retaliation, and I'm hearing that kind of blowback from Republicans as well. So I reached out to her first and asked her to talk to her board and see if they thought this was the right time, and they said absolutely yes. So that is how I would continue to lead on this and any other issue. 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 I'm determined to protect the people I serve from the ongoing excesses of ice. And then when it comes to the red line, I also would not have voted for Lake and 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 Christine on the side. Or any company that profits from even suffering. And I certainly wouldn't be taking any personal contracts with them either.

Cait Conley 90:48 So for 250 years, America has been successful because of immigrants. I don't know if you've ever seen them play Hamilton. There's a great ballot about it in there. But for us to be successful for the next 250 years, we've got to fix this broken system because immigration is going to be essential in that success. And 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. And that helps our immigrant sisters and brothers who want to come here or are here. We have to understand that technology is actually essential to fixing a broken immigration system. I think adding people to technology experience is a really good thing in that. Now, I will tell you that going beyond fixing the system, it's checking this abuse of BS that's happening with this administration. If you want to talk about my rent lines, I see them playing out every day. When we are talking about the revocation of TPS status, especially when you're holding that in jeopardy for communities here in Europe 17, like our Haitian community, unacceptable. When you're talking about detention facilities becoming black holes where we're not actually allowing for oversight and third parties to go in there to ensure the humanity and the safety and wellness of the people there, that's BS. It's un-American. So the stuff that's already happening is my rent line. That's why I want to go and fight it. Because it's unacceptable. It's un-American. And we deserve better, and the people deserve better. And again, if we want a better 250 years, we've got to do better. And so with that, I will also say we owe the people that have been here better. That is where we absolutely need a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who've been in this country. And we need to protect the hell out of the dreamers.

Jeffrey Reyes 93:14 They're just as Americans. Anybody?

Peter Chatzky 93:17 I am so inspired tonight to be a Democrat, and I'm so proud that everyone up here is just so focused on getting America back to where it should be. We need to be fighting for freedom. We need to be pushing opportunity. We need to be promoting decently in our immigration system, a system that can facilitate background checks, processing for those who qualify, and then get them here as Americans or as permanent citizens. We should establish clear qualifications for asylum. We need to stop the over-policing and militarization of ICE on our streets. We need to abolish ICE. We should ensure Congress has codified the use of AI as it relates to immigration enforcement. We can't just be allowing our government to tell these companies, we can do whatever we decide is lawful. There needs to be checks on the use of it. My red line is ensuring that all non-Americans and Americans are treated the same as we process through the American justice. Author them, six of them. Whether you're American or not, you're here. You should receive that treatment. We need to end arrests based on skin color, on language, on accent, on place of work. Immigration enforcement joined part of the judiciary department. Being a foreign board itself is not a national security risk. A country of immigrants, we need to get back to that. We can move forward together.

John Cappello 95:13 My non-emotional red line is that any immigration policy must take into account basic constitutional rights. This is the bottom line. No policy that relies on indefinite detentions without hearings or collective punishment of family. That would never, ever have my vote. We talked a lot about values and immigration here tonight, and I think that's an important, really important component of this issue, of solving this issue. The economic component I think is really important as well. I think there's a large segment of our population that's susceptible to the divisiveness and the divisive narratives that are coming from this administration, and we have to deal with that. We absolutely have to. I'm a product of immigration. We've heard some other stories. My grandparents came here, had my father, a big family. He was a fireman in New York City. We moved from the state to suffering. I lived my dream. I became a pilot of the United States Air Force because of this country. This is what this community had to offer. And we talked. We're in violent agreement here in most respects about how important immigration is, what a great benefit it is to this country, or a safe, secure, prosperous nation because of the people who come here and serve here and work here. However, going back to my initial comments, we are in extraordinary times where divisiveness and fear are being used to divide us. The person that looks different than you, that is different than you, that's the source of your problem. And how do we get through that? And I would argue it's faith, right? It's faith in ourselves. It's faith in our community, in our neighbors, in the system. The fact that you're all sitting here tonight shows that you have faith in this. And we have to make sure that those who are susceptible to those other narratives understand that it's faith over fear.

Pascal Jean Giles 97:26 Thank you all for coming. Before we wrap up, each candidate will have one minute for their closing statement. Give me a second to set the timer. John, since you were the first last to speak, you have, go ahead, go ahead.

John Cappello 98:06 I'm not sure I have much more to add under them. This is not just this issue. I'm so glad to be able to have this conversation tonight. And I'll just go back to it quickly. These are strange times, right? These are really, really strange times. My whole career was focused on identifying challenges, identifying problems, building coalitions, building networks, building partnerships to solve those problems and come up with clear results. I think that that skill set is what is needed to address these very, very challenging times we face. We are going through a storm, being clear, deliberate, and calm leadership because it's not just about this election and it's not just about 2028. It's about reestablishing credibility, balance, and accountability, and trust in our system. Thank you all for being here. I really appreciate it.

Peter Chatzky 99:17 Raise your hand if you want to go home. It's going to be so good. Thank you all for coming. Your participation is going to... I'm so confident we're going to accept after the election keeping attention, keep doing what you're doing. We're going to keep doing what we're doing, obviously. We can make this country, we can bring it back on track. It needs to be welcoming again here in America. I love so many immigrants that have been part of my own life, especially a year ago's life. My mom was dying. It was immigrant workers who were here giving her that care, doing that job. If you haven't experienced this yet, you will. We should be embracing it. The first thing we need to do to fix this

Cait Conley 100:21 is get Michael Lawler in the heck out of Congress. 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 has hastened beaten Democratic politicians before. 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. So let's go, America. Let's get it back on track. It's not too late, and our best days are still ahead.

Beth Davidson 101:13 I want to thank all of you for leading such an amazing discussion tonight, Megan Pascal and Jeffrey. One of my favorite, most evocative descriptors of the United States is that of the shining city on the hill. And for those of you who don't know, the president who coined that term was President Ronald Reagan in his farewell address to the nation. He believed so much in the importance of immigration to keeping this country forever young, forever prosperous, that he made it the subject of his final address to our country. And so I think when you're looking at all of us and asking us what gets us out of bed every day to do this, for me, it's the people. It's the people I serve on the school board. It's the people I serve on the county legislature. It's the 500 people, as I said, that we mobilized to the county legislature in support of my bill. I know how to build coalitions. I know how to win. That's what makes me the best person to go up against Mike Lawler. As I started talking about Ronald Reagan, we can get back there. If we end Donald Trump's presidency legislatively,

Jeffrey Reyes 102:22 and put powers back to work for the people. Thank you. I respectfully have a different take on Ronald Reagan because of himself. You know, the country that my mother is from,

Effie Phillips-Staley 102:40 that I love, that's my heritage. El Salvador was in a terrible civil war at the time. And I'm grateful to Ronald Reagan because he granted amnesty to my relatives who fled that civil war. But the economic conditions that drove that civil war was because of policies that people like Ronald Reagan put forward. So, I appreciate the vision,

Jeffrey Reyes 103:02 but the reality is significant. Because we have to lead with human rights first. And we can't be afraid to. We have to call things what they are, which is why I support abolishing ICE. Because most Americans, I believe, have the ability to look at the terror that they are raining down and saying no.

Effie Phillips-Staley 103:24 No, not in our country.

Jeffrey Reyes 103:27 And I believe that as people run for Congress, we have to take that kind of leadership

Effie Phillips-Staley 103:32 and put it forward because people expect us to lead. Not to parse words because we have all I could do. But I thank you all for being here.

Pascal Jean Giles 103:41 Thank you. And we'll talk more.

Mike Sacks 103:45 In Trump 1.0, his office of refugee resettlement decided to prevent a woman, a teen, detained in Texas from obtaining an abortion, which was still legal at the time. They lost in court. I just read today that now, Trump administration is moving pregnant teens, unaccompanied minors, to Texas so they cannot get abortions. These are related issues. It's not just about immigration. It's about reproductive freedom. It's about voting rights. It's about anything humane that we stand for as Democrats. Mike Lawler has never faced an opponent when he hasn't been tied to the mast of Trump's cruelty. I spent my career in it, but never watching how Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court are dysfunctional and seeking to keep themselves in power for everyone that's run by Republicans. Our project of renewal will not be a bipartisan one. And we will win. Let them work on our turf. For too long, we've worked on their turf. We will win. Get that through your head. We will win.

Jeffrey Reyes 105:02 We will win. See that? It would be fantastic. Okay, great. That's great.

Tina Volz-Bongar 105:16 Okay, sorry. Anyway, thank you all so much for coming. I want to thank my wonderful moderators.

Jeffrey Reyes 105:24 And thank you, Congressional candidates.

Tina Volz-Bongar 105:35 We're all welcome to share some food, juice, and candidates over here to the right-hand side.

Moderator 3:41 Jennifer Sane, BDC Vice Chair, who has touched every aspect of the planning and implementation of this forum, and Kevin McAvay, who inspired and developed tonight's program and who will now be introduced by Jennifer Sane.

Jennifer Sane 4:04 Thank you, Michael. On behalf of the Bedford Democratic Committee, welcome to Bedford. We are so excited to have so many, so many of you here. And here at our home for our health care forum with the CD17 Democratic candidates. Our committee's job is to not only support our own Bedford elected officials, but to help elect Democrats all the way up the ballot. And this year will be so important with all of your help. Please keep showing up for your local committees and candidates and help flip the seat and get Mike Lawler out of office. Our moderator tonight is Bedford's very own district leader, Kevin McAvay. Kevin is a national health care policy expert and managing director to health care consultancy based in New York City. In addition to his work with state and business leaders across the country to transform systems of health to deliver more effective, affordable, and quality care, he serves on several health care related boards, including the Center for Improving Value in Health Care, the National Association of Health Data Organizations, and the New York-based Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy. He's qualified to do this. Please check out Kevin's YouTube page at Kevin from New York, where he's interviewed the candidates in his In the Field series and on his Instagram, where he posts about this race and other local races, health care issues, especially Medicaid, and occasionally his wife and three kids. Welcome Kevin, and let's get to the candidates.

Kevin McAvay 5:36 Thank you. Thank you. I mean, this is a tremendous opportunity, and I feel very privileged to be up here with all of you. And if any of you have seen the interviews before, I do think this is also an opportunity for all of us to get better educated on issues that are impacting all of our lives. So if you'll bear with me for a few minutes, I want to talk a little bit about health care in our country, and then I would like to turn the mic over to our candidates to talk about different aspects of health and health care, and how, if they served in Congress, they'd help us improve it. So thank you all for coming. It is my pleasure to moderate this discussion on health and health care in America to discuss why, in a nation of such abundance, we have not yet had a crisis of conscience to declare it an American right to be able to see a doctor when you are sick without fear of its cost. Each year in America, we spend more on our health care to get less in return. How many in this room have seen their health care premiums, copays, deductibles, increase more than their wages in the past year? Raise your hand. Now, how many in this room have to wait months to see a doctor or specialist when they need urgent care? Eighty-four percent of Americans are now unsatisfied with our health care system. One in four believe our system in crisis is no wonder. Twenty-three million Americans are uninsured. Health insurance for an average family is $27,000 to cover less than it covers the year before. Health care costs continue to grow more than wages. More than 10 Americans have medical debt, and yet we face worse health outcomes, shorter lives compared to rich countries like ours. What we do produce in American health care is profits. One study found that health care system earnings will grow by 7% annually to reach $1 trillion in just two years' time. Another, the large for-profit, publicly-traded health care companies have extracted as much as $2.6 trillion from our health care system for stakeholders over patients in the past 20 years. And Americans of every age and gender, race and creed and every party are increasingly unified in their belief that our health care system is broken and our leadership incapable of solving big problems like this. But more often than not, I will pose it as Democrats who are willing to find ways to address the concern – LBJ, Medicare, and Medicaid – that brought federal health insurance to the elderly and those of low income. It was President Clinton who assigned the Budget Bill Act of 1997 that created CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program, a program long fought for by our neighbor, First Lady Senator Hillary Clinton, which reduced childhood uninsurance by over 60%, and it was President Obama who signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, expanding Medicaid eligibility and establishing new subsidies for individuals to get access to coverage otherwise out of reach – having the uninsured rate to an all-time low of 7.7%, despite Republican efforts to negate its effects. These were tremendous steps to fix our nation's very broken but foundational system of health, and I remind you that both can be true. How we should commend every policy maker that has sought to improve health care access and lower costs in this country, and also that we can believe that we are still not doing enough. Tonight, while Congressman Lawler and Republicans in Congress think about how we further divest our public and moral responsibility to improve our nation's health to a different and severe market, we will hear reflections from those on this stage on how they would fight for the public good should they be elected our next representative. I want to echo my thanks to everyone in the Bedford Committee, including Michael Menard, our fearless leader. I want to thank the candidates for putting themselves forward at great sacrifice to their lives and livelihoods. It is an American sacrifice and one that should be recognized at every single opportunity. I also want to thank John Sullivan for running. Does he hear you? There he is. Stand up right there. You ran a campaign of integrity and character, a reflection of who you are, and for whom and for which we are all deeply grateful. I also want to take a moment to thank Congressman Lawler for his service. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, he's right, he's watching. He's right there. He is a man of 39 who must leave his wife and two young children each week to go to Washington to serve in this role. And for any in this room who have children, you know exactly what costs that comes at. Only 200,000 in our community voted for Mr. Lawler in 2024, 50,000 more than two years prior, believing that he would reflect our values in Washington. And this year, Mr. Lawler, with Congress on the line, with money interests at his back and no less than the direction of our nation at stake, will seek to make the case once again that he is best positioned to serve. But dollars are not votes and rhetoric is not truth and what has been going on in Washington does not reflect who we are. And it is incumbent on all in this room and all watching to make the case to those not here that there is a better way than the one that the president has pursued and Mr. Lawler has enabled at every step of the way. Let me show you. Every candidate on this stage, please raise your hand if you believe that every American should have access to affordable, quality health care. Please raise your hand if you will fight against fraud, waste, and abuse to ensure the integrity and sustainability of our health care system. Raise your hand if you believe that our health care policies too often reflect the interest of the system instead of those who depend on the system. Raise your hand. And finally, raise your hand if you will fight to improve the health and well-being of all Americans, rich or poor, young or old, new citizens of our nation, or a legacy of this nation's open arms to the tired and poor and persecuted. Raise your hand. This, my friends, is the way. So let's get to it. As I communicated to the candidates, I'll ask a series of questions, mostly those not exclusively focused on health and health care policy. Candidates will be given two minutes for the opening remarks and varying limits for however we feel they're after. There may be a period of discussion tonight where the candidates will get to choose which questions they respond to, allowing us to cover more ground and cover more of the over 100 questions that we received in advance of this forum. If a candidate is respectfully mentioned by another candidate, I may allow the mentioned candidate a 30-second response, otherwise ask that responses are held until closing statements. I may personally ask candidates to clarify or expand on their statements. No one has seen the questions for tonight. We have five candidates joining us this evening. We'll start with Beth Davidson, Rockland County legislator and former NIAC school board member. Where are you, Beth? Hi. Cait Conley, former director of counterterrorism at the National Security Council. We have John Cappello, former Air Force officer and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mike Sacks, lawyer and former political legal journalist. I knew I was going to get shit from you. And Peter Chatzky, founder and CEO of a software company and deputy mayor of Briarcliff Manor. Not able to join us tonight but sent a representative and materials and I'll also be sharing a statement from her at the end of the candidate introductions. But with that, I'd love to pass if we can, Mike, if you pass up the microphone, pass it down that way to Beth. And Beth, I would love if you could start us off by introducing yourself, helping us to understand the experiences you have had in the district that make you want to improve our healthcare system. Thank you, Beth.

Beth Davidson 14:35 Thank you very much. Thank you so much to the Bedford Dems for hosting us, to Kevin McAvay for moderating and to all of you for joining us tonight. I'm Beth Davidson. I'm a mom of two kids. I'm a two-term NIAC school board member and I'm a Rockland County legislator who gets up every day ready to fight for the community I've called home for 20 years. Last summer, Mike Lawler voted for the big awful bill, gutting our healthcare, slashing Medicaid, eliminating the ACA tax credits and defunding Planned Parenthood. 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. And as a Rockland County legislator who also serves on the county's health and wellness committee, I have a front row seat to the ways in which Mike Lawler's votes have destabilized our entire healthcare system. I represent healthcare workers in safety net hospitals who are terrified of losing their jobs. I represent people with special needs who are afraid of losing their healthcare benefits. I represent a county in which one out of six children don't know where their next meal is coming from. And I just sent a daughter off to college with fewer rights than I had at her age. 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. And you can bet that as someone who's worked my entire life to elect pro-choice Democratic women to office, I will fight like hell until Roe versus Wade is once again the law of the land. If I leave you with one thought tonight, it's that healthcare doesn't exist in a vacuum. Housing is healthcare. Clean water is healthcare. Gun safety is healthcare. And yes, being able to access vital benefits without the fear of being snatched by ICE is healthcare. I have a record on each of these issues that I'm ready to take to Congress with your support. Thank you.

Peter Chatzky 16:53 Good evening. I am Peter Chatzky. First, I want to thank everybody who showed up tonight. This is possibly the most important issue that we face today. It affects affordability, which is a problem throughout the country. Medical care is a right, and we need to completely throw out the current system. It's simply not working. I come to this with a very personal experience with our medical system. I have been a patient, I have been a dad of four kids, I have been a small business employer, and I have seen the impacts that our healthcare system has on families for 40 years. It is the second biggest driver of expense for small business. Healthcare is a human right. Our country has to re-examine the way we look at it. We need to cover everyone. We're the only advanced country in the world that doesn't recognize everybody has a right to quality healthcare. It's critical that we not only improve service, but we have to bring down costs. It's the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in this country is medical debt. It has to change. So much emphasis on profits, so much emphasis on shareholders, on CEO executive salaries, and not enough on patient care. It's why I'm calling for Medicare for all, and I will do all I can in Congress to see that that comes to be.

Mike Sacks 18:36 Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Thanks for coming. I'm Mike Sacks. Just over 21 years ago, my college roommate, his name is Greg Wolf, died of leukemia. He had the best insurance one could have. He had all of the care that money could buy, and yet he died of leukemia. When he was diagnosed, he was actually in the UK. He enjoyed the services of the National Health Service there in ways that he might not have been diagnosed had he still been at home, and upon his diagnosis, he came home. He had the best care money could buy. Great insurance. But I don't want to talk about how he died. I want to talk about how all of that allowed him to live longer than he otherwise should have. He was a junior in college when he was diagnosed. He came back senior year after undergoing intense chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, ready to be on the path to recovery and graduate with his class in a heroic effort. And we graduated sitting next to each other that summer. Had he not had the best health care money could buy in the United States and the best health care the country would provide in the UK. He would not have been able to graduate. He would not have survived. Had his family not had the means to provide that health care, his family, along with his five brothers and sisters, probably would not be enjoying the life they still enjoy today and remembering their brother and their son as someone who's able to at least live through graduation and die with dignity. There are so many people in this district and around this country that will not have that same opportunity. They will not have the best health care. They will not have the best insurance. They will not have universal health care. They will not have money that can allow them, even if the fight is a losing one, to enjoy the best possible care, to have as much time with their families as possible. So I'm in this race for Medicare for all. I'm in this race to ensure that every single person in this country from cradle to grave can enjoy the same kind of care that my college roommate did. If it wasn't enough to save him, it would be enough to save so many other people. Thank you.

John Cappello 21:16 Good evening, all. I'm John Cappello. Kevin, thank you for putting this together. Thank you all for being here. This truly is the demonstration of what democracy should be. And I thank you all for coming out and spending the evening with us. As Kevin said, 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. Government can do this, but we have to make the decisions to get there. My entering argument is that everyone in this country should be covered by health care. Everyone, no exceptions. How we get there is a really, really important conversation, a conversation we have to have. And it needs to include costs. We haven't talked about that yet, but we have to. Because we're talking about passing on a huge amount of debt to future generations. It's doable. I think it's doable, but we have to have a serious conversation on how we get from A to B. I've talked to many people around the district, like many of you sitting here in the room. Affordability, affordability, affordability. Health care, of course, is key to that. One gentleman shared $48,000 he's paying for health care with a median income of $80,000. That's almost half of his math. That's more than half of his income. How is that sustainable? Pay rent, food, it's not. And these are the conversations we have to have. And I look forward to doing that this evening with you.

Cait Conley 23:01 Thank you. First, I have to just give Kevin tremendous credit for that opening, because I was ready to pick up that flag and follow you down the streets of Bedford. I think part of what we are talking about, Mike Lawler, is we, as Democrats on the stage, are articulating the values that founded this America and that is worth fighting for. And what we are talking about is not allowing the America we are seeing today to be the America that defines us, that addressing the problems that are impacting families across this community, across New York 17, and across this country. I am Cait Conley. I am a proud West Point graduate, Army special ops combat veteran, and daughter of the Hudson Valley. I come from a blue collar family that goes back here four generations, to my great grandfather and grandfather, who worked in the brickyard in Montrose, to my mom, who was born in Pechel, has been with the US Postal Service for 48 years, serving communities up and down the Hudson Valley, to my dad, who was a construction worker. And I will tell you, it is those values of hard work, of tenacity, of courage to stand up and fight for what is right, that has guided me throughout my life. That's why as a junior in high school, when we saw the Twin Towers fall, I knew my place was in the fight. That's why 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, leading America's sons and daughters in defense of this nation out of love. My last two years in uniform, as Kevin mentioned, I was at the White House, as the Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council. And then I served as a senior executive for two years, working on critical infrastructure security. And I say all of that because with everything I have seen and everything I have done, I never thought I would feel like the greatest threat to America, to our future, would come from within our own borders. And that is what is happening right now. The country I was willing to die for is becoming something I barely recognize. And that is not okay. We are looking at an issue tonight that should be the right of every American. Affordable healthcare should be their right and not the privilege for just a wealthy few. And Mike, you have failed and that is why we're holding you accountable and we're working hard to make sure that people understand they deserve better.

Kevin McAvay 25:34 So I have two questions that I wanna kind of acknowledge in tandem. I wanna ask about the safety net and Medicaid and then I wanna broaden the conversation to the rest of our population, many in this room who are feeling the crunch of healthcare like many in America. The first part of the question, Medicaid. Medicaid, as many may know, is the payer of last resort in America. It allows the lowest income among us, children, individuals, disabilities, seniors, adults with low wages, access our healthcare system to be able to see a doctor when they're sick. Nearly 77 million Americans are on Medicaid, including 6.5 million right here in New York. Medicaid is not a rich plan. It pays doctors about a quarter less than Medicare, which itself pays doctors on average, at least a quarter less than commercial insurance. Per person spending on private insurance, just for a point of reference, has been growing on a per person basis, 50% quicker than Medicare and Medicaid over time. And yet, last year, Congressman Lawler focused along with other Southern Republican leaders to vote on the one big beautiful bill, which will cut over $900 billion from Medicaid over the next 10 years, by making it harder for enrollees to get and maintain coverage, making it harder to get access to see a doctor when you're sick. 10 million more people are projected to be uninsured by 2034 because of the act in New York, potentially upwards of 1 million. These offsets were used, of course, to fund historic increases in things like ice, as well as $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, with $2.3 trillion of those tax cuts going to the wealthiest 10% of Americans. So Cait, I would love to actually start with you and walk back down in approximately two minutes. Can you talk to us about the importance of our healthcare safety net in America and what you would do to seek to strengthen Medicaid if you were elected?

Cait Conley 27:32 Thanks so much. And so, you know, you said something so important, which is we're talking about the American safety net. We're talking about social security, Medicare, Medicaid, these are just the basics that many of these programs, every American's already paid into and they deserve. And when we talk about programs like Medicaid, these are just the basic things to provide to our fellow community members, our neighbors, to make sure that they don't go through suffering unnecessarily, something that Mike Lawler seems completely okay with ensuring he's inflicting. 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. These are things that I promise you if elected, I will fight for every single day because it's the right thing. It's the smart thing. It's the American thing. But those values aren't what guide Mike Lawler. Instead, it is his own selfish ambition, corruption and greed. And the same thing with this administration. I was waiting for you to use the example of also the $250 million to renovate the Kennedy Center to mask the fact that no one goes there anymore. These are the real things that this administration enabled by cowards like Mike Lawler are prioritizing and are fundamentally wrong. You wanna talk about how we should be talking about these issues? How do we make affordable healthcare available to every American? These are the conversations that we haven't been having as a real government that we must. And so that is what I will promise, I will tell you I always champion. Let's address the actual problem. How do we expand existing programs to include things like having a public option? How do we drive down costs and increase competition? How do we check big pharma and allow, I always get the time sign. All right, we'll have more to talk about. But bottom line is there's a lot of things we should be doing beyond just funding these programs to actually address the root issues, to encourage more people to be able to afford healthcare and not need these programs.

Kevin McAvay 29:48 So I'll actually like to, can you hold the mic for one second? This is how we're gonna mix it up. So 30 seconds, I would love to actually-

Cait Conley 29:53 So I don't feel as bad that I went over.

Kevin McAvay 29:55 For those who don't know, can you explain what the public option is

Unclear 29:58 and why it's a viable option?

Cait Conley 30:08 How do we figure out actual insurance brokers, insurance companies, and allow people to pay directly for their actual health insurance coverage, cutting out the middleman? That's how you can drive down lower prices and greater competition in the market. And so it's that type of program that, look, I have concerns over universal healthcare because if we had that today, you know who would be at the head of it? RFK Jr. But seriously, but I agree with my colleagues, this system is fundamentally broken. It is not working.

Jennifer Sane 30:42 Thank you.

John Cappello 30:49 I think something that comes across the whole spectrum and all you can love is the fact that

Unclear 30:56 cutting the ECA subsidies affects the whole system. It affects the whole system. How it-

John Cappello 31:09 Who remains in the system, right? It not only makes it unaffordable for low income people, but young people who feel healthy opt out. So the number of those in the system reduces, the number of those paying in reduces, and those who remain are paying way more, right? They're paying way more. So we have to incentivize to make sure that people stay in. And that is why the ECA subsidies are so important. So that is the first step to staunch the bleeding, right? That has to be addressed immediately. I mean, there's other things reducing or capping how much of a person's income to about 8%, somewhere in there, right? I mean, we need to talk about that. Improving or focusing on preventative care, mental health care to prevent people from going to emergency centers. All of these things are practical steps over the longer run that will help as well.

Mike Sacks 32:25 I think a lot about power, not just policy. So my advocating for Medicare for All isn't just about good policy.

Kevin McAvay 32:34 What is Medicare for All?

Mike Sacks 32:35 Yeah, it's an expanded version of the current Medicare we currently have that will be without deductibles, without copays, without premiums, and that reaches dental vision as well as medical from cradle to grave. It's an act that has 112 sponsors in the house and grows every single year as we reach farther and distance away from the passage of the ACA and the failure of the public option to be passed. And I believe we're in a completely different political era than we were in 2010, 2011. I believe we have seen too much to recognize that half measures and reforms won't stop fascism from knocking at our doors and coming into power. What does is policies that put us all in it together. Let's recall, you're talking about Medicaid, part of the Great Society, Medicaid, Medicare. Passed over the objection of those who thought it would be socialism. And yet now the heirs of the people who objected to Medicare and Medicaid claim they want to strengthen it while of course slashing its money in the dead of night. Or they rely on the courts to strike down things that they cannot repeal because it'll cost them their jobs if they do so. If we pursue a policy that we can afford, not just that we can afford, but saves us money and saves us lives on the orders of billions of the former and tens of thousands of the latter each year. And every person sees their tax dollars of which they pay fewer of per year than they would otherwise pay in premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and they see that it's working for them. If people like Mike Lawler try to repeal or slash or people like RFK try to mess with what we all now cherish, all of our pitchforks will come out. We must turn the page on the era we've been existing in, have transformative changes like we saw in the Great Society and like we saw in the New Deal. So we can exit this gridlock we've been in and become say a 60-40 country, 65-35 country, even a 100% and nothing country over healthcare, thank you.

Peter Chatzky 34:52 The microphone is always a little warmer when Mike hands it, it's really weird. Listen, where everybody in this room will admit we're in a very wealthy part of the country. How many of you, show of hands, how many of you are directly impacted by Mike Lawler and supporting the Republican cuts, the devastating cuts in Medicaid? Show of hands. Okay, most of you got that wrong. 100% of you are affected. Medicaid is a primary funder of our hospital services. Westchester Medical Center, the only level one trauma center between Albany and New York City. Trick questions aren't allowed. Trick questions aren't, you said they were. Actually, what you said was they are not allowed in the double negative, confused the hell out of me. Medicaid works out, they pay the standard rates to hospitals. Hospitals can appeal. They can say we're the only hospital in the area. We provide special coverage. And what happens when they appeal is their rates can go up. And you know what, there's a direct link between hospital rates going up under Medicaid and contributions to the congressmen in those districts. It's just another example of money in politics working against all of us. I am not a fan of a public option because it's a halfway solution. There's so much research that shows it doesn't help decrease the rate of uninsured. It doesn't effectively lower prices. Dems have to stop doing this. We have to aim higher. We have to swing harder. We need Medicare for all. Everybody needs to be covered. I also just wanna point out Medicaid, there's been a lot of talk about how it cares for the least wealthy, but that's a problem with our system. Wealth, preexisting conditions, whether you're employed or not, none of those should have any impact in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, making sure that everybody gets coverage regardless of any of those. That's why I'm supporting Medicare for all. Thank you.

Beth Davidson 37:12 I know, you and I both have this question. The question's about Medicaid, right? The whistle there, okay. And the reason I raised my hand, Peter, is, and thank you for asking that, and I knew it was a trick question, but I was ready for you, which is that I'm also impacted because I'm a county legislator, and part of the impact of the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits is that crushing administrative costs and error rate costs, not to nerd out, get pushed down onto counties, which means we have to do more with less. So that's been a challenge for me from the beginning of this process. But I also wanna tell a story. I know you want us to talk about our experiences in this district and in this community. One time I was taking my son in to get glasses at LensCrafters, and as I was coming in, a friend of mine was coming out very quickly and just kind of said hi and looked very upset and kept moving. It wasn't like her, so I texted her later and I said, hey, is everything okay? And she called me and she said she was leaving quickly because she'd gone in to get glasses with her daughter. And they have Medicaid benefits and that's how they got vision. And so the LensCrafters person said, oh no, don't look at those over there. You have to choose from these glasses and set out a box with like four different choices versus the hundreds my child got to choose from. There is a stigma to Medicaid coverage that we have to get rid of. And expanding Medicare to Medicare for All would certainly help address that. But I'm gonna nerd out a little bit because since being a county legislator and since these cuts, I've learned a lot about Medicaid. Medicaid, yes, it is healthcare for low income people, but it's so much more. It's supportive housing for people with special needs. It's transportation to jobs for people with special needs. It's so many wraparound services that make sure everyone in our community can live purposeful, productive lives. And that's why we have that we reinstate these cuts because the ripple effects are huge, not just into our healthcare system, but into employment, into our larger economy and into the kind of country that we wanna be.

Kevin McAvay 39:25 So now lifting us up a little bit to other issues that also affect everybody in this room. Last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a new poll that found that just under half of adults in America find it difficult to afford healthcare. Nearly a third or 36% have skipped or postponed getting care due to cost. One in five have not filled a prescription. All while a Republican majority in Congress, as John noted, let the ACA tax credits expire. These are premium supports for individuals who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but who do not otherwise have access to affordable health insurance through their employer, raising premiums for over 20 million Americans, often doubling the premiums that individuals face. Middle-class working Americans are struggling to afford healthcare. As Peter mentioned, employers are struggling to afford healthcare. As Beth mentioned, towns and counties and school districts are struggling to afford healthcare. So my question for you, starting with Beth, in approximately two minutes, like how would you think about improving healthcare access and affordability, not just for low-income Americans, but for all New Yorkers who are feeling the crunch?

Beth Davidson 40:42 Sure, so of course it would start with restoring the Medicaid cuts because as soon as we see people rolling off the ACA because they can't afford premiums, we're gonna start seeing Medicaid services exploding and as Peter pointed out, the safety net hospitals will really suffer. Dems in Washington often struggle with messaging and one of our biggest blunders on the ACA, or excuse me, on the big awful bill, was that rural hospitals would be impacted and safety net hospitals would be hugely impacted and we have two of those in Rockland County and others on this side of the river as well, not to mention places like Open Door, which serves so many immigrants and other low-income people in our community. And because you have the Immigrant Protection Act here in Westchester, you hopefully have folks in the community, immigrants who feel comfortable going to Open Door and the wonderful services they provide there, gynecological care, preventive care, dental care, all of it. And so I'm proud to have introduced our version called the Dignity and Safety for All Act in Rockland County, which will make it, which will protect all Rockland residents from any county employees divulging data or information, including law enforcement, but all county employees, including the data that gets referred on healthcare and other nonprofits, so that everyone feels safe accessing every service they need in Rockland County. And then in terms of also improving access, it would be also repealing the Hyde Amendment and the defunding of Planned Parenthood. There are four states in this country that no longer have a Planned Parenthood clinic. And that means no preventive care, no STD testing, no obviously abortion care. And as I said, abortion is healthcare. And so restoring those funds will go a long way towards making sure women and men can remain healthy.

Peter Chatzky 42:47 The question was about affordability and healthcare. Yes. Yes. So everyone's going to admit that the price, the increases in healthcare, just not sustainable. It's crazy. When I talk about Medicare for All, it's based on the notion, and you can find tons of studies here, two to $5 trillion of savings over the next 10 years. That's an unbelievable amount. If you just think that our current healthcare system is set up so that 80% of funding going to insurers is spent on patient care, that means 20% is going to marketing, to executive salaries, to equity shareholder payback. That's a lot of wasted money. I have moved all of my family's prescriptions to Mark Cuban cost plus drugs. If you're not aware of this, go home tonight, Google it. It's something is wrong when my insurance co-pay for generic drugs cost more than I can get mail order, literally dollars from this guy who just decided that the whole system is broken and he was going to buy a company and expand the company and fix that problem. I recognize that while I call for Medicare for All, we're not going to get there tomorrow. We're not going to get there in a year, so you have to have things you can do today to immediately reduce prices. There's no magic bullet. Nothing is going to bring the cost down 15% tomorrow. But there's a series of things you can do, 12 at least, that will each reduce the cost to consumers by 1%. There are things like changing how we deal with prescription drugs so that generic drugs that suddenly can treat something new don't burst in price. That's ridiculous. We should have site neutrality. There's no reason that a procedure done in a hospital where doctors get reimbursed five times as high as out of hospital. Why are insurance companies pushing people toward those procedures? There's no medical difference. If you did away with that, if you said it's illegal, you got a charge at the lowest price, we'd save 1% instantly. There are 10 more I could name. I see time is up. I am passing the mic. Mic.

Mike Sacks 45:09 Even all those reforms that Peter mentioned at the federal level still will not occur until we take back both chambers of Congress and the White House. I'm for those, I think they're awesome, but we all know that. Or unless Mike Lawler decides to take more stuff away than say, I'm gonna put a little bit back in your pocket, look how much I'm helping you. Maybe the things that Peter mentioned are those things that you could put back in our pocket after you steal away Mike Lawler, just giving you some advice. But we here in New York State have a trifecta. And we here in New York State have a bill called the New York Health Act, which, remember Romneycare, and it was the predecessor in Massachusetts of what Obama ultimately adopted with the ACA, and then the Republicans said, oh no, that's socialism, even though Republicans started it and it developed at the Heritage Foundation. Yeah, we have our own thing here in New York called the New York Health Act, which is universal single-payer, state-level Medicare for all. And we have the numbers if we so will it to get our assembly and our senate and our governor to pass, sign, and enact this into law. So to show the entire country what we are able to do here in New York is a pilot program for what everyone could have if we all so will it. That's something we can do here. As a member of Congress, I would be more than happy to keep pointing to New York saying, look guys, we did it. Look, we can do it. And point to those in the states that are not getting adequate healthcare, say, look what you could have. If you are Congress people and you're senators, we're not hell bent against depriving you of your healthcare in order to line the pockets of those who keep them in office. Part of what we have in the Congress is using it as a platform. Using it as a way to pump our message out to the public and reorient our politics back to the people in the chamber of the government, federal government that's closest to the people. We have to reorient our politics back to the people and away from the billionaires that arrested it away in order to keep themselves and their paid for politicians in office in perpetuity no matter the people's will.

Kevin McAvay 47:11 Thank you. So Mike, just for a 30 second follow up, is there anything you think you could do in Congress without having a majority or other branches of government in control?

Mike Sacks 47:23 Yes, absolutely. Oversight. So we bring in the healthcare executives. We bring in the big money funders of those who have captured our politicians. And we grill them. We put their names to faces and make them celebrities to the American public as those who paid for the destruction of the Kennedy Center and the east wing of the White House. And don't give a damn about the rest of our healthcare. That's one thing we could do if we just had the House. We have the Senate. We can pass, send things to the President. And when he dares veto them, then we again say look what this person was bought and paid for to do against you. We are here to serve you. But then yes, we can also use the bully pulpit to pass the smaller reforms and hopefully get the vanishing level of sane Republicans, that's probably zero, to join us and help people. Thank you.

Kevin McAvay 48:17 Thank you, Mike.

John Cappello 48:22 I think I wanna emphasize something Peter said about site neutrality because I think that's really important. Not only is it insane that hospitals charge four to five times more for the same procedures that private clinics or individual doctors do, that number, if it is brought to neutrality, could save up to $40 billion a year if we reduced how much the hospitals cost to bring it to parity, close to $170 million, which pays for the ACA subsidies, right? So we're not, we're able to solve that problem or address that problem. You asked, and Mike touched on it, what could we do in Congress? And I think there's an example today, they give kids a chance legislation was passed, right? And that, for those of you who don't know, this has been five-year legislation to help fund child cancer research. And five years in the making, it was at the end of the Biden administration, it was ready to be passed. Of course, we know what happened. We had the knucklehead with the chainsaw on stage and all of the things were cut. And so it languished over the last 13 months and then came up in December. Again, Senator Sanders put a stop to that because he wanted it to be more inclusive. Long story, just a little longer, it was passed today. And I think it shows that as messy as our politics are, as messy as it could be, incremental change is still possible and we are able to make progress. And so not only did that legislation pass, but the things that Sanders was pushing for funding the centers, rural centers, ALS, NIH funding, all of those things were included as well. So we can make incremental progress. Yes, of course we wanna win that, both houses. And, but we have to keep fighting regardless because there's opportunity.

Kevin McAvay 50:49 Thanks.

Cait Conley 50:55 So the first thing you have to do, I'm gonna use an army combat trauma analogy, is stop the bleeding, right? So if elected and they're fighting for you in the House, I will absolutely make the reinstatement of the premium tax credits, the restoration of Medicaid funding top priorities. I will absolutely fight to make sure we can restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood and making sure that this war on women's healthcare is stopped. This is wrong, but we have to go beyond that too. And some of this has to go back to unpacking, where did the problem start? When we passed the Health Maintenance Organization Act in 1973, where we allowed health insurance companies, you're surprised I knew that, I saw his face. But when we allowed insurance companies to turn into for-profit entities, that is when we started to fail the American people and we failed them for half a century. We do need systemic reform. But I think to the point already made by both of you, we also need to focus on pragmatic solutions that are gonna help American families now. Because the reality is, American working families cannot wait four, eight, 12 more years for some magical solution. They can't keep their lights on today. They can't afford healthcare today. And so yes, I do stand by pushing for things like a public option, which will guarantee a lower cost solution or option for people. That's why I will push to expand Medicare coverage that goes beyond just basic care, but also includes vision and dental because it's your whole health. Like these are some very common sense things that even with a Republican president, I struggled to even call him that. And even potentially Republican controlled Senate, like these are pragmatic things that we can do that will impact people's lives in a real way.

Kevin McAvay 52:52 So Peter hasn't changed your mind on the public option? No. Okay.

Cait Conley 52:56 No. Okay.

Kevin McAvay 52:57 Not yet, not yet, not yet.

Cait Conley 52:58 Look, we gotta deliver solutions. I do not want RFK Jr. making my healthcare solutions. I'm okay with that. The man doesn't believe in vaccines. Like I don't want him deciding what healthcare I can and can't do. We've already seen what the amount of control this administration has had, what they've done. They've waged a war on women's healthcare. We're talking about Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood Hudson Pecanek has 11 brick and mortar clinics, two mobile clinics. In 2024, they provided over 94,000 annual health assessments, pre-cancer screenings and basic diagnostic screenings to people here in our community. We're talking about a war on healthcare for working women.

Kevin McAvay 53:43 And I do want to get back to women's health in a minute because I do think that that is something that all of us are kind of trying to figure out how to grapple with. Sorry, I didn't know the question so I answered it early. No, you were, but I do want to kind of pick up on your cost drivers comment. And then I'd like to switch it up and move from Cait down to Beth and then come back this way. Absent federal leadership, including a silent Mr. Lawler for the past three years, we have seen in America's healthcare system unprecedented consolidation among providers and specialists, among health plans and providers and pharmacy benefit managers, allowing private market giants to grow and extract ever higher service rates from employers, patients and taxpayers. We have seen the increasing presence of private equity, pharmacy benefit managers in the market, seeking to extract more dollars from our healthcare system with questionable claims of value, increasing denial rates for medically unnecessary services, the persistence of non-compete clauses for medical professionals, rising behavioral health and pharmaceutical costs. If you were going to pick one of these issues to tackle in your first year in Congress, what would that be?

Cait Conley 54:54 What an easy list. I actually think one of the issues that you somewhat touched on, but I would make a priority is also going after big pharma in really tangible ways. Cost plus drugs by Mark Cuban is a great example. When you take out all of the BS and all of the smoke screens that are just focused around getting profits to shareholders and to executive suites, you see the actual cost of things. And you see that this doesn't have to be this hard. These types of programs exist that actually address the real issues, cut through the BS schemes, other things like pay for delay, where you've got brand name pharmaceuticals after the patent expires, literally paying manufacturers of the same generic drug to not go to market. These things should not be legal. Pay for delay should not be legal. Like these are real things that we can be doing that will actually drive down real costs for real families. And so sometimes I think we have to recognize that there are real tangible things we should be doing today that will make people's lives better. And if we can focus on that, these are things that don't just impact blue communities or red communities. They impact all American communities. And there are opportunities to move the needle and actually deliver solutions, even with this atrociousness in the White House. And even if we don't control the Senate.

Kevin McAvay 56:25 If you could pass it back down to back and mix it up.

Beth Davidson 56:33 So I think the first thing I would wanna tackle is the conglomeration of healthcare. We're so worked up about which cable company is buying which media empire and all the monopolizing we see in media, which is a real thing and I don't deny it. But so many of us have seen our local hospitals like Nyack Hospital swallowed by a much larger system like Montefiore, and I still love my hospital, but then you find yourselves in situations like when United and Montefiore system was fighting and I suddenly couldn't go to get my mammogram at the place that had been seeing me for 10 years because I was no longer covered. And then that went on for almost a year. So we'll continue to see conflicting needs and conflicting ability to get the care that we need. So that's one thing we can, and when we know that private equity and other trend that we see, private equity is buying housing. Private equity is buying so many political firms that we see and marketing firms. Private equity is buying up now healthcare centers and that needs to be regulated because they'll just continue to be motivated by profits rather than care and that will continue to be a serious problem.

Peter Chatzky 57:54 The lack of competition in geographic areas is killing us and New York generally pays about 37% higher for healthcare than any other place in the country. I am not sure I'm kind of torn between hating Con Ed more or less than Optum. Those of you who are lucky enough to get an appointment with Optum in the next year, the reason you're having such issues is that our department of justice or FTC, they have no ability to break up those local healthcare monopolies. As Beth mentioned, the total focus of our antitrust law is transactional and it's only because of limited resources, they go after the transactions that are hundreds of billions of dollars. A small healthcare provider that sells itself, lets itself be sold to an Optum, those transactions are tiny. It's a small doctor group that gets bought for a couple of million dollars. Nobody at the federal level cares about this and then they do the next one, then they do the next one, then you have Optum. There is, without supply and demand here, if they control the entire marketplace, prices are gonna skyrocket. We've all seen it right here. So I would look to change the antitrust laws to break these things up. Healthcare, not for profits or not, they shouldn't be getting an exemption when they are taking over control of an entire geographic area. That has to stop and that's something I focused on. Thank you.

Mike Sacks 59:32 Yeah, we're in a vertical integration doom loop with antitrust. Lawyer there? But one ray of hope that I do have where we currently are is that Donald Trump, whether sincerely or not, has taken to attacking the health insurance companies with his own new very nebulous healthcare plan where he's gonna put money in our pockets then to pay health insurance companies. But if we have the house, we can do more of what we saw AOC, hey, Mike Lawler, I just said AOC, due to a CVS care market executive during an oversight hearing earlier this week where she explicated that doom loop I've been talking about. The connection with CVS owning Aetna, which owns the prescriber, which owns the pharmacy, which owns the drug maker and keeps the customer in a constant loop so you are a captive audience that they bragged to to their shareholders during their annual meeting. We can take that on. And I think there are elements, even in this administration's FTC that would be looking to get a scalp for the people. So if we can find a way, and at the end of AOC's talking, she turned to her Republican colleagues and said, we can do this, can't we? And there were some heads nodding there. So if we can effectively, not by law because we probably won't have the votes for that, but effectively through our bully pulpit and through our cross-partisan pressure towards the White House, there's a political advantage here to at least doing a little bit of show to break these guys up to make people's lives more affordable. We can go to that, that can work. Of course, we'd work then to use that towards our ultimate reforms, which will change the political dynamic in our country so that there will not be another RFK junior in the HHS because we'll turn the page on this doom loop that got us to our present moment. And they can then think that they at least made a little half measure to satisfy the rest of the people and keep us at bay. They won't, but we can find a way to meet halfway or mostly our way to get rid of these vertically integrated doom loops.

John Cappello 61:51 Thank you. And I'm gonna pile on, I like it, vertically integrated doom loop. But the fact of the matter is, look, we need to address whether I, we see the consolidation in the information space in the media space, whether I watch HBO, Hulu, Peacock, really, that's not that big a deal, right? But with the obsession over shareholder profit versus the health of an individual, that's a serious conversation. There's a big difference. There's a big difference in not only scale, but morality. And we need to have that conversation, what that means. I think another piece to this too, and I hope we, is fraud and waste within the system, because there is, there is. And I think addressing that aggressively will allow us to recover some of the resources that we need to address this bigger problem.

Kevin McAvay 62:58 Terrific, thank you. And let's go to Mike first. And I'd actually like to pick up on the women's health conversation we started earlier. In the wake of Roe versus Wade last year, Congressman Lawler voted for HR1, which included a one-year prohibition of federal Medicaid funding for organizations that provide abortions, Planned Parenthood. Mind you, no federal Medicaid dollars you use to reimburse abortion services. Planned Parenthood, whoever, is a critical health services provider, as has been mentioned several times, Beth, Cait, others, particularly for women across the country providing access to STD prevention, prenatal and menopausal care, mental health services, preventive care like wellness visits and cancer screenings. While Congressman Lawler obsessively tweeted about Governor Hochul over 150 times in 2025, the governor meanwhile pledged to fill the financial gap caused by Congressman Lawler to Planned Parenthood in New York, pledging to cover federal losses caused by her own representative for the 47 health centers that serve over 200,000 patients each year. Unfortunately, other states could not do that. And according to Planned Parenthood, it had to close more than 50 clinics in 18 states this year. So starting with Mike in going down and coming back, how would you protect and support women's health, privacy and bodily autonomy if you were a member of Congress? Two minutes.

Mike Sacks 64:29 Two minutes. We have to make sure that the one-year defunding of Planned Parenthood in the big, ugly bill does not get renewed. If we control Congress, we can make sure that happens. We need to put in every single one of our legislation a rider that says the Hyde Amendment is repealed so that federal funding can go towards abortions for women on Medicaid.

Kevin McAvay 64:57 What is the Hyde Amendment?

Mike Sacks 64:58 The Hyde Amendment was an amendment put into place in the late 70s or early 80s by a lawmaker named Hyde. Jackal, thank you, beat me to it, Henry Hyde. That forbid federal funding to go towards abortions for people on Medicaid. And the Supreme Court upheld it in 1984 and it's been that way ever since. We need to repeal the Comstock Act, the 1873 Victorian era law that made illegal and criminal the mailing of abortion material around the country, which this administration, and if not this administration, that Trump's judges are trying to make alive again. That needs to get gone. We need to pass the Women's Health Reproduction at Reproductive Act. That will restore the protections of Roe versus Wade that the Dobbs Court took away. There's a whole litany of things that we must do. And we must go full throttle on that. Make sure that people understand that we are working for them, that women know we are looking to restore and strengthen the rights that this right wing has stolen. Not just President Trump. This was a movement, this is my day job to track all of the lawsuits that's been coming up from the right wing states, from right wing organizations like the ADF to destroy women's reproductive freedom and abortion rights. We, the people, as made manifest through Congress can do that. We can stand up for women's reproductive health and not give an inch. And make sure, perhaps, that nothing gets passed unless we get our way. Republicans try to play that hardball, we can play that hardball too. But the time of our playing on their turf is over.

Kevin McAvay 66:48 Thank you.

Peter Chatzky 66:54 Women's healthcare is healthcare. It's that simple. There are things that the government has no role to get involved in and this is one of them. We're no longer in the church we were in, so I can say they should stay the fuck out of this. We all got in trouble last time by getting too animated. We all forgot we were in the church. My wife, who's here tonight, served multiple terms on the board of Planned Parenthood Hudson Pecanic. Coincidentally, I'm assuming, she's wearing her 1973 shirt tonight, which I believe is the year that Roe v. Wade was passed into law, right? It is, I know I said it backwards, whatever. It's just yet another example of the government getting involved in an area and imputing this morality that just doesn't make any sense. Treating any group of people differently regarding healthcare is wrong in this country. One of the things that all of the bills proposing Medicare for All specifically point out is that it covers, yes, dental, vision, hearing, but it also says women's health, and the Bernie Sanders version actually says the word abortion. We have to get over this as a country. These are medical decisions only between a woman and her doctor, and in Congress, I would do all I could to fight that that continues. Thank you.

Beth Davidson 68:39 So this was one of our big fails last year in the race against Mike Lawler. He is the most radical, right-wing, anti-choice member of Congress this district has ever had, and he was not fully prosecuted for that record, going all the way back to the New York State Assembly. When we knew Roe was going to fall, 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. That includes the Equal Rights Amendment, Prop 1, that we all passed last year. Yeah, for Prop 1. Long before it comes to us in the ballot box, it had to be voted on by the Assembly. Mike Lawler voted no. It also included the law that said that you can't, a state where abortion is illegal, can't adjudicate, excuse me, extradite a doctor in New York State for providing abortion care to a patient from the state where that's illegal. That really happened. There was a New York State doctor that is the sister of a supporter of mine who was attempted to be extradited by Texas and Louisiana for providing medication abortion to women from those states where it was illegal. So that's really happening. If Mike Lawler had his way, she'd be sitting in jail right now. And so we have to be real about who is sitting in Congress now and why he needs to be gone. What I'll also say is that we have to, we can pass the Women's Health Protection Act. It's been passed by the Senate, excuse me, it's been passed by the House and could be passed in the Senate, of course, if we didn't have the filibuster. Again, it goes back to restoring Medicaid funding. Half of all American babies are born to moms who have Medicaid. And so if we want to continue to have healthy babies, we already know there's maternal mortality discrepancies between white women and women of color. That's something else we have to look at and study. And finally, yes, we have to get rid of RFK Jr. tomorrow. The man does not, the man doesn't believe in the HPV vaccine. He believed he doesn't buy that it actually decreases your risk of getting HPV and thus cervical cancer. And the last thing we want to see is cervical cancer rates and deaths going back up. So these are just a few things that we have to do but it starts by reminding people how anti-choice Mike Lawler is and then he should no longer be our congressman. Thank you. John.

John Cappello 71:19 Look, women deserve the best healthcare full stop. I mean, we all agree with that. I agree with everything that's been said fully fund and expand in many instances Planned Parenthood. However, this isn't just a political issue. This is common sense. It's healthy mothers and babies make for strong families and communities, right? Fully funding women's healthcare across all income levels allows them to remain in the workforce should they decide, keeps them out of debt and keeps the government out of the decisions about their healthcare. And at the end, that's it. That's what we should aim for.

Kevin McAvay 72:16 Thank you, John.

Cait Conley 72:21 So I have lived through what it looks like when government determines what your health insurance does or doesn't cover during my time in the military where I was on the military insurance plan that is dry care. And I will tell you that it led to things like I had to wait years to be able to freeze my eggs because I couldn't afford to do it because dry care didn't cover it, right? We have seen where healthcare plans don't make women's healthcare a priority even if they have insurance. So let's also be real. It's not just about getting insured. It's about do the insurance plans actually make healthcare that you're seeking affordable and available? But I wanna also comment on Mike, something you did while I was still in uniform, which was vote numerous times to deny women in uniform the right to access abortion care that's covered. Women who were serving, women who went to combat and fought and sacrificed for this country, you had the audacity of denying them over 11 times with your voting record, access to abortion care. His record speaks for himself and speaks for who he is. On his watch, we've allowed the war on women's healthcare to continue and to get worse. It needs to end. If I'm your representative in Congress, I will fight like hell to codify Roe v. Wade to make sure it is law, to make sure that women regardless of where they live have those basic rights and accesses and that it is only them and families making decisions about family healthcare, not the government, not RFK. These are the core concepts that we must fight to make real. And that will never happen with Mike Lawler in office. I do agree with that. We need to hold his feet to the fire, hold his ass accountable because what he's done is betray the American people.

Kevin McAvay 74:12 Let's keep with you. Thank you. So over the past 10 years, there's been a growing awareness of the impact of social determinants of health on our wellbeing. You can't fill a leaky cup. You can't treat and release an individual who is sick to a homeless shelter expecting them to get well. You can't expect children to thrive in an environment where there are safety concerns, food insecurity, housing instability. And yes, we cannot thrive if we are not consuming healthy food, have access to clean air and clean water. In two minutes, where have you seen the impact of the environment on health in our district? And what would you do in Congress to improve whole person care?

Cait Conley 74:58 So I think we have seen how health goes beyond just insurance, right? What you're talking about is look at the EPA. We have PFAS issues in our drinking water all across this district, literally in every one of the four counties, in every corner. Yet under this administration, we watch the EPA roll back the classification of four of these six most dangerous forms of PFAS chemicals from being something that is prohibited. To your point, I mean, look, I grew up swimming and fishing in the Hudson River and eating the fish at a time where we're debating whether or not to dredge it. Where's Riverkeeper? Every time I tell the story, is they look at me like I've got three heads and they're like, how are you still alive? These are real things. So yeah, the environment absolutely impacts what happens to us. Just watch Aaron Brockovich, you know, great movie. Go Julia Roberts. But it goes beyond that too, to be honest with you. It is also the structures in law that allow families to take care of one another, like the Family Medical Leave Act. You know, I had four major surgeries due to injuries sustained while I was in uniform. My mother was able to take FEMLA and care for me because I couldn't care for myself. Those are incredibly important protections that are also part of overall health care and health and wellness. You know, the Healthy Families Act, which has not been passed is something that would guarantee seven sick days so people couldn't get fired for missing work regardless of the type of employment. That's still not a law. There are very basic structural things across government that we should be doing to allow people to have the structure for basic well-living because this isn't just about insurance anymore. It's about all the things that drive someone's health and how to take care of it.

John Cappello 76:54 I think it's clear that health with the Hudson is a major concern for us all in the district. Like Cait, I remember boating and fishing and swimming. And I remember when you could drink water out of the faucet without really worrying about it. People took- I don't even know at night. There's a few other reasons. But these things are no longer possible. And part of it is making sure we hold those accountable that cause this and hold their feet to the fire, make sure that the cleanup that is necessary is not only paid for, but accomplished. And it's drug on for way too long. I think there's a lot of community, and Cait alluded to this a little bit, there's a lot of community level organizations that are identifying important, I mean the Alice Report that the United Way puts out. I think that's a really important asset to help to identify the challenges at the local level. Because at the end of the day, our job as a member of Congress will be to make sure that those organizations in this community that have identified challenges and that are working on that challenges are fully funded and fully supported. Because who better to deal with those challenges than those who are dealing with them on a daily basis? And I've been super impressed with many of the organizations I've come in contact with across the district. So making sure that they are supported is key.

Kevin McAvay 78:30 Thank you.

Mike Sacks 78:37 Immigration policy is also health policy. Mr. Lawler has been talking about ending New York City's sanctuary status so that the law enforcement there can work with ICE to knock it out the criminals, but terrorize people who are looking to make a better life in this country and our neighbors and contributing to our tax base. If those people feel terrorized and feel like they must reside in the shadows or in the basements or hide in the homes that we're seeing in Minneapolis, and even in Austin, what's gonna happen when they get sick and they're afraid to go to the hospital? What's gonna happen when their kids are starving because mutual aid doesn't come to them? That goes beyond the household. That reaches broader community. Beyond that, we got this measles thing going on now. Thank you, RFK Jr. These are punching bags this evening beyond Mr. Mike. We are now having the return of sicknesses that we have not seen in these numbers since we eradicated them. Polio now is back in play. This comes from environmental factors as well, from education, from political, I don't know, isolation, to buying into misinformation that spread like wildfire through the pandemic. So environment read broadly, yes. PFAS, yes. Hudson River, yes. Get rid of the pollutants in our air that this EPA is looking to feed back into our lungs. But also environment in which we live in, our communities. We need to right size our information intake, and we also need to right size our humanity. And that's cross policy across the entire federal, state, and local understanding of how we can better our communities.

Kevin McAvay 80:53 Thanks, Mike.

Peter Chatzky 80:59 The number one threat to our environment in this country is Donald Trump. He, every one of his policies is reversing the progress made by previous administrations. You wanna get the environment back on the right track, get rid of Donald Trump. It's pretty easy. He's a short term thinker. All he cares about is reducing, having an impact short term with no vision, no investment in the future of America. And it ties in to how this country currently looks at healthcare as well. We are the number one country in terms of treatment. It's why people flock here from all over the world to get treated. We're nowhere near number one in terms of prevention. And unfortunately, our healthcare system, because it's based on treatment and not prevention, is incredibly expensive. It's far more expensive to treat a problem than it is, it would be, to prevent the problem. So we have to look at our healthcare system completely differently. Nutrition, exercise, who remembers the presidential fitness test where you had to run laps and stuff. I hated it as a kid, but I'd probably be in better shape today if I actually put more effort into that. Who remembers when the food pyramid went the right way, when it wasn't upside down? These are all things that have happened recently and we need to get a way more holistic look so that we're spending less money because we're spending it too late.

Beth Davidson 82:44 Can I clarify, Jimmy, the actual physical environment or like the environment?

Kevin McAvay 82:48 Physical environment around you, inclusive environment.

Beth Davidson 82:51 Okay, thanks. So I will address the environment because as the environmental chair of the Rockland County Legislature, I do get to help shape policy that does have health determinants. I was at my brother's birthday party over the summer. It was at a house on the river, the river that connects to the lake where we grew up and also swam in every day and looked across the beautiful river at about five or six factories on the other side, spewing smoke into the air. And I thought, that might be why I had thyroid cancer and why my sister has hypothyroidism and my dad had thyroid cancer. We can't deny the impact that water and air in our environment have on our health. And so when the federal court announced over the summer that it was overturning the Save the Hudson Act, which was passed by your own Senator Shelly, excuse me, Pete Harcum and Dana Levenberg to stop Holtec the company decommissioning Indian Point from dumping its radioactive water into the Hudson because we know that no amount of radiation is safe for the human body. I immediately called a press conference, stood on the Haber-Straw Bay with about a dozen activists that I've worked with over the years, along with elected officials and called on the governor and the attorney general to appeal that decision without delay. And within 48 hours, we heard from both offices with the extra from Governor Hochul that she was not interested in restarting nuclear at Indian Point, which I think is good news to all of us. Oh, thank you. I'll also say that since, you know, I don't know if we'll have another chance to address it, is that a way that we can fix the environment, especially for our children, 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. I can't do that as a county legislator, but what I did do is pass a law requiring signage of the additional risks of having a firearm in the home of suicide, homicide, accidental death of a child or domestic violence fatality. When I see problems, I stand up and fix them unlike Mike Lawler who prefers a strongly worded letter. Thank you.

Kevin McAvay 85:03 Thank you, thank you. So we have one more question, one minute each and then closing statements and we can actually keep it with Beth. So according to the New York Times, the CDC arguably the world's leading public health agency has shed a third of its staff since Mr. Trump took office. Last week, the US officially pulled out of the World Health Organization. In January, the CDC and what the Hill called a seismic shift, reduced the number of vaccines recommended for children which forced the American Academy of Pediatrics to publish a competing vaccine schedule calling the federal recommendations dangerous and unnecessary which will sow further chaos and confusion and erode confidence in immunizations. And it has, childhood immunization rates continue to fall nationally. In 2025, measles cases in the US as Mike was mentioning exceeded 2000 for the first time in more than 30 years. Whooping cough is now a case epidemic across the country. All the while, Congressman Lawler has said little and done less. How can we build back trust in our public health system and science-based research in one minute?

Beth Davidson 86:07 It's getting to be such a tired answer but fire RFK for starters. Look, as a school board member and mom, this is very personal to me. My aunt had polio, like this is not so long ago. And when the measles epidemic happened in Rockland County in 2019, it was a serious problem that came with a nice side effect of antisemitism because it was primarily in the ultra religious, ultra Orthodox community in the West of our county where that happened and 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. It's very important. And so, yeah, firing RFK will be a start and making sure that in New York state if we can take additional measures to keep vaccine requirements as high as we can, hopefully that will stop the numbers from going in the wrong direction.

Peter Chatzky 87:06 Totally agree here. The problem is at the top. We have a health and human service secretary who has a brain worm. And yet we all look at him as though we're gonna expect some kind of logical or usable stuff to come out of that office. Nothing's gonna, I hesitated. I don't wanna curse yet again. Nothing good is gonna come from that. We need to get rid of him. It's what happens when you have a Senate not doing its job, when you have nobody standing up and saying, this guy's not qualified. We need to have a qualified government. We need to get back to leading based on actual data and we need to be providing that data. The US government has also got out of the business of being the official source of data. And that's a problem. We need to get back to that and that would restore trust. People need to see what decisions are being based on and then we'll restore faith in government.

Kevin McAvay 88:09 Thank you.

Mike Sacks 88:14 It's going to be our job in the House of the opposition party. Not just the other party, but the opposition party. It's gonna be our job in office to articulate what we stand for strongly and clearly and forcefully. We are going to stand for making sure that we have a strong vaccination schedule. That even if RFK or whomever's in office then is denying it, at least people know that we are fighting for them. Hold hearings, bring in the bad guys. Show the victims of those bad guys. Make people see what has been happening in their names. Shame this administration for its bringing back diseases that we had thought we had eradicated because what? Trump decided to abandon the one good thing he did during his first term, which was actually have a COVID vaccination of a lot in warp speed and then even in operation after. Because what? RFK and a bunch of lunatics. We're too busy saying that COVID didn't exist. Come on. We can bring this back. We can bring the messages back. We can bring the information back and we can show that we are fighting for our children's health.

Kevin McAvay 89:25 Thank you.

John Cappello 89:30 I think to start to bring back trust, we have to be serious. We have to have a government that's serious. Let's rely on science. Let's rely on expertise. Let's talk about these issues in a serious manner. Suggesting, for example, for suggesting nurses are not professional, right? Last year, health professionals made up at a 4.4% unemployment rate approximately, made up 95% of new jobs created last year. Of the 700,000 jobs, the first quarter, 400,000 of those were health care professionals. Not only is it indignant that it affects our economy, right? The fact that they're not considered professional has a practical effect. They are no longer allowed certain grants and scholarships to pursue their education. What is that gonna mean? Less health care professionals. How is that serious? How does that help us achieve the results we wanna achieve? So I think being serious will help us to regain a little bit of trust.

Cait Conley 90:40 Thank you, John. So my last four years in public service, I worked with members of Congress. I worked with committees. I have written federal legislation. I have overseen and executed national budgets on issues that were critical to keeping everyone in this room and American families across this country and across the world safe and secure. I know how Congress is supposed to do its job. I know how the federal government is supposed to do its job. I know how to work to fix this because it is about action. Action is what brings trust to institutions, to the people in offices. It is doing the right thing. And so I do know how to make Congress work if elected as your member sitting in there to actually bring these agencies back under control to do their jobs. Look, health is national security. We need to treat it that seriously and we need to solve these problems that seriously and that urgently.

Kevin McAvay 91:51 Thank you so much, Cait. So this is a last question and I'll give you a minute because I'm also gonna read Efie's letter that she submitted tonight to think about it. Candidates, I would like to end this evening as we started with tremendous appreciation for each of you and your service to our community by undertaking such grounded values-driven campaigns. In our remaining time, I ask that each of you not just reflect on your records of service, but share more about your commitment to service in the district. In the case you do not win the primary or general election, how do you see yourself continuing your service to our district and the thousands of residents you've each met come 2027? And while you mull on that, I do wanna quickly read a note from Efie. I share my deepest regrets for not joining you at this evening's forum. I'm currently on a plane traveling to Israel and the West Bank on a fact-finding trip that is entirely self-funded. I'm gonna read an excerpt and we're gonna share the link. My healthcare platform is very clear, Medicare for All. Our system, our health system today is a patchwork of disjointed policies that remain after Republicans stripped away all of the progress made under the Affordable Care Act. It's a system that prioritizes the needs and profits of insurance companies in Wall Street over the human rights of every American. It is too expensive, too inequitable, and not centered on caring for people. After the Republicans Congress indefensible votes to slash Medicaid and eliminate the Obamacare subsidies, I believe our system has become so untenable that we must rebuild it in a way that centers quality care for all, not profits. My vision of Medicare for All is a national healthcare system where coverage is guaranteed to every residence with a social security number. This would lift the financial burden that families, individuals, and small businesses carry from massive premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Skipping ahead, having lived with my family under a single-payer system in the UK for four years, I can attest this is not a radical idea that is unattainable in the world's wealthiest country. We will share the letter in full, and Effie very much regrets not being able to join us tonight. And I would love to move down the line with one minute each for your closing thoughts on your commitment to service to our district come 2027.

Cait Conley 93:57 Thanks, and thanks for putting this together. So, look, everything we talked about tonight, no offense, but we didn't talk about the most important question, which is how do we beat Mike Lawler? None of what we talked about tonight matters if we don't win, because if we don't win, we don't get to govern. And if we don't get to govern, we don't get to fix this. And so I will tell you, I think tonight to end this, we need to focus on what is going to actually change all of the problems we just talked about, which is getting actual leaders of character that can beat Mike Lawler into office to set this country on a better path. And that is where I do believe, look, we have watched Mike Lawler take on and defeat two democratic politicians. 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. Because ladies and gentlemen, New York 17 today, 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated. If we want to win, we've got to get more than people in this room to choose us for that path forward and to show them that we have a better option than just Mike Lawler.

John Cappello 95:08 Thank you again, Kevin. And thank you all for being here. This has been a really great evening. And I look forward to getting to speak with you and learn more. Look, we need to restore balance and accountability to government, to Congress. And that means five things that need to be done simultaneously. We need to impose term limits, have a real conversation about what that looks like and what that means, campaign finance reform, Citizens United needs and we need to restore campaign finance sanity. There needs to be a moratorium on members lobbying after they leave office, minimum of five years. We need to have that conversation. A members should not be able to trade stocks. This is kind of common sense while they're in office. And then finally, some sort of code of ethics, potentially even a term limit for the Supreme Court. These things, these five things have to happen. We have to talk about these things and that will restore the balance to our Congress and the accountability.

Kevin McAvay 96:19 Thank you. I will get by something to anyone who answers my question.

Mike Sacks 96:26 Yeah, I'm about to, thank you. It's tempting to give my closing preparation and I have one. I'm happy to give it to everyone afterwards. But I win or lose will be in this district no matter what. My family moved up here in 2018 after I had covered Congress, the Supreme Court, the 2016 campaigns, the White House. Okay, that's part of my closing preparation. And we fell in love with this area. It's natural beauty. The people in our neighborhood, the schools my kids are in. I'm not going anywhere. And part of the education of being a candidate is also meeting everyone who shows up every single day to fight for our rights and liberties and freedoms in this country. To fight for our neighbors. See it every week, either at the Four Corners in Nanawed or at Mount Kisco by the town hall. We see it with the No Kings days. We see it just with every day people just asking, how are you doing? And then people saying, what are you gonna do about Mike Waller? Because people have united against him. What he has done, he's offended everyone he's purported to serve who isn't fully bought into a cult. And there's gonna be more of us than there are of them. And I look forward to being part of us and also serving them.

Moderator 97:48 Thank you.

Peter Chatzky 97:53 I got it. I'm a lifelong Democrat. I've lived here my entire life. I moved here when I was nine months old. I've spent the last 31 years. I was moved here at nine months old. I've spent the last 31 years in Barcliff. I have spent my entire adult life dedicated to giving back to my community. I was elected mayor 20 years ago. I've been elected five times. My district is 30% Republican, 40-ish, damn, 30% independent. It's probably 30, 30, 30 at this point. It basically mirrors 17 as a whole. I've always served in a voluntary capacity and never paid a dollar for this. It's been thousands of hours and I've worked with everyone across the political spectrum. We need to get back to actually doing things in Congress. We need to get the money out of Congress. We need to get people in there who wanna work together and make progress for the only people who count. All the constituents who live in 17. Not big business, not special interest groups. That's what my goal is, to get in and represent all of you the best I can. Thank you.

Beth Davidson 99:14 Thank you so much, Bedford Dems. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you for everyone who came out to spend your Wednesday night. Come January, 2027, I will, regardless, be serving, I think, my fifth term as a committee member of the Clarkstown Democratic Committee, which I proudly serve for almost 10 years, I think. But I'm gonna start, I'm gonna close tonight with asking a question that you should be asking everyone that runs for any office. And I certainly get on the campaign trail and that's what gets you out of bed every day to do this work. For me, it's always been the people. The people I represent on the county legislature, the people I represented on the NYEC school board, the 200 people inside the county legislative chamber last night, including John Sullivan, thank you for being there last night, and 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. Donald, excuse, Mike Lawler will always stand with Donald Trump. He'll always stand with Kristi Noem, with Mike Johnson. I will always stand with the people. That's why I'm the best person to beat him in November, which we will do together, flip New York 17 and put Congress back to work, say it with me, for the, oh, thank you very much. Thank you.

Kevin McAvay 100:33 So, my friends, a former president and New Yorker once shared, the government is us. We are the government, you and I. And I ask each of us to remember that it does not need to be like this. It does not need to feel like this every morning, every morning. There exists in America, in our communities, in this room, and on this stage, tremendous capacity for compassion, for candor, and for change. And it starts here, here as good as anywhere. Our task, our one home, one door, one conversation at a time, to reconnect, to rethread, to remind each other of our common concerns and greater purpose. Bless you and your families and all those willing to stand up and step up and lead. Please join me in thanking our candidates and everyone who made today possible.

Unclear 102:02 Thank you.

Moderator 102:06 And thank you, Kate Connery, John Caciello, Mike Sacks, Peter Chatzky, Beth Davidson, and our moderator, Kevin McAvay. Come on. And the BDC team, Jennifer Sain, Paul Esposito, Chris Vecchio, and our amazing director who did all of her direction from down in Florida. Yes. All right.

Moderator 0:01 Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Arshond Democratic Committee candidate forum. My name is Liza Barry, and I'm chair of the Arshond Democratic Committee. Thank you to St. Charles A.M. Museum Church for hosting us tonight and to the candidates for being here. But most of all, thank you to everyone who came out on this whole January night to take democracy seriously. Before we begin, I'd like to ask everyone who is able to please stand for the pleasure of joining us.

Audience 0:41 Of the United States of America

Moderator 0:47 and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please receive it. The Arshond Democratic Committee is a volunteer organization. We are made up of people who live here working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. We don't receive money from the state or the national party. Everything we do, mailers, outreach to voters, events like this one tonight, it's all funded locally. New York's 17th congressional district, this district, is one of the most competitive house races in the country. This forum is designed to give voters a clear, substantive look at what each candidate stands for, how they would govern, and how they plan to win in November. This race matters beyond this district. One of the candidates here tonight will challenge Congressman Mike Lawler in a race that will help decide control of the house and whether Congress acts as a real check on power or continues to enable the erosion of democratic norms and accountability. Sitting and speaking order were assigned by random draw tonight. Speaking order rotates, so no one consistently goes first or last. You'll hear both short answers and longer ones. Timekeepers will keep us on track. When time is up, I'll step in, not to cut anyone off unfairly, but to make sure the answers are complex. I'll be firm about civility. Candidates should challenge ideas and records, not each other personally. I also ask the audience to please respect the process and avoid interruptions. With that, let's begin. Each candidate will have 90 seconds. Please introduce yourself briefly, then tell us what you stand for and why you are running for Congress. We'll begin with Beth Davidson.

Beth Davidson 3:07 Thank you so much. Thank you all for being here tonight. Thank you to the Orange Town Dems and Liza Berry, our chair. Thank you to St. Charles for AME for hosting us. I'm Beth Davidson. I'm a mom of two kids. I'm a two-term school board member of NIAID Public Schools. And thanks to so many people in this room. I'm your Rockland County legislator who gets up every morning ready to fight like hell for the place I've called home for 20 years. So when you plan this forum, 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. We're all of one mind and one mission in this room, we beat Mike Lawler. And in Orange Town, we know how to do it. We unite behind candidates we believe in. We roll up our sleeves. We knock doors. We hit the phones. That's how you elected me to a purple county legislative seat with 57% of the vote. It's how you put Dana Stilley, the first African-American woman on the Rockland County Legislature. And it's how you helped us win the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history while boosting turnout by 20% right in Mike Lawler's backyard. We're also here because we want to put Congress back to work for the people. And thanks to you, I had the chance to do that every single day standing up to this administration. I've cut taxes, passed common sense gun safety reform, and preserved hundreds of acres of open space. Just during the shutdown, I was able to get $2 million to feed people who'd lost their SNAP benefits. And that's the roll up my sleeves, get shit done record I'm ready to take to Congress with your support. Thanks so much.

Moderator 4:38 I'm Peter Chatzky.

Peter Chatzky 4:47 I think everybody in this room has the exact same mission. We want to eject Mike Lawler from his seat. I think the absolute best way to do that is to elect a candidate who doesn't need training wheels to enter the job, someone who's been doing this work already. As mayor and deputy mayor in Briarcliff Manor, I've tackled a whole bunch of issues similar to what I would face in Congress. I've taken on affordable housing. I've built 250 units of housing coming in the next two, three years. We've tackled environmental issues. We preserve the environment. Toughest wetlands law in New York. We've done a whole gamut of government functions to make life a lot better for the people who live in my district. I also run a small business. I have been providing excellent health care, livable wages, elder care, child care long before it was regulated, and I uniquely bring to this race the experience of a small business. Most importantly, maybe, I've taken on Donald Trump three times. He owns a golf course in Briarcliff. I've made him change the layout. I've made him, we've prevented, oops, this is a good one. Bottom line, Donald Trump hates my guts, and I'm proud of him. I am the candidate running with no strings attached. I will only look out for the people in this district. I will not tell the party line if it's not in the best interest of my constituents, and I plan to do that as I enter Congress as well.

Moderator 6:24 Next, we're here from Mike Sacks. Thank you.

Mike Sacks 6:31 Good evening, Orange Town. I'm Mike Sacks. I'm from right across the river in Portland, Hudson. My background, I am a lawyer, and I'm a former political and legal journalist. I spent my career covering the Supreme Court, covering Congress, covering the 2016 campaigns, covering the Trump administration and the early Biden administration. I quite literally, at times, had a front row seat to how we got to this point where we are right now at this dangerously anti-democratic moment. I was first in line to go to citizens united, right outside, camped out in front of the Supreme Court while I was in law school to see history be made in a very, very awful way, in which we all knew was coming. Fast forward, and I was on air in New York City watching the feeds come in from DC during January 6th after having chronicled Trump's every move to delegitimize the 2020 election to preserve his power no matter the people's will. I told the audience exactly what was going on that evening. Since then, I've worked in the Supreme Court reform space because they are the final boss in the way of our getting what we want when we speak with one voice. What we need to do in the House, when we take back the House, is to ensure that we use every lever of power to pursue bold policies that turn the page on this zombie Reaganism we've existed in for the past generation, so we can deliver for all the people, get out of this gridlock. It's 50-50 country around each other's throats, so we'll stop punching each other and start punching up at those who are trying to keep us divided. I'm ready to exercise power and to deliver results, real results, for the American people.

Moderator 7:59 Thank you.

John Cappello 8:09 Good evening. Thank you, Lisa. And welcome all. Thank you all for being here. This is what democracy looks like, and it gives me hope to see you all here and interested in what's happening. I'm John Cappello. I'm from Sufferin. After I graduated from Sufferin High School, I went to the United States Air Force Academy, served 25 years in the Air Force. Over 25 years, I was a pilot, went back to the Air Force Academy and taught, served in two diplomatic posts, one in Belgrade, Serbia, one in Tel Aviv, Israel. After I left government service, I ended up in D.C. working in the national security space and founded two organizations, two NGOs, that are focused on helping countries achieve their democratization goals in Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. From the beginning, when I entered the race in September, I stressed that I want to serve. This is a logical next step in my service, continued service, and my reasons are giving back to the community. I have a responsibility to give back to the community that allowed me to live my dream. And second, it's hard to stand on the sideline and watch as one branch of government abdicates its responsibility. The balance, we need to take back Congress and restore balance and accountability. Right now, the branches of government are out of balance and not doing their constitutional duties. This is antithetical. What's happening in Minnesota? It's not just a warning to us. It's a five-alone fire. Right?

Moderator 9:46 Thank you. Sorry, I need to cut you off.

John Cappello 9:48 Okay. It's antithetical to everything I've ever done in service to this country. Thank you very much. Sorry.

Effie Phillips-Staley 9:54 Hi, everyone. Thank you for being here. I'm Effie Phillips-Staley. I am a trustee in the village of Tarrytown where I am on my third term. I have worked my entire life in the nonprofit sector where I will say fighting Trump is a big part of the job. So in the nonprofit sector at the intersection of social justice and culture. And I'm a mother of two, raised my children in Westchester, very proud to serve my community. And I am not in this race because of the backing of a major party or because I have endless funds to pay for it. A few of us do. But I am in this race because my community asked me to step up. When Donald Trump won in the last election, I went to Hispanic activists who, my mother's an immigrant for El Salvador, many of you know. But I went to Hispanic activists and I asked, what do we do in this moment? What can I do given that I have the privilege of being an elected official? And they said, run for Congress. It was not what I expected to hear. But when you're asked by your community to stand up and represent, that's what you have to do. That is what I did. That is why I am in this race. I'm in this race and victory comes in two forms. Really turning out voters who have traditionally been underrepresented and defeating Mike Lawler to take back Congress. I'm excited to talk about that with you tonight.

Cait Conley 11:35 Good evening. I am Cait Conley, a proud West Point graduate, Army special ops, combat veteran, and daughter of the Hudson Valley. My family's roots in this district go back four generations to my great-grandfather and grandfather who worked in the brickyard in Montrose, to my mom born in Peekskill, who has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 48 years, still serving communities up and down the Hudson Valley. It's my dad born and raised in Hobold Junction who was a construction worker. And it is those values of my blue-collar family and these communities that instilled me the importance of hard work, of grit, of courage to stand up and do what is right. That's why, after the towers fell on 9-11, I went to West Point, graduated the top of my class, and then went off to serve 16 years as an Army officer, leading America's sons and daughters in defense of this nation in combat zones around this world, blowing overseas six times. And then my last two years in uniform, I served as the Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council staff at the White House, and then was asked to stay on as a senior executive to help lead a homeland security mission. I say all of that because I never thought with everything I have done and everything I have seen that I would ever feel like the greatest threat to America or to America's future would come from within our own borders. And that is exactly what we are seeing. This administration, fueled by corruption and greed, enabled by cowards like Mike Lawler in Congress, it must end. We will take New York 17 back and we will take our country back.

Moderator 13:10 Let's move into a spotlight round where each candidate will have the opportunity to go de-issue as they believe. Each candidate will select two issue areas tonight from national security and global stability, democratic institutions, rule of law, and constitutional guardrails, economic power, corporate concentration, and working class leverage, health care system reform, climate infrastructure, climate infrastructure and energy transition, immigration, asylum, and border governance, artificial intelligence, data, and democratic control. For your two selected issue areas combined, you will have a total of three minutes. Peter Chatzky, please tell us which two issues you have selected and then begin.

Peter Chatzky 14:18 Tonight I am going to speak about immigration reform and health care. I think they are the two most pressing issues of the current time. Let's start with immigration. We need to abolish ICE immediately. We need to get... ICE has been a complete disaster and we need to get it out of our neighborhoods, off of our streets, and stop the terror that it is inflicting on our citizens. Nothing good has come out of ICE on our streets. Obviously everybody is aware, Renee Good, Alex Pretty were murdered by ICE agents running rogue. It has to stop, there has to be accountability. More importantly, I think we need to change the focus back from enforcement to service. ICE began under Chaney, Bush, and their lens of looking at a war on immigration. We need to create a pathway for immigration. I would like to see the money refocused. More courts, more judges, more technology, better vetting. Nobody on either side wants open borders. We can protect our borders, but we need to provide an efficient pathway for those who want to come to this country just for a better life. My own grandparents came to this country to start a new life, and they were able to navigate through a system and prosper. I want that for all immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. On healthcare, I'm calling for Medicare for all, and I think it has to be the ultimate goal that we get to. I know we're not going to get there tomorrow. We're not going to get there immediately, so I'm also aware of things we can do right away with our current medical systems to greatly reduce by 10% the amount you're paying on your premiums today. It's just policy changes. This medical care is critical for me. It's a personal topic. My own son was born with a heart condition, and I had to fight to get him medical care even though he was days old when he had life-saving surgery. No parent should ever go through that. We need to improve our medical system. There are things we can do immediately. We can change the rates that doctors get paid for in-hospital services and out of hospital. No reason it should be five times more profit for doctors who push toward the hospital. We have to change prescription drug prices. No reason generic drugs that cost pennies a day suddenly cost $10, $20, $30 a pill because they find a new off-label use for that. There are so many little things we can do. I have 12 of them that collectively would save us 10%. Immediately, we need to enact that. We need major change in the way we look at healthcare in this country. Thank you.

Audience 17:22 Thanks very much. Thank you. Two issues you're going to focus on.

Moderator 17:29 You have three minutes.

Mike Sacks 17:30 Democracy and healthcare. These two things are inexorably intertwined when we talk about affordability and autocracy. Fascism is expensive. The funds that we divert from keeping us healthy to shooting mothers in the face are billions upon billions that are wasted. I've got two sons, age 9 and 12. A couple of days before this past election, they in the kitchen said, Dad, you should run for Congress because they heard me debunking Mike Lawler's lies for two straight election cycles because they were inundated with his YouTube ads demagoguing the American public, or at least New York 17. And I thought, well, you know, maybe I didn't tell them that. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought, you know, they asked me because I've been talking about American democracy for much of their young lives. They lived through a couple of impeachments. They hear Mike talking about the Supreme Court and how the Supreme Court has been taking away their rights, their democracy, in a way that we might not be able to get back unless we take on the Supreme Court. So let's talk Medicare for All. Beyond the policy of it, which is one that serves everybody, it's good power politics because right now we have a politics, as I mentioned before, in which we are punching each other instead of people, instead of those who are trying to keep us divided. If we have a health care system that serves all of us instead of one with what we have right now where we can have Medicaid slashed by Mike Lawler and we say, oh, well, that's for the people who are waste, fraud, and abuse. If they try to slash a health care that serves all of us, what are we all going to do? We're going to take out our pitchforks and say, never will you try that again and throw them out of office so fast. My vision in the House will be to pursue big swing policies that serve all the people, help the greatest amount of people to the greatest good, and use our power right now on January 3rd, 2027 to perform a legislative package that inspires people to recognize what we can do when we are all in it together. Combine that with effective oversight in which we're bringing in the bad guys who have been part of the Trump administration hurting us all along. We pass our own big beautiful bill that does all the things, Green New Deal, abolishing ICE and reforming comprehensive immigration reform, Medicare for All. We send that to the Senate. The Senate kills it. And we say, look who they paid to kill it. We bring those things together. We push, and we don't shut up about the billionaire-backed system designed to block us at every single turn. To ride ourselves a victory for the Senate, for the White House, and then we send those same legislative package back through, pass it, get it to the Supreme Court, and they try to get in our way. We do something about them too. But we need to make sure that our policies and our politics reflect the people's will and not the other way around.

Moderator 20:49 Thank you, Mike. Hello. Please let us know the two issues you're going to highlight.

John Cappello 20:59 Thank you. I'm going to talk about democracy and economics because I think those two things are the foundation that allow us to address some of the other issues we've already addressed and discussed. When economic power is concentrated, political power follows. And our system is based on very important checks and balances. But these things are out of whack. They're out of balance. And the importance of restoring balance and accountability, I think, cannot be overstated. The recent Supreme Court decisions that allow the executive branch to expand its reach, Congress abdicating its responsibility, all of these have thrown power out of whack. And why does that matter? Because when our institutions are out of balance, power is arbitrary. And we see this over and over again across the nation at this time. Congress's responsibility, and it must act, it must adhere to its job description in Article 1 of the Constitution, it must set policy, it must provide oversight, and that is what will happen when we are in Congress, when the Democrats restore control of the Congress. In terms of political, I'm sorry, economic power, again, this is not a function of left and right, I would argue. This is really an up-down issue. When we have concentration, 10%, approximately 10% of the power is concentrated, economic power is concentrated 10% of the population. This has to change. Government has, Congress has the ability to institute changes that will address this. I think we have to look at education, job training, as an example, instituting restrictions on these larger companies that are imposing tremendous oversight. And then I think at the end, we have to remember that the concentration of economic power, as I said, leads to the political power being abused. We're seeing that on a daily basis now. It's not just a, and I'll leave it at that, so it's just not a rhetorical problem. This is a problem that is essential for Congress to address.

Moderator 24:16 Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 24:26 Thank you, so I will also speak about immigration and healthcare, and I will start. So just today I was down at Foley Square. We had a press conference with survivors of Robert Haddon's abuses, of which I am one, but we came together in support of survivors who are in ICE detention facilities right now because the Trump administration in April 2025 removed all protections and reporting ability for anyone in ICE who's suffering from any kind of abuse, including sexual abuse. This was previously a department, it was a civil rights department within the Department of Homeland Security, and it is gone now. So I have always been for abolishing ICE. I'm glad to see that the world is turning, because before we saw these murders, which we frankly knew would likely happen, there was immense suffering for a very long time, and the root of this suffering started in 2003 when the Immigration and Naturalization Service ceased to be its own department and was put under ICE and combined with customs enforcement. So you'll often hear people talking about the importance of ICE in relation to stopping drugs at the border, but then you get this conflation of immigration with drugs. It is really a problem, so it is a structural problem that has been happening for a long time that has allowed Trump to have the baseline he needed to weaponize it and turn the department into his own paramilitary force. So this is what I stand for with immigration. It absolutely has to be demilitarized. We have to separate the enforcement from the civic issues around immigration, and I say that from the heart, because my mother came through INS and became a citizen of this country. It was a different kind of mindset. We have to take the war out of it. So this is the top line, dissolving the paramilitary model, abolishing ICE, taking that money and investing in people and not for-profit prisons because there's a financial incentive for this. I'm going to turn to Medicare for all in my last 30 seconds. Having lived in a single-payer system in the UK, it is something that is absolutely possible and something that we can do. The legislation I would support in Congress is, of course, the Medicare for All Act, but also Congressman Ro Khanna's bill that enables states to enact Medicare because it's Medicare for all, because it's likely more possible to do it that way, which is the way Khanna did it, and we know within our own state. New York, we have the votes to pass that. We do. We just have to actually enable states to make it easier for states to happen. It went really fast there. Thank you all.

Cait Conley 27:42 I feel like this format's like Jeopardy, which is like, I'll take democratic institutions and climate change for $500, please, Liza. The atrocities that we just saw perpetrated in Minneapolis. Many frame that it's about ICE. To include Mike Luller has tried to make this about failed immigration policy, but we have to be very clear-eyed. That is not what this is about. It is about the expanded weaponization of the executive branch at a scope and scale that is unprecedented in our lifetimes. It started with the first days of this administration where you saw Donald Trump directing the Department of Justice to investigate his political opposition. It continued into the Department of Defense where we see Trump and Hegseth threatening unauthorized military wars against Venezuela and Greenland, not for security and safety, but out of greed and trying to extort foreign oil and resources. This overreach, this weaponization that is now leading to the deaths of American citizens on American streets by American federal agents is outrageous, unacceptable. It is unhinged and un-American. And I promise you, if elected, I will lead the charge in Congress to impeach Kristi Noem if she's still sitting there, but it doesn't stop there. Impeach Pam Bondi, who has allowed the weaponization of the Department of Justice, and I promise you I will absolutely check any unauthorized use of military force against countries like Venezuela, Greenland, or whoever the hell else Donald Trump decides we need to be threatening. It is wrong. I will tell you what Congress should be doing. And I say this as someone who has spent four years working with Congress, working with members, working with committees. I have written federal legislation. I've overseen and executed national budgets. I know what Congress should be doing because, ladies and gentlemen, we have very real problems facing our country right now. Climate change. When I was growing up here in the Hudson Valley, it was an academic discussion framed around whether or not we dredge the Hudson. Today, it is a national security crisis where American citizens are dying, communities are getting displaced, and businesses devastated because of climate change. We need to be addressing this head on, and that's where I will leave for grant expansion and energy investment and resiliency investment, investing in things like solar, wind, and geothermal for our communities, which will also help drive down the cost of energy that right now is a burden too many families in the Hudson Valley cannot afford. If we do this right, it will also create economic opportunities, like expanding BOCES programming to things like solar panel repair and installation technicians, right? If we do this right, there is so much good that can be done. But this administration and Mike Lawler, that will never be their priority, and that's why they must go.

Moderator 30:40 Thank you to all the candidates. We're going to move into something more fun. Let's go. I knew I was going to get this move in the numbers thing. This is like the biggest, the most difficult part of this. Apologies. You're going to hear about me, please.

Beth Davidson 31:05 No apologies necessary. Thank you very much, Liza. And thanks for selecting these topics. You know, when six months ago, I wouldn't have necessarily guessed that immigration and health care would be so intertwined, but here we are. 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. And for what? Yes, tax cuts for the rich, but something else. Mike Lawler voted to send $170 billion to ICE and immigration enforcement without any guardrails whatsoever. And what do we have as the results of that investment? An out-of-control agency terrorizing our streets. Families being separated. A Spring Valley high school student disappeared and sent to an ICE detention facility in Newark for a month and now two civilians dead in Minnesota. So what we know from all of this is that our congressman has his priorities all out of whack. We don't need such a sharp focus on ICE. We need a focus on health care. I'm a two-time cancer survivor. I'm an IVF mom. I support Medicare for all who wants it. I want to cap prescription drug prices. I want to rein in the out-of-control insurance companies. I want vision and dental as part of Medicare. And of course, 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. But first, I'll take that clap. But first, we have to win. And that means making sure that every voter knows that Mike Lawler voted to take away your health care so that masked thugs could take away your neighbors and shoot and kill protesters without any accountability whatsoever. As we know from a time like this, talk isn't enough. It's time for action. Two nights ago, I co-introduced a bill on the Rockland County Legislature to prevent county employees from participating in federal immigration activities. This bill will protect all Rockland residents. It's based on a Westchester law from past six years ago from Trump's rogue ICE agents while complying with judicial warrants and following the law. You may have seen Mike Lawler already coming after me with his lies and fear-mongering. If he thinks he can scare me out of doing the right thing for our constituents, that's right, his and mine. He doesn't know me. And I'll do whatever it takes to pass this bill, and I won't stop there. In Congress, I'll vote to impeach Kristi Noem. Enough with masks, no more warrantless arrests, no more home invasions, no more ICE in schools or churches. We need full accountability for ICE agents who harm or kill civilians and not one more dime to ICE until there's accountability. It is time to stand in the breach for the people we love. I will stand in the breach every day now, and I will do that for you in Congress.

Moderator 34:21 Thank you. So now we're moving into a contrast round. Each candidate will choose one of three questions to answer. You will have 90 seconds. After all candidates have spoken, each candidate will have one opportunity for a 30-second. Please choose one of the following three questions. What is the biggest reason voters have doubts about Democrats, and what would you do differently in common? Name a Democratic position you support that you believe is politically fragile in this district, and how you would argue for it to persuadable voters. Name one powerful interest you are prepared to take on, even if it carries political cost, and how you would handle that pushback. We'll begin with Mike Sacks. Please state which question you've chosen. If you want to say one, two, or three, I'm happy to repeat them, of course, and then begin with 90 seconds.

Mike Sacks 35:40 Question one, too many people think that we fold and don't fight. People think that we don't deliver for them when we say what we are going to do. These things are true, but it's not only Democrats' fault because of that. We are now existing in a system that has been rigged to prevent the people's will from being made manifest no matter what we say. The right wing pre-exists Trump. The right wing has spent 40 years putting together an anti-constitutional structure, an anti-democratic structure, from extreme partisan gerrymandering to relying on the Senate's inherent malapportionment and the Senate filibuster for a minority of a minority to have their will to the electoral college, and then to the final boss the Supreme Court should something make it through the entire gamut and then gets to their buzzsaw. All, again, to preserve an unpopular policy preference that is the walking dead that we should have thrown away years ago. Tax starts for the rich, that's all they stand for. Everything else they stand for is deeply unpopular from Trump's immigration extremism to being anti-abortion to the extreme. They know that if they pass any of their policies they will be thrown out of office so fast never to return. So they keep us in this gridlocked status quo. Whereas what we stand for, the New Deal, the Great Society, Obamacare, and then eventually Medicare for All, and Green New Deal. We stand for jobs, we stand for equal protection, we stand for law and order, we stand for freedom, we stand for liberty, we stand for all those things. But we need to never stop the moment the billionaire-backed system gets in our way to block us. So when we're, I apologize for running over, but when we have power, when we have the House, we will use the only chamber, the only branch of the federal government to ensure that when the Senate blocks us, if we don't have the Senate, when the President vetoes us, both, that we stop at nothing. We don't shut up. We carry that to the very next election and say we are here to work for you and we are fighting and not folding. Thank you.

Moderator 37:50 Moving on, next, John Cappello, please state which question you've chosen.

John Cappello 37:58 I will address the same question. We operate in a binary system. We have Republicans, we have Democrats. 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 and everything he says. The Democrats were a large party, a very diverse party, right? And with that comes a lot of challenges, as Mike points out very well. But not only do we have to fight, we have to win. We have to win. We have to take that diversity and find a way to win. Now, how many of you read Lawler's op-ed? Everybody read that op-ed. Okay. We're probably all in violent agreement how to face, how insincere that was, right? But we're not the only ones making that decision. We're not the only ones reading that article. I'm pretty sure I have my mom's vote. I'm pretty sure. But when I sit on the couch with her and Mike Lawler's on CNN, he's on Fox every night, right? He seems like a reasonable guy. He seems reasonable. So if my mom is, and she doesn't believe that, we not only have to fight, we have to find a way to win. And let's not fool ourselves and let's not, this district is essential. They're going to throw a lot at us and we need to be clear on who our opposition is and not let them define who we are and take it back to them. Because that isn't the other part I wanted to say, is we're letting them define us.

Moderator 39:52 Time's up.

John Cappello 39:53 And I'm happy to...

Moderator 39:54 Sorry, John.

John Cappello 39:55 That's okay. And me.

Effie Phillips-Staley 39:57 Liza, could you repeat the first question, please? Sure.

Moderator 40:05 What's the biggest reason voters have doubts about Democrats and what would you do?

Effie Phillips-Staley 40:11 This, to me, is a very easy question because the majority of the people that I speak to have immense doubts about the Democratic Party. In fact, it feels like it's running against two parties, the establishment Democratic Party and the Republican Party. And I'll give you an example of why. When I first ran for office, it was very important to me to reach out to Hispanic communities. It's part of my culture. My mom's from El Salvador. But also, it's 25% of the village that I live in. But the people who were running my campaign said, you absolutely cannot because they don't vote. Right? And so if we have a Democratic system that is set up only to cater to the people who vote the most, then that's how policy gets developed and people get left on the sidelines. Right? So I decided, no, I'm not going to listen to that. I'm going to fight that. Put together people got out in the streets knocking on doors. But even the data that the party had was terrible because they never cleaned it up because they never did the work. 30,000 registered Hispanic Democrats in this district, 4,000 to 5,000 vote because they don't have any faith in a party that has never reached out. And so the formula of winning is what's making us lose because we're not turning out our natural base. It's making us go to the right because we think we need to flip moderate Republicans instead of going for our base. So my entire campaign is designed about reaching out to these voters. Hispanics under 44s, people of color, the natural Democratic base that needs to be listened to, needs attention and needs to be served properly, frankly, for the first time.

Cait Conley 41:58 I will take the Democratic struggle, number one. So I say this, 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. And so I will tell you when I was in combat zones fighting for this country, the only party that fought for me was the Democratic Party. And so I have a love and belief and faith in this party trying to do the right thing. But we have to be very clear-eyed about how we are failing working families in America by not delivering on the issues that matter most because it isn't just the Republicans who got us here. And if we're going to win back New York 17 and this country, we need to understand, recognize, and do better than that. And that means not just winning Democrats, that means winning people, getting them to choose you as a person over a party. And I'll give you an example of where I saw Democrats do this poorly while I was still in uniform as an Army officer at the White House. We pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into alternative energy investment, phenomenal. Communities around the country, phenomenal. But we ended up making anyone who ever worked for a fossil fuel company or for a coal mine feel like they were the bad guy in the enemy. They were actually Democrats at one point. When you talk about how we should be reaching out to people as Democrats, we need to stop expecting people to follow if we are right and try to bring them along by being effective. We should have started every communications outreach along that energy investment with, to the American families, to for generation, to work the oil fields, the coal mines, and on the oil rigs. Thank you. Because of you, Americans, we're warm in the winter. And you drove American innovation in progress to unfounded heights. And to keep going, we must do more and you will be part of it. But thank you. We got to bring people together by showing respect and understanding. Voting comes down to how you also make people feel about themselves. Because you're asking them to trust you.

Beth Davidson 44:12 When I was in college, I used to earn money during the summers by babysitting. And one summer, my boss said, you know, one of my colleagues is going away on a vacation for a week and wondering if you would, if we could lend you out and you could go babysit for them. And I said, of course. And so I spent a week with this wonderful family, two boys, taking them to all their activities. They were just wonderful. We had a great week. A few years later, I was talking to my mom on the phone and she said, oh, you'll never believe what happened. That family you babysat for that summer, the younger son was playing with the dad had a gun and his friend shot him and he's dead. And that was the day I made the gun lobby my number one enemy and gun violence prevention one of my top priorities in life. And so I will take on the gun lobby and the NRA and it's something that I have been doing throughout my time in service to this community. I've been a longtime volunteer with Moms Demand Action. I see moms in the house. And I've worked for Brady United Sandy Hook Promise and so when I was elected to the NIAAC School Board I brought Sandy Hook Promise programs into our NIAAC public schools where they still are today. Right before I was sworn into the county legislature there was a horrific murder suicide in my district. I decided that was the moment to also step up and propose the common sense gun safety legislation that I passed within eight months of being in office. The gun lobby shouldn't be something that Democrats fear or Republicans but clearly it is because we've never been able to pass even and forget an assault weapons ban which is my number one priority. We need to get weapons of war off their streets but universal background checks should have passed long ago and when we take back the house I'll fight to make that reality. Thank you.

Moderator 45:58 Thank you. So Beth was answering the question about what's the powerful interest she's prepared to take on. Appreciate that. Peter do you want to let us know which question you're going to answer? I'm happy to repeat them or?

Peter Chatzky 46:09 I got it. I'm going to answer. We have 90 seconds. There will be one powerful interest and I find the most troubling part of this question is how I would limit it to just one. I have an entire career taking on powerful interests. I'm known to be somewhat of an independent thinker. I can't be put in a box. It's a problem when you're trying to campaign in the Democratic primary. I think the number one thing I would take on is campaign finance reform. Today we lost one of the best candidates running. John Sullivan had more national experience than any of us on this platform. He was incredible. I'm talking like he's dead. He's not dead. He was incredibly smart, incredibly able and he couldn't complete the race because he just couldn't get funding. We need to re-examine this. We are taking awesome potential candidates and leaving them out of the system and not getting a good representative bunch in Congress to actually reflect the values of the entire community. We need public money for our campaigns. We've got to expose dark money. We've got to get Congress back to its job of working together and legislating and negotiating deals and coercing each other to come up with good solutions. By the way, let's talk in Rockland, Arlupa. You're all familiar with it, right? Federal law that gives religious land use preference, it's backed by the block. I would take that on. I have experience winning an Arlupa case in Briarcliff. I think it has to be tweaked. I think single-family homes shouldn't get the benefit of full temples, full synagogues. Not everybody is a rabbi. Not everybody gets to take their property off the tax rolls. That's decimating communities all over the country and I would fight to fix that law.

Moderator 48:13 Thanks, everyone. So now we're going to give everybody a chance to do a rebuttal for 30 seconds if you'd like. This is optional. John, we're going to start with you, John, if you would like.

John Cappello 48:27 Sure. No, I don't have so much rebuttal as an agreement with Peter about campaign finance, but maybe I'll have a chance to talk about that a little later. And then really what I wanted to end with is we have an administration now that defines who the Democratic Party is and we're allowing them to do that. We're allowing them to do that by not being more proactive and fighting back at that narrative. Radicals, they don't own the American flag. They don't own patriotism. We do. And we need to fight back at that. Thank you.

Moderator 49:12 Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 49:23 Not a rebuttal, but I will say this. Affordability is the issue that matters most to all the people that I speak to in the communities where I do outreach. An important part of my campaign is coalition building across diverse communities, but the challenge is that the party has never paid attention to the affordability needs of many communities. So it's critical that that needs to happen for all. It is a systemic problem with the Democratic Party. I don't see them making any moves to fix it. That's why I'm running in this campaign to try to change that because it's better for the party and it's better for democracy.

Cait Conley 50:08 I'm going to double down on that because I completely agree. The biggest struggle that we must address, especially we're going to show that Democrats are the leadership for this country in the next years to come and going to get us out of this economic crisis, is to deliver on affordability. And that is why I will tell you if elected into office, I will focus on things like expanding the VA loan program, which was how I as an Army officer could afford to buy a loan or to buy a home, 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 because you are investing in your community and so we should be investing in you.

Beth Davidson 50:50 Also don't have a rebuttal, but I feel like I shouldn't be sitting 50 yards from the Spark Hill Creek and not address the environment and climate change and its impact on our communities, particularly communities who are already marginalized. I'm proud to as the environmental chair of the Rockland County Legislature and chair of the Water Task Force to have passed the first county-wide resolution opposing Project Maple, a dirty pipeline that would run underneath Indian Point, what could possibly go wrong, pop up in our historic Stony Point battlefields and dump a dirty air compressor in Ramapo. 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 and that's a record I'll keep on fighting for you in Congress. Thanks.

Peter Chatzky 51:42 Also not really a rebuttal, just more to say, always have more to say. I do agree that affordability is the number one issue you hear wherever you talk to residents in that district. It centers on housing, on utilities, on healthcare. All three issues I actually have experience. I've implemented housing plans. I've fought with utility companies. I got them to lower prices in Westchester. Healthcare I've dealt with as an employer all the time and I see the necessity of bringing that down. I've dealt with it in my own family. We have to tackle those. We have to put people in office who are ready with ideas that are solutions that will help the entire district.

Audience 52:24 Thank you.

Mike Sacks 52:25 Across this table you've heard all of our solutions, our ideas, the what. I'm running also because of the how. How will we get that done? Because we can talk as much as we want about what we want to do but unless we have a theory of power on how to take down the structures that prevent us from getting it done, then we will not get it done. We'll be thrown out of office and the fascists will come in again. So how are we going to get it done? Do we have a plan to nuke the filibuster? Should we get the Senate? Do we have a plan to take on the Supreme Court and add seats? Should they strike down what we passed as perfectly constitutional by making stuff up because just Republicans always win? How are we going to turn the page? If we don't have a theory of power on how we turn the page, we'll be stuck in this endless loop that we've been in for the past 20 years.

Moderator 53:15 Now I'm going to turn to audience questions. We have four. These were submitted in advance when people RSVPed. We curated them to reflect the issues voters raised most often. We got a lot of this from all of you. And also we want to keep the conversation focused and fair. Each candidate will have one minute to answer each question. The first question is on affordability. And we'll begin with Eddie in continuing order. Remember that you have one minute. Affordability, first question. Housing, health care, transportation, child care is the dominant concern for many families here. What is one concrete federal action you would prioritize that would actually lower costs in this district? And how would it work in practice? You have one minute.

Effie Phillips-Staley 54:20 A critical part of my suburban progress agenda, which is an agenda that entirely addresses affordability issues in the district, is universal child care for families. It is something that is happening in New York City. It's something that has already happened in the state of New Mexico, where children up to kindergarten have their child care paid for. And it doesn't matter what your income is. The vision is this. Paid child care for families up to kindergarten. And then expanding parental leave and work and really fighting for that so that parents have a year paid off. And why is this important? Because child care is a $24,000 tax on families who have two children. And it often prevents people not to work, mothers in particular. This is something that we can absolutely look, if we can have the biggest transfer of wealth off the backs of working people to the ultra rich, we can certainly underwrite the cost of this essential need for families.

Cait Conley 55:35 So there is no silver bullet solution for affordability. I just told you about one program that I will absolutely push this relief for, which is the VA loan equivalency program for public servants. Another area that I believe is really hitting families all across the economic spectrum is the cost of education, college tuition. It should not bankrupt families to just try to get to the American middle class. But that's what's happening, especially for people my age, where now the average age of first time home buyer went from 21 in the 70s to 40. Things are not working. And one of the most major obstacles to that, when you talk to people my age and younger, is student debt. And so 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. These are the types of very specific solutions that are absolutely possible and will make real impacts on the daily lives of families.

Beth Davidson 56:49 So as a working mom and homeowner in this community for the last 20 years, I know how expensive it is to live in the Hudson Valley. And as I knocked 4,000 doors for my county legislative race, that's exactly what I heard at door after door. 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 when it would have expired at the end of last year. And I'll never forget a voter that I met who said, I'm a SALT parent and a Medicaid mom. There are people in this community who rely on their SALT exemptions and also rely on Medicaid services for kids with special needs. That's just a reality. So it's important to bring down the overall cost. That includes our property taxes and then, of course, reversing the Medicaid cuts so that people get the services that they need. Thank you.

Peter Chatzky 57:42 I have so many 1% solutions to bring down the cost of health care. 12, 14, different things we can do. Each would bring down health care by 1%. I'm not going to touch upon those. Let's go to housing. On housing, on public housing, the threshold for pricing for public housing should not be 30% of your income. It should be moved to 25%. That extra 5% would provide transportation, visits to doctors, covering deductibles, so much for our lower economic classes in this country. I have real experience building diversity of housing stock in communities, community development block grants the federal government gives out, should be applied to inspire diversity of housing. It lowers the entry point for first-time buyers. It allows people who are empty nesting the ability to sell their homes, stay in their communities with a new varied stock. And we should also get rid of the capital gains tax when you sell your primary residence and buy a new primary residence. Most people, it's their biggest asset. They don't want to give away 20% to the government just because they've decided to downside their home. It would free up inventory. Housing is the key to affordability.

Mike Sacks 59:02 And the biggest cost for most of us is our health care costs. It is to ensure that we don't have to choose between paying our heating bill and getting our health care. It brings us back to Medicare for all, where we'll ultimately be paying less in taxes that already go to subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. We'll pay less in taxes per year than what we'd pay in premiums, in deductibles, in copays. And again, a politics that serves everybody. So that should Republicans try to mess with it, we will take our pitchforks out. But how are we going to pay for it, Republicans will ask. Well, let's see. Lift the Social Security payroll tax cap to increase benefits and guarantee the Social Security's trust fund remains solvent. Make multi-naught national corporations pay the same tax rate they pay on foreign profits as they do here at home. Tax those making more than $1 million in investment income at the same tax rate as those who work for a paycheck. Pass a small wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million. These all come from my website, so if you think I'm just talking about power, not policy, there's plenty there too. And also raise the minimum wage. We need to make minimum wage $20 per hour and peg it to inflation so that people can have a living wage. They don't have to have two jobs just to survive and then also be on SNAP benefits and Medicaid as well. That's unconscionable in this country.

John Cappello 60:24 I think education needs to be our next moonshot because an educated populace will be the key to the future work space, the workplace. We're just scratching the surface on what automation will do to the workplace. And I'm not just talking about K through 12, but we talked about with respect to preschool, pre-K, childcare, essential. 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. Trade schools, preparing all for the new place. How many people use chat GPT? Okay, four years ago I couldn't spell chat GPT. And we're just now scratching the surface on what that could do. It's amazing, it's a great tool. Five years from now, there's things that we can't even think about, we can't even comprehend in this room that will change the dynamics of our economy. And we have to prepare our workforce for that new economy.

Moderator 61:43 Education is the foundation and the key to that.

Cait Conley 62:31 So first and foremost, we need to implement term limits on both the House and Senate. Because what you've seen are far too many politicians who are more concerned about winning their next election than the right thing. That is what is really ruining American people's trust in our institutions and driving what I believe is a lot of politicians taking the easy road of avoiding solving the problems that government was literally built to tackle. It's inexcusable. You have people who are not doing their jobs, who are just more focused on winning an election, holding a title and collecting a paycheck. And it's fucked up, it's wrong. I cursed in church, I will do penins later. But there's got to be a stop. But I would also say that should apply to the Supreme Court. Mike, I'll tee this up for you if you want to talk about that next. But I agree with him in that the Supreme Court is out of control. 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. And keep the flow going. But I also believe we do need to hold the current administration accountable. And that means impeaching people who are violating their constitutional responsibilities, and that goes beyond just Congress.

Beth Davidson 63:41 Thank you. I think on day one, we should, and I would vote too, ban stock trading by members of Congress. Day one. It is unconscionable that members are able to get rich based on the policies that they approve and the votes that they take in Congress, and we've seen it happen. I also believe we need to move quickly to overturn Citizens United. Peter is absolutely correct. Thank you. Peter is absolutely correct that the insane amount of money that we have to raise to run for office is not only precluding people from running, but it's making your votes suspect once you're there. And so getting that money out of politics would go a long way towards restoring faith, the public's trust in Congress and in all other institutions.

Peter Chatzky 64:35 This seems to be such an easy question. We're all saying the same thing. No trading individual stocks, more transparency. We need a binding code of ethics for everybody, including the Supreme Court. Mike will speak more about that. We need to repeal Citizens United. Mike may also speak more about that. No dark money. We need, this is innovative, caps in campaign spending. If we just limit the amount of money that can be spent on a campaign, there is no incentive to spend all your day in Congress raising money for your next election. It's a simple idea. Level that playing field, public money and caps of what you're allowed to raise. It doesn't have to be a low cap. It can be a reasonable cap, but let's, and by the way, if you speak to Congressmen, they want this too. They do not want to spend all day long dialing for dollars. They want to get back to the job they were elected to do.

Mike Sacks 65:36 Okay, fine. I'll talk about the Supreme Court. Thank you. Citizens United was not the beginning. The beginning was a case called Bugly v Vallejo, which is celebrating its, what, the 50th, 51st anniversary today, in which the court with one dissenter said that money is speech. And they said that you cannot cap independent expenditures because those by definition cannot corrupt. Elon Musk and Mike Lawler, in the 2024 election. So in order to get any of this done, you either need a constitutional amendment, which would require breaking the current gridlock and log jam and division we currently have in this country as a 50-50 country, and delivering policies that help everybody so that we can become a 60-40 or 65-35 country, or we need to do something about the Supreme Court. Term limits for the Supreme Court are great. 18 years, wonderful. But they will not fix the problem we face right now with a court that's committed to diluting our votes, destroying our democracy, and keeping itself in power, no matter the people's will, once Trump is gone. Because when they start standing against Trump, it's not because they are against him. It's because they're looking to preserve their power and keep their legitimacy so that we will continue bowing down to them. We need to take them on full on with our legislation, with our power, make them back down. If they don't, we pat them.

John Cappello 67:07 I'm here. I agree with Peter, but, you know, that members of Congress want to change these things, then why don't they? They're responsible. They can make these changes, but they don't. And I will. And I think all five of these things need to happen to restore balance and accountability. Term limits, campaign finance reform has to read, campaign finance reform, a moratorium on lobbying for all members at a minimum of five years after you leave Congress, ban stock trading, and then we need to look at reforming a code of ethics for the Supreme Court, potentially term limits for the Supreme Court. Those five things have to be done together, and that will restore faith in our elected individuals and institutions.

Effie Phillips-Staley 67:54 It's tough to go last when you agree with everyone on the stage, but I will say this. Of course, it has to be campaign finance reform and overturning Citizens United. Our Congress right now, I think, is made up of something like 30 percent are business owners. They are people who can afford to be able to run, and we have to make it affordable for everyone to be able to run if we're going to have true representation. It's not a surprise to me that the working class is suffering so much if members of Congress don't actually represent the working class. There are no working class people in Congress, very few, because who can afford to do it? So that is really the most critical thing. Look, if it takes $25 million in contributions from APAC to defeat a member of Congress, and they've given that much money to Mike Lawler, we have to defeat this system. Otherwise, people are not going to, representatives won't be working for the people, they're going to be working for those who pay them.

Moderator 69:18 We have two more audience questions.

Mike Sacks 69:28 All good? We can do this all night. You guys keep going?

Moderator 69:32 Okay, so our next question is on immigration, and we're going to begin with Beth. Beth, what are your views on how-

Beth Davidson 69:47 Sure. Well, I talked a little bit about that earlier. I certainly, as I said, think Congress should move, and I would move immediately to impeach Kristi Noem and to end Trump's campaign of terror against all of our communities. And I would put, you know, I am pushing as a county legislator to do what I can to stand up for my community, but 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, and make sure that people who want to live here and build a better life and do so legally have the ability to do so without the terror that the Trump administration has wrought on our communities in the process.

Peter Chatzky 70:33 I said it once, I will say it again, we need to defund ICE, we need to get them off the streets, look at the history. Under Cheney Bush, we took the Immigration National Service, we took the Customs Service, and we replaced it with Immigration Custom Enforcement. That is a war-like outlook on immigration. We need to get back to service. We need to recognize that so many people just want to come here to live a better life. We need to divert money so that we have better border protection, so facilitate the process to legalize. You take someone undocumented in this country, give them more courts to go to, more immigration judges, more technology that will ease the way through the system. A faster path is going to be the best, most effective way to legalize undocumented citizens and embrace immigration as our country always has.

Mike Sacks 71:37 We could have solved this problem in 2013 when we had comprehensive immigration reform that passed the House, had a majority vote in the Senate, and had a president willing to sign it. But then there was a Senate filibuster from Republicans that prevented this thing from coming through and making our immigration system a festering wound for the next 11 years, until 2024 when we tried again. But this time we did it on the Republicans' terms because we needed to be harsh so that we would win reelection because there was an immigration problem at the border that had been demagogued on Fox News every day. And what happened? We had the votes, we had the president, Donald Trump called his Republicans and said, kill the bill because I want a festering wound for when I get in power so I can start killing actual people in the streets of Minnesota. We are here right now, in this situation, with Michael Lawler not writing an op-ed, saying, but now the next thing we should do is something even more right-wing. That's our common sense, because someone got murdered in Minnesota. We need to now put on our grown-up hats and do more right-wing immigration policy. This just isn't as extreme as Trump. But here's the deal. When Trump's in power, he hurts people, and he makes us aware of new vistas of what is possible. We need to start putting things on our terms again, humane immigration, pathway to citizenship, all the things we put forward in 2013, and perhaps even more to treat our people who come to this country looking for a better life like everyone else who came before us doing the same. That is possible, but in order to do so, we need to nuke the filibuster, we need to do something about the Supreme Court. I keep saying that because we will not win unless we do all that.

John Cappello 73:11 It's a violent agreement with everything that's been said so far, and I think it's important to reemphasize that in 2023 we had the opportunity to address this issue. On the Republican terms, there was a bipartisan agreement. This was not comprehensive reform. 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? What did he do then? Where was his courage and his spine and his backbone then? He should have stood up then if he believes what he wrote and wrote that article then. We need a clear, humane path, of course. Nobody wants chaos that has been instituted by this administration, and we need to hold them accountable for the chaos that they are causing right now.

Effie Phillips-Staley 74:29 So what we need fundamentally in this nation is a shift in how we think about immigration, and it has to start at the top. I think it was Bill Clinton who said that there's something like 100,000 unfilled jobs in manufacturing right now, and that's a problem. That's a problem for our nation. Who could do that work? That's why we need a fair and just immigration system. It's good for families. It's good for the economy. We have to think about immigration as an asset to our nation, which it has been historically instead of this kind of war we appear to be at, and a war that didn't start with the Trump administration. It's a war that started with the War on Terror and the Bush administration. It's why we have DHS in the form that it is now, and it's why we have ICE. So we have to shift our mindset and see people as an asset and not a burden. Our nation is great because we have immigrants. It's horrendous the way it is now when we're shooting people in the street about it.

Cait Conley 75:40 So I don't know if you know the country pop star Jelly Roll, but he has a song. I am not okay. And I have to tell you, watching the last three weeks, what is 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. We are not okay. I am not okay. I am watching the country I was willing to die for become something I barely recognize. And that is not okay. I do believe that this administration's failure to seek accountability is not only unhinged, it is un-American. That is why 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. There should be transparent investigations and those responsible held accountable. Period.

Moderator 76:47 And I have no more time. So, and you have a minute. This is a winnable district. What is to win it, how we reach them? Which is your strategy?

Peter Chatzky 77:30 Just reading Paul. Beating Mike Lawler is beating Donald Trump. Mike Lawler is just a lap dog. He's just a lackey for Trump. As I've mentioned a couple of times, I have taken on Donald Trump. I've beat him. I have a great record. He hates me. I can't stress that enough because he doesn't like to lose and he has lost to me three times. I think we're all going to agree that tethering Mike Lawler to Trump is really the key. But what's also the key is this district is 30% Republican, 30% Dem, 30% Independent. It's exactly what Briar Cliff Manor is. I've won there five times. We have to get young people out and voting. We really have to appeal to those unaffiliated voters. We have to give them a reason to show up and vote. They're pissed at both parties. Both parties have failed them. And I think we have to have policies in place that are progressive, that are pragmatic, that really have a chance of getting stuff done. And I am that candidate. And I hope to convince everybody of that when they're thinking about who can best beat Mike Lawler.

Audience 78:41 Thank you.

Mike Sacks 78:46 We forget that when Trump is in power, people hate him and everyone who enables him. 2018 happened. In 2020, during a worldwide pandemic, we beat him by 7 million votes because people left their houses when they were afraid to do so to vote this guy out. We flushed out everyone who came with him too. Lawler has never been tied to Trump's mask before. He was presenting to be moderate while playing MAGA as an opposition. Now he's part of the ruling regime. And we see right now he's trying to back away from it. But he's not going to do so. We're not going to let him do so. We're going to make every bit of his subtext text. When he starts spewing lies that have been made by his on-the-make Republican communications firm or taken from Project 2025 and Heritage Foundation in DC, we will call them out on that. Instead of getting bogged down in his, look how reasonable a martyr I am, no, we will just say what you are saying are a bunch of lies and you think your voters are stupid. Do not underestimate our intelligence. Do not underestimate our resolve to beat you. Because we beat you we must. He's a power worshipper. He's a political operative. He's a partisan hack. None of us are that. And we will beat him.

John Cappello 79:59 Is anybody in here going to vote for Michael Lawler? OK. That's what I thought. However, we have to keep in mind, we have to talk to everybody. Because people are going to vote for him. And they're not necessarily married to him but as Peter said, they're pissed off at both parties. We have to give them a reason to vote for us. We have to give them a reason, we have to listen to them, meet them where they are. Everyone, not just the people in your Facebook groups. Right? There are a lot of people that are fed up with the chaos, with the noise, with the distractions. We have to talk to them as well. And I will. And I am.

Effie Phillips-Staley 80:58 Thank you. So when I was asked to run in this race by my community, I didn't say yes right away, though I knew I would have to because they were asking me. I took a look at the field and I said, how are we going to win this? How are we going to win this with me being authentically who I am and what I advocate for? And the path is there or I would not have entered it. And I will say first, the path for me does not go through the block because the block is not a group that will likely vote for me. The path is by turning and building coalitions across disenfranchised communities who need solid representation. And that is the kind of work I have done, civic engagement for Hispanic communities but other communities for the last 30 years. So this is really an opportunity. The way to win this is, it isn't through the old playbook or what the path is. It is by being in communities, it is by earning trust, and it is turning out the vote. I can't talk about my universe of voters because I'm going to give it away to my competitors. But I can tell you, I would not be here if the path wasn't there and it's going to be great for our democracy when I win.

Cait Conley 82:19 Mike Lawler has phased and been Democratic politicians. If you want a different kind of outcome, you need a different kind of Democrat. You need a Democrat that's going to put 100% of this district in play. Not 40%, not 60%, not one community or another, but 100%. Because 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. And this is where I will quote Mike Lawler because I don't usually like to, but I will hear. He describes this district as being the district of heroes, where over 50% of households are either veterans, the family of veterans, first responders, or the family of first responders. Service matters here. And I do believe that my lifetime of service to this country, to every person in this district, regardless of how they register to vote or even if they vote, will allow me to connect with people in a different way. And we're going to need that in order to win. And we have to remember that it's not just what we're fighting against. It's what we are fighting for.

Beth Davidson 83:36 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 know this district after serving it for 10 years, just as well as Mike Lawler does, but unlike him, I actually fight for it. And I'm a trusted Jewish leader in my community as well, on the side of the river and in Westchester where I belong to Bedam Shalom Synagogue. I'm the only candidate in this race who's already gone up against Republicans in tough districts and beaten them. As I said, you helped me win my purple district 57% of the vote. And while we know there were Kamala Harris, Mike Lawler voters in 2024, I can tell you there have been Trump, Davidson voters since 2017. Because people in my community know I fight like hell for our kids, whatever their political affiliation. And I would say that Mike Lawler likes nothing better than to divide communities against each other, especially in Rockland County. And I'm not falling for that trap. I'm not leaving a single vote on the table and I will be the congresswoman for everyone in New York 17. Thank you.

Moderator 84:43 So it's getting late. We're going to move on to closing statements in a minute. But after a couple of minutes, I wanted to first try to lighten things up a little bit with a lighter question. We're here in Archtown. We are the Archtown Dents. I'm interested to know, starting with, who do we start with this time?

Mike Sacks 85:13 We start with Mike. Is it my turn?

Moderator 85:16 Yes. It's your turn. Mike, what's something or someone that has made an impression on you in this area? And 30 seconds, just for a little bit.

Mike Sacks 85:30 I mean, is it cheating to see my kids? Is it? Yeah. Because they every day make an impression on me. My younger son was just texting me saying, where are you, daddy? So the rabbi in my congregation, Temple Israel, Northern Westchester, she just left. But when we were moving up to this district, it was really important to join a community that matched our values. And Rabbi Jake was that. Every sermon, every hello, every greeting to my children when they were walking into Hebrew school was saying, you're welcome here. And that's tough to find. It's tough to find, especially when you have young children who are trying to learn what it's like to be a Jewish kid in the world. And that's not very light. But that was my welcome to moving up to this area with my family in 2018.

John Cappello 86:38 When you mean this area, do you mean...

Moderator 86:40 Orangeburg, do you mean Rockland County?

John Cappello 86:45 Well, I love Spark Hill. The little village here is awesome. I love Noble Cafe, the beautiful bookstore across the street. I've got to know some people in this area and really appreciate it. The thing that, the bigger thing about our district, about Rockland County, is this tremendous diversity that wasn't here when I was growing up, necessarily. There's many challenges that we've addressed, but I think it's also the strength of this community. I've had the great opportunity to meet with a number of religious faith-based leaders here, and I think their leadership has been really inspiring to me. Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 87:27 Thank you. We're in such a sort of dark, challenging times, times that I couldn't imagine, and it took a while to accept. I will say what inspires me so much about this district are the community leaders that I see sort of fighting for people on the ground, and so I'm just going to call out Proyecto Faro, because, wow, it gives me such hope to be in community with people who have such a strong sense of goodness and care, especially when we're facing the monstrous administration that we're facing now. So Rockland is amazing for turning out an organization like that.

Cait Conley 88:21 So I've spent quite a bit of time talking with folks from Rockland County BOCES to include going over and visiting, and I have to tell you it fills my heart to see the next generation of the workforce and the incredible professionals who are leading the charge there and growing our programs, going back to the point of, look, we are struggling right now to have people my age and younger find jobs in our community that allow them to stay and raise their families in the communities that raise them, and Rockland BOCES is leading the way in some of these incredible spaces with cutting-edge program integration and everything from plumbing to the electrical trades, and it's stuff we need to invest in and continue to expand, but it is an incredible program filled with incredible people from the students to the instructors to the leadership.

Beth Davidson 89:19 So I can't really sit in this building looking at Pastor Brandon McLaughlin and not say Dr. Dana Stilley, my colleague on the Rockland County Legislature. Thank you all for working so hard to elect her. She is an incredible person. For those of you who don't know, she went to Brown University and then, like, three other colleges. I don't have her resume in front of me before running for the South Orange Town School Board, and then we ran together for the Rockland County Legislature, and she has been an indispensable partner in everything that we do, and, you know, there's only three women out of 17 members of the Rockland County Legislature, and so my determination is when I win the seat that we find a woman to take our place, because she's going to need another sister to continue her work with her, but I'm grateful for everything she does.

Moderator 90:02 I am.

Peter Chatzky 90:09 I have served 10 years on the board in Broward-Cliff. It's all volunteer. I have, by no means, a career politician with never gotten paid, but having said that, I would say Liza Barry is one of the people... ...that I'm most impressed with here in Orange Town. I know, well done. If I had to pick a second and third, it would be Kevin Riley and Maria Santini. I think they still own Roost. It's a great place. It's a reason to cross the bridge, and we do that often. That was sweet.

Moderator 90:47 Sure.

Peter Chatzky 90:51 Who votes? I vote for all of them.

Moderator 90:54 So, closing statements. We have... We're going to give each of the candidates one minute to please tell us, which we heard a lot from all of you, one last chance to please tell us why you, why now, and why you can win. And we will begin with...

John Cappello 91:16 Thank you. And thank you again for everyone being here and sticking with this. This is... This is inspiring, really. We are not living in ordinary times. That is certain. We've got leadership that divides us, that plays on our differences, and that tries to instill fear and continue division. And that's just not acceptable. That's really not acceptable. I've worked in places where, if you don't solve problems, it leads to the difference between war and peace. And we have to do politics differently. If you disagree with me, you are not my enemy. You may be my political opponent, but you're not my enemy, and we have to stop talking like that. I heard a Springsteen song just... And I'm going to read one sentence from it. Take this stand for this land and the stranger in our midst. He wrote that in response to what's happening in Minnesota. That is who we are as a nation. That is what I swore to when I took an oath of office, and that is why I'm sitting here today. Thank you again for all being here.

Effie Phillips-Staley 92:33 So thanks, all of you, for the wonderful questions and for the hard questions. Please keep them coming. Please help us do the work of distinguishing ourselves for you with the tough questions that you ask. Again, I suppose the most critical thing to know is that we are all fighting in our own ways. We all bring a different kind of fight to this. The fight that is most critical to me is making sure that we are truly public servants. Mike Lawler is not a public servant. Mike Lawler serves the people who fund him. Mike Lawler serves his own power. What I commit to all of you and everyone in this district is that I will be a servant, and a servant listens to the needs, and a servant takes care of the needs of the people because the people come first. And that is the problem with our government right now, that the people are not coming first, and that is something that absolutely has to flip. That is why I'm in this race. That is why I'm doing the broadest reach I can for voters the party ignores, and we'll have a better democracy because of that. So thank you.

Cait Conley 94:02 We are not in normal times. These are not normal stakes. When we talk about the fate of the 2026 election, it's not just about the communities here in New York 17. This election, our election, could determine control of Congress and whether or not we actually have the institutional checks do something with this administration and hold them accountable. We can't play around with who takes on Mike Lawler because we cannot risk losing. And when it comes to who's going to get it done, look, 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. The last thing I'll leave you with is, I do believe that we will emerge stronger as a nation out of this. I used to tell my soldiers that doing the right thing when it's easy, just doing your job. But doing the right thing when it is hard. When it comes to the risk of harm and sacrifice, that is courage. And America is a nation that in the darkest hours of the hardest times, we as a country rose up and lived with courage. And we will do it on our turn. This is our watch. We're going to kick his ass. We're going to take back government and check Trump.

Effie Phillips-Staley 95:17 So let's fucking go.

Moderator 95:27 So this concludes our forum.

Cait Conley 95:34 Check, please. It's the end of the table. It's confusing, I know. It's the end of the table.

Moderator 95:42 I'm really sorry.

Beth Davidson 95:44 It's OK. You can buy me a drink at Roost later. I know. It's been a long day. I really apologize. No, please. It's really, it's really fun. Me too, right? Is it just interesting? Yeah. We got more. OK. She's at the end of the table. We're done. We got you.

Moderator 96:03 She warned me that this was going to be hard. We have stem.

Beth Davidson 96:07 So I want to thank all of you for coming out tonight. I want to thank the Orange Town Dems and Liza Barry and St. Charles AME for hosting all of us. And I'm just going to leave you with one simple question that I get all the time and that we should be asking of anyone who runs for public office. And that's what gets you out of bed every day to do this. And for me, the answer is very simple. It's you. It's us. It's our community. As your Rockland County legislator, I have a front row seat into the ways in which our communities are truly suffering. I'm doing this for the health care workers who are terrified of losing their jobs, for the immigrants who are being terrified of rip 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 and need someone to fight for them. It's for the people that I've fought alongside and with since my first year in nine public schools. It's for all of us. So let's beat Mike Lawler together. I'm counting on you. Let's kick his ass. I'm running for Congress because I know how to roll up my sleeves and deliver results that make a difference in people's lives. And that's what I'm ready to do with your support. Thank you.

Peter Chatzky 97:20 Beth is right. Thank you all for coming. Thank you all for being involved. You're actually the most important people here tonight. You're what make this happen. My wife constantly tells me I speak too much, so I'm going to use four words here. I get shit done. My entire adult life has been spent in community service. As mayor and deputy mayor, I've passed 70 laws. I've actually built housing. I've taken on utilities. I have fought for my community. As a father, I have fought health care companies. As a small business owner, our clients are the largest banks in the world. It's been Davy and Goliath. I had no leverage whatsoever. And we've been in business 40 years. I know how to get stuff done. I know how to fight the fight. I'm going to mention again, Donald Trump hates my guts. There's a reason for that. I would like to represent this district as effectively as possible, and could you people first? No strings attached. Nobody else. I'm not beholden to anyone else. I'm only beholden to this district. And I look forward to representing you in Congress.

Mike Sacks 98:33 We are going to win. We believe Mike Waller is invincible political Svengali when every day he proves that he is not to us. We see through him. We are going to win. So the question now is, which wave rider are you going to pick? Now, we're all pretty awesome. Most of the people who have run for this so far are pretty awesome. So it's your pick. Who do you want to be in there? The battlefield upon which this fight against Trump and the fascists is waged. Is in the media, for the attention economy, and in the law, and our courts, where our Constitution is under siege. Every issue that each person here represents flows straight through those two battlefields. That's where I've made my career. I'm comfortable being out front, sending a message to broad audiences. And I'm comfortable talking policy and law to salvage our Constitution from those who've been trying to do it harm for themselves and for their own. But we will win. Remember that. Internalize it. We will win. Tell everyone. Shout it from the rooftops. We will win. If you leave here with one thing, beyond that black dot point, Nami, it is that. We will win. Good night, everybody.

Moderator 100:06 This concludes our really wonderful round of applause. I could never run for office. I think what they are doing is extraordinary in this incredibly competitive race. So much incredible work, and you are all doing remarkably. So we are very, we owe a huge debt of gratitude for every single one of you. It's really, I feel so honored to be able to moderate this forum and to have you here and to help educate our voters about who's who and help move this forward. One thing that I am really encouraged by tonight, I mean, there's so much, but I am certain that when the primary is over and one of these candidates is elected to go up against Mike Waller in November, that the Orange Town Democratic Committee is going to work tirelessly and defeat Mike. And it's to, again, to St. Charles, A&E Zion Church, and to everyone who joined tonight for all of you who came out. If you're new to Orange Town Democrats or want to get involved, we invite you to attend our newcomer meeting and organizing workshop this Saturday. There is a sign-up sheet in the back of the meeting room. Gina Ironside, who is the co-chair of our membership committee, can help you get signed up. Thank you, Gina. Anyone wants to talk to Gina? She's amazing. So, again, there's like too many people to thank. A lot of people helped organize this event. I'm not going to thank, just to say a huge thank you to for helping make this event, help you guys with care equipment. Michael and Maureen, thank you, thank you. Have a good quality video. Or, you know, we're going to put it out on YouTube for folks to watch it if they want. Help spread the word, help make people all about. So, really. But that's really it. So, thank you for showing up and engaging seriously with this race. And please get home safe.

Beth Davidson 103:01 Join your local Democratic committee.

Moderator 103:03 Apologies again for my... No, don't apologize.

Mike Sacks 103:08 Kill this.

Peter Chatzky 0:00 Hi, I'm Peter Chatzky. I'm currently Deputy Mayor of Briar Cliff Manor over in Westchester, hoping to upgrade that position to U.S. Congress. I have spent a lot of time here in Boxley, maybe meeting with many of you here. You have awesome coffee shops. I've been to at least 12 or 15 of them. Rockland Bakery has always been my go-to destination here. They have probably the third best rainbow cookies within a 20-mile program program to help my house. If you're a fan of Marzipan, get the Rockland Bakery.

Effie Phillips-Staley 0:38 Thank you. Hi, everyone. I'm Effie Phillips-Staley. I am a trustee in the Village of Tarrytown. I just entered my third term. I am a lifelong progressive, a nonprofit worker, a person who's focused my entire life on social justice and helping make people's lives better and our community better. Rockland is such a joy to travel around. I think it's so beautiful. What I've really enjoyed is Rayetha Faro's Waka, which was terrific and it's at the Penguin Rep Theater. The Penguin Rep Theater was such a delight to discover. In addition to social justice work, I have a background in the arts, and so the arts and culture are so powerful and it's lovely to see it here and something we certainly have to thanks you.

John Sullivan 1:36 Thank you.

John Cappello 1:39 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. Additionally, I lived my dream, and I did that because of this community here. When you all travel away from New York, what are the two things you miss most? Bagels and pizza. Every time I come home to visit family while I was away serving, Nikki's Pizza and Bagel Place. They're still my go-to. Hope to see you there.

Cait Conley 2:35 Alright, my answer is going to be a little less cart-heavy. I have Kate Cottley, a proud West Point graduate. There's going to be a little bit of an Army Air Force rivalry going on tonight, but we'll have some fun with it. 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. She is going to enforce the time limit. Case in point.

Mike Sacks 3:54 I'm Mike Sacks, I'm a former political and legal journalist, and I currently work for an organization dedicated to keeping watch on our current Supreme Court. I live in Croton-on-Hudson. When I first moved to Croton, I was able to see Rockland from my house. This is a picture of my then three-year-old riding naked on a balance bike on our deck, but with Rockland in the far distance. And I love Bear Mountain. One of the reasons why I moved to where I moved was because of the natural beauty, and that natural beauty is not limited to Westchester. Going over across the Bear Mountain Bridge, going over to Bear Mountain, whether it's on my kids' field trips, I have a nine-year-old and a twelve-year-old, going to the ice skating rink with them. We're just going to find some peace as my place. But also, four corners, the protests. Sorry to be the homework here, I know this is a little divisible doing this, but what you guys do at the protests, realize from democracy, they're amazing. I've met many of you there. It's beautiful, I look forward to the next drop by. We're all holding our signs, having fun, looking to take on the fascists.

Beth Davidson 5:00 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. I'm so glad to have you all over here. Picking a special event that I've discovered over here in Rockland, Ubuntu for the first time, would I have to say Thanksgiving at the Kizkaya Club in Haverstrom, where the entire community came together to make sure that everyone had a nutritious Thanksgiving meal, playing music, having fun, dancing. It was a wonderful place to be. That's it. Thank you. Go ahead, John.

John Sullivan 6:15 Hi, everyone. John Sullivan. I jumped in the race after almost 17 years in the FBI, and I currently live in Piermont. Mike stole my Four Corners answer, but being in Piermont, I will say the coffee shops, I know those are great places to be, but I would say the event that kind of struck me the most living here in Rockland was going to the September 11th Memorial out on the pier. Being able to meet and talk with folks who were so impacted on that day and listening to the mayor and his remarks, it was really, really impactful. We went all across the district, but being here in Rockland, in NIAF, and standing at the pier was really important. Thank you. Thank you.

Moderator 0:02 Good evening. My name is Gregory Shannon. I'm the co-chair of the bus stop Democratic meeting. We're just joined by David Berman who came in. We have a small crowd this evening, but also folks joining us online. This will be live streaming. We are going to do something that everybody loves tonight. We are going to pay you such. And actually what we're going to do is add on. On Monday morning, we received an announcement that Joe Rand, the mayor of NIAAC, will be running for the New York 38th Senate district, the state senate district. And since he's local and he was willing to jump in before we had this forum, we invited him to join us. So we've expanded the amount of time that we're going to dedicate to tonight in order to have a chance to hear from Joe, for you to get to know him. And for us to have a chance to live stream and record it and make it available for everyone so we can know who we have looking to represent us as a Democrat here in the New York 30th. We also, since we've expanded our time, are going to be adding in Pat Carroll. He's our sitting assemblyman for the New York 96th, which represents the NIAAC area here, all of Clarkstown, and all of Havish Falls. He'll be joining us when Joe is done. We'll take a small break, and then we'll jump into our candidates for the New York 17th. Tonight we're supposed to have three of the candidates that are running, Effie Phillips, John Cappello, and Pete Chaske. We are going to have two candidates. We have a last-minute cancellation by Effie Phillips, and we'll get to that a little bit later on, because we'll get started with the candidates for the New York 17th. So I want to thank you all for coming. I very much want to thank all of the executives of the Clarkstown Democratic Committee, the volunteers that helped us pull everything together, because events like this don't just happen without the extra effort. I can't pull all together myself. The town of Clarkstown for giving us this space this evening, and all of you for coming, and all of you who are joining us online. So if it's all right, I'm going to introduce our moderator, the same moderator that we had last time, Pete Dominic, who is going to be running the evening, and then he'll bring up Joe and you all to meet him. Thank you, Greg. Thank you. Yeah. Oh, take it easy. Oh, and it's down with the energy here in the town hall, everybody. For those of you watching at home, it's a packed house. And for those of you that are in the room, I just checked our numbers, and there's tens of thousands of Clarkstown Democrats watching on the live feed. So I want everybody to treat this with the impact that that is. Thank you very much, Greg, for putting this together. And thank you to, I just want to say to everybody who is involved, the Clarkstown Democrats, some of you are here, to all of our candidates who just ran in the last election. So grateful to everybody who ran, who put in all the time knocking on doors, and everybody who volunteered. I think that the Clarkstown Democrats are really building something that is gaining a lot of momentum. And so whether we won or lost the election, which obviously we didn't win the Clarkstown town election, we're here at town hall, but we gained so much ground from what I've seen in just the past couple of years as Democrats are all over the country. So thank you to all of the Clarkstown Democrats, everybody who is involved, everybody who does not get the kind of credit that they deserve, and to everybody who is not involved and somehow might be seeing this, get involved, join the Clarkstown Democrats. Let's get it started. And thank you for being here this evening. I'm going to turn it over to George Homan's very delicate stage, where it is always now completely occupied by Republicans. So at least for the next two hours here, or hour I should say, probably closer, will be the Democrats at the Clarkstown Town Hall. It feels good. So thank you very much for being here. As Greg said, I'm going to bring up our friend Joe Rand, who's just announced. He is the current mayor of NIAC, and he is, he's really NIAC royalty, everybody knows. Rand, real estate if you don't, you should. And he is now running for Senate. Right now he's just announced, fresh off the announcement. The great Joe Rand. Come on, Joe. Thank you very much. How did you sit here? How does the camera, you guys tell us, is this okay if we give these two seats? This one and then this one? Yeah. And I just want everybody to know, is this one on? Yeah. This is going to be, you know, a fun conversation with Joe, a casual conversation, like a radio show, like a podcast, and not so much like a stuffy town hall atmosphere that we have, or even, you know, what you might be used to with any political conversation. Joe is a really charismatic, very smart guy, and I am here.

John Cappello 4:52 You said expectations, much too much. Let's, let's, let's try to point Tamper down.

Moderator 4:57 Well, you know, you're lucky I didn't hear it. A couple of other things I could have raised it up with, but, but so really excited to talk to you. And I was really excited to see that you jumped into the, the Friday, the Senate race. I mean, first of all, why did you ever get into politics? Why didn't you run for mayor in IAC? What brought you there? A really successful career in business? How would you possibly?

John Cappello 5:24 It actually, it was timing in the, right during code right after kind of September of 2020 as kind of the restrictions ended. We worked out a deal to sell part of the company to Howard Hanna. That's not our partner in the real estate company. And it took me out of a lot of my ownership interest and took me out of the data and operation company. So I was, I had time and I was going to do a lot of consulting and go on the road and do speaking. Speaking dates and I was traveling was great, making money, doing that. And then, yeah, I wrote a couple of books about real estate. I used to do a lot of conferences and things like that. It was great, but I was a little bored. And then it happened that Elijah was on the village board of IAC and he got elected to the Senate. So there was a space on the village board. And I really wouldn't have thought about it too much, except that right at this time, the village of South IAC dissolved because it was basically mismanaged into dissolution with the board that was there. And I thought to myself, you know, we don't tend to take these village board elections that seriously. There's not a lot of competitive seats and things like that. So I said, I should get involved because I want to protect my village. So that was really one of the reasons. The other reason, honestly, was that I didn't think any local government, I'm not putting the finger on anybody in IAC or anybody in Clarkstown or Rockland or whatever, because it was across the board, did enough during the COVID to keep community alive. Like I was doing stuff during the COVID with my company. We did a daily hour-long Zoom every day, seven days a week, for about three months to keep people apprised of what was going on with the numbers and what the rules were for showing houses. And we had some fun. We did some fun things. We started like at the end of March, like right away, to try to keep people connected to each other. And I never saw anything like that happening in the municipal area or helping people. I helped them all get unemployment, get PPP loans. And I don't know how many businesses in Rockland were able to get that stuff done, because it was complicated to sign up for that stuff. And it was helpful to have somebody to guide you through it. So I thought that it was just showing me that the things that I did to make the company successful, build culture, be attentive to the little things, focus on what people need, and then find ways to give it to them would apply as well as government. And that's what I tried to bring to the village board. And I was on the village board for two or three years, and then our great mayor, Tom Hammond, decided to retire, and I took over for him two years ago.

Moderator 8:02 And being the mayor, what has that been like? Watching you on Facebook is real fun, because that's where people go to complain about anything at all. And also just seeing you in town, actually, like walking around, it seems like you might eat pizza every... How often do you eat pizza? I see you eating pizza a lot. I do eat pizza a lot. Do you boil? No, there's three. You've got to spread it around. Yeah, so that's your excuse. You have to...

John Cappello 8:32 The pizza is great for it. And I try to victimize all the businesses, right? There's a lot of businesses. We have like almost 200 actual businesses in downtown. Right there? There are three bookstores in downtown. There are three bookstores in downtown. And two music stores in there.

Moderator 8:44 And two stores that sell music equipment, yeah. That, to me, is crazy because people complain about how small towns are one of the businesses, and there's a lot of vacancies, and so on. And that's always an issue. You see people complain at night and every other time in America about that. But it's very hard to run a business anywhere, retail businesses. You know this from the Fox & Point Business, Real Estate, and being there. But the fact that there's three bookstores, one of which, if you've ever written an act, the books are literally coming out the door. They're out on the sides of the streets. The books are attacked. There's so many books. There's so much that they're... And then there's two others.

John Cappello 9:22 Big Red and Homebody, yes. Well done.

Moderator 9:25 So I think my question is, you see that really handle those things, especially on Facebook, really diplomatically. And people really all seem to like you. It doesn't seem like we're very divided with where they are in terms of the traditional politics.

John Cappello 9:41 Yeah, no, my job is not what I have now. I love my job. I love being there at night. It's a great job. It's a great village to live in. It's a great village to work in. Are you getting rich being there? I'm not getting rich. I'm not making what I was making, running around the country, giving speeches. I'll say that. Sweet night. Not in everybody. No, there's not a lot of sweet night in everybody. But there is a lot of satisfaction in working in those. So I'll answer your question about Facebook. The thing about Facebook is, it amplifies whatever affect you have. If you're happy, you run a vacation with your kids, and it was fine. You take a couple of pictures. They take the best pictures. You don't show the pictures of them whining. You don't show the pictures of them complaining. Too hot.

Moderator 10:23 Facebook is what you want people to think your life is. Exactly. You really want people to know your life. Just look at their internet history. That's who you really are.

John Cappello 10:30 They don't promise that. They amplify their affect. They amplify it in the good way, but they also amplify it in the bad way. So if they're upset, they seem really upset. When they go online, they complain about something. And so what I have to remember is that they're complaining. It's not always quite as stark and as bad, but they're venting to some extent. And you just have to engage with them. And that's what I try to do. I try to engage with them. One of the keys is, I never publish the first draft. And the first draft is, take that away. The one that I get back at them, I say, what are you doing? How can you complain about this? I put away, and then I try to do this. No more marriage and business as well. If you have time to throw away the first draft when you're talking to your husband or wife, that's always a good idea. You don't always have that kind of luxury. So I enjoy engaging with people. And you know what? It gives me a good feeling to know that I do get a lot of people coming to me and saying, you know, you handle conflict well. Because that's a big part. That was a big part of my job when I ran the real estate company for 20-something years was managing conflict and then managing deals and putting deals together. And I tried to bring the same thing in as a mayor.

Moderator 11:42 So now you have jumped into the state senate race. The 38th, the mighty 38th state. Nobody's ever called that in no one. They've been there for a long time, it seems like, too.

John Cappello 11:56 If these were all put into the kinds of people, these were all the people you engaged in, I would say maybe half of them actually know the senate district. Because I could not have named the senate district, like, off the top of my head.

Moderator 12:06 I didn't realize that it went into the senate district.

John Cappello 12:08 No, this doesn't. It doesn't. You get an old one. It's awesome. It doesn't anymore. But the paperwork, I'll be honest with you, we filled in the paperwork to open the committee. And we initially filled it up with the wrong 39th. And screwed everything up. So it's tough to remember the senate district. I now know it. Now it's ingrained in my head, 38th. But I think the average person doesn't know.

Moderator 12:33 It's basically Rothman. It's Rothman minus 21. So currently obviously there's a Republican seat November. And we talked about them and his tenure. But like, you know, NIAC is a town. You are the leader of that town. There's a lot. It's a village. I should say earlier you said I wanted to protect my village. And I was like, wow. So it's a village in that matter. But the point I'm making is there's a lot of diversity there. There's a lot of issues there. Like every village. Every town. Every city. Every state. And in this case, every senate district. But how does, like, your experience, when you think about being the leader of this village of NIAC, how is that going to be similar or very different than being representative of the senate? The district is very diverse. The town is very diverse. So there's a lot of similarities. I don't know.

John Cappello 13:27 Here's the thing. I mean, NIAC is obviously one of the more progressive areas of Rothman County. And I'm considered very conservative in the village of NIAC because I'm a capitalist and I believe I'm very supportive of the police. I'm very supportive of, you know, a lot of traditional values and things like that, which people can be a little skeptical of. So I've come into it. I get a lot of heat from my colleagues and my friends who I love from the left-hand side of the spectrum. So in NIAC what we have is we have debates between the left and the far left, or the sort of center left and the far left. And those are the political debates we have. We don't have a lot of left-right debates. Not a lot of left-right balance within NIAC. And quite honestly, when it comes to the full county, there is more left-right, obviously left-right conflict in terms of issues when you have, like, bills in Albany and there's things that do kind of give rise to some form of polarized, well, you know, polarized society. But what I see the job as, I don't see it very different from what I see in terms of being there. It's about providing for the people of NIAC, the people of Auckland, like I was providing for the people of NIAC. It's about bringing support from Albany home. We spend a lot of tax dollars in Albany, and I don't think we get our fair share back. It's coming to Auckland County to support the programs, to support our infrastructure, support our water. They're doing very well, but we could be doing better. And so, yes, there's going to be more of a left-right conflict within the full county than there is in the village. But I think it's the same thing. You're managing conflicts. You're managing people who disagree. You're trying to find common ground with people. And that's what I'm good at. I'm good at working with people who might have some disagreement and finding common ground with them, the way that I found common ground with a lot of the people in NIAC who were initially very skeptical of me because they considered me very conservative for a Democrat.

Moderator 15:21 How much of it is the job, how much of it is your values and your kind of politics as you describe them? I don't even know. When we say left and far left, I think these words don't mean anything anymore. It's so confusing for people. What do you think people come into? I think it's different things. They're from people. And, you know, you said traditional values. And I'm like, I don't know what that means. Yeah, I know. That's not a great term.

John Cappello 15:42 That's not a great way to describe it. But I think that what it comes down to is that I'm very moderate in temperament when I work with people. And I tend to really believe in, you know, a balance. I try not to... I'm not an extremist in almost any aspect of any kind of political issue. I tend to really... I think what we need to do more in this country, everywhere, is we need to be able to see things from other people's perspectives. And we're not good at it. We really aren't. We've lost the ability to say, all right, let me try to see where this person is coming from, try to see it through their eyes, because that makes it easier to persuade them. Because if I know what your problem is, this is what I learned as a... This is what I studied when I got my master's. This is what I did for 20 years, was, okay, someone has a problem with a deal. What is their problem? Let me try to figure out what their problem is and then I can figure out how to try to solve it. But I have to see it from their perspective. I can't just go in defensive. I can't go in obnoxious. I can't go in mad. I got to be able to think from their perspective. I'll just give you an example. We had an issue in NIAC about changing the mascot, right, of NIAC High School, which used to be the Indians, which obviously created a lot of conservation among the people of NIAC. Certainly there were a lot of very good reasons to change the name, and I was in favor of changing the name. They changed it to the Red Hawks, and I was in favor of that. But I kept seeing the people that I agreed with argue with the wrong way, because they kept arguing with people saying to them, but it's racist to do it this way. But the people who believed in the Indian name did not see themselves that way. They saw what they were doing as preserving a tradition. They saw what they did as honoring the Native American people with the name. So you couldn't go at them that way, because if you did, you just run right into the teeth of the opposition. Why do you think racist people don't like being called racist? I don't think anyone likes being called racist, but I don't think calling people racist helps. I don't think that ever helps us solve problems, taxes, their native name, property. Listen, you call it behavior. You don't label people.

Moderator 17:47 You call it the behavior that's involved. So when I say that... It's a great point. It's a very disarming thing to say. Someone said to me, you're calling me racist. I said, I'm not calling you racist. I'm saying that belief that you have is a racist. What you're articulating, what you're saying,

John Cappello 17:59 and you may not believe it. But what you're saying, and that's what I would say to the people who were in favor of keeping the name of the Indians, which I understood where they were coming from. They came from a good place. They weren't coming from a place where they felt they didn't believe that they were being insensitive. But what I said to them, and what seemed to get across them, I said to them, do you understand that the people on that side have a good faith belief, just like you do? They have a good faith belief that if we call them the Indians, it's insensitive. They believe them. Whether you agree with them or not, they believe in good faith. They would say, yes, I think that they'll believe that. And I would say, okay, you know they believe that in good faith. And you know that's a widespread belief. And so it's a problem. And because it's a problem, the kids in school today don't get to have a mascot. They don't get to have a t-shirt with a logo and a mascot. They don't get to do chants the way you used to because it's considered insensitive by a wide variety of people. So I know you want to preserve this because you want to preserve the history. And I get it. But the fact is, think about the kids in school today who are stealing something from them to preserve your tradition. And that got across to them. They said, you know what, it's not fair. They don't use the terms that they used before. So we want to do something. So now they've got a mascot. It's a big bird. It walks around. The kids have bird calls that they do. It's better to do it this way. And I think we still honor the tradition. There's still stuff that honors the tradition of people who established all those years. Was that the highest profile conflict that you've dealt with? This was before I was married. I just said this is a private citizen just getting involved in the debates.

Moderator 19:37 And smear. Has it been out of a conflict that you've had a hard time navigating?

John Cappello 19:42 I would say the biggest conflict is we have had a machine downtown. We have a wonderful, beautiful downtown with about 200 businesses. It's about a mile of retail, as we talked about before. But yeah, it's a magnet for, it's a very urbanized kind of setting, which was a magnet for people to, for panhandlers to come tonight. We had a problem with panhandlers about two, three years ago. We had a problem, more recently, last year, with people sleeping in public spaces. You know, a square in the middle of the village and it also had been part of the park. And we had to be sensitive to the situation. And this, again, we wanted to try to see things from all the perspectives. How do we resolve that? Well, one of the things we did with the panhandling was that we wanted to give a permission structure to people not sitting on the street. We don't want them getting on the street. The money you give on the street does not get used well. It doesn't help. It just incentivizes more behavior. And then people get very uncomfortable, and they don't want to come to the downtown, and the downtown dies. Okay, you don't want that happening. So we wanted to disincentivize it. So what we did was we created an organization called My Cares. It's a nonprofit that we made it very easy to tap, tap, tap on your phone. You walk in so much, you feel bad, you're not giving money. But you say, okay, I'm going to give to My Cares, which is going to go, the money's going to go to support. Organizations that help with the homeless, that help with poverty, that help with drug addiction, that help with mental illness, that help with the root cause, that cause people to go and panhandle. And it did. And then what happens is we have the signs that say, kids don't give on the street, give to the fund. And the shops put it in the windows. It reminds people. You can't get the shops to put, don't give to panhandlers in the window, because it's perceived to be insensitive. They don't want to do that, and I don't blame them. But if you get them to say, don't give on the street, give in a way that makes a difference.

Moderator 21:40 And that's what we did. It's a great solution, and more importantly, I think, in both these issues that you're talking about. Hopefully, Joe, you're giving a sense of the way Joe deals with folks and deals with problems and solves problems. And I like it. I like the energy. I like the wisdom that you're approaching with. And I like the diplomacy, because you've got to strike at the root of these problems. You've got to understand where people are coming from. It's clear that you're doing it. So you're now jumping into the Senate. 38th State Senate District. That's when Bill Weber is Republican. Do you know him in a relationship with him?

John Cappello 22:11 Just a little bit to see each other in advance. He's a very good man. He's worked in good faith. He is, I respect him. I like him personally. The interactions we've had have been very good. This is not about him. It's about, really, the role. I think that it's very, he is not, I'm talking just about performance, not about him. He has not been able to bring back funding to the county in a way that would help the county. It's very hard to do as Republican, because it's a Democratic controlled Senate, Democratic controlled legislature, and Democratic government. And he just isn't able to do that, because it was a position. In the same way that if I was a state senator from Tennessee and I represented Nashville, I'm not going to be able to provide for Nashville the way I would if I was a Republican. Far as being a minority, and I think that's what he's found. And I don't know, I will say that would be part of the reason for it. I think part of the reason is also, I think I will do a better job no matter of the party, not because he's not good at his job, and not because he's not a good person, because I tend to be really good at generating interest, and generating attention, and generating money. I mean, I did that, I did marketing for my company. We grew the company tremendously while I was there. I've generated about over $6 million of grant money in two years as mayor, which is our whole budget in a year is about $6.5 million, and we brought in about $6 million in grants, including the very competitive $4.5 million a year for it, and I'm just going to revitalize it downtown. And, you know, it's about, you know, the problems we have in Rockland, a lot of the problems are things that we need more infrastructure. We need more water treatment. We need better water. We need infrastructure. We need to deal with traffic problems. There's all sorts of things that can be remedied with state funding, with state support. And, you know, Doug Carroll walked in just now. Oh, no. He's here. That's him. Our assemblyman, he's done a great job of this since he's been there, and I think that I can work with him, and I can work with the legislature and the state to get more money to support Rockland, and that's really part of why I'm running. And I would say the other reason why I'm running is I really do believe Rockland is a great place to live. I came back here. I lived for 15 years in New York City in Manhattan, and I never thought I was going to come back. But, you know, it pulled me back. I love living in Rockland. I think it's a great place to live. I get dismayed at the negative vibe. They see so much throughout this county of people that are, you know, all these Facebook groups that are all conspiratorial and they all seem to hate living in Rockland. All those people say, I can't wait to leave. It's horrible. It's not. I mean, no one walks around with a Rockland shirt on saying, I live in Rockland, right? No one's, like, excited and proud to live in Rockland, but they should be. This is great.

Moderator 25:18 I like the way you said it. I feel like Rockland has a self-esteem issue. Self-esteem issue, yeah. I thought that was so perfectly said. I really resonated. I mean, I agree. I see that too. I think it's ridiculous. It's, yeah. It's not true. They say that nobody can sell Rockland better than Joe Len. They say that. Who are they? I've been talking to a lot of people. A lot of the people say that no one can sell any Joe Len. I mean... Your Trump impression often becomes

John Cappello 25:48 a regular impression, doesn't it? They kind of... Yeah.

Moderator 25:51 I think that there's some truth to that, because you have been selling real estate here for a long time. You've built this company. And I think that it's clear that that's got to be, probably for anybody running for statewide, or any office, really. If you sell the town, if you sell houses, if you sell commercial or residential real estate, you know how to sell, how to talk about this area. And what does... How does that skill... I mean, that's basically what you're going to be doing. Bill Leonard, bless his heart. I don't know the man. But I'm just guessing you can sell Rockland, especially, as you said, as a Democrat, better than he can to bring resources back here. And in the end, he's a bad voter, including Republicans, and anybody who's not registered, people who didn't know it, should want from their state senator children.

John Cappello 26:38 Yes, that's exactly right. And you said it better than I could, but the fact is... I'm running.

Moderator 26:45 I even generated $600 last month. Here's the thing.

John Cappello 26:50 I spent over 20 years at the real estate company, and every day, it was our product. What we sold at the real estate company, any real estate company, sells the community that we're in. So we sold Rockland, we sold Clarkstown, we sold Manuet, we sold Orange Town, we sold Avastro, we sold Everywhere, we sold Sufferham, we sold Mike, we sold everything, we sold Rockland County to people. And we also were investors in other places as well, but this was always my home. And it's tough to turn it off, right? This is your instinct, is to defend and protect and speak well of and polish up and promote where you live. And that's what I want to do. I think that it's a little bit like, is that really what the center does? Well, why not? Why can't the center be somebody who is actually up in Albany as well as regionally promoting what often is a great place to live, of all the advantages? Listen, we are half an hour from New York City, one of the greatest cities in the world. We have unbelievable parks and access to national parks. We've got Airmen, we've got Rockland Lake, we've got Knight Beach State Park, we've got great hiking, we've got really good retail and shopping in a lot of different places. We've got a lot of small villages in Iraq and Torr River, and a person on a village video, a small, nice downtown. Somebody's got a great downtown. Arizona's got a great downtown. If I'm forgetting one, it's just off the top of my head, so forgive me if I'm forgetting one with a great downtown. New city, so much nicer, the walkable downtown that it used to be. They've done a lot with the sidewalks and things like that. It is really important for us to be proud of where we are and a lot of that has to do, I mean, listen, a lot of the reason you put it down is the affordability and that's really one of the primary things you need to do. We've got to work on health care, affordability of health care, affordability of utilities, and affordability of housing.

Moderator 28:50 So that's the probably most important issue to everybody. That's weird that that word has gotten so popular. It's a weird word, right?

John Cappello 28:58 It's a word that was made up just recently, according to our president.

Moderator 29:01 It's not. Every politician should talk about affordability. All day long, all day long. Often people talk about taxes, but we're talking in this case about housing a lot, right? So I guess when it comes to your job, hopefully you're going to be our next senator. In the 38th! The fighting 38th! That's totally what I'm calling it. It's the fighting 38th. What can you do in that role, and I'll ask Pat Carroll the same question for you in a minute. What can you do to make this place more affordable to live, especially I feel like primarily when it comes to housing, you can tell me what the other thing is. What can you do about health care in the state of Senator? Well, I think there's things you can do about health care.

John Cappello 29:43 I think absolutely, and that's not my expertise. My expertise is definitely housing. But I will tell you this, housing is one of the biggest drivers of lack of affordability in Rockland County. I'll just give you some stats here, because I do the stats. I've been writing a quarterly market report for 20 years. I've written 80 of them over 20 years where I look at the analysis of what's going on in Rockland County. Here's some stats to blow your mind. The average price right now for a single family home in Rockland County is the price that a single family home sold for in Westchester six years ago. We think of Westchester as being, ooh, Westchester. The average price in Westchester in 2019 was what the average price is now. The average price in 2019 for a single family home in Rockland is now the price of a condo in Rockland six years later, $450,500 for an average price condo. Now, to buy that home, you need to make about $150,200,000. Do you know anybody who's 25 to 30 years old who's making that kind of money? We do not have places for our kids to live. My kids are younger, they're 14 and 12. They get to live at home for at least another four years. They can't tell me much longer than that. They can live much longer than that.

Moderator 31:01 I'll take your hands. No, the people that age, not about our kids. We should not have kids. I think we should want people that age 20 here, right?

John Cappello 31:10 You want people that's not your kid. You want somebody who's able to work in the office. You need people to work in the DPW's, in the municipal jobs. You want people to be the baristas. You gotta get your coffee. There are lots of jobs that pay a wage that you can't buy or in some case even rent your own home in Rockin County for that amount of money. That is an absolute result of supply and demand. That's what it comes down to. Real estate is a very simple asset. If you have more of it, prices go down. We've just not been doing enough because people are so scared of density and they're so scared of... They still have an idea, and God bless them, that this is a rural area and we should be putting up condos. That ship sailed when the time was even better. That's been a long time coming. This is not a farmland area. This is an area where it's a suburban area, really a suburban area for New York City and Bergen and Westchester. A lot of people commit to all those places to work during the day. But here's the thing. We need more housing. We really do. We need entry-level housing. The problem is that all the incentives are there for developers to build expensive houses, which we don't really need. What we need is we need $250,000 studios and one-bedroom's work, $1,500 to $1,200 studios and one-bedroom's, that people who make $40,000 can afford to live in or $50,000. And for people, you know, think about there's so many... There's so many places around... Think about how to start. There should be a TOD district. I think that how to start has done a day at the ferry. I'm thinking a manual. The car starts doing a really nice job developing that corridor along the main street. Where the train station is. People can live there and not even need a car, really, if you live there. Between Uber and between the train, you can live there and take the train into the city. We need that per river. We need that anywhere there's a train, the software, they've done a really nice job of it. Where there are, we should be building to it. But we should be building elsewhere as well. And that's not something the state does. But the state can provide money to incentivize the towns to do it and the county to do it. And that's what we should be doing. And at least you can use the bullet bullet bit to say, we got to build more. They're always afraid that they, because the constituency for the stuff that hasn't been built yet, those people don't know they're going to live there yet. They're not even going to live in the county yet. So those people don't know that it's common that they need that. But just talk to somebody in your community who's got someone leading college and they're saying, well, they can move down North Carolina or Virginia or down Florida because they can't afford to live here. That is not sustainable. You can't keep your community together in Rockland County unless we grow the economy overall, unless we grow housing for people. David Bruin is shaking his head. David Bruin is waiting for me. He's in my party demographic there. We need more housing. And that's a huge driver of affordability in Rockland County.

Moderator 34:26 David lives under the train. He lives in everybody's age. Everybody's age. They live in small cities.

John Cappello 34:35 They're all waiting. They're all living at home. And they're all trying to save up.

Moderator 34:39 And again, I would say that the people of their age are getting screwed. I think it's fair to say. And you're talking about offering opportunity for them. And we should all want them here. Well, Joe, I like it. I like the energy, the passion, obviously your intelligence. I think one thing that you don't... It's hard to run on, I bet. But I think one of the unique characteristics of you is how you talked about earlier how you create connections. I think the way that you introduce people to each other, the way that you network throughout your career, that's an important, important characteristic to have as state senator. When you go to Albany, when you're walking around the Fightin' 38, you're connecting people to each other, introducing them to each other, introducing buyers to suppliers and problem-solving and listening. I think that's a really important quality and characteristic that a lot of people don't have. I don't know if Bill Weber has it or not, but I definitely know you have more of it than him. I'm going to go ahead and say it.

John Cappello 35:38 I'm not going to say anything. Why do you say it? I'm trying to run a very positive... I want to be a positive person, a force for positivity, a relentless force for positivity around the county. And so, to me, like Bill, I'm saying anything negative about it. I think that I would do the job differently that people can make a decision about whether they would prefer my way of doing the job. I want to also just say, before we kick off, I want to thank all the people here for the 17th and for giving me a little time at the beginning, because I know they have a change in the schedule. I think seeing it now, doing it, like, you know, I ran from there twice, but I never ran up on it, so... It was my first event, like... It was my first big event, sure, talking about those people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it is... You know, no matter whether you agree or disagree, and I say this about Democrats or Republicans, and even if it was their name on the ballot, it's hard, man. It is hard. And God bless them for doing it. And also, you mentioned the Clarkstown town. I'm going to say this. They were very excited, the Republicans, the people that sit up here normally, in these... I don't know. I don't know. I'm going to check it out. A little fashion chair. I'm going to check it out. And they were very excited that they won every seat. They won all the... The town board, and they won the supervisor. But it's coming again in November. And all those people that ran, I think a lot of them are going again, and they've done their... They've made their names known. And if we're running a race this November with a full slate all the way up and down, somebody powerful for the 17th, the governor, the... All the other races are up. I'm going to be hopefully running on the center race. We're all going to pull together. We're going to be unified front, and we're going to get... We're going to turn that around in Clarkstown. I'm absolutely committed to helping that and working as a slate with the people of Clarkstown to get them elected again. You elected the sheriff.

Moderator 37:29 Will you challenge Phil Weber to a debate?

John Cappello 37:32 I'm not going to challenge him.

Moderator 37:33 I'm happy to do it. Will you be saying Phil Weber? Absolutely. Will Phil Weber debate you?

John Cappello 37:37 I don't know. I mean, I actually will. That would be a secret. That would be great. I'll talk to you in a minute. I'll always do it. Yeah. We should be open to transparent and talk about our differences as many times people will listen to us.

Moderator 37:49 Joe, really appreciate you doing this today. And I want to let you help me introduce our descendant, Pat Carroll. You know Pat well. I know Pat well. I don't care of him. He's a little too likeable for me. Yeah. Everybody seems like you. Everybody likes you. Even Pat... That is like, come sit by and ask around. Okay. I'm asking live. I'm sorry. I brought that up.

John Cappello 38:18 That would be right. Everybody loves me, dude.

Moderator 38:20 Everybody. Tell me about... Tell me about Pat.

John Cappello 38:23 Pat Carroll. Here's what I would say. First of all, he's a great guy. He's got a beautiful family. He's a wonderful person. He's fun to work with. I'm looking forward to making you a really great team working on our phenomenon. I will also say this. I can tell how hard he has worked for the people of this community as a legislator because I play golf with him and he is terrible. He is not spending any time with golfers. I promise you. He is out there working for you, not hitting a button.

Moderator 38:50 Wow. That actually made me like him more. I was not ready for that.

Audience 38:54 Give it up for Joe Rand, everybody. Thank you. And he's welcome. He's welcome. He's welcome.

Moderator 38:59 He's welcome. He's welcome. Our family man from the Fightin' Ninety-Sets. Ladies and gentlemen, our former... He is no stranger to this dance because he is our former town councilman as well. I know... I've got to know him really well. I would call him a personal friend of mine. I have great admiration for Pat and I'm very excited to introduce you to your seventh man if you haven't met him. Give it up for Pat Carroll. How much time do I give you Pat? 10 minutes? 10 minutes? Okay. I don't know if you should give me one. Do we need to take a break between the things? I don't think we do. I don't think we do. Okay. Thank you very much, Peter. You just came from the Conner's tree line by Haunt. Yes, I do. I spent a lot of time there with my kids. When they were your kids eight, how was the tree line that went there?

Pat Carroll 39:44 It was beautiful. The town does a great job. There was... By the way, good evening. Great to be here. There was the tree lighting. Then there was a concert inside Maddy Rocks, a local, playing all sorts of children's hits. Hot chocolate cookies, a bond title, a sport. It was a great, great, great event. Kind of cool. Very exciting. Take out the music and everything. Sorry, I'm getting adjusted up here. I sat in that seat. Your seat? I don't know. Seven years I sat in that seat. How was that? They changed the color of the chairs. They got four billion dollars. I really enjoyed my time. I sat from 2018 to 2024 when I got appointed. Seven years, and then actually Mark Liger, who was a different ward when the lone Democrat took my seat. Unfortunately, as we touched upon, the last time, the first time, no Democrat went out of town more than seven years.

Moderator 40:44 Where Joe just left off, just in terms of the next election, what you see happening and what we all can and should do to help take back these actual chairs.

Pat Carroll 40:54 Sounds great. Well, I mean, first and foremost, I've got to go to what I'm saying. In the Congressional District 17, we have an unbelievable slate of candidates all aligned to the Democratic nod. I think any one of them will do a great job to represent our communities and take out Maddy Mike Lawler. I think that's the most important thing we have to do. But as we worked on the slate of candidates, well, obviously, we had the governor at the top, Joe Rand's entry to the race. First of all, I could listen to Joe Rand talk about housing and how to fix housing problems all night long.

Moderator 41:24 I fully agree. He talks about it in a way that he makes it interesting, but he also clearly understands the issue. Almost like he's been in the business. You know Joe Rand can sell rock land.

Pat Carroll 41:35 He can. But I'm really excited now, the first time in, I don't know, ever, even if I'm not really sure, with even-year elections and the town races are on the ballot, so if you start at the top of the congressional race, go through the governor of the state offices, Joe Rand running for Senate, myself running for assembly reelection, District 97-6, I'm sorry. Town supervisor right down the slate. We're going to have a great team. We're all going to be running in the same direction, working together, and I'm really confident that with the turnout of an even-year election, I'm really confident that we can turn in some seats in Clark's zone. And I'm excited to see it. All right.

Moderator 42:10 So, let's talk about your role now in the assembly. You know, when I went out to Mongo, I was really interested to hear about the job and what it takes and what it is, and how you, I think the hard part is you're away from your family. You've got to go all day. You can search on times. You've got seven or eight little kids at home. Every time you introduce me, they multiply. But your precepts have twinned us a lot. But not directly, so I don't know. How was the job?

Pat Carroll 42:40 How was the job? I loved being an assemblyman. It's the honor of my wife to represent the people of the 96th Districts. Obviously, I represented Clark's town back in the day. I still represent Clark's town, but I have an eye. I can have a draw to my constituency. I love being an Albany. Walking into the chamber of the assembly is an honor. You're in awe of the history of that building, and you realize that in that place, you can actually make a real world change for the people in our community. The one contraction is the fact that I do leave my family at times, but I have an unbelievable wife who will deal with my four children. I think there's still be four, but I get home with four of them. I've always started Maddie. My 28-year-old is William Page, and my youngest started Haley. Three of them are public school in Clark's town, and one will be there next year. So thankfully, Maddie can manage the ship or Williams the ship, so she allows me to get to Albany to work for the people here.

Moderator 43:29 What have you accomplished? Do you feel you've been able to accomplish anything? What do you say to Joe about what Joe said about Democrats being a majority, being able to get work done? Have you felt like that's the case? I mean, I would say this.

Pat Carroll 43:39 Certainly, I can work with anyone. I worked with both sides of the aisle in Clark's town. I really had no choice. So I have no problem working with the other side of the aisle, but I now work with a supermajority in the assembly for myself. Let's get going myself right now. The underside of the aisle, the Republicans literally aren't in the conversation. When it comes to budgets, when it talks to filling out money for special projects in the district, it doesn't happen. The Republicans don't get the funds from the district. The Democrats do. And I know there's not a supermajority. Maybe there will be a next election in the Senate, but it's similar with the majority party. The people who are in control determine how the special funding is pulled out. We're not talking about that project. We're not talking about pork. We're talking about funding for nonprofits. We're talking about funding to put a new fire boat in habitat, which I just brought back. We're talking about funding for affordable housing of a project. Let me give you a little story. In July, the speaker of the house comes down, and he tries to go to see each of the majority members. And he came down to me in July, and he said, pick one spot, and we'll go there. We had no idea what it was going to be. So he said, OK, speaker, come to the ferry landing in Havastroy. It's a beautiful spot. We kind of can talk about what's going on there by way of housing, by way of needs of the village. And we'll have a nice lunch on the river. And he came down, and we kind of arranged that the fire department was there, and the boat was broken. And the speaker of Hasty came down, and he looked at the boat, and he said to his people, he said, or he said to the mayor of my co-op, the co-op was there in the fire department. He said, how much can it cost to get new one? He said, about $650,000. And the speaker said, all right, get out of the town. We'll bring a new fire boat back to Havastroy. So we continued with that day, and I'm thinking, OK, this is the wind. This is the wind. I'm glad the speaker came down. And obviously, the speaker gave me credit for it, which I should take credit for. So I got in there. And then we went to an affordable housing development in the middle of the Havastroy. And Havastroy, like large parts of Rockland, need single-bedroom housing for people who work in our stores and are trying to do the DPW and other jobs that Joe talked about. And he said, there's an affordable housing project that's been approved in the works, but it's short about $1 million. And the speaker said, OK, working with you, Patrick. He's like, let's give them $1 million to finish this project. So just literally being part of the group of people who are on this side of the aisle, $1.6, $1.7 million, we're not even going to talk about the cap that the speaker said. We're going to cover a cap for two years for kids in low-income families who are going to camp in Havastroy. So these are the things that people in the majority party can do in Albany, because that's the way the world works. And you can work with the other side of the aisle, but to bring things back and to fully get what Rockland deserved out of Albany, you do need someone in the majority party.

Moderator 46:22 Lastly, what's next? What are you hoping to accomplish for the Fight 96 next? The Fight 96? Do you want to get a t-shirt?

Pat Carroll 46:30 Maybe a bomber jacket?

Moderator 46:32 Yeah, so you should have more swag. That's a good swag. Well, I would say that you were your fundraiser and you had jackets. I do have jackets. You put your name on it. And how do you get one of those? Do you have any of those sitting around? You'll see it. It's a medium.

Pat Carroll 46:46 It's a medium. Well, I would say this. Thanks to the unbelievable work of my predecessor, the nice restaurants in your city, Burger Loft, which has District 96 next to it. Can Pass came to the browser passing legislation that allowed them to can their own beer. And they literally named the restaurant or the brewery portion of the restaurant after District 96. So we do have the fight in District 96. But I'll say that, you know, the first year in office, which was last year, making my anniversary on the 9th of this month, couldn't get someone in the tab early. You know, there's a bit of a learning curve. You literally need to know where to put your jacket, where your parking car, and how to get around the building. This year, we're going to do a lot more. I was able to get 11 bills passed, the most of any freshman legislature. Thank you. I'm going to have to start that round of applause. We're talking about, you know, detailed tax shift bills. We're talking about one of the ones that was most recently signed. We signed the bill, the governor signed the bill, the governor and the local signed the bill recently. We have volunteer firefighters in Rockland County who get a little bit of a tax payment because of all the work they do, the amazing work they do, that we wouldn't be able to live without them. We have an amazing auxiliary police force in our county. We have them all over. But Clarkson has really robust one. They put in 8,000 hours a year of volunteer efforts in our group. We put a bill in to say, okay, the volunteer firefighters get a little bit of a tax break. Why can't we get the auxiliary police a tax break? We passed it, Senator Harkin, Harkin Caron, Senate. I put it in the assembly. We passed it. I saw some of the volunteer auxiliary police officers tonight at the conference at Trulay. I said to them, I'm like, hey, by the way, the governor just signed that bill. I'm going to do a little bit more work to get across the finish line. They said, it's been years. We've been trying to get that bill done. I looked at things like that and said, okay, that's a good start, but what else can we do moving forward? Now that I know where to hang my hat and my coat and where to park my car, we're going to hit the ground running. We have a lot of great bills, all facets of life in Rockland County. The goal is we're working for you, and you, and you, and you, and you. Hopefully, we can do a lot of good stuff.

Moderator 48:51 Lastly, we're here at the Clark Sound Democrats. Some of us pretty well. It is not easy being a Clark Sound Democrat. Do you have any words of inspiration for this group to keep fighting, to keep doing what we're doing? There's a lot of people. There's a few people who do a lot, and a few more people who do a little as mine, in my own perspective. I think it also always helps to recognize them and hopefully continue to inspire them to do what they're doing.

Pat Carroll 49:17 Now we're kind of getting nostalgic, but I kind of thought about when I moved on to the scene in 2017, 2016, 2017, when I decided to run, I would have to run, because they just divided the town up into wards, and someone said, hey, you, new guy, you live in Ward 4, you're going to run for town council. And I said, well, can I win? The person who was talking, they said, if you work hard and we'll help you, you can win. And a lot of the people in this room are still the same people who were helping me back in 2017, and they're people who I view as basically family now. And I think together, all of us. I mean, it's hard. I mean, we all have life. Life gets in the way of the work. We can't always put in 100 hours a week on our political aspirations in town, but we can all put in a little bit of time when we can. And I think together, I think we need to be united. I think we need to support each other and realize that we're all human. And at the end of the day, the goal of every single Clarkstown Democrat, every single Rockland Democrat, every single Democrat in the 96th District and the fighting 38, needs to realize that we're all working together for a common goal. Number one, elect Democrats. And number two, well, start that. Flip that. Number one, make the lives of people in Rockland County and our districts better. And number two, and related, is a 1A. We do it by electing Democrats. The windows at our backs, the polling I've seen recently from the state Democratic Party says that people view the Democratic Party as the one who has their backs, the ones who are going to help them before their groceries, the ones who are going to help them with housing, people get a little fraction of Joe Rand's knowledge and can make it better from all of Rockland and all of New Yorkers. Love it.

Moderator 50:52 And I like that you said it's like a family. You, people always talk about your family and your beautiful family, and I would like to ask you if I could be in New York. Well, I think you're going to,

Pat Carroll 51:02 you know, you can split time. You've been to Joe Rand's house, which is, and I'd like to be in Joe's house as well. You know, if you can drive some of the girls to practice, you can fill my room. I miss that.

Moderator 51:12 I miss that with my girls with them. My girls are 18 and 21. It is the best time. Thank you very much for coming to us tonight from around over here, from the Tree Lighting and Tree Lighting.

Pat Carroll 51:21 It was basketball practice for my daughters, Tree Lighting here, and then something else we did. But thank you so much. Thank you all. Give it up for Pat Carroll, all right. Thank you, everybody. You did a great job. Thank you. You're going to be watching this other question now

Audience 51:33 with your last exercise.

Moderator 51:34 Looking forward to it. Thank you, Pat. All right. I'm going to keep it going. No break. I'm going to bring up our first candidate. We've got two of our candidates here. John Cappello will come up next, but first, I'm really excited to bring up Mr. Chatzky, who I got to talk to and know a little bit on the phone. I'm really excited to meet him. He's run a software company for 40 years. He is one of the only people who have run a business and dealt with financial, legal, and customer services issues that is running. He served as mayor and deputy mayor for over 20 years over the Westchester-Briars Cliff Manor, right? Is that the name of the town? And also, all volunteer. And you've been elected five times there. And you also have the only one. It's not the first one. I know. You've taken on Donald Trump three times and you've won all three times. So I want to talk about that. I want to talk about affordability housing, utility, and all the things that matter in about 10 minutes. So thank you for being here. You're nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Yeah. I'm going to ask you the tough question, the hardest question first for both you and John and all the other candidates, I guess, to think about that first. We're just friends. That's you and Joe. Only friends. There's nothing there. There's nothing more. The whispers are untrue. But we have the housing thing in common.

Peter Chatzky 52:40 Yes. And I should talk about that because he said a lot of very important stuff about diversity of housing stock, something we've actually implemented in Briar Cliff. We're expecting to increase housing stock in percent over the next two and a half years, which is a phenomenal number. And he's right that people get very sensitive about density. That is the key to fixing affordability as far as housing goes.

Moderator 53:05 Yeah. So let me come back to it now to hear more of your thoughts on it because it's so important. But I guess the only kind of real critical thing I've heard from some of my Democratic friends about you is that you're a wealthy guy. You got a lot of money. You're self-funding. I don't know if that's necessarily how people feel about that. If you talk about what's good or what's bad, you and I had a conversation about the necessity for campaign finance. And so you have a lot of opinions. And you're sort of live out money in politics and how insidious it is. But I guess the question was, you have said that you're not going to divest yourself. And so you could somehow, I guess, stand to profit from any decision, any vote you make in Congress, based on your own investment portfolio. What would you say to that?

Peter Chatzky 53:48 The only time I've answered that question, someone said, will you divest your holdings if you enter Congress? It's not required right now. So I wouldn't do it. If it were required, I would absolutely do it. The problem is, we have people, our new Taylor Greene just left. She entered Congress and she left with $25 million. She somehow grew, whatever it was, $70,000, $70,000 to $25 million in five years. I know a lot of people who work on Wall Street who can't do that kind of return. It's crazy, right? Even if you don't believe money is the root of all evil, it's certainly the root of all evil in politics. And I am addressing this everywhere I go. We need campaign financial reform for no other reason than to get the evil influence of money out of politics and to make sure that our elected representatives are actually doing the work we want them to do, rather than spending endless hours a week just worrying about raising money.

Moderator 54:51 Why not divest yourself from your investments that you could profit from as a decision-maker in Congress?

Peter Chatzky 54:57 I certainly would. I have no intention of profiting from, look, I have a portfolio of securities that I haven't managed in years. There's another firm that takes care of it. I was lucky enough to invest well as a young person, something I would encourage everybody to do. Time is on your side with investment. There are tremendous tax consequences of just divesting securities. They don't really matter. And it's something that Congress has to look at. I know there's a lot of movement toward better transparency and divesting money from politics in general. Total fan of all that. I want to get rid of influence outside influence in politics.

Moderator 55:45 We're not going to have anything soon that's going to look like campaign finance reform. If you ever end up in the Supreme Court, I suppose maybe something could be done at the state level. But let's move on to the issues that really matter so much to folks here in the 17th district, especially here in Clarkstown. Have you been, have you spent much time here in Clarkstown and Rockland? I'm here all the time. Yes. This is a quick skip over the bridge. What are your impressions of us?

Peter Chatzky 56:13 Who in particular?

Moderator 56:15 No, I'm Clarkstown. You're here in Clarkstown. We're the Clarkstown Democrats.

Peter Chatzky 56:20 I will tell you that I have loved everyone I've met over here, but I've really only met Dems. You've only met Dems. So... Did you met Pat Carroll? Well, I have met Pat Carroll. We've had functions together and charitable functions.

Moderator 56:34 Well, we're happy to have you over here visiting and jumping in the race. It's some comedy candidates, right? Is it ten now? Seven? I don't know how you classify it. I don't. When I left my house... So what separates you from everybody else?

Peter Chatzky 56:51 This is a job. I'm applying for a job, and whether you've hired somebody or you have applied for a job, it is a job interview process. And I think you're always looking at resume and qualifications and past experience and what you could bring me to the company. And I have tons of experience in government. I have four years experience running a business. Our clients are some of the largest banks in the world. But we're a small company. We never have negotiated leverage. What we have is awesome customer service. And I think this job, the governing job and the campaigning job, it's all about listening, learning, and then leading. And I've been doing that my whole life. I've been doing it with my own company. I've been doing it with my constituents. I've been doing it with my family, to be honest. Four kids probably launched me on that list in learning, leading, trajectory.

Moderator 57:49 So you've been mayor to volunteer job over there? You're not getting rich as the Briarcliff man or mayor? No, I'm not getting rich. We already are pretty rich. You're so funny, your campaign. He lets me clear. You are a wealthy guy. Very wealthy.

Peter Chatzky 58:02 I'm very fortunate to have got involved in software at a time and banking software at a time where it was a burgeoning field. It was just starting out, and I rode a wave very well. And, you know, I grew up in a family that was all about giving back. It's just, it's in my DNA. I'm moving back. And as soon as I moved out to suburbia, I got involved with my community. I got involved with my constituents. I dug in to say what problems do we have and what could we solve?

Moderator 58:31 Give me an example of something that you've dealt with as mayor that's been taught for controversial. Kind of explain your style of how you would be in Washington.

Peter Chatzky 58:39 Housing is a nightmare. There's new years all over the place. Nobody wants, nobody wants development near them. In Broadcliffe, we all serve independently. It's a caucus system. There are no political parties. I have served with Republicans, conservatives, ultraliguels, the whole government. There's always negotiation that takes place. With housing, we figured out, as Joanne was saying, there is a need in suburbia, especially for a diversity of housings now. You need small units. You need large units. You need a place for first-time pliers. You also need something where you have empty nesters who are living in an expensive house that's probably too big for them. I want to step down and stay in my community. There's no place to do that. We're building townhouses. We're building studio apartments, one bedroom, two bedrooms. So build that community immediately more vibrant.

Moderator 59:35 I feel like housing is a lot of attention as it deserves to, the affordability and increasingly. But it seems like the issue that a lot of people are about to find out, whether they know or not, is how much their health care might go up. This is a really central issue, and it's obviously an issue that Mike Lawler has been involved with and voted against, health care for reorders and cuts to Medicaid. So what do you think of Lawler, and what about that issue specifically?

Peter Chatzky 60:01 I think he hasn't been represented in need of New York 17. He's been following Trump. He had an unbelievably tethered to Donald Trump. Our health care in this country is a mess. It is one of the leading cause of bankruptcy, personal bankruptcy, medical debt.

Moderator 60:20 It's a form of- My country and the world where people, where it's the leading cause of bankruptcy,

Peter Chatzky 60:25 is medical debt. And we have this massive health care system, and my understanding is that the size of it is roughly equivalent to the third and fifth largest economy in the world. It's huge. We have to address the problem. I'm the only candidate calling for a single-payer solution, a universal health care, but I recognize we're not going to get there very quickly. And I am pragmatic, progressive. There are many small steps we could take to improve the affordability of our health care system without going all the way through.

Moderator 61:02 We could go down a line issue by issue, and then people that watch can decide what kind of a Democrat you are. I hate these labels. I really do. But we only get it. Well, I like- Well, I don't think it's important. Yeah, because I think I want to talk about this. You know, I want to get your- You know, I always talk this way about everybody, and someone in media who's, you know, talking to people all the time, people always ask, what are you, liberal or conservative these days? It's those labels mean almost nothing. I'm more like, I'm on earth one, but the moon is not made of cheese. But more importantly, people want to know where you stand. And I always say, well, tell me an issue, and let's talk about the issue. And I would love to do that with you in another time when we have time. But I think one of the- Maybe you don't like this question, so feel free to toss it out. But how do you identify? It sounds like you're on a more progressive wing in this field of candidates. But do you identify with someone like Dora Montani, the new mayor, a lack for someone like AOC, a congressman in New York, or even have Keene Jeffries, who's different than both of them, or some Gillibrand or Chuck Schumer. Is there anybody in New York's elected preferences that you feel like you are born in line with in any way? And if you don't like the question, feel free to answer whatever one you want.

Peter Chatzky 62:09 Listen, I am not involved with how they get things done on a daily basis. I can tell you how I got things done in government, and that is, I set a goal, I go for consensus, and I will take steps toward my goal, however long that takes. I say this all the time, it's a mixed metaphor, I'm sorry it's a mixed metaphor, you're going to remember it, I will take singles over a home run any day, as long as we're going to leave them all down the field. And I say it that way, because it's memorable, because it makes no sense. But that is my governing mentality. Your governing mentality is a sports metaphor. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

Moderator 62:50 Obviously not. Peter, last question I think is interesting. You've actually tangled with Donald Trump and his businesses in Westchester, in Briarcliff, because he is one of the two development there, and you and others have stood in his way. Tell me how you took him on.

Peter Chatzky 63:06 So Donald Trump came to the Briarcliff Manor, which is a small community, 7,600 people, to build his golf course. He bought a defined golf course, came in and had grand plans to make this the best golf course in the country. Great golf course you've ever seen. I think the village was fearing giant gold leaf teas all over the village. Nobody wanted that. Come captain, his design was the only design that would work. It was terrible. It was terrible for the environment, decimating tons of trees, building houses all over the place. The intention was to bring in massive tournaments, natural tournaments. I got together with neighbors. We presented to the planning board an alternate plan, one that he said was impossible, because he was the only one that worked. They ended up adopting the neighbor plan. Trump, of course, now said, oh, this is version one under my plan, so my plan. Much better solution. That's what got me induced to run for mayor originally. It's what got me elected. Really bad. That was the impetus for you, Ryan. Those planning board members were rather heated. I took out his lawyers directly, and at one point I politely reminded them, they didn't represent me, they represented Donald Trump, and they should feel free to take a seat. I phrased it worse than that. But I was a fighter, and I think they saw that. There was a lot of sort of elbow, and that little guy is good. That little guy is good. And I was pushed into running. You're a little guy? I'm a little guy. How was it defined, Ryan? I always stand up for the little guy, because I've always been that little guy.

Moderator 64:49 And I really get that sense about you, and I identify with it. So us little guys got to stick together, because more often I would say I'm bigger than the actual bigger guys at heart. Thank you very much for joining us, for coming over to Clarktown. I really appreciate it. Chatzky for Congress, everybody, is on the website. Yeah.

Audience 65:06 You want to donate? You want to get involved? Here's Chatzky. We're here to keep you going. Come on. Thank you very much, Peter.

Moderator 65:12 And I am happy to now introduce our final candidate this evening. And again, thank you to all the Clarktown Democrats. You made this happen tonight, right? Thank you very much, Monica. Thank you very much. Everybody watching at home, everybody joining us here. And now it's time to bring up a guy who grew up in suffering. He's lived a couple different places. He's went to the Air Force Academy. He's a veteran. He does a lot of work with veterans. He does a lot of work with bringing democracy and fighting for it. He has a really long, interesting resume, and I keep talking about it when I've lost something to know. So I'm very excited to welcome him up here. Capelloforconference.com is the website. Please give a round of applause for John Cappello. John, thank you very much. Thank you, John. Really good to meet you. All right. Let me start there. I did the same guy's question, like, you were born in suffering. Is that right? Actually, I was born in Bronx. Born in Bronx. They have lived in suffering.

John Cappello 66:08 I did. So my dad was a carpenter in New York City. We moved when I was about two years old. He moved to Rockland County, upstate. All right. We moved upstate. That's what it's called. Exactly. Back in the city, I find that offensive.

Moderator 66:22 Yeah. So he moved upstate to live his American dream. And so what's your familiarity with Bronx now? Did you spend time here? Did you get a job when he was a teenager or anything like that? I don't know.

John Cappello 66:35 I didn't know what it was like back then. It depends on that. So I've been here when I was a teenager. But recently, I really had the opportunity in November to work with a lot of really quality local candidates. And I did some pornography for folks. And that's one thing that keeps me going in this race, is the quality of people running at the local level is so impressive. People have identified challenges within their community, are willing to fight for solutions for the community. And I'm so impressed with the coach. That'd be one of them. Greg, I had the opportunity to work out. I'm just really impressed.

Moderator 67:12 You and I, I tried to do a pre-interview with everybody always before I interviewed them on the record, because I want to be able to know more about them, get a sense of that, have their sensibilities, let them be the sense of me, obviously, and really learn a little bit about you and your life and issues. Again, with you, the hard question first, this comes from actually Clark Sound, a Democrat, which is this knock on you that you are a closet Republican. You've had this charge levied against you a few times, John. Here's a specific question from Clark Sound, a Democrat. Clark Sound, I don't know if you know this, but we have just my concern over primary, because the following two years, working parties, families, party has been hijacked. Up until recently, you were registered to vote in Virginia, you were not registered Democrat. What's your response to people's concern that you are a plant to meddle with Democratic primary, and you're somehow working with my global campaign to impact the general election? So the short answer is, you gave me that list, to be fair, it's a longer answer to your past and everything. I think people shouldn't hear the longer answer, but we want to give you some of the issues, so you can give the shorter answer here.

John Cappello 68:20 Well, I'll start with the shorter answer. The short answer is, I am a Democrat. The short answer is, I am not a plant for my clawler. That's the short answer. When I was 18, Ronald Reagan was president. It was the last year as presidency. I did register as a Republican. First time I ever registered. Do you know who was a Democrat at that time? Donald Trump. Donald Trump was a Democrat at that time, right? Things changed. 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. I've seen a lot, and I've changed. And I'm a Democrat. Those are the values with which I live my political life. I also, as a professional military officer, felt it was very, very important that you should not be able to tell my political affiliationists. I think that's really important. Every time I voted, I voted by who I registered by absentee ballot and voted by absentee ballot. From day one, I wrote independent, it said, party affiliation, because I felt very important that I maintain that position. After I left the military, after serving 26 years, I ended up in Virginia, as you mentioned. Worked in D.C. in the national policy area for a number of years before coming back to Brooklyn. And I voted in Virginia. In Virginia, when you register, you're not required to vote your party affiliation. However, during that whole period, I voted Democrat. That's it.

Moderator 70:07 The follow-up, I guess, is just to make it fully clear. You have no relationship in the Lola campaign, there's no messages or meetings, or a secret. You were recently at a veteran's thing where he was there. You met him, but that's it. I mean, I'm sure I have a people in this room

John Cappello 70:25 that met my father. I hope you have. Otherwise, he's not doing his job, right?

Moderator 70:30 You've got to tell me something about that.

John Cappello 70:32 No, you're not taking his job. That's what I'm saying.

Moderator 70:35 I think it is. If you met him, we'll let you know that the Lola plan is to criticize my Lola. Go for it.

John Cappello 70:39 Well, it's not about criticizing my Lola. Why not? Why not? What it is about is every minute that I'm talking about this, we're not talking about the issues that my Lola is making works, right? We're not talking about the situation that he's helping to cause here in this district, making our lives more difficult. We're not talking about the fact that he just falls in lockstep with the administration that he's aggregated his responsibility, his constitutional responsibility. He's not doing his job, and so we're not talking about that. And then what he does is, while he's falling in lockstep with the administration, he finds avenues to see him as a piece of honor. It doesn't mean. It doesn't mean. And that works. And we cannot underestimate our adversary, and I don't underestimate that adversary. And it's important that we understand who we're dealing with, understand it clearly, and select a candidate who can beat him.

Moderator 71:44 Well, Seth, now, you said earlier, when you're in active duty, obviously in the military, it makes sense to be independent or cannot be affiliated when you're in the military. I understand that. That's critical. On totalization of the military is a fundamental, let's change a lot, I think it looks like a military effort. Yes. At everywhere, from West Point to an able trip, it's politics. It would seem they're handing out compacts to active duty. Can you imagine that? No. And they'll be traded. But now, I think it's important that, obviously, maybe discrete, to identify as democratic. Give me the opportunity. What does it mean? What's the difference between these two parties? What does it mean to be a Democrat?

John Cappello 72:27 Well, I mean, first of all, the Republican Party, it's not a conservative party, and it's a party of an individual, right? I mean, it is, in many ways, about personality, for lack of a better word. But I think it's really important. You've had this conversation up here a few times now, not to get caught up in the labels and the attack of the other, because I think that we get lost when we do that. Yeah? I think, I want to be really, look, I think my caller is not doing a service to this district or the people of this district. I want to be clear. I'm not running against a person. I'm running for something. And we need to address it that way because we have other people that we need to bring on board. There's other people we need to talk to as Democrats. We better understand that. We need to understand that there's a wide range of people. You don't have to be a Republican or Democrat to be hurting right now, for sure. You do not have to be a Republican or Democrat to feel left behind by the government. And we need to understand that and be able to talk to that whole spectrum of people.

Moderator 73:42 I hear that. I think it makes a lot of sense, however. And I think Democratic values are the best suited

John Cappello 73:47 to talk to those people. Listen, I've had the opportunity to speak in Pearl River and Mayo Pack to a lot of folks on very clear where they stood at the initial part of the conversation. One gentleman led the conversation off by asking me what I thought about the administration releasing the alien files. So you might understand where he's going, right? A little conspiratorial. I think the key is, once you get past the algorithm, 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. At the end of that conversation, I found that we had a common concern. Affordability, right? He was worried about his housing crisis. He was worried about his health care as a union guy. He was worried about that. But he felt initially he's got to repeat these things. We have to talk to those people. We have to be able to talk to those people. And I think we can. I can.

Moderator 74:59 I did. Yeah, and it sounds like you're doing a good job of it. However, I appreciate that whole approach. It would seem that today's Democrats, maybe disagree, want a fighter. And that doesn't, I feel like, mean that you have to attack people personally. But you do have to fight. And do you agree that that's what they want? And if I miss... No, no, absolutely. Can't you say that?

John Cappello 75:21 No, no, absolutely.

Moderator 75:22 I think...

John Cappello 75:23 Look, Mike Lawler has a position. He has a record. He has positions. He needs to be held accountable to those positions. Simple, right? So I think there's a distinction between calling people names.

Audience 75:37 I mean, politics has become so... It's become this blood sport. And it's kind of ugly. And it doesn't have to be that way.

John Cappello 75:45 It's that way because we choose to do it that way. Politicians choose to do that. I choose not to do that. I think, again, pointing out and holding somebody accountable for a record is not an attack.

Moderator 76:01 I hope that answered that question. I think so. Yeah, I think so. People will decide. Other questions I ask every bit. All the candidates, the only question I think I've answered is just about money. About money. It's a horrible thing that part of the job, the campaign, is that you have to raise, what, $2 million to one person? It's different different seats. But it's a lot of money that you have to raise. How are you raising it? Are you taking any impact money?

John Cappello 76:27 No, I'm not taking impact money. I'm raising it through the many, many people that I've been in contact with, my network of people that I've met over the years, people who support me, people who trust me, and will continue to build on that and build momentum. Peter, I've done a remote. We need campaign finance reform. And for me, that would be one of the highest priorities that I could undertake as a – money in politics is important, of course. It's a part of the process. I mean, we talked a little bit about this yesterday, right? If somebody provides you money, that means that they're buying it, right? They support you. And I don't take that lightly. I take that very seriously, that somebody is willing to give their heart on a dollar to me because they trust me. But the level of funding required, the influence that large donors and corporations have, it's unconscionable. It's not the way the system should be. Citizens United was a disaster, and there needs to be –

Moderator 77:35 The only way that that changes, by the way – and I should have mentioned this to Peter and everybody else. It's an issue on coverage for our campaign finance. The only way that changes maybe to Supreme Court, I think, is if the Supreme Court changes. And the only way the Supreme Court changes would be to pack the court with more justices because these justices will be on court for us to devise. You can't make any real significant national change on campaign finance without a change in Supreme Court. Do you agree with that? Probably, yes. Yes, but I don't – But it's daunting because it seems like –

John Cappello 78:04 But it's still a function of socialization, of educating people of what this means. So many people have become complacent with the amount of money that we expected. And why do we have that expectation? Again, because that's the way we do it. So therefore, that's the way it's done. We don't have to accept that. I think we can find back on that. And, of course, the Supreme Court is an important factor to that.

Moderator 78:25 But these things have been full. Well, the most important thing you can do is be transparent with where you're getting money. I've always attracted a candidate that's raising a lot of money with small donations because it means there's a lot of people that are buying into, as opposed to a few wealthy people with a few donations. Same question, though, on the crowded field. John, on the crowded field, what separates you from the rest of the candidates? I know you won't attack anybody.

John Cappello 78:49 No. Well, nobody else will put too much into that.

Moderator 78:54 So I was a pilot of the United States Air Force.

John Cappello 78:57 What was it you don't know?

Moderator 78:59 What planes did you fly? I flew B1. You flew B1? Why did you not leave with that? If I flew a B1, I... You didn't ask me. I wish I'd be a Republican. If I flew a B1, I would never take off the jumpsuit. And I was running for Congress. I'd be marrying the helmet. But that's me. You're modest. Wow.

John Cappello 79:17 That's the idea. That's the idea.

Moderator 79:19 Get the jumpsuit. Get the helmet. Was that the primary plane that you flew for a long time?

John Cappello 79:24 Yeah, that was the bulk of my flying career. So I started in... 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. But then I had a number of other assignments in my career. I went back to the Air Force Academy and taught there. I had two diplomatic posts. I was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, and also to the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. So I had a pretty diverse career. And I think to directly answer your question, besides no one else finding one point to lock, is that my whole career, I've been faced with dealing with very difficult challenges, building teams and coalitions to address those challenges, working with diverse groups and organizations to come up with solutions and implement the solutions for direct results. I've done that at an international level, and I plan on bringing that here to New York 17.

Moderator 80:36 Certainly, though, separated. And I think that's important, all of that. I could just keep popping up on it. But I've got to ask you about the issues that you've been hearing about in constituents as you travel the district, as you've been campaigning for, what, five months, six months? September, I got a lead. I got also the last one,

John Cappello 80:54 and so that's, what, three and a half months or so.

Moderator 80:56 I've got people all over the district. They were. What do you think the issue of work affordability, is it fair to say that's mostly what you're hearing, or is it all under that? Absolutely, yeah.

John Cappello 81:09 Every single person I speak with brings up the cost of living, whether it's housing, healthcare, energy, food, that comes up in every conversation. The fact that the president calls affordability a hoax is mind boggling to me. I mean, you're either so out of touch, or you're so rich that you don't care that prices are rising. I mean, I don't know which one it is. But the fact of the matter, and it's not only that, it's then the implementation of policies that make it worse. The implementation of the terrorists are a disaster. Across the whole spectrum for our county,

Moderator 81:57 it's probably the single most self-inflicted move to the American economy that has ever happened.

John Cappello 82:03 And to see that, because again, Congress is not doing its job. I mean, 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 based on whatever they were, I mean, Doge was a complete and utter failure. Even in Alaska, that's it. Yes, he did. Show me what the results were at the cost and what the cost was. And the cost wasn't just economic. It was to the U.S. standing around the world. And so, yeah.

Moderator 82:45 Is there so affordability is what you're hearing? Absolutely. Is there any specific policy idea that you think would be best implemented here, you know, on housing or anything else? I think, you know, two experts on housing spoke already,

John Cappello 83:00 and I think that's what's important to understand with issues like housing, where Congress does not necessarily have a direct impact, and I think this goes across the spectrum for a member, is making sure that those in the district have the tools and the resources to implement policies that make people's lives better. So with respect to housing, right, 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, and that's the way I see dealing with, in particular, housing.

Moderator 83:46 I mean, we all have like labels, but I do think it's kind of interesting. If you go to New York Democrats, I mentioned, is there anybody that's serving in Congress that you think you would want to, if you were elected, you know, go and talk to them, connect with, learn from, work with, is there anybody that you would fashion yourself similar in terms of their political ideology right now that's serving?

John Cappello 84:06 Well, I mean, there's two people, actually, our two neighbors, Pat Ryan and George Leonard. I think are examples of strong Democratic leaders that... Yes, that's, yeah. Yeah, great. Each team is Pat Ryan and then, for George Leonard, is in a...

Moderator 84:27 Do you like what they're doing in their style, their politics, their IL? I do. I mean, I think they put their, you know...

John Cappello 84:34 Pat's about to remind you, I think. He is. Yeah, he, or he died, but, you know, he didn't tell anyone about her. So, but I think they, again, identify challenges, we want to find pragmatic, common-sense solutions to those challenges, and I think that's the, that's what we need more of in politics today, really.

Moderator 84:56 Anybody originally? Do you want to share a family? Yeah. I don't really get that with you. I mean, I'm back here in, you know,

John Cappello 85:03 it's, people ask me, and I think the initial conversation you guys had about Rockland County, I'm one of those T-shirts. Rockland has a self-esteem issue? Absolutely. Not that it has a self-esteem issue, I'm one, you know, a bride, a bride.

Moderator 85:20 Absolutely.

John Cappello 85:21 Like, I mean, this place is, and the district, you know, I've spent a long, long time over on the inside of the bridge. It's so easy to get to, it's really amazing. Yeah.

Moderator 85:32 I think about my car, and my car. I got caught. Don't tell me.

John Cappello 85:38 You heard of your first book,

Moderator 85:39 Some Out of Bike.

John Cappello 85:40 But, you know, I landed, like I said, after the Air Force, I landed in D.C., loved living in D.C., loved the work I was doing in D.C., but as I saw the book, this community gave me the opportunity to live my dream. I could tell you the day that I decided I wanted to be a pilot. Literally, the day. My aunt moved to Florida. We were going on vacation. I was about 89 years old. My dad threw me in the seat, so I sat against the window, and my face pressed against the window, and I realized this is what I wanted to do. I knew that's what I wanted to do. And I didn't do it. I didn't become a pilot because I was some child prodigy. I did because I had a dad who worked always more than one job. My mom, after she put us in school, she worked for the town of Ramapo and retired there, so, you know, they worked their butts off to provide for us. I had a community that cared. Teachers, a school that was a good school. Mr. Galendez and Ms. Russo, Mr. Whitman, they guided me. They mentored me. They let me achieve who I could be, and I lived that dream. You know, and I owe it to this community. To come back here and make sure that others have that opportunity as well. And that's not necessarily the case. But that's not necessarily the case. You know, I don't know if my parents could do the same thing today. A lot harder. You're the lot harder for this generation. My niece just graduated from college, from Blacksburg. She just got hired as a teacher. Super proud of her, right? Super proud. She got hired quickly 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, right? This is not the community that we want.

Moderator 87:37 This is absolutely not the community that we want. She should have been a cop. Capalo or a pilot. I remember when I was nine and decided to be a pilot, too. But I didn't ever live my dream like Joan did. That's really very fascinating and inspiring as well. Did you really work in public?

John Cappello 87:59 So this is the thing. I've been to air shows and I've heard little boys and I've heard big men say I want to be. It's not lost on me what I was able to do. It's not. And I have an absolute responsibility to give back

Moderator 88:15 and make sure that they have that. I love that. I love that. Good luck to niece. Thank you, John, for joining us. Give it up for John Capalo, everybody. Thank you, Joan. Capalo for Congress. Your advice is domain. And thank you so much for doing this. Good to get to know you and best of luck. Thank you again to all the Clarkstown Democrats for putting us together. We really appreciate everybody who made this happen. The candidates for joining us, Greg Monica and everybody else. Thank you, everyone. Thank you to the town of Clarkstown for giving us our beautiful town hall this evening. And thank all of you for coming out here and for joining us live. I'm Pete Dominic. Listen to my daily show. Stand up with Pete Dominic. And if there's anybody that ever wants to go, if you get a drink anywhere in Clarkstown or Rockland, I am very lonely. So reach out. Thank you guys very much. Goodbye. I'm not behind.

Moderator 0:01 Hello and welcome to the Green Austin Austin town Dems Environmental Forum, we're just getting ourselves sorted But we wanted to give you all watching at home a chance to see our screens that get very short Biographies of our seven candidates. We're going to be ready to start in about three minutes, but enjoy the slideshow by before that There's some candidate love we're live We're recording in fact we're recording right now My name is Elgima Goodson, and I'm one of the district leaders at Boston and we are here and welcome to our the Austin Democratic Party with green Austin's CD17 district Forum on clean on green Austin and clean And the environment sorry about that's been a long day So I have the distinct honor to introduce our dignitaries, so I will start with our With our village we'll go with the village first since we are in the village of Austin So I see our trustee miss Dana white raise your hand officials our town supervisor Liz We have our councilwoman Ginta will in the front time keepers Our assemblywoman for the 95th district Dana Levenberg We have our chair of the Westchester County Democratic Party, Susan Berger here We have our clerk in the audience, Sue Donnelly, raise your hand And we have former assemblywoman Miss Andy Gallop here As well as former chairwoman over the order Catherine Borschner who is also a co-chair for this meeting I will hand it over to these two ladies to get us started Thank you everyone As I mentioned I'm the chair of the Austin town Democratic Committee Catherine Morzia Susie always reminds me to say that I also co-founded green Austin As you know we have a very enriched program tonight We are very grateful to our candidates for agreeing to do something with this very dense subject matter specific We did send our candidates the topics that we're hoping to cover tonight We have a somewhat ambitious list of questions So we're hoping to really get through them all before we get kicked out of our beautiful library For those of you who are interested in how people are seated and who's going to go first We have a little Facebook live video on who picked the names out of the hat For who's going to sit there and then also who's going to be our first question As well as the person to answer the last question We're going to ask our candidates to keep it tied to one minute We ask gentlemen Councilwoman Gentilio to be our time keeper Mostly because she's the toughest person in the Austin town Democratic Committee No joke So we are going to try to keep it moving Because we really want to hear everyone's answer We're going to ask some questions And we will have a guess no lightning round And we'll distribute yes no panels Candidates will answer those questions as well And then the Westchester begins site as well So for anyone who missed it or any of your friends who couldn't have Please be sure to tell them there's many ways that they can see this Okay, I think that's it for our preliminary remarks And I'm going to turn it over to Susan Osley To begin our missioning So before we begin I do need to remind everybody that you are in CB17 And I mentioned that my remarks will follow afterwards And you'll understand why The questions that came in were a wide array And what these folks are going to be doing is answering seven Seven questions, you're going to have one minute to answer them Most of you are going to feel potentially dissatisfied With the fact that we didn't cover your area So we're going to have some yes and no questions as well But realize that there is There are so many environmental issues in CB17 And we tried to hit on all of them so be kind to us But I do want to mention that the Hudson Valley and CB17 Is where the modern environmental movement was born We've heard from dozens of constituents and organizations From both sides of the river And we're sharing some of their questions with you this evening We'd like to acknowledge some of those organizations By thinking that for 2030, Croton 100, Food and Water Action Healthy Yards, Westchester Pollinator Pathways Mary and Old Fathers and Brothers New Yorkers for Clean Power The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Rockland Water Coalition Safe Energy Rights Groups The Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group Straw Town Art and Garden Studio Teen Town Westpac Foundation and Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions But I do want to mention that there were a host of other organizations That either submitted questions or were framed from doing so Due to fear of retribution or concern for electioneering Which would be in violation of 501c3 status We are now living at a time when environmental issues appear to be partisan As if the desire for clean air, water and a livable future for all are political issues This greatly concerns environmental advocates What I will say about environmental advocates in CD17 and across New York State Is that we are determined and we are relentless We understand the risks of inaction and how it affects all sentient beings regardless of party affiliation If you do not know us now, you eventually will Regardless of the slice of environmental issues we prioritize And with that, I would like to once again thank our candidates for stepping up And putting themselves out there in a desire to represent us We are very grateful I'm getting so I'm not going to go into this any further Tell us about one experience in your life that made the climate crisis real to you And what do you see as the two to three major concerns for CD17 in addressing energy and the environment?

John Cappello 7:33 Well, thank you to us, Nick And thank you all for being here So it's hard to pin it down to one thing But what I will say is Hurricane Sandy for me was a very eye-opening experience Living through that hurricane scene, the impact here in New York and in particular on the city Where we saw power go out into the lower part of Manhattan That was a massive kind of wake-up call to just how susceptible we are to changes in the environment The other one though I have to say is in 2018 my son was born That's when I realized in this future that we're building this world we keep behind for the next generation And the two or three things I think we can go into these more But I think that it's really important to talk about the data centers that are being talking on the floor of the district In particular at Heartstown there's one that's particularly concerning at the moment That impacts the waterways as well as the environmental sort of areas But the other thing I think is also building towards the future And seeing what Austin is doing here to protect the waterfront is so important Because we're going to have to be living with the challenges that we face with the current changes in the environment While we go towards it

Beth Davidson 8:42 Thank you so much and thanks to Austin and Dan's board for meeting this important conversation on the environment Which is such a critical issue in this election I'm Beth Davidson, I'm a Rockland County legislator I'm chair of the Environmental Committee and the Water Task Force in Rockland County And I'm going to continue on the kid theme here because it was a few years ago when I was talking to my son He had just finished working on this project with his grandparents for our synagogue And he was interviewing them and at the end they asked him What do you think your life is going to be like and our world is going to be like when you're our age? And he looked at them deadpan and said, I'm not going to live to be your age I'm only going to live to 35 because of climate change My son is a happy-go-lucky kid But this is how our kids see the climate crisis That the world is on fire and the adults aren't doing enough about it Certainly not, Mike Lawler, oil and gas lobbyist That's why I decided to step up, become the environmental chair The Water Task Force chair continued advocacy with folks like Tina Bowles and Courtney Williams And Food and Water Watch that I see here in the audience Because we have to protect the planet and people we love

Cait Conley 9:52 Good evening, I'm Kaye Conley So I'll tell you over my lifetime, I've watched how climate change has gone from a community safety issue That I've lived through here as a kid in the Hudson Valley To now, as an adult, as a public servant, as a public leader, a national security crisis That is how we must address it But growing up, I was here when we were having debates over whether or not to drench the Hudson Swimming in it, fishing in it, figuring out how our communities were going to deal with repercussions Of corporations who did not care what happened to their people downstream I'm now living through a time where we see energy corporations That are doing everything they can to make profits in a dollar While we, the American people, are dealing with the impacts of climate change on our world But also on our family bank accounts And that's where, when you see how climate change is impacting communities today We see where the effects of extreme weather are causing the loss of American lives The displacement of American communities The devastation of American businesses We can no longer treat this as just a mortal or social issue As an economic and national security issue

Effie Phillips-Staley 11:07 Hi, I'm Effie Phillips-Staley and I'm a trustee in the village of Tarrytown And I'm a proud liaison with TEAC, our local environmental committee, who I know works with local environmental committees here Staying with the children's name, it was really the fear that I saw in my children As they saw me working hard at the time I was Vice President for Strategic Advancement At the Hispanic Federation and we were responding to Hurricane Maria It was, of course, catastrophic in terms of food security, in terms of energy, in terms of so much But I will say this What I learned from that experience was how critical, and this applies to CD17, the federal government response is It must be strong because that catastrophe happened in part because we allowed it to with our policies around climate change Transparency at the local level, in terms of what people need at the local level for resilience And I would say real representation in government

Peter Chatzky 12:16 I'm Peter Tatsky, I'll say it real quickly, I do not do short well, I do not do one big well I apologize, that's doing short and developed I grew up in a time where weather was very predictable I spent my whole life here in Westchester, I can remember when my brother, when I was 10 years old It would snow very regularly, it would snow starting Thanksgiving, it would continue through December, January We would travel the driveway together religiously, all the time, very predictably If you look at just the last 10, 15 years here in Westchester, I have 30 seconds We have hurricanes, we have unpredictable snow, there are years it doesn't snow at all Other years it's torrential rain, we get micro groups, we have earthquakes We have two earthquakes within a week, just about a year or two ago The big issue for 17 is that the national government no longer cares about client change The good news is, local governments can do a lot to help lead

Mike Sacks 13:25 I'm Mike Sacks, thank you all for being here, and thank you for convening us This is a great crowd, really lovely to see everybody The problem going 6th is that our answers tend to be told before we get out of John, your answer, about Hurricane Sandy I was with you in Brooklyn Heights in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy came in and flooded the subway So we could know where we were That was the first time what we all knew we already existed was made fully real Fast forward a couple of years, and if you've seen us talk before you like recognize a 9-blazer focus I'm cutting down every single barrier towards our policies coming to fruition That are corrected by the right wing throughout our federal government As governor of the Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia's final vote was to kill the clean power plant under Obama So we've had a will for policies before But there have been people in place, at whatever level it is, that's meant to choke off what we can do To help people help our country, help our environment, help our children not go through a health state in the future My job, as I take it, should I get the Congress, is to confront and take down all those structures we've put up To get the way of our helping people and doing well by the environment

John Cappello 14:39 Thank you all It's a really pleasure to be here tonight, and thank you all for being here as well 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 And it reminds me of a river in Serbia, South Serbia When you look from above, it actually looked like a beautiful piece of art The colors, the flow But when you got next to it, when I drove next to it, you saw that that beauty was trash It was garbage And it made the river unusual and reminded me a lot of the Hudson, as Cait mentioned 40 years, General Electric polluted that river And I couldn't use it as a kit, couldn't fish there, couldn't swim there And so the priorities have to be Addressing the funding cuts that have taken place for agencies that protect our health and our security Thank you

Moderator 15:48 Excellent, thank you all so much for really following the rules, we really appreciate it So our next question will begin Biden's inflation reduction act was the greatest climate investment in US history The Trump administration froze and rolled back the funding for renewable energy solutions related to this law What do you believe the benefits of federal investments and incentives are in green energy?

Beth Davidson 16:14 Thank you so much Well, absolutely, that was a bedrock law that helped us meet clean energy standards And let's just stop and pause for a minute, that is the head of the EPA, which has just been asked What the federal government needs to do is continue 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 The federal government, as you know, also expanded the monuments that continues so much of our open public land Which Donald Trump is already back, trying to turn back We know that old-growth forests are carbon sinks and stop the emissions that accelerate the climate crisis Those are two major ways that the federal government can reinvest And that Congress can start right away, to start reinvesting in Along with the clean energy tax credits That not only will help us meet our clean energy goals here in New York and around the country But we know we'll create tens of thousands of jobs, particularly as AIs, for more important

Cait Conley 17:20 Okay, so we've noticed that on tax credits and grants What we saw in both the inflation reduction act as well as the infrastructure bill Were literally hundreds of millions of dollars we invested into alternative energy Which, honestly, I think we need to stop growing old-learning energy Because at this point, it is just investment in energy It is more responsible, it is cleaner, it is more efficient energy But 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 And so with that, yes, the federal government needed to continue what it was already doing Which was helping grow domestic green energy businesses With solar panel production, with geothermal investments And pilot projects, with things like wind turbine investment All things that the federal government has a responsibility to help our communities do and pursue And 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 To offset the detrimental impacts of climate change To prevent hazards before they happen

Effie Phillips-Staley 18:32 Thank you, so, echoing my tears here On the local level, we cannot do the work that we have to do For climate resilience without missing point in the federal government Very simply because our local taxes can't carry the burden So, the Biden's Infrastructure Act is what God sent to us in Terry 10 In terms of climate resilience

Speaker 18:57 But not just that, also the EPA Their ability to enforce laws Their ability to provide the solid research

Effie Phillips-Staley 19:05 And their ability to provide the technical assistance was essential We can only become climate resilient in New York 17 If we reinstate the EPA to where it was And if we get these tax credits, as my peers said, we have to have them There is no reason the government should be invested in tax funds, in oil In fossil fuels It should all be going to green energy

Speaker 19:34 Because that is the technology of the future

Peter Chatzky 19:42 It's an amazing step back, obviously In fossil fuels We're decimated of tens of millions of dollars in alternate Being of green energy 7 billion in solar alone completely beyond No one has mentioned one other avenue here In addition to the loss of the investment tax credits The Trump administration got rid of a lot of the compliance To make sure that we were upholding standards that had existed So, not only did he lower standards for better use of equipment Home products, better, more efficient technologies He got rid of any of the compliance So, really there are no more standards to complete this check This is a complete reversal of gravity

Mike Sacks 20:32 And why? Other than what? Bill and Eric bought Administration Legislators Mr. Lawler Why? Just a reactionary sense of what mess it in here or something I don't know why, but it makes no sense I'm a confessionalist at Tesla I wouldn't have gotten it I got it before the election And I got it through your lease And I wouldn't have done so if it weren't for the tax credits Both state and federal It was affordable And that's what motivates people to actually move forward For doing what's right for themselves With the boundaries of this world and the environment And geothermal Again, it's not about the tax credits They have gone because this administration wants to have Some adventurous idea of what it once was in this country When we could loop with impunity And have a rich get richer Get a whole new class of people who are getting a lot of money And have that wealth Go build a little class While the rest of us are spending less money And making the world better for ourselves and our children It's insane And who does that serve?

John Cappello 21:44 I've spent 26 years working on difficult challenges But 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 And we're really far behind Clean power and renewables are in ascendancy If we look at 2023-2024 We see that clean power View electric vehicles increasing Always increasing But we've got some headwinds There are some headwinds that are being exacerbated By this administration And 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 types of technologies So the federal government plays a key role Regulating both the environment And the impacts that we can have on the environment But I think it's really important to think about what's happening right now today Today, Kathy Opel and Representative Tonko Were actually having a press conference about Calling on the Trumpet District to release $400 million in federal funding to help with energy costs Primarily because it will affect and benefit 1.5 million families here in New York The idea is that the federal government plays a key role When it comes to giving our communities the power it needs To actually do important work Michael Lawler cut $50 million In energy, renewable grants, and different funding Specifically in the big ugly bill So that's why it's so important that one of us Is sitting in Michael Lawler's seat When it comes around in January of 2027 We can propose all the policies And I agree with everything my colleague said But we actually need to break home to make it When it comes to year 17 Lawler legislators and our local leaders Be able to identify where to best use those funds To benefit their communities

Moderator 24:05 Thank you Somehow I feel like I owe you Okay, we're only on question number three But you guys are doing great This question, Cait, you're going to start off with this I do want to remind everybody I don't know if everyone can hear us in the back And Facebook live So just make sure that you keep that mic really close But weirdly close Okay, according to Gallup polling from July 2025 91% of Democrats and 61% of independents think The federal government is doing too little to protect the environment Yet environmental issues are rarely talked about as key campaign issues Thanks to the recent election victories It's a little easier to imagine a world When Democrats have power in Washington Do you believe that America should be A world leader in tackling the climate crisis? If so, what are the top two to three legislative actions Congress should take first to reverse The current path of the climate crisis? Give one minute

Cait Conley 25:09 So I think we need to recognize that today For my generation, climate change isn't just a scientific Or moral discussion or debate It is driving and interwoven with an affordability crisis We talked about earlier You have families that are debating How they're possibly going to put food on the table Keep a roof over their family site Keep the lights on Afford healthcare And get their kids better teachers This is the crisis we are facing And climate change is interwoven into all of them When we look at how do we keep our families healthy And safe And secure This is where the environment drives so much of them And is interlinked with both healthcare and economic opportunity We have to get the federal government back To where we're investing the programs we already talked about Where we're spurring investment in energy development That is clean energy But we also must be looking at How do we create educational opportunities So that future workforce can invest And be part of these solutions too This was back here in Hudson Valley Why don't we create programs at BOCES Where we don't just have HVAC technicians We have solar panel repair technicians, right? How do we interlink those two things?

Effie Phillips-Staley 26:17 Of course, Sarah is very important To be a world class viewer in this field I would say the first thing we do is We have to reverse the tariffs Because the tariffs are preventing this industry From getting the supplies they need to actually execute the work We can have all the legislation in place But without access to materials it's not going to happen The other, I would say that the amount of tax credits

Speaker 26:47 That go to fossil fuel industries Need to be stopped We are putting far too much emphasis on fossil fuels

Effie Phillips-Staley 26:55 Still, and we are not putting enough emphasis on renewable energies We are a nation of innovation We always have been But with the kinds of reversals that we've seen from this government Getting rid of scientists Getting rid of young scientists entering the UVA We're putting our ability to really be a world leader as we should be So we absolutely have to bring back the scientists To this process to aid local governments

Peter Chatzky 27:32 It's pretty simple what the first two steps have to be We have to get back to the government That cares about the health, safety, welfare Excuse me, welfare of its constituents There are even economic reasons to reverse The first two things, let's believe in science once again The IPCC summarizes, it's a UN committee, Summarizes hundreds of thousands of research articles On climate change and the environment We need to take those seriously, with their recommendations seriously We need to rejoin the Paris Accord We need to get back that database system of government The facts are out there, we have to stop denying What's coming in the future There are even policies in place that embrace What all science is how much we need

Mike Sacks 28:25 The House will probably be one chamber One branch of the federal government That democrats can't control from January 3rd, 2027 So you ask about legislative vision I haven't heard anyone mention it That's a tough thing to do when we're in this I know many of you probably had undermined The Green New Deal Eda Mowie was a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal Somehow, the Green New Deal became a bad word With, I don't know, Trump's re-emergence But we need to remember that when Trump's in power And republicans are with him and enabling him Unlike them, they are unpopular And it opens up new vistas for legislation That were once thought perhaps aspirational Or even off the table So with the danger and the damage that Trump is doing To each other, to us, to our environment He's broadening us blind And picking our pockets to line those of his friends and family We could walk through that rubble And build something new that helps everybody The Green New Deal was and remains that

John Cappello 29:34 Thank you To answer the question simply Should the US be a leader? Of course it should be And you mentioned the Paris courts But how about the COP 30 in Brazil? Who's there representing the United States? What kind of role are we playing on the world stage with respect to this? We know what we need to do And we're not doing it And it's very clear Because this administration has made it difficult for companies To do the types of research, the types of development Over the last 30 years, as this new thing that's unreachable By so many people and so expensive You talk about bringing those subsidies in And benefiting small businesses that are currently existing Weaving it into the economy that we already have And that's how you get Donald Trump to sign off Because you're talking about money for small businesses But you're also building out the climate And the remediation efforts that are so necessary When it comes to building on a clean energy infrastructure I think the subsidies and things along the lines that everyone's been talking about Are really important But we're going to have to do everything possible To convey to Donald Trump that this is a good idea And that's by using business

Beth Davidson 30:55 Thank you. Well, the environment has always been an important issue In every campaign that I've run Particularly my plenty legislative campaign Where one of the campaign promises I made Was to finally create a clean action plan Climate action plan for Rockland County Who still have one Inspired by my own home village of Nyack Which had a 2030 climate action plan well ahead of its time And so I'm proud to have passed the funding To create the climate smart communities task force That's already getting to work But it's going to be hard for them to do their work Without those tax incentives For wind, for solar, for home base geothermal Another issue that I really think we need to tackle Is mass transit There is a dirt mass transit in Rockland County Where I live And let's talk about the fact we're talking about The projects I find that's been cut 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 That's something we need to put back into play And what I will try to do as the next member of Congress

Moderator 32:05 Thank you so much Really good job Sticking into a little bit I'm very impressed This is a little bit of a part two of that question Some of you already mentioned some of the topics So in the recent off year election It's really a huge difference for candidates Ranging from democratic socialists To secular moderates And it's been used as progressive Like A.C. and others Really mobilize voters by prioritizing initiatives Like the Green New Deal To address issues of environmental justice And economic opportunity So let's take that Control of Congress Trump will still be in the White House As you all mentioned So I guess part two of the question That you just answered is What are some of the other initiatives That you believe you can actually make In a legislative or programmatic progress And be as specific as you possibly can In your one minute Thank you Evie, I think you're a person

Effie Phillips-Staley 32:58 Thank you I thank you for asking that question There are many environmental justice zones Within New York 17th District And these are zones That frankly should get the priority In terms of planning and resources For climate resilience

Speaker 33:16 Because you can see the health impacts Specifically in this community I believe Austin was one Terry Count is another Pete Skill is another

Effie Phillips-Staley 33:24 So an emphasis on that Because frankly it is undoing Decades and decades of injustice And the way to do it right Is by listening first Not coming in with prescriptive plans And telling people what they need But engaging communities In specifically what will transform their lives And their living situations Putting that into policy And then delivering Failure to do this By the Democratic Party For far too long Is the reason we keep losing It's the reason we keep having Low propensity voters And I tend to reverse that in this race

Peter Chatzky 34:07 I think one of the things you're seeing In the last election cycle Is that so many of the problems We're having globally Can be addressed locally And even in an environment Where you have a federal government That's just bowing us in every way Things like protecting our waters And curbing the F8 Making sure our sewer systems Whether they're storm water Or sewer are functioning properly Improving local wetlands Building standards Going for greener buildings Preserving trees And harboring sequestration All of that can be done on a local level And it can be enforced locally I think the best thing the government can do Even when the top of the government Is so against this Is to celebrate best practices That local communities can embrace And know how to take care of Some of these problems locally Because we're seeing major strides As long as communities understand what they have to do

Mike Sacks 35:12 We have to fight When we have that one chamber of one branch Of the federal government And Trump John, I love you But I don't think Trump's nice enough In any pro business I don't think he cares That he wants to hurt He's got his people He wants to hurt And I get the subsidies back As long as he's in office So what do we do? What can we do? We can propose Big swings that give people hope That show that we're in it for everybody Not just one group or another Especially just but everyone Right left and center For rocking the button of the duchess To hear in Westchester We also need to show who the bad guys are So we can use our oversight capacity To have hearings To make a show An entertaining show For all the people who profited off our planet's pain We can bring them in Oil executives Gas executives Members of the administration And ask them questions Make them squirm And show the public These are the people who are robbing you blind And make themselves richer While they hurt our planet And our kids' future We can do that We can have fun

John Cappello 36:21 The importance of local solutions And most of you in here are here Because you're working on local solutions And focus on them But those local solutions have to be backed by national policy It has to be We're entering an age Whether it's with AI Or renewables And clean technologies Where the economy, our economy is shifting Changing The young people in this room that are home now Getting ready to go to school are They're going to be affected by all this And so a strong national policy is essential And I look at And that means training Training and education Governor Hochul brought a $40 million project to Detroit Workforce training And I think that's an example of the type of thing We could do Where we have the combination of National, local Cooperation And we need to bring that to our district here In education So it is local solutions It is New York This is where the modern environmental movement was birthed This is where we have to show To the rest of the country How you can do this and be effective In one of the largest states In one of the largest cities by revenue We have to do everything possible to get Governor Hochul To sign off on things like the 100-foot ban And making sure that we have the ability To get the heat act passed And the recycling and packaging That Senator Harcum introduced Those are ways to show that it benefits the community And then you need to go to Washington You need to talk about those things on the platform That this member of Congress will have Which is to talk about the importance of New York leading the way That's how we bring investment into our economy That's how we bring investment to CV17 And we build out new different types of work Training, if you will Whether it be battery storage capacity Which is something that we're seeing right now To the northern part of the state And we bring that here While talking about it all the time in Washington And holding those accountable But we have to be honest that The government right now is not poised To put in place some sort of brand new Sweeping legislative policy And that's why New York's going to have to lead the way

Beth Davidson 38:41 I appreciate that we all try to remember A time when the environment is not a partisan issue And I would argue that environmental justice Or injustice is one of the reasons Our country keeps becoming more and more divided We know that where environmental outcomes Are low because of pollution Because of factories Because of standards being rolled back Is also where marginalized communities live And that is leading to greater health disparities Economic disparities that again drive us further apart I'm proud that as chair of the environmental committee I am working on solutions to this locally And that is about making sure That underserved communities aren't targeted 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 Locally and nationally we have to stop the divide That environmental injustice is striking in this country

Cait Conley 39:45 So I spent the last four years working with members of Congress With committees I've read the federal legislation And overseen Mexican national budgets So while yes, hopefully we are In control of the House next year No matter what position we are in There are absolutely ways in which We can drive accountability for those who continue to fail Our communities in this way And where we can continue to push initiatives Where pathways remain open What do I mean by that? Look, 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 testified before committees On how they are failing to invest Attically in their communities While they're still raking home Double digit millions of dollars And CEO incentives every year Is a failure in leadership they must be held accountable for The other part of this Is there are programs we can continue to invest in Pursuing this as a national security initiative And imperative And this goes back to While we do divest certain investments In things like solar and wind There are still other programs and investments And rebates available in geothermal We should be doubling down on it And that goes very quickly

Moderator 40:55 Okay, our next question Question number five The EPA's role is to set federal standards To protect Americans The Clean Air Act as an example Is a comprehensive US federal law That regulates air emissions To protect public health and the environment By setting national air quality standards The current administration has undermined And is in the process of dismantling the EPA's efficacy If elected to Congress What efforts would you make to restore The EPA's role in enforcing And establishing standards to protect Americans?

Peter Chatzky 41:31 I'm not sure where to begin on this question Because we moved so far away from Dana I alluded to this earlier We have to get back to the administration And understand there's actual data There's actual proof that if you don't enforce laws in place There are going to be horrific consequences For the health of Americans It's not something that we have the luxury of Stalling for a year or two years And implementing policy layers These are things that have been identified We're already behind the curve I would also make the point EPA developed by Richard Nixon Who would thought? Let's bring Nixon back Come We're just living in a crazy time Where this administration is not recognizing The very things we all recognize And again, just have to get back To making the case To the party of fiscal responsibility It's not fiscally responsible To delay these things And then it's going to cost a lot more To put solutions in place now

Mike Sacks 42:32 And the party isn't going to do that Because it's a zombified version of Nixon, Reagan, and Bush They're pretty much the id of those administrations Shorn of any ideological, intellectual consistency Only just to hurt people I keep saying that, I know Sound like a broken record But they're in control of the Supreme Court too It's a broken record But the point of my saying that Is that the Supreme Court Is going to cut down the power plant They've cut down the good neighbor rule And they lie in wait to cut down anything that should be get That we've got in the White House in 2029 But maybe I don't have the Senate They will cut down anything that comes out of that White House too So what we need to do is start flexing our legislative muscle again And recognizing what we can do as the people who control the House And say, this is what we're going to do for you We're going to codify the clean power plant We're going to codify the good neighbor rule We're going to make sure that anything we do Is by law an act of Congress that it cannot be cut down By a court that says the president cannot do that

Effie Phillips-Staley 43:39 Because elected officials have a lot of power It's just who are they going to listen to We have to be louder and angrier and more demanding than corporate money That is what we need to do That was very pretty

Peter Chatzky 43:58 If you took my closing remarks and I hate her One of the things we need to do is recognize that Trump is not only savage and cruel He's also incredibly competitive So we need to point out for example That China is now getting 40% of its electric from renewables The United States has nowhere close to that Sweden, Denmark, Norway 60 to 85% of their power renewables We are losing And they are seeing a far cheaper cost to produce these things Because they're popular It's economies of scale They're using hydroelectric They're using solar If we want to use solar now We have to import parts from China Because it's so much cheaper over there Because they're doing so well Over the last decade Prices for solar and waste have dropped 70 to 90% in 10 years We need to get on their terms And say it's all about money Making the proper investments And turning this around Is going to save us a lot of money in the long run One last thing on utilities We need to move to performance based Increases on their rates They do significant investments Then they get paid That will move us into the next slide

Moderator 45:20 Okay, thank you You guys made it to the last question This is our last open-ended question There will be seven As we talked about lightning Or lightning round after this John, Cabela, you're going to begin The Hudson River has been part of so much That we love about the Hudson Valley To environmental advocates And general community members alike But it has also been severely attacked By industrial and commercial abuse for decades While progress has been made There are still threats, risks, and dangers To this vital water body What do you consider to be the top threats To the recovery of the Hudson River And how would you use your voice in Congress To support its continued help?

John Cappello 45:58 Thank you And that's a great question As I alluded to in my opening remarks I mean the Hudson has been under threat For decades GE, again, dumping all those chemicals But it is our lifeline It affects so much of our community The weather, how we travel And we have to keep it healthy And it will always be a part in me Look, I think there's two recent things that occurred The algae blooms this last year Right? Those are a result of what has been happening And the way we need to address that Is make sure that agencies that are developed To provide for public safety and our health Are fully funded Those blooms have significant impact On our communities And potentially even greater impact The greatest in 40 years And then additionally, we have to really Fight hard against the dumping of The dumping of the water back into the Hudson I'll leave it at that Yeah, so I got where John left off The number one thing that I think is a threat To the Hudson right now is whole tech And their willingness and desire to use the river For their own personal benefit To violate the rules that we have put in place Here in New York to have the federal government Overrule New York and save radioactive wastewater To go back into our river Because somebody on the other side of the country Has decided it's a good idea The idea that we have Indian Point Is right there on the river And then now we're going to send more pollutants And radioactive waste into that river Is just despicable to me And it's something that the federal government Has had overreach and allowing to have happen And now we need to be fighting back against whole tech And everything that's happening at Indian Point To make sure it doesn't make it any more less safe Or less safe generally for us Particularly because it's such a huge impact on our water And then obviously the algae blooms are a huge concern And it's just because of the over pollution of the water

Beth Davidson 48:04 So like a few other things I've talked about tonight You don't have to ask me what I will do in Congress I can tell you as chair of the environmental committee What I'm doing right now to protect our Hudson River So the second the whole tech decision Was handed down by the federal court I quickly called a press conference I rallied activists I rallied local elected officials And we went down and stood at the Haverstraw Bay That depends on the Hudson For recreation, for tourism For hard working families in Haverstraw And of course for our health and our safety And we called on the governor and the attorney general To appeal that decision I'm so grateful that within a week I had answers back from both women That they stood with us on stopping whole tech From dumping that water And that Governor Hochul has no intention Of restarting nuclear at Indian Point Now we look at Project Maple possibly Coming a fracked gas pipeline Coming underneath the Hudson River I'm doing everything I can to stop that As I've mentioned Working with Food and Water Watch To pass the first county resolution Opposing that project And also stopping harmful algal blooms By regulating fertilizers that cost them Thank you

Cait Conley 49:16 So I know I sound a bit like a broken record But this really does come down to Corporate accountability and responsibility I read it out then I think it was in a little bit a few weeks ago About the failure to hold energy companies Accountable, utility companies accountable John was just talking about it with whole tech And the failure for them to prioritize The safety of our communities Threatening to dump the radioactive waste Into our Hudson River After everything has already been through It is the role of government To make sure these things do not happen You shouldn't be thanking government Because they're doing these things It is literally their job to do it And we are failing to do it adequately enough And that's why we're dealing with these issues It goes beyond that Look at Chippie You had a company that had agreed To install this pipeline This line A certain number of feet underneath The seabed In order to protect The maritime environment Shipping And instead They failed to follow through What they had agreed upon And now It's several feet above the threshold And you're talking about Even the Coast Guard is saying It's a threat To maritime operations On the Hudson River There is a failure To hold corporations accountable That needs to end And that is the role of government to do so

Effie Phillips-Staley 50:27 And building off that We need a very strong person in Congress Who will hold corporations accountable And the way to do it Is by amplifying the voices Of local people who have to live With these decisions No congressperson I mean, I don't really know I'll be honest How this happened That a nuclear plant Was built at Jason 2 pipeline On top of two seismic bolts And yet that happened And you can hear Locals screaming into the wind Seemingly powerless You wonder why people don't think they should vote We need a person in Congress Who sees the logic Who honors the voices The people who are directly affected And fights for them Not somebody who goes to the federal government And says, oops, I have to wait for Schumer to say it's okay Not at all It takes a person who sees the logic Who puts people first And who fights for New York 17

Peter Chatzky 51:34 It's not just the Hudson Our water waves are probably Our most important defense against global warming And the ecosystems they help maintain And have the balance of carbon Natural carbon sequestration Just something we have to protect at all costs I spent over a year of my life Researching and writing Barfoot matters, wetlands law It's one of the most Protective in the state Not in the country As important, we protect not only the wetlands But the buffer areas The other crucial thing is We all have to do All communities have to do a much better job With their stormwater management Because what's happening is rainwater Stormwater is hitting the streets It is over verbing our systems It's carrying all these PFAS that whether they're in To-go containers or Road salts It's corroding our systems Those end up in our natural waterways And it pollutes the whole thing So stormwater management Which by the way is a local issue And can be enforced locally And just respecting things like Building trees in communities And other natural Not just water Natural carbon stakes

Mike Sacks 52:48 Yes Anne, to everything There's also the Clean Water Act We talked about the Clean Air Act But there's the Clean Water Act Which has been getting Constricted and decimated Not just since Trump But probably over the last 15, 20 years In the courts and through Republic administrations We can start building that back up as well We can focus on legislation that codifies What has been struck down We can focus on bringing back The Water of the United States rule That protects our wetlands And we can focus that Not only on the Hudson, but as Peter said On all the waterways and wetlands In this country And the job of the federal government Is to make sure that our public areas Are clean and safe and healthy And aren't captured by The corporate interests The kids talking about that Talked about a big game about federalism And executive and national overreach But they really just want to have The ability to bombard It doesn't have to be that way We have the laws on the books to do So we can regulate accordingly But we have to create those vistas With our controlled conference

Moderator 54:02 And EPA has announced plans To largely roll back hardcore progress To set health standards for a limited number Of toxic PFAS chemicals In the nation's drinking water I've mentioned this a few times These forever chemicals contaminate The drinking water of thousands of communities Across the country Including Rockland County And areas of Westchester and Putman counties As well as contaminating thousands Of consumer products If you are our representative Would you support legislation That would ban PFAS chemicals In non-essential uses? Can I guess everybody? Is that the human? Yes. Okay. Very good. Thank you. While New York State is ban fracking We continue to allow frack gas pipelines To be constructed in our state Including the NSE pipeline That Governor Hochul approved Two weeks ago Over the objections Of a delegation of more than A dozen near congressional representatives The delegation cited concerns That the pipeline Will increase energy costs For New York ratepayers And pose a serious environmental, Public, health, and safety risks In the words of Congressman Nadler This decision regrettably disregards The science, the voices of New Yorkers And the goals set out in our own climate law By approving this pipeline The state risks locking our communities Into decades of unnecessary fossil fuel dependence And undoing much of the progress We've made toward a cleaner, safer future If you are our representative Would you fight for policies That advocates believe would disincentivize Investment in more frack gas pipelines?

Speaker 55:48 Thanks, you guys. You guys are doing great. So question number three

Moderator 55:53 The federal government subsidizes The fossil fuel energy With billions of dollars Over a year, Government hand asks These efforts are designed To limit our energy sources Energy source options And continue to prop up The fossil fuel industry If you are a representative Would you champion legislation To eliminate subsidies To the fossil fuel industry And redirect those taxpayer dollars To invest in similar normal energy? You're saying that really pushed you I'm doing very well. It looks like, again, once again Oh, yes. All right. This is a two-part question You're going to have to use those twice There are 54 nuclear facilities Currently operating in the United States Including three in upstate New York While nuclear energy is a lightning rod For environmental advocates in CD17 That live in the shadows of Indian Point Nuclear energy is still perceived by some To be part of the solution As I mentioned, this is a two-part question So you're going to answer this first one And then I'll ask the second Do you support reinvestments In traditional nuclear facilities To be part of the solution During our energy transition?

Speaker 57:01 What do you mean by traditional?

Moderator 57:03 The current nuclear technology The current modern technology Yes, yes. And it also means supporting Current nuclear that may need To be left alone May need a life for another 30 years So we need to reinvest in that So, again, the question is Do you support reinvestment In traditional nuclear facilities To be part of the solution During our energy transition? That's right. So we have...

Speaker 57:42 Yes.

Moderator 57:43 Okay. Yes, okay. Beth and... Did everyone understand that question Or shall we? Okay. So, there are three nuclear power plans In New York State That have long lived past Perhaps when they should have lived And they should be perhaps taken offline And there is a move To reinvest in them to keep them going Reinvestment in traditional nuclear facilities Okay? The second question is Do you support federal investment In theoretical nuclear technology?

Beth Davidson 58:31 What is this? As in small modular nuclear reactors

Moderator 58:39 Thank you. Okay. Question five. Here's hoping we don't have any... Across New York, massive data centers Including forms of cryptocurrency mining Are driving up household energy bills Straining local water supplies And making it harder for our state To meet its clean energy goals. They've been used to justify The construction of new pipelines And new nuclear power plants. Tech companies are pushing to expand These facilities before we can even Understand their full impact On our communities and infrastructure. Will you support stopping The data center construction Until strong standards are in place To protect residents, our water And New York's clean energy goals? Cool. It definitely is easier. All right. Okay. Question number six. I know. As we speak, COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, has convened. As a pivotal meeting for global cooperation And emission reduction commitments, It has delivered progress through the Paris Climate Agreement Albeit not as fast or as equitable as needed. The current administration has withdrawn All previous UN emission reduction commitments And has refrained from sending a delegate To represent the United States. This again is a two-part question. Do you believe that the United States Should be a leader in global emission reductions? Second question. Do you believe the United States Should reenter the Paris Climate Agreement?

Speaker 60:18 Okay.

Moderator 60:19 Final lightning round question. Given that we've already lost More than half of our insects And nearly one-third of our birds And that invasive plants Now make up over 50% of the woodland Understory in lower New York state And I think it might even be out here From Westchester County. Do you acknowledge that urgent action Is needed to address the rapid deterioration Of our woodlands, caused by climate change, Invasive species, and overgrass and by deer? Thank you. That was the lightning round. They have two and a half minutes. But there's a question as part of this And I do want to remind candidates that In this final question, You can do any rebuttal, any follow-up, Expand on any concerns raised, Clarify anything you may have said Or any ideas you got from your neighbors And you can use that time in that Two and a half minutes to respond to that As well as this last question. As our representative in Congress, What do you believe your role can be In helping to address climate resilience in CD17?

Cait Conley 61:33 So for my first 40 years, I've sat here and watched as we have failed As a country, as a globe, To adequately and fairly address the climate crisis. And now it's become not just, again, A scientific or moral discussion. It has literally led to a loss of American lives, The devastation of communities, The devastation of American businesses. 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. And it's one that will define my generation. We must do better than we have to date. And we have to recognize the opportunity That is also there. And that's where we talk about, Look, just as we're facing a climate crisis, We're also facing an affordability crisis. And addressing those in the same plane Is going to be essential to driving real change forward, To making the lives of Americans All across this country right here in CD17 better. And there's opportunity in this. Look, we're going to have to address the impacts of AI. Everything from, yes, the growing demand of energy To the decreasing availability of some white collar jobs. We've got to create opportunities in the economy. And that is where doing things like investing In these more efficient forms of energy Provides so much of that opportunity if we do it right. And that is why it's important for you to have a member of congress Who not only understands the implications But how to deliver results and get things done. And this is where we need to be driving initiatives Where we are restoring investment And solar and wind energies. In addition to geothermal and all other forms To meet the demands and drive down the price of energy As families are making trade-offs between prescriptions and groceries And not being able to keep on the electric, you know, in the winter And keep their families warm. We've got to address these problems Because they are facing American families every day. Or American families are facing them every day. And government is failing them. So as we look forward to what these opportunities mean We should be investing in manufacturing elements Of our critical infrastructure here in the U.S. We should be looking at opportunities to grow Workforce employment that are tied to green energy jobs Like we were talking about with BOCES. Why can't we expand the electrical trades Which are going to be so essential? Include programming like solar panel repair technicians And wind turbine repair technicians. All of these things, if we address it the right way It's an opportunity for a better future for an argument. And we have to stop failing.

Effie Phillips-Staley 64:11 My son was very young. We lived in a part of Manhattan That was shaped by Robert Moses. It was a triangle where of the West Side Highway, Broadway, and the Cross Bronx. It didn't take long for him to develop asthma. It didn't take long for my asthma Which had been late to go completely out of control. That is a landscape that was defined in many ways By one person who imposed it on people. And I feel right now our nation is in a situation Where corporations and their profits impose Essential structures on us to our immense detriment Financially in terms of our health In terms of the longevity of our society facing climate change We cannot allow this anymore We have to take corporate money out of government The minute corporations were treated as people It tipped the scales so radically That it's going to take an immense fight To tip the scales back and to center people in government Mike Lawler is not a public servant He is not doing the job for people He is doing it for his own power And we need people in government We need a member of Congress who centers the people first That means listening to what the problems are Partnering to develop solutions and goals Developing policy to advance those And then fighting, fighting for it So that is what I propose to do Because I come from a lifelong activist and social justice background It started when I was young I determined that this was the kind of work that I would do for the rest of my life It's what brought me to public office And it's what brings me in front of you here today An absolute promise to reverse this hideous trend of government Centering its own power for all of ours to benefit And reversing that and returning it back to the people Because I will say this Mike Lawler serves at our discretion We can fire him and we should

Peter Chatzky 66:56 I'd like to start by first thanking all of you for coming out tonight It's a critical issue I want to thank you not just for coming But for your dedication and devotion to such an important topic I'll leave you with a couple of thoughts One is that yes, the federal government right now is failing at all these things related to climate change But when Trump left the Paris Accord What you saw is dozens of governors and mayors and representatives Of the vast majority of the population of the US stepping up to do the job Do not give up, start locally Between mandating better wetlands protections and tree canopy protections And pollinator pathways and everything you can do To encourage the preservation of all these natural carbon sinks That's what you want to do locally Federal government will catch up Which relates to the second thing Not like this is going to be possible unless we flip congresses to start And unless we make major changes to the representational nature of our federal government Every stop is But we need to get money out of our system It's corrupting everything It's corrupting everything from campaigns to actually governing That would be an amazing first step toward restoring the preservation of our environment It would make stopping all the social injustice that comes with this It would increase affordability, provide jobs, opportunities for America It's the America we want to get back to And it would make democrats so proud to be democrats again If we could take control of this and make the world a much better place Make our America a much better place So thank you for your attention so far Keep paying attention all year Keep exploring these issues that you care most about And let's make all this work for us together

Speaker 69:04 They told them not to come They told them not to come

Mike Sacks 69:14 I wouldn't clap So we are now in a moment in which We are the president of perhaps another reconstruction in this country And climate is core to that We had the civil war We had the Great Depression And now I think we're at a point where our democracy has its greatest risk At its greatest risk We've ever faced Which creates opportunity for us to rebuild and reconstruct a country that Serves the people And helps those who need help And puts us all together on a better path forward Does that sound platitudinous? Sure But is that why we're all here? It is To get our planet, not least also Our river, our towns, our river towns In a place where they thrive We also need to have our democracy In a place where it is truly representative Where each person in this room can exercise his or her fundamental freedoms Where we don't have corporate capture of our government And where anyone who wants to be a citizen of this country And share in its bounty after they contribute to it That is where we can be If we can so will it And how do we recover that power of the purse in the house? We've been given some ideas recently In previous government shutdowns when Republicans tried to shut down the government They wanted to do so to hurt people They wanted to kill Obamacare So they now shut down the government What we just saw Was a confrontation over hope People who wanted to help rather than hurt Saying we are not going to fund this regime Unless they promise to help Of course there was a fold there But there will be another fight coming up in just a couple months And that is an idea for us On how we can use power It's not just policy but power When we have it To maximize our possibility of making those new vistas real People will come along We talk about losing elections We lose elections because we stop fighting Once we are fought blocked by the billionaire-backed system designed to do so So show the people that we are fighting My background is in media and courts and law That is the exact terrain that this moment is being fought on And if I'm in Congress, I will fight on all those terrains To make sure we can get to that reconstructed country And move forward for all of us together

Moderator 71:56 I'm going to give you a huge round of applause for everyone

John Cappello 72:04 So I started in my introduction Talking about how I saw the impact on the earth It's unmistakable and it's irrefutable And there's clearly a tension between human progress And our impact on the planet I was stationed in Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota Over three years I had the opportunity and the honor to work with a lot of Native Americans in the area And the Lakota look at decision-making In that the decisions you make today should take Consider the well-being of future generations It's tied to the philosophy of seven generations So the decision we made today should impact positively seven generations into the future And we have the opportunity, we have the ability to do that Technology, clean technologies can allow us to prosper To be secure and to minimize our impact on the planet And it's not just an economic imperative, a national security imperative But it's our responsibility to do so I talked a little bit about national security as well We have to start acting like this is a national security issue That this is in fact important enough for us to play a leadership role in the world We used to think that we were secure because we were between two oceans And that our adversaries couldn't reach us Well now we're in a position where those two oceans are actually Eventually detrimental to our future And it's because of the actions that humans have taken And we have to change that You asked about climate resilience It's hard for me to think of a definition other than absorbing the impact Society absorbing the impact without breaking And I would ask all of you today, do you think we're prepared for that? My answer is no, we're not prepared And the policies of this administration are not making us any better prepared And we will do something about that Thank you very much for being here, I appreciate your time

Moderator 74:41 Right at the end, the full support

Speaker 74:48 Yes

John Cappello 74:50 Well thank you again for having all of us tonight And for your willingness to sit through us droning on about a lot of different things I will say that the point of having this forum tonight I think Is because right now the world is so chaotic My news feed is ready to quit and go on strike There is nothing but non-stop craziness coming our way So the idea that we can come into a room and have this many people come out And we can sit down and ground ourselves and talk about the future For the next generation is so important And it's really important too because as we've talked about it We frame it in so many different ways from national security When I was at the FBI for 17 years as a leader there One of the teams that I had was the Environmental Crimes Unit And it's not just a theoretical national security threat But it's actually the pillaging of the environment primarily in central and south America Is used to fund drug trafficking organizations that bring drugs into our country That is real and it impacts our air and our water and our safety and our health As it relates to opioids and other challenges But also this election is going to be key because we have the opportunity to increase turnout And when I say that I mean 30% of the electorate here in New York 17 are millennials or Gen Zers If we're not talking about environment in our campaigns we're losing It may be this third rail issue when it comes to some folks But it inspires 30% of the population who may have never voted before Or aren't interested and feel like politics is ruined For all the corporation and dirty money and politics that my colleagues have talked about So when it comes down to it, it's continuing the work that I did in the FBI to protect the environment But it also means listening and learning Many of these issues don't come up in the average person's day to day life And when they're thinking about potentially running for congress or running for office But this campaign has been about learning and listening And maybe we may not always end up at the same position or the same solution But it's having that conversation which is missing in Washington And surely is not something that Mike Lawler has any interest in doing And so we have to kick him out of office And if I could just with my last few seconds take a moment of sort of personal privilege here And ask for a break on the moratorium on the clapping You thanked all of us for coming tonight and for being here But I want to thank one of our former candidates who's in the room Jessica Ryman brought so much to this race She brought a voice and she may be wearing a different team jersey But that doesn't mean that I don't want to take a moment To thank her for all the months that she put into the hard work of running for Congress And brought all the last two

Beth Davidson 77:28 Thank you I want to thank everyone who came tonight So many familiar faces and friends with whom I stood shoulder to shoulder In the fight to preserve the plan and the people we love And to the Ossining Downs for convening this important forum So as a Rockland County legislator I have a front row seat and now I know a side seat Now that John Sullivan has told me how high the PFAS levels are in the water in his home To the ways in which our communities and our climate are really suffering As Mike Lawler and Donald Trump's agenda and their big ugly law barrels towards us We already know that Mike Lawler clawed back clean water funding Clean water including a project right here in Ossining Of course the big ugly law as we've said multiple times tonight 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 and some right here in the Hudson Valley And of course there's the cost to human health From PFAS, the government's total failure to address it As well as the EPA's determination to roll back standards That we know our communities depend on to stay healthy But we all here know what's at stake, that's why we're here We have to beat Mike Lawler 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 Delivering the first Democratic supermajority in Rockland County history While boosting turnout by 20% right in Mike Lawler's backyard And you don't have to wonder what I might do in Congress Donald Trump will still be president As many have said here tonight You're going to be someone who's ready to hit the ground running For our climate, for our planet I am that person I am doing the work right now Whether it is, yes, cracking down on pollution runoff that causes algal blooms Whether it's leading the state in opposing a dirty pipeline under the Hudson River Whether it's facilitating a climate action plan that I ran on for county legislature These are things I'm doing to stand up to Mike Lawler Oil and gas lobbyist And his boss, Donald Trump, every damn day Thank you very much, it's been great to be with you all tonight

Speaker 80:02 Thank you

Moderator 80:03 Okay, let's give a huge, huge, huge round of applause to the candidates

Speaker 80:08 Thank you to you guys

Suzanne Berger 0:00 this evening. The first order of business is to rise so we can pledge allegiance to our flag.

Speaker 0:12 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Suzanne Berger 0:31 Thank you. Some days it's tough to remember that it's our flag, all of our flags. But we want to emphasize that here. I want to thank everybody for coming. As Joanne said, I'm Suzanne Berger. I am the chair of the Westchester County Democratic Committee. I live in the neighboring town just to yourself in Pittsburgh and we have had several forums to introduce our stellar candidates to the voters of CD17. We have posted them on our YouTube channel, Westchester County Democratic Comm. And once this is concluded within a few days, we'll have this one and the prior one sponsored by the Mount Pleasant dance posted as well. It's so important to have an informed electorate. We are the opinion leaders. We are the ones who talk to our neighbors, our friends, the people we meet at the grocery store. I hope we all still do our shopping sometimes in person. At the park, when we're out walking our dogs, all that, you know, to say these are the candidates we've spoken to and we think they're all great or we prefer this one or that one. And so, as we move towards our June primary, we can begin to make an informed decision as to who will beat Mike Waller and return this seat to the blue column, which is hopefully everybody's interest, both on the candidate side and the voter side. And that's what we're here to do to try to assess the different candidates, bona fides, and ability to make that, I was gonna say dream, but it's not a dream, make that reality come true. So thank you very much. I'm here to listen as well. And I'm turning the microphone back to Joanne Saul, the chair of the Mount Pleasant Democratic.

Joanne Saul 2:39 Thank you, Suzanne. This evening, thank you so much for coming out for this important event. And to those of you on Zoom, thank you for taking the time as well. I'm going to go over quickly what the format for this evening is so everybody understands what to expect. We are seeing each candidate separately for approximately 30 minutes and we'll be presenting questions to them and they'll have an opportunity to answer them, obviously, for two minutes. Their opening statements will be two and a half minutes and their closing statements will be right now. We have Mike Sacks, so thank you for being here. And I'm going to let Francesca give the good word.

Francesca Hager 3:33 I have to do the heavy lifting. Hi, I'm Francesca Hager, vice chair. I'm going to ask everyone to silence their phones. Please, there is absolutely no recording on a phone of this event nor photographs allowed to be taken. This will be posted and we will notify you about it's posting after both of these are completed. Tonight, this is the last one, but I really, really, we will walk up to you and say no photographs, take away your phones and whatever.

Joanne Saul 4:07 Okay, thank you very much. Okay, so on that note, you can start with your opening statement,

Mike Sacks 4:16 which is two and a half minutes. Thank you all for being here. Thank you. My name is Mike Sacks. I'm a dad of two young boys in Croton and Hudson, and I'm running for Congress to fight for their future, fight for our district, fight for our democracy, and fight for everything that Mike Lawler and his fellow MAGA extremists have abandoned. Now, there are seven of us in this primary race and almost all of us can say the same thing. What I bring to this race is an understanding of how we got to this point, this uniquely anti-democratic conflict. Because I come out of front row seats, a lot of it happened. I'm not a politician. I'm a lawyer, a journalist, former political and legal reporter. I covered the Supreme Court, covered Congress, covered the 2016 elections, covered the first Trump administration, the early Biden administration. So really, I had a front row seat in Citizens United. I was on the air on January 6. I've got a unique line of sight to how we got to this point. I can tell you what I saw when I was covering what was in front of us and behind the scenes. For too long, for decades, we let our policy be oriented for billionaires, for special interests, towards elites, while leaving the rest of us, we the people behind. But now, pretty awesome. We're seeing people show up. Thank you for being here. People stand up, take to the streets. Los Angeles, Washington DC, Subway sandwich thrower, New York City, Chicago, saying, saying, this is not who we are. This is not what we're about. And this campaign is never to be a movement to meet this moment. It's not just about unseating Mike Waller, though beat him, we must. He's a symptom of a bigger problem. We have to send a message that we must reorient our politics and our policies back to we the people, return the House of Representatives to the people's house. I welcome your question. Look at that. Right on time. Welcome your questions. I've got a lot to say about this. I'm sure you do as well. Thanks

Francesca Hager 6:58 for being here. Okay, I have the honor of asking the first question, but I just want to give Brian's attention. Can you close the door? No, I think we'll close the door. Question number one. Yes. Tariffs on imported goods from building materials to consumer products can drive a cost for families and small businesses. What is your position on current US tariff policies, and how would you balance trade protections with the need to keep everyday goods affordable for your constituents? Your bill trumps tariffs straight up. They're arbitrary,

Mike Sacks 7:40 they're capricious, they're illegal, no matter what the Supreme Court says. You realize that what he's doing is passing on the cost of his own arbitrary scatter shot negotiation efforts. On to the people. You remember in the 2024 election, Trump and Waller would say they're going to lower our prices, cost of living is too high, prices of the eggs are too high. What have they done since? Are costs lower? They're going higher. So they're just telling me that the price of lumber is up 14% because of the tariffs, or rather that caused costs of housing to go up 14%. And a friend of mine who's an interior designer today asked me, because her clients are saying, do we need to buy our products right now? These things are affecting people every single day. They lied to us about lowering the cost of our living. So to jack prices up, make themselves and their billionaire backers richer, keep themselves in power forever. Now I'm running not just about affordability, but about fighting autocracy. And these two things are directly connected. The very interests that want these tariffs, the very interests that want to steal from our vulnerable to pay for their own tax cuts are the same one that have bought Waller's seat, that have bought our senators, that have bought our Supreme Court, that have bought Trump. And they have no interest in letting go of power now that they have. So we need to understand as we're making our way towards 2026, the people we talk to, the people whose doors we knock on, we can make that connection, make them see and understand that they have been betrayed by the people that they thought would protect them. We are not here to hurt. We are here to help. We're not here to tempt the economy. We're going to make the economy prosper. We're not here to distort our democracy. We are here to make sure every person can vote. Next question. Yes. Indian

Joanne Saul 9:51 point closed in 2021, leaving behind major infrastructure and economic potential. There are proposals to restart nuclear operations, introduce small modular reactors for build large scale battery storage. As our next representative, how would you approach the future of this site to ensure community safety, environmental integrity and long term economic

Mike Sacks 10:21 benefit? I live right down river, Indian point. My son's bar mitzvah will be right next to it, perhaps in a year and three days ago. So I understand the impact that having this nuclear site has had on our communities. For a long time, people talk about nuclear being clean, forever energy. But then what do you do with the waste? Where does it go? What's happening in the Hudson River right now? So Indian point needs to stay shut down as a nuclear site, as a nuclear but you can put renewables there. You can have large scale batteries. You can have solar. You can use that site to fulfill the energy needs of our entire community. Chief renewable energy, environmentally protective energy. And in the Congress, we need to make sure that we're able to put back into place the tax credits that the big ugly bill stripped away from people who were looking to move on towards renewable energy. Both consumers and producers move away from dirty energy towards environmentally protective, sustainable energy. And it's an opportunity. Our federal government's job is to make sure it facilitates funding, that type of development, and makes a paradigm shift towards how we as consumers are able to keep our planet well preserved, keep our children healthy, clean air and clean water, and keep our pocketbooks pretty well aligned, while not handing over more of our money to the industry, while not handing over more money. We can leave. We can especially be in this world right here, right in my sight. Political imagination in the world itself. Thank you.

Francesca Hager 12:25 Okay, question three. What have you done to help Democratic candidates in CD17 or elsewhere to win in 2024, 2023, and 2022? So in 2022, I was still a journalist. It had been proper for me to be out

Mike Sacks 12:46 there camp. In 2024, I was working in advocacy on Derek Jones, if you remember, was a boarder bill when he was in the Congress to recognize the current threat that we have was evident in 2020 to those of us. And so the advocacy work I did on the national level that they played downstream towards effecting the change. We went in 2026. I see Joe Bonanno just showed up back there. Hey, Joe. We got to win in 2025 too. And I was out canvassing for Joe about a month ago. Walking door to door, helping him out. Your door to door every, like every day you see that you're out there. Those of us who are candidates, if we could clone ourselves, we would. So we canvassed for everybody all the time on both sides of the river and up throughout the counters. But I'm hoping over the next, what now? 35 days. 35 days. 36. 36. All right. Then I and the other candidates will be out there in full force to make sure that our case in 2025 we're able to win. We will start putting momentum towards 2026 to befall. With the federal

Joanne Saul 14:25 government facing a funding deadline at midnight on September 30th, a failure to pass a continually resolution could result in the government shutdown. Such a shutdown directly affects federal workers, some of whom the president is threatening fire permanently and disrupts services used by the public from national parks to social programs and government processing. How would you vote on this issue? And how would you explain your decision to the workers and everyday citizens impacted by a potential shutdown or a continuing resolution?

Mike Sacks 15:10 Republicans control all three branches of government. They control the House, they control the Senate, and they control the president. If they want to pass their bill to keep open this fascist government, they can do it on their own. But workers that was a member of management and budget director Russ both has threatened to fire. He's going to do that anyway. The stripping of funding or social services and our agencies and environmental protection, he was going to do that anyway. The Supreme Court was going to bless all of that anyway. A shutdown is a political event as much as it is in everyday vote. I think a lot of the federal workers right now in D.C. and throughout the country recognize what's happening at this moment. This is not a shutdown that we've seen in the past that Republicans have threatened because they want to defund Obamacare. This shutdown will be on the basis of making sure that we wield our power leverage and our voice to make this current regime back down on its autocratic moves. We can use this moment politically as a referendum on the Trump administration. They can lie, but we also need to recognize that the polls, Trump is underwater across the board. When he is in power, when Republicans hold power, when they have unified government, they are unpopular. People do not like them because they're getting hurt and their walls are getting robbed. If they want to compete with us and who's going to have the upper hand

Francesca Hager 16:59 out of a government shutdown, be our guests. Question number five is Russia's war in Ukraine continues to reshape global security. NATO has pledged long-term support while also facing pressure to maintain unity and deterrence. As our next representative, how would you approach U.S. involvement in NATO and support for Ukraine and what principles would guide your decisions on military aid, alliance commitments, and diplomacy? Those who work in Ukraine also work

Mike Sacks 17:44 in NATO for diplomacy and full leadership for the United States, a restoration of leadership of the United States, of the free world against the axis of autocracy rising throughout the world. This isn't a hard question for those with a moral compass, for those with a commitment to American democracy and leadership, those with a commitment to human rights. Not a hard question. Trump has made it a political issue that it never was before, simply because his menality didn't really decide with the good guys. Although he just did this weird flip-flop in the U.N., right? Zelensky must have whispered something talismanic this year. I'm sure he won't keep to that promise. But no, we need to support Ukraine. We need to make sure Russia doesn't continue with Russia. We need to give the entire world an understanding that this country and once again be the beacon of hope and freedom that emerged as another 20th century.

Joanne Saul 19:02 How much money, how much have you raised in support of your campaign, and how much of that

Mike Sacks 19:09 amount has been self-funded? No self-funding. I've raised this date. Probably I want to recognize that I am in this district. I think when it comes to these races, especially this time, what will win from general will be the ability to catch fire, send a message that meets this moment and captures the imagination, not just the people in this district, but people around the country who will want to then contribute to this campaign. Not just with their money, but with their boots on the ground and not every door possible. And whoever wins his primary is going to get so much money to compete with the law. And we can also use lawless money against him. Think about it. Where's his money coming from? All of his perceived strengths may also be weaknesses in this current political fire.

Francesca Hager 20:37 Okay. This is your particular question here. Okay. You've covered the Supreme Court and exposed MAGA-aligned policies. How will you translate that watchdog role to legislative impact?

Mike Sacks 20:50 Yeah. Okay. Two minutes might not do this justice, truly. But come January 3rd, 2027, the House of Representatives will probably be the only chamber or the only branch of the federal government that we Democrats can control. So how can we use that chamber to its greatest leverage? What does the House have in spades? Oversight power, subpoena power. We can put on a show. There will by then be two years of members of the Trump administration and their allies hurting us, stealing from us, the criminals, the corrupt, the incompetence, the clowns, TGIF, Trump's goons and whatever, to be Monday through Friday, prime time, applicable programming for oversight committee. All the while we come forward because we can't just be against somebody. We go forward with our own one big, beautiful bill. Voting rights, restoration and strengthening, reproductive rights, strengthening and restoration, environmental protections, strengthening our social safety net, comprehensive immigration reform, everything. All of a sudden Democrats do that help people and don't hurt people and make our economy be better instead of tanking it and strengthen our democracy instead of distorting it. We put that all together on one big, beautiful bill. We send it to the Senate. The Senate kills it. What do we do then? We unite. The bad guys we brought before the cameras and the senators who they bought or who bowed down to them and say, those guys are working together to hurt you. They're working together to lie to you and instead when it dies, we instead of shutting up and waiting till the next congressional session, no, we keep going every single day. We get out there on the Senate, on the House floor, we get out there on the socials, we get out there on TV, we get out there on the streamings. We don't shut up and we ride our way to the next election on the backs of the power of the popularity of what we're presenting because Democratic proposals are historically popular. Republicans think they'll save Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security when they really want to be funded and repeal it. That's how popular it is. Thank you. We can have confidence in what we stand for, put it to the public and have confidence that those were back in Republicans, our true villains. We can win on that. Thank you. Okay. Mike Lova has

Joanne Saul 23:17 launched an aggressive social media campaign promoting the budget bill, budget bills provisions, including the post work requirements on Medicaid recipients, barring undocumented immigrants from ripping off New York taxpayers, increasing the child tax credit and eliminating Social Security taxes for many, for many, framed as a way to address affordability concerns. How will your campaign strategically and decisively counter this narrative to expose its cause and offer voters

Mike Sacks 23:54 a compelling alternative? Dude puts $100, takes $100 away from us and puts pennies back in our pockets and says, I'm helping you. We can get all our pie charts and our specifics and we'll actually get all the numbers. But ultimately comes down to if there's a hundred dollars, he's stolen from you, given to the people who paid for his own elections and his lies, then puts pennies back in your pockets and says, look, book me, become healthy. That's messed up. It's easy to communicate that, easy to communicate that. This guy's out here being saying up is down, down is up. We went on CNN saying GDP is up and CPI is down when the exact opposite was true. You can say this man thinks down is up and up is down trying to sell that to you. When you put down an ad on streaming or on YouTube or on TV, a bunch of people lying to you, we can put one on right after him saying, that guy just lied to you. We can be quick, simple, impactful, and recognize that those policies he backs when he goes out and says, I'm here to help this woman who got put in a nice detention illegally. We can recognize also that that's the one person that he thought was completely convenient for him when he has been part of voting for the apparatus that's sending mass guards into our streets, stealing people away in indefinite detention for third countries. And he's not doing anything for them. Same thing, still a hundred bucks from you, but pennies back in your pockets says, I'm helping without good. We're putting forward things that can help people. We're looking to get rid of this regime that he is part of propping on. And by 2026, every single day, right, we're seeing it every single day, people getting hurt and the corruption and the crime. And every single day, more people will see it beyond this circle of very good debt or path. And it'll be our job as a campaign to send that message along too. And not just say ask not where your country can do people. Thank you. Our country has been planning for us, making more important. And for us, they'll be able to make that happen for you guys. We need you to save our country. That's the pitch to voters this time around. We're here to help. We need your help too.

Francesca Hager 26:20 Okay, last question. Student loan debt continues to burn millions of Americans, affecting economic mobility and delaying major life decisions. What specific federal policies will you support or introduce to help reduce this debt and make higher education more affordable

Mike Sacks 26:39 going forward? Yeah. So none of the Supreme Court canceled the struck down on the Biden administration's student loan relief. This gets to the very core of why I'm running for fun, to help people by reorienting our policy back to the people in the people's house. For too long, we have relied on the pen of the vote and the president, and it's the Supreme Court to save us when none of them are doing any good anymore. We, the people have power. In that big beautiful bill that I'm talking about, there will be student loan relief. And it'll be an act of Congress. It'll be a message to ensure that people understand this is an act of fairness, an act of pulling up a ladder. Some people will say, well, I just didn't pay my student loan, so why should someone else have it? Oh yeah, I mean, someone had to get polio. No, people don't have to get polio now. We can pitch this as a matter of fairness, as a matter of good policy, and then we can make it law by winning successful elections so that then we do have control of Congress, we do have the presidency, and we dare the Supreme Court to strike it down like they did by the regulation. But this time, it's the people. It's an act of Congress. The Supreme Court says, no, we're going to strike that down, but it's not our policy deal. And by then, Congress will have asserted its power under the first branch. People will see that first branch. And maybe we'll recognize that we'll have to do something about the Supreme Court, too. Well, thank you guys for listening. It was great answering questions about its laws at the end. I appreciate your hearing. So right now, right, we have this Congress that is in the people's house. It's advisedly by while we have a would-be autocrat in the White House and six unelected partisan operatives on the Supreme Court jockeying for power to disempower and hurt the rest of us. When they do feel like looking a finger, Congress, we're probably in control of Congress, that wall is one that he goes for. What do they do? Well, they hurt the vulnerable and steal from virtually all Americans, so to enrich those who don't need any more time. And sometimes they cheer on this administration. What does Waller do? Cheers on the tariffs. Cheers on the urges on federal agents coming to New York City. Cheers on murdering people on the high seas. And yes, cheers on the destruction of the Voting Rights Act and the ripping away reproductive freedom for women around the country. So we don't get out of this moment by saying the same kinds of things or the same kinds of people. We don't do that. It won't work. I'm running for Congress because I'm clear about the structural issues this current moment presents, and that we need to build a new house that stands for all of us. We can't be out here on the campaign trail promising a bunch of nice things, rights restoration, freedom restoration, entitlement reform of whatever, strengthening, but we can't. And then the moment we get into office and it dies, we just give up when the billionaire back system designed to block us does just that. No, that's how we lose voters. That's how we lose elections. We need to show the people every single day that we stand for them. We need to build a new house out of the rubble of the wreckage that Trump and Waller will have left us. That's what this campaign's about. This is why I'm standing here before you. I hope for your support. I'm really happy to hear this evening. Great number of choices before embarrassment or riches. I'm proud to be out of the campaign trail. Everyone here will be speaking before you. Everyone else will listen to you. Thanks, Faith.

Joanne Saul 30:53 I'm going to just go on with the process again so that she can remind me of what we're doing. And so you will have two and a half minutes for an opening statement. It is a 30-second morning and then a self-sign. You will have two minutes to answer each of the questions, and then after the questions, you have another two minutes.

Francesca Hager 33:57 Yes, I'm reminding. I have to say we did that first to silence your phones, right? Okay, no photographs, no recording. Anybody need comments? Okay, I get to ask question number one, Faith. Faith, we'll get it over.

Joanne Saul 34:14 I'm going to go with whatever. At this point, let me guess what I did. It's Monday night, one big surprise. I'm going to start with an opening statement.

Cait Conley 34:24 Well, first and foremost, thank you all for doing this. And thank you all for being here. Because I think most importantly, what we are all showing is that caring about America and the future of this country and our democracy is not enough. This is about action. Just as generations before us have been called upon to deal with challenging times in our nation's history, this time is no different. And this is our generation, our time's moment to step up and answer back home. My name is Kate Gottlieb. I am a proud daughter of the Hudson Valley Army combat set. I come from a family that's as blue-collar as I get. My grandfather and great-grandfather worked in the brickyards outside of Montrose. My mom's with the U.S. Postal Service for 48 years. We have walked in service every part of the Hudson Valley from Melmsburg to Lavender Falls to, you name it, on the west side, Bellamy County, Elster Orange, all the way down Rockland. I've seen the Hudson Valley and the incredible community and the sense of American values and community values that we bring to bear. It was those values that my family instilled in me, fighting for what we believe in, standing up for what is right, 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. So if I didn't defend for this country, then I love so much. And I think that is what this is all about. This is about fighting and defending the country that we love. And I will tell you that feeling, that calling I felt after 9-11 to raise my hand and go off to West Point, it was the same calling and responsibility I felt when I saw this party, the Democratic Party, that I love and this country that I love so much suffer in November. From political division and polarization, it was unprecedented in our lifetime. And I felt the call to do something, to fight for the country that I love. And I'm telling you, I'm doing this, most importantly, out of love. And I believe that our best days as a nation are still ahead of us. But we have a lot of work to do to get there. And I do believe that politicians on both sides got us into this. And they're not going to be the ones to get us out of it. And 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, for a better future. So welcome, questions, discussions, and time

Francesca Hager 37:10 tonight. Thank you. Tariffs on imported goods from building materials to consumer products can drive up costs for families and small businesses. What is your position on U.S. tariff policies? And how would you balance trade protection when they need to keep everyday goods affordable for your constituents? The requisites with which we see this

Cait Conley 37:34 administration approaching tariffs is exactly the opposite of how they were intended to be used. 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 then being used like a sledgehammer. For all they were doing is making it harder for American families already faced with inflation to put food on the table or roof over their head and pay their electric bills. That is wrong. Mike Waller is wrong. Congress is wrong. Because it is their responsibility to implement and oversee tariffs. And they have ceded that to Trump, not for true national security benefit or economic outcome, but for his own political ambition and self-interest. So he and his correctness can make millions, billions, and that is wrong. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce this summer put out a statement saying that in 2027, the average cost of building a home in the United States is going to go up $14,000 a loan from the tariffs that we implemented on Canada. It is already a housing crisis here in the Hudson Valley. Trump has made that harder. Lawler has enabled and allowed that. Lawler has made it harder for our families to buy affordable homes or to double. And this authority that Trump is using to implement these executive order-based tariff policies through a national security cut-out provision, I'm sorry, I just failed to see where Canadian Timber is a national security. This isn't what this is about. And that is wrong. If you want to stimulate economic opportunity and manufacturing here in the United States, then finally is to do them. But these tariffs are doing nothing but driving up prices on American families. Yes, instead of base to enable manufacturing here in the United States to supplement and to offset these cuts, instead you see the American people having to pay more for daily goods. We just saw it last week with prescription prices. Like this is insanity. That's why it has to stop. I might borrow that sign.

Joanne Saul 39:37 Indian Point closed in 2021, leaving behind major infrastructure and economic potential. There are proposals to restart nuclear operations, introduce small molecular reactors, or build large-scale battery storage. As our next representative, how would you approach the future of this site to ensure community safety, environmental integrity, and long-term economic

Cait Conley 40:08 benefit? Indian Point was built on an understanding of nuclear technology from the 1940s. Construction began in the 1960s. When it was shut, it was largely done out of safety, security, and environmental reasons, or incredibly valid. And we're still not resolved completely. We still have further to go and the safer mediation than some of the leftover nuclear waste, right? And the dirty water. So that is a job that is undone that we must finish. But I think it is really important that we also identify this was shut down without a plan to augment existing electricity and power to the Hudson Valley in New York. Just look at the differences in dependency. 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 NYSEK. The reality is, ladies and gentlemen, the energy demand that our nation has is going up and growing. To power the technological future, especially in AI during technological future, we do not have enough energy to meet those needs. We also don't have enough energy to offset some of the impacts of climate change and extreme weather. We need more energy, but we have to do it responsible. We have to do it cleanly. We have to do it effectively and safely. And so I think it's very important that we don't fail to address the fact that we cannot continue with what we have. And I will tell you, a major focus that I have is on how do we bring energy production back to the Hudson Valley in a way that it is affordable and creates job opportunities. Solar, wind, geothermal, this is the future. Nuclear in some places too will be. I'm not saying here, but how do we create job opportunities that are connected to this and help homes here in the Hudson Valley be more energy independent. And I think that is something we have to focus on. Thank you. What have you done

Francesca Hager 42:20 to help Democratic candidates in CD17 or elsewhere to win in 2024, 23, or 22?

Cait Conley 42:28 So I want to make sure we have democracy in all of those years and to make sure it stays true. But I am very proud of my time in uniform for this nation that I love so much. And I will tell you, I would love to move back to Bedford instead of Baghdad, but I went where this country needed me to go and I always will. But I will tell you what I'm very proud of is so 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, focused on helping election officials across the country to include here understand how cybersecurity could jeopardize the integrity or security of the elections process. 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 and still partisan discourse, or whether it was making sure that Russian backed cyber criminal groups couldn't lock up election offices in the lead to election day or on election day. I also worked with election officials around this country. Through whom we had an incident in Duchess County, New York, where we had suspicious mailings to include some that were fitten always sent to election officials to threaten and intimidate. So I would say I spent my entire life fighting and making sure that regardless who was on the ballot here in New York, they had safe, secure elections where the American people

Joanne Saul 44:11 could have confidence in the outcome. Thank you. With the federal government facing a funding deadline at midnight on September 30, a failure to pass the continuing resolution could result in a governmental shutdown, such as shutdown directly affects federal workers, some of whom the president is threatening to fire permanently and disrupt service used by the public from national parks, social programs and government processing. How would you vote on this issue? And how would you explain your decision to the workers and everyday citizens impacted by a potential shutdown

Cait Conley 44:56 or continuing resolution? So I've spent my entire adult life until January this year in federal service and uniform and the last two years out. When I tell you I have seen this story play out time and time again in various forms to include sequestration, if folks remember that, what I have never had this stomach for is watching politicians use critical government functions as political pawns and tools in advancing a partisan agenda. There are some things that should transcend partisan politics and the basic government services should be one of them. We must negotiate to make sure that the critical protection that Americans had paid for and earned, right, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, these are things that Americans deserve and are entitled to. That those critical things continue and what I'm really upset about is the fact that the Republican Party and the recently passed budget bills pursued such significant cuts of these core programs to justify tax cuts for billionaires at the expense of working Americans around this country to include right here in the district. A government shutdown is bad for America, period. Continuing resolution should not even be enough. We should be passing real budget bills that look forward, not just back, but what we are seeing this is a symptom of the root issue which is a dysfunctional Congress that can't get its act together and this isn't new. I've gone through these drills for the last several years. We have to do better. Why people are losing confidence in American democracy is because of stuff like this where we can't get the basics done. Government shutdowns make Americans less secure and makes it harder for Americans to get basic services that they are entitled to.

Francesca Hager 47:00 That is not in any way. Russia's war in Ukraine continues to reshape global security. NATO has pledged long-term support while also facing pressure to maintain unity and deterrence. As our next representative, how would you approach U.S. involvement in NATO and support for Ukraine and what principles would guide your decisions on military aid, alliance commitments, and diplomacy? We need to be very clear. Vladimir Putin does not want

Cait Conley 47:36 America to succeed. He actively does everything and anything he can do to diminish America's national security priorities and undercut what we will do here in America. I told you about these election security efforts that I led. Russia's number one goal of their disinformation efforts for the last 10 years where they have fake stuff coming out on social media. They've got fake videos coming out. Heck, even last year they went so far as to manufacture fake websites that look like real websites like Fox News and the New York Times to spew lies. They have two goals, to stoke partisan discord and to undermine the American public's confidence in our institutions. We have seen Russian-backed cyber groups hold American critical infrastructure to include hospitals in jeopardy under ransomware attacks. Russia is not our ally. They're our adversary. And I've spent the last 10 years leading efforts in uniform and out to counter them to the point where I don't know if you guys have seen it, but Russia came out a few years ago with a top 500 American span from Russia list. I'm on it. Thank you. I actually wanted to frame it. It's like President Obama, right? Jake Sullivan, Stephen Colbert, Cait Conley. And so this goes back to the seriousness of what we're dealing with. We can't fall for Russia's lives. We need to support Ukraine. It is a core democracy in this world that is pushing back against the illegal invasion into their sovereign territory. They are a democratic country fighting for their own sovereignty. We have a responsibility to make sure that Putin doesn't think he has a green light to do it there or anywhere in the world, because if you think he'll stop there, he won't.

Joanne Saul 49:38 How much have you raised in support of your campaign and how much of that amount has been

Cait Conley 49:48 so funded? So if you can imagine, as a lifelong public servant, I haven't made millions of dollars. I hope one day, maybe. But the reality is, I don't have that. So what I put in is the maximum individual contribution that you can 7,000. And I welcome if anyone wants to contribute, our deadline is tomorrow night. I will tell you that last quarter was the first full quarter of this campaign, and I raised $480,000 fund rates. I outraised the rest of this field. The next closest person was $130,000 behind me. And that's my first time out of running a campaign, my first full quarter. I was the ninth highest raising democratic challenger in the country. This is going to be a hard question. 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. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to need all of the ammunition and means possible to fight and win. And I think just as my responsibility as your representative would be to bring resources back to this district, I'm telling you I'm fighting every day to do that for this race too, because it is going to take that in order to beat him. So tomorrow night at midnight is the official closing of this FEC quarter. So we'll be publishing our race standards. But I will tell you I'm working hard every day to make sure we have the means to beat Mike Waller. And it is going to be hard. Full stop. And I will tell you there's a lot of competitive districts in this country that have a smaller margin of laws than what we had last year. And so make no mistake, we are not going to get some magic load of money at the end of this. We have to fight for every dollar. And this goes back to why I think it matters that you have someone now who can fight and deliver. Because if we can't do it now, we're not going to do it next year.

Francesca Hager 51:55 Okay, Mike Waller has launched an aggressive social media campaign promoting the budget bills provisions in budget bill provisions, including imposing work requirements on Medicaid recipients are undocumented immigrants from ripping off your taxpayers, increasing the child tax credit and eliminating social security taxes for many framed as a way to address affordability concerns. How would your campaign strategically and decisively counter this narrative to expose its flaws and offer voters a compelling alternative?

Cait Conley 52:32 I think there is one very important question that we have to ask. Since Mike Waller has been elected in November of 2022, how has Mike Waller made it easier or more affordable for you to put food on the table, keep a roof over your head, pay your electric bill, or give your kids a bill? When he is touting as these short term immediate wins to placate voters and get some type of PR stuff is certainly not the same as building a better America or a better future. I'll tell you why he's failing or how he is failing. For the first time in modern American history, the economic prospects of younger Americans are worse than that of their parents or grandparents. What is a bigger sign of failure than that? The American dream doesn't feel real for too many families here in the Hudson Valley. That is failing. When we look at the recent college graduate unemployment rate, it exceeded the national average this summer. And we're about to see a level of displacement in our workforce by technology and productivity changes that we're not prepared for. We have real problems. Mike Waller is about soundbite, not solving things. So let's not confuse the things that he touts as actual wins as a mask for his failures to make any life, any family's life here in the Hudson Valley actually done. When he talks about solve, don't you dare let him get away with the fact that he had any wins. Let's say what solve really is. Since the establishment of a federal income tax, we went 114 years without there being a cap on state local tax deductions. And in 2017, the GOP deliberately implemented the solve cap to punish California and New York blue states. It was going to end this year. Mike Waller made it permanent. That's not a gift. He made a permanent tax raise on New Yorkers to advance his own political

Joanne Saul 54:38 agenda and ambition. That is failure, Mike. Thank you. You've served in combat zones and advised the White House on counter terrorism. How will you translate that experience into trust with suburban voters focused on affordability and health care? I think it's about somebody

Cait Conley 55:00 who's willing to do the hard work and solve problems. I think what people are sick of is people who admire problems and recognize them, but don't fix them. I'll tell you, 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. Well, yes, I'm very proud of my service and uniform. I promise you what I have done and delivered for this nation goes far beyond that. I worked on securing our nation's critical infrastructure and building it to be more resilient. Things that this district needs desperately. I know how to make Congress work and what the federal government's job is supposed to be. When it comes to who can get out there on day one and sprint for you in January 27th. All right. I am ready to go. And I will tell you, we do not have time for on-the-job training. We have to get in there and stop the bleeding. 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 prisons. There is so much harm that we don't have time to waste that we must get after. So I would argue, I like while I never planned has made me your best athlete to get in there and kick some ass. And so that's what I want to do for you. And I will tell you what I do have experience in is solving hard problems when mistakes could not be higher. 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. And I'm incredibly proud of them. I'm here to work for you. I take public service seriously. And I think part of what's wrong in Congress right now, we have too many politicians

Joanne Saul 57:02 and not enough leaders and true public service. And now it is your opportunity for a close

Cait Conley 57:10 statement. I'm just grateful for the time with you all tonight. At the end of the day, this is about building trust with people, right? This is about when someone walks in to the booth on election day and they're looking at their ballot, all they get to see is your name. They don't see anything. What does your name represents about? You're hoping that you can inspire in them a feeling of trust that, look, even if we don't agree on every single policy position, you know that I will always fight for what is right for this country and for our families. That is what this is about. And I think that is what I'm trying to mobilize and to build and to lead. And I think when it comes to the two questions that matter the most in this race, one is who can beat Mike Baller and two, who can deliver for you on day one. When it comes to beating Mike Baller, ladies and gentlemen, the new district coming out of 2021, no longer just two counties, it's four. And 28% of registered voters are unaffiliated or independent. We cannot win this district with just Democratic voters a lot anymore. It's just math. I think I can reach out and bring folks over in a way that Mike Baller dreams he could. Look, Mike Baller and I are about the same age. When 9-11 happened, I raised my hand that 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. And I will tell you, he has faced two Democratic politicians, former members of Congress, and he has beaten them. He has never faced someone like me. He has never faced a vet who has actually fought and delivered for this nation and our families. And I promise you, I will do that every single day if I have the privilege to be your representative, because that's what this is about. It's about not who we're fighting against, but what we are fighting for. And I believe America's best days are still ahead of it. But we have to do the work to make that true, because the path we're on today is not that path. And I don't believe more of the same is going to lead to difference. I think it's time for different leaders, different people. Pass the torch. We're ready to fucking go. So thank you for this, and thank you for caring.

Joanne Saul 62:07 We will get the process so that she's reminded of what it will be. So you will have two and a half minutes for an opening statement. You will have two minutes to answer the questions post, and then at the end you will have another two and a half minutes for a closing statement.

Effie Phillips-Staley 62:24 So at this time, you're opening statement. Great, thank you so much. Hi everyone, I'm Effie Phillips-Staley. Let me adjust this mic a bit. Can you hear me okay? Great. I'm Effie Phillips-Staley, and I am running for Congress in New York's 17th district to fight for Hudson Valley working families and to help restore America as a beacon of democracy, opportunity, and progress. And for those of you who have heard me speak before, oh this is John Tomlin, he's working on my team. You know that I'm running in the progressive way, and I'm running as a progressive in this moment because we need a bold vision for real government solutions to skyrocketing costs, to climate change, and to our democracy, which sadly is under siege. We need leaders who put people first. People end our lives first, and that is who I am. So I'm your neighbor. I live in Tarrytown where I raised my children. Well, my daughter's 15, she's still at home. I'm also a trustee in the village of Tarrytown where I fight for housing affordability, climate resilient infrastructure, and we just passed good cause eviction legislation which is critical to help with the horrible cost of rent as it is in these days. So I fight for people, and I always have because I've been driven by a sense of justice and fairness, and this comes from decades of work in the non-profit sector where I advance missions to meet the needs of people, where I work hard to build trust with the people I serve, to build coalitions across communities, and most importantly to deliver wins. But the sense of justice also comes from how I was raised from my family, my mother, an immigrant from El Salvador, my father, a blue collar veteran, and public schools. Veterans benefit, housing, that a family like mine could afford. These were these were the foundations of building the middle class. So what I'll find in my last 30 seconds, I'm taking what's happening in government very personally right now because what is happening is that Trump and Lawler are stripping away the foundations of what enables people to really, really thrive. So I, in Congress, I'm going to fight for the things that we need, and that is housing. We need 5 million new housing units across this nation, $66 in the district alone to lower housing costs, health care, immigration reform, and it's all called the suburban progress agenda, which I'm happy to talk about today. Thanks. Question number one, tariffs on

Francesca Hager 65:13 imported goods from small building materials to consumer products can drive up costs for families and small businesses. What is your position on current US tariff policies, and how would you balance trade protections with the need to keep everyday goods affordable for your

Effie Phillips-Staley 65:30 constituents? So I'm going to answer that by speaking very broadly about my moral compass, and my moral compass, and what I believe the moral compass of government should be, is to take care of people and to enable people to thrive. That is not how the government is right now. You can really see it in tariffs and the tariffs policies that Trump is doing right now. His top line is getting whatever deal he can get as if he is the expert, as if he knows more about tariffs than anyone else, and he's clearly not paying attention to how tariffs impact people's pocketbooks and small businesses as well. And that's the fundamental problem with the government right now, is they're not people centered. They're not thinking, what are we doing to make the lives better of people who have to, like all of us, get affordable groceries, have affordable housing, small businesses, and their goods, all of this. So the most critical change is having a government in power that prioritizes people, and then being able to take expert advice, not assume, as Trump does, that he is the only one who knows these things and should make these marvelous deals like he's the center of the universe as we all know he is. And then having a Congress, this is so critical, that resists leaders like Trump who push these, frankly, narcissistic policies. I mean, when we look at farmers right now who are hurting so badly, I thought that we would charge higher tariffs on what they're selling, and then use that money, which comes from us, as we all know, and then use that money to somehow pay the farmers for their trouble. I mean, what kind of nonsense? It's actually nonsense. So holding the president accountable and having Congress act as it should to center people first. Indian Point closed in 2021,

Joanne Saul 67:35 leaving behind major infrastructure and economic potential. There are proposals to restart nuclear operations, introduce small modular reactors, or build large-scale battery storage. As our next representative, how would you approach the future of this site to ensure community safety, environmental integrity, and long-term economic benefit? I think one of the most amazing things

Effie Phillips-Staley 68:05 about Indian Point is that we know it's been a problem for a long time, but we also know it's applied so much of the energy for our region of the New York City. And yet the people spoke, it was too dangerous, it was a terrorist risk, you know, it's old, needed to be upgraded, and we as a nation need to pivot to different kinds of energy-generating systems that are not as toxic and aren't as harmful to us. And so when the people spoke and they wanted Indian Point to close, Indian Point was closed. But now we're in a challenging position because the Trump administration has dialed back all the funds that were made available to develop the infrastructure, the energy infrastructure of the future, energy infrastructure that actually is healthy for us and sustains all that we have to sustain as a nation, of course, that goes without saying. So I would say what we have to do is really redirect our funds towards green energy. We're in an appalling place right now because Trump has taken away all of the infrastructure dollars that were committed to clean energy projects in the region and said, whoops, we need energy. Oh, so let's direct it to Indian Point. It's almost like undermining Obamacare by killing subsidies for Medicaid. They couldn't get rid of it in the courts, right? So they had to find another way to do it. So in this case, it's like, oh, let's bring back this type of awful energy. And, you know, by taking away the money we need to have better assistance. So what I would do

Francesca Hager 69:50 is turn back to the future and go for green energy. What have you done to help Democratic candidates in CD 17 or elsewhere to win in 2024, 23 and 22? I love this question. So this is since I was a

Effie Phillips-Staley 70:15 teenager, since I first knocked on doors. It was for Bill Clinton the first time he ran for president. So that gives you a sense of every election cycle in my life and every place I've lived, this is what I've done. Because I had it in my head that, you know, women really hadn't had the chance to vote for that long. And it would be completely foolish if I didn't participate in the process, you know, to get people elected and to vote. So in recent years, my work has happened in two ways. Like, one, as a trustee in the village of Tarrantown, I'm always not either for my slate, because we run every two years, or for other candidates who are on the opposite cycle as us. So that's important. And then on the executive committee of Hispanic Democrats of Westchester, that is a critical moment. 30,000 registered Hispanic Democrats in the district, only 4,000 vote. We absolutely have to knock on doors, be present, register to vote. And here's the most important thing, like as an elected official, but also as a person who helps other candidates. We have to listen when we knock on the door, we have to knock on those doors. More than six months out, you can't just go and knock and say, hey, vote, right? We have to know what people need, and we have to make sure that our policies reflect those leads as well. And so I can go through the list of candidates that I've knocked on doors for, and it would be very long. But the other thing I actually really like to do is talk to people who would like to run, because that's how I got started. I never thought that I would run for office until somebody came to me and said, you should be a trustee. And I thought, oh yeah, I should, I should try that. And it was actually the same thing. I was asked to run for Congress. It wasn't on the top of my list, and I knew I had to step up and do it when I was asked. Thank you.

Joanne Saul 72:18 With the federal government facing a funding deadline at midnight on September 30, a failure to pass a continuing resolution could result in a government shutdown. Such a shutdown directly affects federal workers, some of whom the president is threatening to fire permanently, and disrupt services used by the public from national parks to social programs and government processing. How would you vote on this issue? And how would you explain your decision to the workers and everyday citizens impacted by either a potential shutdown or a continuous resolution?

Effie Phillips-Staley 73:02 The challenge with the continuing resolution that I'm sure most are aware of is that by funding Trump's budget, we are enabling the most draconian policies to move forward, and we simply cannot. It is Trump who put us in the terrible position of having to choose between our democracy and these workers that you described, or having to choose between having available Medicaid and these workers that you're describing. He puts us in these positions, these two terrible choices, dares us to take one. I think that the only way to respond to him now, and I kind of wish that this had happened during the last budget vote, is to absolutely flat out reject that choice. I would let government shut down them, because these choices are completely unacceptable, and he needs to feel the sting of what he has created if these are the choices that he has given to us. To me it's that simple. I'll be honest when Chuck Schumer sort of pushed it through last time, to me that was such a capitulation, but a capitulation in the sense that he didn't recognize the danger that we're in, that by passing that budget he gives a tyrant power. The number one job of Congress right now is to take back power and to exercise its own power to check the executive branch, so I would just say flat out no. As painful as it is, and I remember the last government shutdown as well, I was working as the director of a small art museum, and we gave free admission to government workers, and lots of government workers came. There are things that we can do as a community actually, and that's just one example, to really try to care for each other in these moments, but I think of it in this moment as an act of protest against an impressive president. Russia's war in Ukraine

Francesca Hager 75:11 continues to reshape global security. NATO has pledged long-term support while also facing pressure to maintain unity and deterrence. As our next representative, how would you approach U.S. involvement in NATO and support for Ukraine, and what principles would guide your decisions on military aid, alliance, commitments, and defense? It is against international law to undermine the

Effie Phillips-Staley 75:41 sovereignty of another nation, and this is absolutely what Russia has done. It was a criminal act, and it needs to be met with NATO, with a coalition, and it needs to be met forcefully. Not that I'm advocating for military action before diplomacy. Diplomacy is the most critical tool we have. Diplomacy over the long term, but Russia saw weakness in our government, weakness during the first Trump administration as our systems began to seem a little wobbly. We were the victims of, oh, how are you trolling? As you can think of Russian troll fights or undermining through our social media and having us turn on each other, and in this moment of weakness and lack of leadership in our nation, they took a great move at trying to rebuild their empire. It's a dangerous moment, but as a nation, we have to be very strong with other nations in terms of protecting each other's sovereignty. Otherwise, we see what we're seeing, sort of the shocking death. We kind of want to describe what's happening in so many places in the world. So staying strong, having good trade, being very strict about the weapons that we sell and how they are used. And when we have to, my dad said something, wow, my dad was in the military. He was, his way of thinking of Russia was like, you can never be weak with them. You always have to be super strong. And I think we have not been as strong as we need to.

Joanne Saul 77:37 How much have you raised in support of your campaign and how much of that money has been

Effie Phillips-Staley 77:42 self-funded? So I have raised $270,000, I believe, so far. And I have self-funded what I call seed money, $165,000 with that. But I will tell you about that money, because not everybody has $165,000 to seed their own campaign. But, and this is personal, actually, and I've never said this to anyone. I won a lawsuit that I cannot describe in great detail against a person and an institution that victimizes me. That was because of the legislation, what was it called? It was actually a wonderful thing that this state passed. It was the Adult Survivors Act. Because of this act, I was able to go back and hold an institution accountable for an immense wrong. And so this enabled me to have funds, and this is actually why I'm running for office, it's funny, to take what I was calling a sabbatical and focus on my local government work, which is a trustee in Tarrytown. Because when Trump won, I knew it was going to be bad. And I wanted to take some of this money that I got by fighting for justice, one of the hardest fights I've ever had, and then apply it to something good. So I took my sabbatical and I went to Hispanic Dems and said, it's going to be bad with Trump. What can I do as a local elected official in this moment? And they said front of Congress. And that is not something that I was expecting, but I thought about it. And I thought, excuse my language, but that son of a bitch in the office, that man has got to go. And if I can have any part of that, it's worth using some of this lawsuit money for.

Francesca Hager 79:51 So that's how I find it. Here's the question for you specifically, how will you balance progressive ideals with pragmatic messaging to win swing voters in Rockland and Puck?

Effie Phillips-Staley 80:06 That's a great question. I think about this a lot. And we discuss this a lot among my team, because we know that the term progressive is the weaponizer. If we start first with these broad definitions, you know, the right has already created a category of what a progressive is. And you may have seen it in some of the attack ads that have come out against us so far. If I'm doing the job right, the policies that we create around affordability are going to work for everyone who needs that help, whether you're Hispanic or whether you're working class, doesn't matter who you are. We're all being heard by the economic policies of the Trump administration. And putting forward policies where government is working to help make things easier so that people can thrive. That's progressivism. That's it. Not the free market, right? That doesn't always help, you know? Government has to play that role. And so, I'm trying to think, what was the other part of your question? It's not always... Rockland and Puck. And Rockland and Puck, okay, so it's going back to my dad, high school education, blue collar guy. The most critical thing is making sure that we are addressing the needs in the people's pocket workers. And if I'm doing it right, someone like my dad is going to look at me and say, okay, she gets it. So it's not about the cultural issues necessarily. It's not about all these other things. It's about how do we all live our best lives. But I will say this, equity and inclusion matters as well. Because when you look at the Trump administration saying that English only is now the language here, and HUD takes down all languages but English, there are plenty of people with limited English who have a legal right to these resources who suddenly won't have an award. So we have to always take that into consideration too.

Joanne Saul 82:14 Mike Lohler has launched an aggressive social media campaign, promoting the budget bills, provisions, including imposing work requirements for Medicaid recipients, barring undocumented immigrants from quote, ripping off New York taxpayers, increasing the child tax credit and eliminating social security taxes for many, all framed as a way to address affordability concerns. How will your campaign strategically and decisively counter this narrative to expose its flaws and offer voters a compelling alter?

Effie Phillips-Staley 82:53 Mike Lohler lives in an alternate reality of lies on social media. When Mike Lohler is in the world, were he in the world in a way where he paid attention to how people actually suffer? It would be a different universe. To win this campaign and to beat Mike Lohler, we have to be on the ground in the original social network, actually being in front of each other with people, hearing what their issues are, promising to take care of them in a way that's legitimate because that's where we have the immense advantage over Mike Lohler. He lies and he doesn't even lie that well. Like the most recent campaign that he did against us, he said that I was against the quadrupling of the assault. And so I posted that with a picture of myself holding a sign as he was driving by about how important the assault acts. It's like they didn't even do their opposition research to find a reason to lie, right? So I think that is the truth is constantly truth telling to people in front of people and really hearing them because there's no, it doesn't matter what he says, people are suffering. People's own suffering should hopefully break through the propaganda that most people are exposed to. Maybe not everyone, but when people are suffering, we have to be there. And that's something that the Democratic Party hasn't done very well in the last few cycles. So we really need to be better about making sure that we actually listen to people, not the donor class, not the lobbyists, but to people directly in their needs because the working class was ours to lose and the party lost it, which is why we need a completely

Joanne Saul 84:48 new playbook, one that really centers people. Now is your opportunity for a closing statement.

Effie Phillips-Staley 85:00 I think that went a lot faster than I thought. So this campaign is really about us, the people of the Hudson Valley, demanding a government that finally puts working families ahead of the ultra rich and political insiders. So I'm not running to write strongly worded letters, I'm running to fights and to win for you. And here's what I'll fight for. Housing. As I said, this nation needs 5 million new housing units, 66,000 here in New York 17 alone to stabilize costs. Medicare as a public option because healthcare is a human right. Universal childcare, real housing affordability, as I said, right here in the Hudson Valley. We built the suburban progress agenda that addresses all of these issues by looking at people's budgets and asking where are the places where people need help? That is the basis of what we are fighting for. And of course we need to fight for climate resilience. We can't have our heads in the sand without the trajectory of our climate in terms of climate. So I know what it means when public education, veterans benefits, affordable housing, and healthcare transforms lives because they lifted my family into the middle class. That's what built America. That's what civil rights leaders fought for. So opportunity isn't reserved for just some of us. Trump and Mike Lawler are ripping this away and it has to stop now. So this is our moment to stand tall, to throw out the failing DNC playbook, which it has been, and to listen to the people, not the systems of power. When we organize, when we fight, and when we imagine and deliver a bold future where all of us can thrive, we cannot lose. So I want to thank you so much for being here tonight, for listening to what I have to say. And of course I know we're all going to be in this fight for a while, so I look forward to getting this done together.

Joanne Saul 87:07 So thank you. Thank you to all our candidates for who you are, and to the audience here, and to those on Zoom, and our evening is now on Zoom. Thanks.

Moderator 0:02 They also have a part C-16, and also a C-16 is your chair, so thank you. My mic is not on, I can't tell. Okay, so we're going to do a C-16.

Unclear 0:58 What is C-16?

Moderator 1:01 It's not just the right seat here for this forum. They have, they will have a 32 second for two minutes. Again, they will have to record it, and it plays. Good evening, everybody. I'm Peter Chadsky. I'm a property candidate. There are eight of us running. He's from Democrats. I am a lifelong Westchester resident, a small business owner. I am a former mayor, and a part of the deputy mayor. I have spent my entire life here in Westchester, raising a family, starting a business, and serving all of my neighbors as a volunteer. I would like to say I'm well qualified to fight for the little guy, because I do. I must start off by saying the seven candidates that I know are all extremely dedicated, all extremely smart. They're great people. I'm actually very friendly. We have at least four of them, some of them that detect and talk to each other. It's very incredible. We do favor, however, in terms of our views on certain policies, our experiences, our backgrounds, our track record of actually delivering solutions to constituents rather than just speaking. I'm the only one who started and run a business for 40 years. I've written all of that experience to the table. I'm also the only one who's been elected five times. I served 10 years in government, spanning 20 years. I started as a village mayor, a position I worked after battling Donald Trump over his plan to fight the Donald Trump environmental problem. That was my first kind of entree into local politics and local issues. I took Donald Trump on with the help of several neighbors. We had teams of lawyers and landscape architects and challenged Donald Trump. Of course, that's there today. It's actually, of course, it was not much more so than it was. In Colorado, it's a little different than everywhere else. We served not a party, but a little different party. I served independently. It's completely a volunteer position. It's an experience that I have a unique government experience where I'm constantly working with people like Republicans, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives. It's an experience that I really appreciate and I think actually in Congress, I have been constantly supporting. I think it's fine because I'm going to just talk really in your question before we get started. Question one is that till the beginning of the 20th US tariff, how would you balance trade with the immediate security tariffs just to not limit the taxes? They are absolutely driving for everybody at a time throughout this district, affordable meetings, one of the biggest things that I hear on the street. We spent about a 12-stop tour throughout the district, visiting small business owners, also pizza owners, pizza restaurant owners, ice cream shops, which I love. We used to work in the store. Everybody is working with a lot of business as an issue of margins for business owners. Nobody is holding the government's protection. So I think any US policy that is going to increase costs, it is not going to work without going to not do fast consumer policy. We spoke to a bakery owner in Croton who reported her price of vanilla had gone from $15 a bottle to something interesting. In one vote, there are proposals to produce small items for building our next representative. How do you approach the future of this site of safety, equity, infrastructure, and investment needs for infrastructure, including electric, public, and math? I think something we need to change is to invest. One example of where the current administration is trying to chop down costs without any recognition that we need to address for the future of our electrical grid is a perfect example of this. I've actually dealt with Con Ed locally. Con Ed does not write for our public market government. You know you're doing something right in the product that sues you.

Unclear 9:37 That's going to be on the case.

Moderator 9:39 I think this is a great idea to address. I would better sacrifice to be part of that safety. If I don't have any questions on those questions, please go ahead and take questions. Question number three. You're the only one actually.

Unclear 10:46 In Westchester County, it's been a leader.

Moderator 10:48 How would you work to sustain my own champion to address a poor gentleman? My father was a developer for the reported housing. So this is something I find always had a keen interest in, as long as I can remember the same thing. We have implemented many policies that supplement how we work. And we do things like we do when we adhere to the current standards. And I have an editorial about this that I just published today. We encourage density of housing, but also flexibility in terms of the provided housing. This is the key to solving. I can't tell you, 4.7 million units short. In Westchester County, 21,000, by encouraging diversity of housing is not just single family homes. One bedroom, a apartment, two bedrooms, two bedrooms, and four units. Perch and four units. You're able to encourage first-time buyers into a particular price point. All-time residents like me, people who lived in a community more than 30 years, will give them options to step down. Way more orderly. Practices were lower. Maintenance costs were lower. Outflow will cost in that piece of gear. To encourage housing in our communities. Congress will do a lot more to incentivize that. In the country today, 75% of all residential units are single family homes. That's sustainable. That would include more vibrances that are encouraged. We look at diversity. We see elements that we didn't expect. But we've been involved. Even the wireless wireless, as I mentioned before, all non-partisan. I've always been pretty active. It's really been important. And it's a little bit of progress. All sorts of benefit. This is a certain part of getting out, getting information out. Encouraging people to vote. We've done voter registration routes, registration cards. I think the whole key, one of the biggest, is to get the disenfranchised voters who have left vote lines. It is roughly 30% percent. Those are the people who are going back into the Democratic tent. And we have to provide a revision of our actual solutions. We're losing out as people are sitting on the couch. Not voting. It's the most important and political landscape that we are building back. It's interesting. Republican, Democrat, unaffiliated percentages. Exactly. So what very graces I have included are the same political party. First of all, we appreciate global security.

Unclear 15:20 NATO has pledged long-term support. But also facing the credit to maintain our next representative, how would you approach U.S. development in NATO and support? And what principles would guide your decisions?

Moderator 15:39 Military aid, alliance, commitments. We have an obligation to support Iraq. It's something that I think the current administration is sending so many mixed signals meeting with people that we never would have educated. So I hope not your age. I am not a military solution, a diplomatic solution. I think we have to do a far better job reaching out to allies and other third parties in the department. We have several who have not moved way too far. I do believe that America, almost the moral authority in terms of humanitarian care, even during the war time, seems to be completely lost. They are all rid of all their terms to do because our leadership is doing a ton of the job. Should we vote? This whole report has launched an aggressive social media budget bill that is proposing work, barring undocumented women, increasing the child tax credit, and eliminating social security as a way to address the world. How will the world campaign for this narrative expose its laws and offer voters a clear? Well, that's a problem right here that he really needs. He has a very clear, well-defined record. And he has to defend. That is ineffective. I am very aware of his social media presence as well. He has come after me already on social media for me for campaigns to have attracted his attention. How about that? I have my own tracker. Unbelievably friendly to Jim. Is that Jim? Is he actually? He was quite surprised when I showed up in a cupboard line and just ordered water. I said, luckily, again, I spoke to him more than anybody else. What have all of my daughters won? A burn unit in New York City. We need their nurses there. We're all pointing out what we need when we keep them. Like Waller says, they're just power. He has a lot of people in the field, just like anybody else. I have your phone. I have yet to meet a voter that can limit it. I see the complete response is on many people's minds. What we're doing is a huge issue. Housing costs, the inability for us to provide for housing for the kids on housing, other than in fact in their bedrooms after the house image of their car. It's an issue. Health care is an issue. I can't really call it for universal health care. I think that was difficult. I'm raised to support everybody's numbers, which of October. I'm not really surprised. I am originally, I came in this campaign way later than many others. The first person started running a year before the race, and formally announced the main change. I definitely came in at a disadvantage. I'm ready. I still am with a significant fortune in my current campaign, honestly. The money involved in running is just criminal. I wouldn't be the first candidate to top the line called the campaign in financial reform. New York City provides eight to one matching, so it's less of a problem. The system we have in place today, nobody can run problems unless they either have savings, they have some at home, to the family, to care for finances, to food on the table, before you give up, but at least in a year and a half, we really do have problems. So that's what we really can. I think I would just like to close, and I'm going to do this quickly so I don't get to come up with stuff. Here's the takeaway that I hope everybody remembers about. There are big differences between our experiences and our confidence. The only candidate who got a total truck directly in free time. I agree with it. They have people in free time. I'm the only candidate called for universal health care. I have delivered housing in my own community, but we'll have two months over the next three years. I have bought content, and I believe that bringing utility prices down, e-operating as low and wildly as a privilege that Congress has rights to report and demand better services. I am the only candidate running here in an electric five-hour future 10 times in office, and I am a long-term worker living in my community at two times. There are usually two types of people running. There are people who are student advocates and long promises and visions for America.

Unclear 23:57 I am a workforce.

Moderator 23:58 We just want to help people properly. Given the key constituency and the 30% that's now in the community, I want Democrats to be Democrats. I hope you are. For every benefit, we let our processes work, and we've been building the only time we work together. So we're trying to change the task that we can work together because we don't understand what's in mind. So just to remind you, we need you more than a half minutes. I'm Beth Davidson. I'm a two-time cancer survivor, and I work with goes up every day. And like many of you, I'm more intense. Not the worst for like many of you, I can't usually take my band. A few days before the election, a friend had said, when I opened it up, there was a tissue taper with, when I opened it up, there were fire crackers inside, and I had to get set to light up, and we have our band right next to the window sill, promised my daughter, as soon as the election was all torn, we're just going to be playing this part of our band. So it's the last night that many of you had a watch party across my bottom, so I said, I promise, go to bed, I promise I will wake you up whatever time I give you, let's help students grow up all night, finally pull myself together around seven in the morning to go down and start fixing my kid's lunch. My daughter and I said, yeah, I failed her, I helped her, but I also knew that I had to think. So like many Americans, a lot of women, and a lot of men too, I decided, all of them came home, and I woke up Josie, and I think that what I taught her

Unclear 28:29 was that we all had to work quite for a community that only went. So since then, I fought for my school board,

Moderator 28:37 I fought as a Rockland legislator, winning the first Democratic super majority in Rockland County history, and now having stepped up to run for the U.S. Congress, because I am the only one in this field who can deliver Rockland County, who can bring Jewish voters back into the Democratic poll and take my policy. But the materialistic consumer product

Unclear 29:18 can drive off the cost of small businesses. What is your position on current U.S. tariff? How would you balance trade protections

Moderator 29:31 with everyday goods affordable and free? The question that we call out is like, because Congress could end these tariffs tonight. We just saw a few days ago that once again, the Congress voted to just hand those tariff hours back. As a member of Congress,

Unclear 29:59 I will reclaim a real check and balance

Moderator 30:02 on this administration, and that includes our five. Tariffs are putting out there, crushing small businesses in my community. I've spoken with small businesses who, you know, place orders from other countries, put label and put everything out,

Unclear 30:17 and then a couple weeks later,

Moderator 30:18 get a bill for $1,600 or $2,500 in tariff costs. If they're raising prices on school supplies, school supplies on an all-time high, prices for new parents. We need to roll back the tariffs that are hurting our families and make their costs more affordable. And then also, we need to create more jobs here at home. And I would appreciate if you brought up the possibility goods.

Unclear 30:43 I'm proud of you. You're a Democrat. I'm 23. I'm sorry. Two Democrats that was endorsed by the building trades because of my stance on housing and the materials that would be needed to build housing.

Moderator 30:55 We'll just go up and up.

Unclear 30:57 This is awesome. That's a nice question.

Moderator 31:01 And I'd also like to thank the employees, those with time, leading behind me. There were proposals to restart the nuclear operator reactors

Unclear 31:26 or build large-scale batteries. As our next representative, I want to approach the future of this site

Moderator 31:34 to ensure community safety and long-term economic benefit. Thanks for that question. I serve as chair of the Environmental Committee for the Environmental Committee on the Rocky County Legislature and the Water Task Force. I'm going to go chair by myself and the county executive. So bipartisan and the only commission that we have that is both the county administration and the legislature.

Unclear 32:07 So this is something I'm thinking about. And I'll say that I was the, I was the first, not the first county one, which is a pipeline, and it would go right for me, possibly go wrong, and come up through so many points disproportionate. So I was proud to pass that for my resolution. So I was going to say that

Moderator 32:41 before there are nuclear energy, has some potential, where it's certainly not, and with renewable energy, solar,

Unclear 33:17 solar, solar, solar, solar, solar,

Moderator 33:29 solar, solar,

Unclear 33:40 solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar,

Moderator 34:05 solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar,

Unclear 34:43 solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar, solar,

Moderator 34:53 solar, solar, solar, solar,

Unclear 35:07 solar, solar, solar, solar,

Moderator 35:24 solar,

Unclear 35:25 solar, solar,

Moderator 35:27 And so what I would pursue in Congress is there's a law that would at least pause the sales of the property to give other folks a chance to come and buy a local price. The state has been looking to build a 75 day. And as you know, that involves walking down to walking petitions for your other family. I do that every year. It's a really important way to meet your neighbors. And honestly, when I'm in a group, I've had a meet and greet, and people say I'm such a sparrow with a plastic. And what can I do? I say join a local bank. Everyone with its bodies, everyone's tired, everyone needs support. And we certainly do involvement.

Unclear 36:52 And so, $4,000 for my cell phone.

Moderator 36:57 So, from the 2021 election, we boosted 49,000 votes in 2021. And with all of our state, a couple of organizations, we were walking and doing turnout, talking about issues, how we were going to have a clean action plan. 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, a lot that I've continued on in the past within the first eight months of being elected. That's how excited voters, and I think that's how we're able to boost turnout by 20%. This year, we've already been out knocking doors for local candidates in Rockland. We've had about summer volunteers over the summer. We've been knocking doors for anyway. Knocking doors for candidates in Mount Pleasant, in El Capitan County as well, there, on board, and kind of our social media. So, it's really important that local elected officials, like myself, and local races are. So, we've been doing a bunch of speaking in support of those races, because that's how we're building it for next year. From this board, we pray that it continues to reshape global security.

Unclear 38:23 NATO has pledged long-term support while also facing pressure to maintain unity and deterrence. As our next representative, how would you approach U.S. involvement in NATO and support freedom of trade?

Moderator 38:38 And what principles would guide your decision on the military aid, alliance, and commitments to diplomacy? Thank you for that question.

Unclear 38:51 This is personal to me. My husband's family came from Ukraine, speaking at the cross, and this is our family, too.

Moderator 39:01 And it's such an important ally in the East to the United States. And, you know, NATO is one of the most important peacekeeping and the most successful peacekeeping operations of the past century.

Unclear 39:16 And we need to continue to support it in every way and manner. But in active involvement by reclaiming our place, our rightful place, as a leader on the whole stage.

Moderator 39:25 And that certainly includes Ukraine, who has been fighting as hard as it can to preserve its independence, to preserve its unity, to preserve its heritage, with Vladimir Putin just refusing to quit.

Unclear 39:39 And Donald Trump reports payment and compensation to end the war immediately. And that is going to happen.

Moderator 39:45 And it needs to be a tool possible to bring that forward to our protection, our allyship, and our support. Absolutely. Political reports and aggressive social media are unvaccinated, ripping off, increasing the child tax credit and eliminating social security as a way to address how we work campaigns strategically to expose its flaws and have odors and clear alternatives. So we should all be somewhat independent. So it shows that we know people that we are 17. And we actually got a full-in call about this.

Unclear 41:17 That they were able to build in different ways. They were going to try to different ways. They were going to try to bring a different support back.

Moderator 41:24 But we know, and I know, because as a rocker, I have a problem in which this is truly great using your job. In which hospitals are open, there are already ton of assets and services. I represent special needs. We're terrified of losing their benefits. Medicaid is, yes, health care, but it's also transportation for people with special needs to their jobs.

Unclear 42:05 It's supportive housing. It's so many things that help people.

Moderator 42:10 We're terrified of that. Families rip from them and disappear. I represent a county which 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. I have 30 million dollars. That's what I voted for. That's what we went to last week, calling them out for those cuts. That's really good coverage. And that's the kind of pressure we're going to take. How much do you raise? How much does that raise as a gym barrier, even over 2,000 contributions with an average of? I do appreciate that question. I am excited to be your welcome county girl. I'm ready to deliver. I would say if you want to do a smogaga in Westchester for the last 12 years, being actually served on the board for three years. And that's a great base from Westchester that I haven't been able to grow since then.

Unclear 44:24 I see a lot of familiar faces in this room already. Hopefully you've seen me add around.

Moderator 44:30 A backyard or coffee shop. But I really see a lot of people. A lot of time here in Westchester. Getting to know your various communities. And we share so many of the same issues. So I'm so excited to get to work on clean water. We go to that. And we go and choose for our animals that are polluting our waters. And that's a lot of experience getting to work on a ready as an employee. And I'm excited to get to work on a clean water. And I'm excited to get to work on a clean water. And I'm excited to get to work on a clean water. And I'm excited to get to work on a clean water. And I'm excited to get to work on a ready as an army unit. We have a housing crisis.

Unclear 45:08 We have a health care crisis.

Moderator 45:10 Both of our hospital systems and not much of a medical collection. So that's one of our hospitals, which is a safety net hospital that we're going to have to get to work.

Unclear 45:18 Again, we're storing those supplies in this next Congress.

Moderator 45:21 So we can preserve those hospitals as places of preventive care,

Unclear 45:25 not just working for care, but obviously we don't have insurance.

Moderator 45:28 And so with the many issues that I share, we will continue to share it with me over the next few months. I am ready to meet my first woman for every single person in 2017. And as the government, as I said, we've been up there a lot, not in words, rather than in this and having been together. The student loan debt continued to burn the buildings. We have an economic mobility and delayed major life. So the last demonstration is certainly to the right step forward. I can tell you how many people, when I spoke to them,

Unclear 46:29 so I thought they were forgiven.

Moderator 46:32 Well, they're super qualified. So we actually needed to go further down the road, those folks whose loans they've been bought by other companies. And as someone who has a child in college now, we appreciate how expensive this burden is for families. And then we're not even talking about risk. And so what we're seeing in this big, ugly bill is the capital for promoting cutting college loan income. And then also, you know, the federal level is now hacked, which means for grad school, which means that you'll have to have means or come up with the lines on other road. That means we're calling winners and losers. We can become doctors, we can become lawyers. Everything we talk about in healthcare, this is not the time to be shrinking potential health care. So that's absolutely something we need to turn around right away. And the fact that every single one of these cuts we've talked about tonight has been to give tax breaks to Mike Lawler of 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 and why we're all going to do it together. So now is your time for your closing stake, and I wish I could walk around even a little more, but I want to thank you all for having me tonight, too. When you look around our country today, especially the one you've really had in the last few weeks, I can't even pinpoint, you know, where this holiday has set. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, and it's easy to feel that things are not full, and we are not full. We hear in this room and in our way to do something, and then we can't stop Donald Trump's dangerous agenda unless we lift New York 17 and take back the House. And you see that not just anybody can beat Mike Lawler. I always ask you, I'm going to see, because I have a movement that I can run and win in the parts that matter more. And we know that Mike Lawler and Donald Trump are only going to make things worse, and we have to beat him next year. And when we think about what we want to accomplish, what we want to do together, it starts with what we all do in this room, and that's getting out and knocking doors and taking back the House vote. I've proven that I can bring whatever is at the table that I've already delivered, and bring Jewish voters back under the tent, Democratic tent, and deliver the rest of Westchester as well. And when we think about what we want the world to be, and what we want this country to be, I'll tell you, I've gotten really inspired over the summer, taking my place to the national parks I last. And at the end of the day, one of them I'd say, my kids are prepped out of the army, and my husband and I are on the left. And we found ourselves in the national, the bi-action park museum, in front of the display of the national parks. And my husband, in turn to me, said, the national parks were created by an act of compass in 1960. Can you imagine how we're doing something like that today? And I said, yes, that's why my house. This is not the moment to feel the fetus. This is not the moment of faith's fall. We have the best universities, the savviest entrepreneurs, the smartest small business owners, the best technology innovation anywhere in the world. We have the smartest young people. I'm not going to tell them their futures are limited. I'm not going to tell them democracy is failing. We are going to think, think, and do big things to take back our country and save our democracy. Running for Congress, because I know how to rule my faith, and that the work results make a difference for the lives. And that's what I'm ready to take to Congress

Unclear 51:00 and it's going to be the worst part.

Audience 51:02 Thank you.

Moderator 51:31 Thank you.

John Sullivan 53:45 And it's an oath that I'm still carrying forward with me into this, because we have a president and we have a member of Congress who are throwing out that oath. And they are focusing all of their time and effort on doing everything that is necessary for Donald Trump to feel like he has succeeded in getting work in Congress, as well as that of the Supreme Court. Mike Mueller is doing everything possible now to make sure that he is close to talking about it. When I was in the FBI, I met teams that have worked on so many different cases, whether it was crimes against children, which I think is one of the worst things you can ever investigate. To terrorism here in the United States, as well as serving three years overseas working on Hamas and Hezbollah and Iranian journalism. I led teams that included running the National Gang Intelligence Center of the FBI, so as we hear about MS-13 and the China Data Enclave, we were already committed to those things. 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. So I understand that Donald Trump is an example of doing this for our country, and he's heard about things like the one I grew up in. I'm the first person in my family that had the opportunity to go to college and get a degree. My mom had two jobs every day, and it's on Saturday, just to give my brother back to them. And so now we're watching as Donald Trump's administration keeps blowing through the rule of law and blowing past that bill of veto,

Moderator 55:15 and we're never going to be possible to harm our communities. Look at who's facing the harshest past places. It's our seniors who see it, and it's all our friends who worry about their health care and dignity. And it's the idea that this administration deserves to know about it. As a husband and a dad, it was six and a half. Thank you, everyone who talks to us and sent him down. What is your position on the U.S. tariff policy, and how do you balance trade to everyday goods? I actually was spending some time in the grocery store shopping, and I don't know what you probably think about this,

John Sullivan 56:35 but running for Congress means lots of different events, and going from 7 a.m. sometimes in the morning all the way until 11 o'clock at night.

Moderator 56:43 And coffee is particularly important in going through those days. There is a 50% tariff on coffee. Coffee prices are going up. That is absolutely insane. The number of people in our country depend on having a process of wealth choosing to tear.

John Sullivan 57:02 But it is a very serious question. We should call these tariffs taxes, because that's exactly what they are. We do need to talk about balancing things, particularly when it comes to building materials. Housing costs are going up. We know housing is a major crisis, but at the same time, these tariffs are driving those costs even more over almost $9,000 a year to build a new house. That's challenges that we are facing in our community. But we also need to find a way to understand that Congress wants to regain the power that it has. We have a Congress right now that has advocated this in part. So when I'm going to Congress, what we're going to do is we're going to start having those conversations about how Congress is going to control the first phrase. The President can identify different trade deals or ideas that he wants to go out there and do if he has that right. But Congress will determine how that goes, and whether or not it goes by in our harming our communities. Right now, we haven't heard anything from our law or government's Pharisees. Promise that he was going to deter me if they had to. I was still waiting for that intervention six and eight weeks later. Where is he willing to go out there and tell us that he's not willing to tell the President to stop his tariffs and that they're hurting our economy and they're hurting our country. And they're hurting our community right around the valley. So I'm going to go in there and very first day we're going to talk about how we're going to deal those tariffs, how we're going to take back power over her strength, and we're going to do everything possible to actually feature me for my color.

Moderator 58:40 Indeed, we're going to close in 2021, leaving behind major infrastructure and economics. There are proposals to restart where we are, introduce small modular reactors, or build large-scale battery storage. As our next representative, how have you approached the future of this site to ensure community safety, environmental integrity, and long-term economic benefit? I know that there was a quote today, I believe, in the little one where honey executive came out and had a strong opinion. I think that when it comes to energy, we have to focus on lowering the energy cost.

John Sullivan 59:29 And that means an all-of-the-above approach, but energy that is safe, and as well as going to actually lower our costs. I've been doing a little bit of studying on this and talking to folks who are particularly passionate about this because I do think it's important to understand that some of the things when it comes to nuclear do have impacts, whether it be environmental or breathing the temperature of a water, the impact of wildlife, as well as what to do with the waste. So I think we need to find a way to safely harness all the power, and I think it's really important to recognize that my color is going for the big ugly bill. Actually, we will back $50 million of subsidies for our community to invest in solar and wind. So it's important to note that not only do we see it in point boats, but we actually have a member of Congress who's making our prices low even more, not to mention what finance and I say. So let's talk about the idea of how we can use that site. I think that when it comes to nuclear, there are concerns about the community about the safety. Maybe it doesn't mean to be right in the snap in the middle of the year at 17, near the most populated areas of our district across the word of the future. Maybe we move it further into a less densely populated area of 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 where it's obviously going to impact.

Moderator 60:57 A lot of things in the river and we all depend on that for our water supply. Limit those potential risks as well as the same kind of safety we are going to restore

John Sullivan 61:05 funding to invest in solar and wind and much like we are seeing in the year 18. Having battery storage facilities and looking at batteries and other battery technology

Moderator 61:16 to actually harness, pull that energy. Westchester County has been a leader in building affordable housing. How would you work to sustain and increase affordable housing in CP17? What specific programs or policies will you champion on this to address affordable housing?

John Sullivan 61:49 So I think when it comes to affordable housing, we have to recognize that there is a bit of a risk when it comes to what is truly affordable housing and what is possible that may be particularly an area of excuse or other. I think we have a house on crisis, but I think the tariffs in particular are driving the policy. So I think when we go into Congress and start working to remove a lot of the tariffs, it will be cheaper to build more affordable housing. I also think that at the same time we need to be having conversations with our local community leaders because the last time we did it is a member of Congress to go to Washington, come back and say, here's your money, build your affordable housing. I think we need to be having those conversations with our legislators, and that's why I've been working so hard within the period of the campaign to actually focus on this November's elections. Because we need to have strong local leaders understand our communities and are actually looking out for their best interests. 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. I think it's important to recognize that we have a lot of areas here in Westchester that if we, and Westchester has led the way,

Moderator 62:59 but a lot of our villages and new structures can't actually take on the additional large scale projects that we can see in the work time. From the building, so many buildings on a one-lane road, and there isn't going to be a traffic level.

John Sullivan 63:13 Our infrastructure will suffer if we don't work with our local community. To identify those sites, and to identify exactly how much is needed. I also think that when it comes to affordable housing, we need to be talking about trying what makes it affordable. It is bringing down costs, and so we're going to bring down those costs by building more of it. We don't understand that our communities need to be consultants, because obviously not every neighborhood,

Moderator 63:38 not every area where we may have more densely populated areas is possible to grow affordable.

John Sullivan 63:45 I also think that it's important to note, though, that if it's going to be affordable, it needs to be accessible. And by that, I think accessible to a lot of the mass transportation

Moderator 63:53 that will be dependent upon folks being able to actually go and make money and then afford that. What have you done to help the CP-17 or elsewhere to win $20.4, $20.3?

John Sullivan 64:17 This is no matter of 2020. So here's the challenge of being an FBI executive. One, you don't get to pick where you live all the time. You also don't get to sign up for an order.

Unclear 64:30 Far out.

John Sullivan 64:31 Not allowed for that. Not be on yours to campus.

Unclear 64:35 Not allowed.

John Sullivan 64:36 The only thing I can do is vote and donate. That's it. And let me tell you something. Being an FBI employee, even if you're the title executive, then donating is the deal. There is a six and a half. So I will be honest. My job required me to be a political, required me to follow the facts, required me to uphold the Constitution and investigate it in action. That is how I interpret our democratic process. I was the lead investigator initially on January 7th, one of them after January 7th. Then my team was identifying the folks

Moderator 65:14 who were in the capital by CCTV footage, and I was signing off on those initial investigations.

John Sullivan 65:20 Different leadership at the FBI, not being john settled with that. Because I actually followed the Constitution and actually did the investigating to protect it. So I had been doorknobing now since I had no longer ever done that. I had been calling. I was just with Mike Periani in Rockland County last night

Moderator 65:39 for his event, taking a video with him to use our social media with a little platform we had to bump up and tell people about that phrase. I've been a good man. I have been providing money,

John Sullivan 65:50 knocking on doors with Janet in word of time. I'm doing everything I can to help because I honored the role that I had. And the rules that are placed around it. I did the best I could to preserve our democracy, keep it going. And now that I'm taking an active role, we'll be part of that democracy in that process, doing everything I possibly can to make sure that we're not just focusing on CD17 in 2026, but we're focusing on CD17 in 2025,

Moderator 66:18 because that's when we actually had a point each month. Russia's war in Ukraine

Unclear 66:27 continues to be shaped most. AWS pledged long-term support while also placing pressures

Moderator 66:35 to maintain unity and deterrence. As our next representative, how would you approach U.S. involvement in the neighborhood and support Ukraine? And what principles would guide your decisions on military aid, alliance, and community commitment?

Unclear 66:59 The law enforcement person could also work next.

John Sullivan 67:07 This one's an easy one. We fully are enabling Ukraine to move. When Donald Trump came into office, he is bartering and playing games in the future of the nation

Moderator 67:20 as well as the region, all because of who can give you the shiniest little object and make you feel the most appreciated. When we actually give

John Sullivan 67:29 violence for arms to Ukraine, what we're doing is we're giving them the surpluses that are in our stockpile, sending it to them, and then spending that money, the value of those, here in the United States, to develop newer weapons. That gets lost in the conversation. It's actually an investment in the U.S. economy when we get that added. We were also giving them a lot of the technology, say it in music recently, to prove that it particularly affected

Moderator 67:54 J.Celvin was just talking about how we led the way with Ukraine on the throne, that they have since perfected and shown to be particularly useful, especially on the front line

John Sullivan 68:03 and into Russia. So, Putin is a dictator, he is a thug, he may be someone that our current president looks up to, but he is also someone that we should not arrest me. And that means making sure that we aid Ukraine every tool necessary in this arsenal, not only to fight back, because let me tell you, this was another country that invaded the United States. You would expect everyone, there are for five, in NATO, and suddenly you would expect everyone to come to our aid. Everyone is coming to you, Prince David, Donald Trump is playing a key. So, I know there's been questions in the past about what committees would you like to serve on in your conference. International affairs is going to make peace. And in particular, my caller is on the international, is on the front-waist, and he's on the subcommittee for the Middle East. He has a voice to put out around this issue, and we have not been hearing him talking about this. So, when it comes to Ukraine specifically, full stop, everything happens to me.

Moderator 69:01 The political reports and my caller

Unclear 69:11 has launched an aggressive social media campaign promoting the big, ugly, budget-filled decisions. Some of which are

Moderator 69:20 composing work requirements on rotating recipients, barring undocumented immigrants from both ripping off New York taxpayers, increasing the child tax and eliminating social security taxes, framing this as a way to address affordability concerns. How will your campaign continue to move precisely after this narrative to expose its cause and all of its compelling, clear, alternative?

John Sullivan 69:57 He's been doing a really good job of putting out these campaigns that he has, saying he's protecting Medicaid, he's giving everyone

Moderator 70:05 solves, he leaves out like five years ago, Mike Waller is an operator, he is astute,

John Sullivan 70:20 he wants to lie and lie. So, you know it doesn't work? John Sullivan getting on a commercial that is going to cost billions of dollars or even on a YouTube video and saying, Mike Waller is lying to me. But what will work is one of you getting on a commercial and me interviewing you and saying, how is Mike Waller's big, ugly, beautiful, whatever you want to call it, built for me. This is an amendment at Sunshine Home Care in Rockland County. We're one of the largest providers of home health care here in the area. I went into a tunnel and they brought an atmosphere for our executives, but actual clients, parents and clients, and caregivers. And I wanted to hear from them about what they were worried about for the clients.

Moderator 71:08 They didn't even realize that the clients were not. So, it became an education. There was one woman there, because her staff raised her son at 51 years old, he was a full-fashioned provider of his computer. When she understood the impact of his time made out, may no longer be able to write, she said, I got it back,

John Sullivan 71:30 really being active.

Moderator 71:38 He's the one who's going to call Mike Waller. Because every person who goes on an ad or a commercial with someone's mom,

John Sullivan 71:44 or dad, or sister, or aunt, and this is not just affecting adults. I learned at time pretty much, but it's not trying to learn that the active reinforcements are lower than they should be, even now. So, you encounter that by using the community as your arsenal,

Moderator 72:03 as your location, and not somebody else who's trying to run for Congress to be able to listen. How much have you raised in support of your pay fee, and how much of that has been so fun?

Unclear 72:29 Not even a dollar. Self-funded and public.

Moderator 72:41 Jumping into this very loud and think-go-card called for me to get involved, to call out how much of a safe job I'm trying to save now. It also impacted my family directly because my husband worked for me, and right around actually. So, self-honoring is that. But I will say

John Sullivan 73:06 I was very humbled by it, and I launched this campaign for kind of building it, because I met Jack and wanted to make sure that it was great for my fellow service. We kind of reached out and appealed to the public, both here in the district, and truly found some kind of thing. This is my background. This is who I am. I'm running to take out this horrible number of Congress. Please help me. He raised in the

Moderator 73:31 63 days that I was in a race, our first word, over $300,000. I was like, absolutely. That's more than most people can dream of ever making a year or two years or three years of the idea that he was funded for small dollars listening to stuff. So, we want people who truly believe in the message, who truly believe in my background, who truly believe that I can keep believing in the willingness. Okay, I've taken on a lot of that.

Unclear 74:03 Some tough guys.

Moderator 74:05 Mike Waller is not going

Unclear 74:06 through the time, but he might be a sneak kiss.

John Sullivan 74:12 And so, I think, you know, folks resonated with that background, and I will say, there's no self-loving coming my way. This is my full-time job, and I fortunate enough that my husband was able to find another job. I'm spending all day, every day doing everything I can to listen to voters, because we all have that,

Moderator 74:29 understand their concerns, and then work with them to identify students. Student loan debt continues to burden millions of Americans, setting an economic homeability, and delaying major life decisions. What specific federal policy support

Unclear 74:51 were introduced

Moderator 74:52 to help address this debt to make higher education? I will say, we need to make higher education

John Sullivan 75:03 more affordable, but we also make capital to trade schools and other specialty schools that are also being affordable. I don't think that when we have that conversation about affordability and higher education, we have to talk about those other key industries, because, look, there's a lot of things I've learned from college, but I've not learned how to share the pipe, or rewire the electrical.

Moderator 75:23 So, we need to make sure that student loan prices is huge. I am a big product of somebody who's going to go to college to make some schools. My parents say it's a little bit of a problem, but the majority was either financial aid, a student loan, I wrote a copy by the school,

John Sullivan 75:42 and I gave up my student loans my son six and a half, six years ago. I had shut down my student loan, and I had the ability, I had a really great interest rate, just because of the time that I went to school, it was like four and a half percent. My brother was five years younger than me when he went, he was 13 and a half. They are gouging student loans, they are using it as a money maker, and when you do fair bankruptcy, which a lot of folks have done in the past, it is now protected because the one thing that will never get blocked away. When you have somebody that you're married, it can actually be transferred to your spouse to pay for that education that you got 65, 70 years ago. A friend of mine has her PhD, which she didn't pay for, she got scholarships for, she has a master's degree of attitude. There was no money saved. It was all student loans, even spending money, and she did work in school, but it wasn't enough. Her student loan payments, to this day, she is 41 years old,

Unclear 76:39 40 years old.

John Sullivan 76:42 It is over $1,500 a month, and her projected pay off date is where she is 68. So what will I do? I will support policy that allows folks to go into certain professions, go to big public service, nurses, teachers, doctors, whether it's firemen, police officers. We need to repay that. We need to repay their student loans, particularly after this over a period of time. I know there was a federal program where it just wasn't always on. And if I could just say the last thing I would do is I would also be having a conversation about what your fire was trying to do. Because you know what? That was the one thing that stopped his administration without the border. And Donald Trump has just shown us that we don't need to do that anymore. So we get together.

Moderator 77:23 We have a bipartisan solution. That is what it's for. So speaking of possible work.

Unclear 77:32 You've operated behind the gate for a few years. How can you transition into a public basic campaign

Moderator 77:39 that energizes over the field of trust?

John Sullivan 78:01 Going from John Sullivan, executive of the FBI,

Moderator 78:03 John Sullivan, three years after a public D.C. undercover.

John Sullivan 78:16 This has been a change. I had been able to get loans at the FBI and talk to a thousand women. We could talk for great. We could go get a copy and then we could take the end. But coming out and talking to folks about that has been a change. But it's also been one of the most rewarding things. One, it's important to be a voice for those who are still there who are fighting that thing. It's also important though to be here as someone who said the government could work better. And we can make it better. And I know how to make it better. And Donald Trump is getting in the way and Mike Baller is signing every attempt when it comes to trying to make it. So it is a unique sort of twist to go from donating to suddenly you have a website and your picture on it.

Unclear 79:04 But in a lot of ways, I think it's worth the work

John Sullivan 79:11 or just Israel or about terrorism here in the United States or the National Hand Intelligence Center or being the lead potential for you to do what it was and how it was spelled. I'm going to bring all of that to Congress. And so what I'm saying is I'm hoping I'm energizing you with that background, that experience with that readiness and the willingness to fight it. Because look, as I mentioned, I've said across from really scary people in the past. I'm not underestimating how hard it is going to be to beat Mike Baller. But bring up any one of those issues on the base stage. And I'm going to look at him and say, well, you've been talking about it. I will keep you. So I'm now going to go do it in Congress. And you can go meet a little cat.

Moderator 80:08 Thank you all again. I have to say that

John Sullivan 80:14 there are times going for a campaign where there are just days where you're like, this is really hard. But coming to events like this and being able to talk with you and see you and get your reaction and hear your thoughts is really what would be great. This campaign is going to go through a lot of days between now and not just the primary but the general. And what I'm going to keep doing is sharing my story and getting out and talking to folks. I say there's nothing too tiny, no living room too small. I will go anywhere and everywhere. Because Mike Baller seems to be everywhere and anywhere. And when we get through this primary, I know, and I just want it to my whole benefits and I know they just want it back. That when I'm in there, I'll all be there to support me. Because what we're going to do is we're going to make sure we actually beat Mike Baller. That is the key. And if one of them gets through, I will be right there championing them and doing everything possible. But I think it's important that we never forget what this campaign is about. It is not just about Mike Baller. It is not just about Mike Baller. Because if that is the plan and that is what they vote, we lose. This is about three things that we learned in Mike Listing Tour. Although Listing Tour, it's more meetings and conversations across the district. This campaign is focused on three things. Affordability, safety, and accountability. And I will just say when it comes to accountability, I am running a great team. I am not running a hurt.

Unclear 81:41 I am ready to come back here every single weekend,

John Sullivan 81:43 sit in the park or a cafe or a room just like this and say, how can I be better? What should I be doing? And then go back to Washington and Monday and do that work. And it's not submitting a report card every two years and doing that every week and then doing all the good I can and saying, you know what, I've done what I can. Time to go live under the laws that I have passed and give the opportunity to the next person. It's also not going to Congress and trade if it stops and we leave. That's absolutely absurd. But when it comes to safety, it's bringing that background, that experience of protecting not just its country but our communities from some of the worst predators and criminals. And it's also going and saying, no more red flag laws. We need common sense government reform to build up to Biden administration. We need background checks, more red flag laws and we need to do everything not to go together. So if I don't talk to our streets, it's having shotgun weapons they don't belong on our meetings and on some seven day first grade this year,

Moderator 82:41 40 minute PD teacher of the art class, he had a lot done. That is the world we need to have.

John Sullivan 82:48 So we're really a piece of healthcare. I don't have time. So all I would say is thank you so much for having me tonight. We would love to have heard of your conversations and thank you to both and you and all

Moderator 82:58 about the first class. Thank you. It's my pleasure. You're welcome. You can call your mate.

Unclear 87:07 The microphone.

Jessica Reinmann 87:09 Yes. I live in Chavacaw and my husband is here somewhere. My two kids have been here since 2015. I am a lifelong worker.

Unclear 87:30 I grew up in Long Island and I went to Sydney Binghamton

Jessica Reinmann 87:35 and then part of the law school. Which is an organization based in ARMA that provides basic essentials like clothing,

Moderator 87:43 diapers, hygiene products, period products, books, supplies, and maybe essentials to families in need all over Westchester County. We don't work directly with the public and I don't work here. We work with community partners

Unclear 87:59 around the county. So I worked in every school district, every healthcare center, with every daycare center, an after school program.

Moderator 88:07 I have worked every nonprofit by our department, police department. Wherever there are communities in need, wherever there are communities in need, I have worked in those communities. So in November, after the red made,

Jessica Reinmann 88:23 it hit me that the communities that I have been working in were going to be the communities hardest hit by the Trump administration. And about two days after the election, I called up Jackie Mishler and I said to her,

Unclear 88:40 we need to have a copy. And I said to her, I want to run for Congress

Jessica Reinmann 88:44 because I want to take my mission of helping families in need to the next level. And the only way to do that is to make changes at the federal level. And so I was the first person to run my campaign committee on January 7, 2025. And I'm running because I think that the voters are looking for somebody different. For the last two cycles, we have read tried and true elected officials and they've lost. And I think voters are looking for somebody different.

Moderator 89:16 They are looking for somebody who worked in every single community. They are looking for somebody who's a collaborator, who's a problem solver, who's a lawyer, who understands the constitutional crisis that we are now finding ourselves in. And they want somebody

Jessica Reinmann 89:31 who's listened to that before, helped create solutions before, and is going to do that again for them in Congress.

Unclear 89:38 Thank you. From building materials to consumer products, you brought up costs for families and small businesses. What is your position

Moderator 90:00 on a current U.S. tariff? How would you balance trade protection? Every day foods is portable

Jessica Reinmann 90:08 for your future. So obviously we're talking about campaigning. We're talking to everybody from the people who purchase the items to the importer to import them. And these tariffs are having a negative effect on every member of the economy, whether it be the person who is bringing them over here, the person who is selling them, or the person who is buying them.

Moderator 90:36 And one of the things I think is really interesting and what we're seeing is a very negative impact. It's not necessarily the tariffs that it sells,

Jessica Reinmann 90:45 but it's the uncertainty. So consumers don't know what the price is going to be. And manufacturers don't know what the tariff is going to be. And distributors don't know how long it's going to take for something to get from China or India to the United States so they can't promise they're going to import something. The economy works when people are secure and feel safe and feel like they can spend their money, that they're not going to lose money.

Moderator 91:13 So the tariffs are just one piece

Jessica Reinmann 91:16 of a very big problem that we're having in the economy. They are adding costs to face it essential. And now that we're cared, we have seen almost a double in price for the strollers and car seats that we purchased for our baby bank program. And that is not only the cause of tariffs, but it's also because shipping industries are moving more slowly because they don't know when their tariffs are going to hit, if their tariffs are going to hit. They don't know if something is going to happen from the time it leaves China until the time it gets here. A really interesting conversation I had with somebody today. She's from India and she said, I came here because I wanted a better life. And now my Indian brothers and sisters are being tariffed so badly that the community there or something.

Moderator 92:04 It's not just hitting us, you guys. It's hitting everywhere. And the global economy is what makes us all tick. And we have to fix it and make sure that we can count on what the price of divers will be. India's pouring clothes into money, leaving the high nature. There are proposals to respond simply to your operations, introduce small multiple reactors, or build large scale balance tools. As our next representative,

Unclear 92:44 how do we approach the future of this site to ensure community safety for the integrity

Moderator 92:51 and long-term equity we can't have either. So that's just a

Jessica Reinmann 93:05 Indian point because that's two major problems. One is environmental hazard and two is what it will do for the problem. I spent a lot of time talking to environmentalists around the county in particular. In particular, in Peace Gilbert, the majority of the issues

Unclear 93:22 with Indian Point

Jessica Reinmann 93:24 really came up.

Unclear 93:25 And what my opinion is that we can either build some sort of solar field

Moderator 93:35 where we bring energy in.

Jessica Reinmann 93:38 That would bring jobs to the region as we're building it. Or we could do a battery storage plant. Both of them hinge on figuring out how to get rid of that in clear waste. And making sure that the nuclear waste isn't either a terrorist target or an environmental crisis. And they can't figure that out yet. The EPA can't be able to figure it out. Westchester County, the state government, we have to be able to figure out how to get the current

Moderator 94:09 nuclear waste out of it. And before we can build anything on-site, we have to make sure it's safe because we don't have to set people in to build battery storage

Jessica Reinmann 94:17 or to build a solar farm. And then have them hit something. We also have the pipeline underneath it, which is really dangerous. So there's like a whole lot of considerations. We can't just make fun of it.

Unclear 94:42 Westchester County has been a leader in building affordable housing. How would you work to sustain and increase affordable city services?

Moderator 94:52 What specific program policies would you champion in Congress to address affordability?

Jessica Reinmann 95:07 They have a pay over

Moderator 95:10 and everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect. And living with dignity and respect means that you have a place to call home. I have worked with every single

Unclear 95:20 homeless shelter in Westchester County. And 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.

Jessica Reinmann 95:33 They all have jobs and they still can't make ends meet. So we do need

Moderator 95:39 to bring affordable housing here. But we also need to take into consideration the cost of living here. And we need to take into

Unclear 95:46 consideration how we bring down the cost of living here, not just for housing. And we need to talk when we talk about housing. We have to talk about

Jessica Reinmann 95:55 the things that help can do. So as running for Congress, running the federal government, HUD has a lot of programs that help first-time homebuyers, which I would bring not just here, but also awareness about the program. HUD has programs for first-time farmers and allowing them to build houses on their farm. HUD has local programs for current homeowners who need to refinance. And so we need to make all of those options, all of the programs that the federal government provides. We need to raise awareness, which our current representative

Moderator 96:30 is definitely not doing. He would prefer that nobody take advantage of those programs.

Jessica Reinmann 96:35 And, you know, your last sort of end of the question is about affordability. I definitely did not talk about affordability in 30 seconds. But what I want to say is that food and housing are always the two things that we talk about and think about when we think about affordability. But we have to remember that everyone who has a baby needs diapers. Every person who menstruates period products. Every student who goes

Moderator 96:58 to school needs school supplies. Every baby who sleeps needs a safe place to sleep. So there are other basic essentials that we have to focus on, not just housing and food. What did I make for elsewhere within 20 seconds? Because my first experience

Unclear 97:33 in the political world when Bill Wright was in chapter talking in the nominee, I had a connect.

Jessica Reinmann 97:48 And I lived in chapter by the time I was pretty much not going to anyone's store and go to a phone writing. And so I started phone writing at my friend Holly's house until I got fired for telling somebody that they were a moron. And then I moved down to and that was my first experience. And I wrote 10,000 postcards. 10,000. I remember the day

Unclear 98:09 initiatives were made before the election.

Jessica Reinmann 98:11 I wrote my 10,000 postcards Georgia and Florida. Those were the two places I really thought we could flip and we could win. And we did. And since then, I have worked with local candidates all over my area. I've worked with local school board elections. Five of my friends have been elected to local school board positions. In 2020,

Unclear 98:34 I worked with Evelyn Parkis

Jessica Reinmann 98:36 on her campaign. And we're still very close today. I never did the campaign, but then we became really good friends. She's actually supported me in this process. In 2022, I was not involved in politics because that fall I had some personal situations I had to deal with. And in 2024, I was not really involved in politics

Unclear 98:59 either because we were seeing such a high up-to-date

Moderator 99:12 What was born in Ukraine

Unclear 99:13 taking problems security? Nature was a pleasure while also taking pressure to make unity. As our next representative, how would you approach U.S. involvement in NATO? It's important for you. And what principles

Moderator 99:31 will guide your decisions on the military aid alliance commitments and the promise? Ukraine is the last stop and we all know that that's what we do. And we need to stand by her with diplomacy first always,

Jessica Reinmann 99:59 but military aid and weapons aid. Ukraine between democracy and we are dealing with that here in this country now and we need to make sure that we allow our allies to continue living lives in democracies and we need to continue supporting. It goes to all. He has made a mockery of the U.S.'s intervention and protection of our allies of democracies around the world. Ukraine is just one of them and we really need to make sure that we support our allies

Moderator 100:46 and we stop Putin's march into Europe. My role as the social media family promoting the big budget bills and divisions included some of which are opposing work requirements a mandate recipients barring undocumented immigrants through the child tax credit and eliminating social security rates as a way to address this now to expose its flaws and all the voters while anything or transport markets to college into budget and that's how we work.

Unclear 101:49 And let the start of our sort of how the campaign will be. We're going to come up with facts and story and that's what actually works with voters. When voters hear that the largest health care agency

Jessica Reinmann 102:03 in Westchester County had to lay off 68 health care workers by the end of February because of the budget and because of what was coming down the line. You know when health care workers get laid off they're not rich they're not they're going on the social programs that are being cut. So we need to combat that with stories with stories of these health care workers that are now on social safety nets. We need to combat it with stories of immigrants whose families have been removed from this country. I need to talk about this budget bill because really what Trump has done and what what law has done other than say yes sir may have done but what law and Trump have done is they have made immigrants are passing. They have said everything that's wrong is with America is the immigrant's fault. Now for the last decade I have worked in every immigrant community in Westchester County and our immigrant community is the backbone of our community. They are the people who are the health care workers. They are the people who are cleaning up the snow on our front lawn and mowing our lawns and taking care of our grandparents and taking care of our children. That's who our immigrant community is. I am so unbelievably angry at the equal rhetoric that this administration has put on them. People who I have known for 10 years are scared to leave their homes. They leave their people who are second and third generation Americans who just happen to look Hispanic are walking around with their customers. That is not okay and we need to fix that as soon as possible.

Moderator 103:49 How much have you raised in support of your campaign and how much of that amount has been so funneled?

Jessica Reinmann 104:06 $250,000 has been self-funded. $150,000 of that was a donation to the campaign. $100,000 of that was a loan to the campaign which will get me back. I think we are at $600,000 and I did not know that was going to be a question tonight

Moderator 104:24 so I don't have a specific answer and all of that was crowdsourced and raised by people all over the district. Student loan debt continues to burden millions of Americans affecting economic mobility and delaying major life decisions. What specific federal policies would you support for entities to help address this debt and make climate education more affordable and go forward?

Jessica Reinmann 105:01 As somebody who went to Studio A10 and then took out loans for law school I totally understand due to debt. Been there, done that, paid off my loans after my second child was born, had a fantastic celebratory lunch with more. No one should not go to school they want to go to because they can't afford it. I think that it is imperative that the universities start using some of their requirements to make sure that students who want to go who can't afford to attend but can get in on their merit

Unclear 105:33 deserve to go there

Jessica Reinmann 105:34 and they should be paid for.

Unclear 105:36 I want to talk a little bit about teachers

Jessica Reinmann 105:38 and health care workers and non-profit workers because there used to be if you went into those professions and worked there for 10 years then all of your loans were forgiven. That was one of Trump's first executive orders. What industries do we need people in? Education and health care and those are the non-profits by the way I don't know if you all know but the non-profit sector is the largest employer in Westchester County. The largest industry in Westchester County as an employer is the non-profit sector and people can't afford to go into that sector. They can't afford to live here and be a teacher on tier six. They can't afford to live here and be a health care worker and so we need to give them reasons to go into those industries and the way that we do that is forgiving their debt. That is literally at the top of my heart.

Moderator 106:35 You guys know what my top priorities are? That is literally at the top of my heart. We enrolled as a Democrat in 2018. At the last forum we indicated we enrolled as a Democrat in 2016. Can you reference on this? So we had board of elections that we didn't share with all of you that showed me a registered Democrat in 2017.

Jessica Reinmann 107:08 The day after the 2015 election I drove to Pete's Guild and I changed my designation at the Pete's Guild DNA. I did not go to the board of elections. I don't know how long that takes. I don't know why it took so long for me to be registered that way. I do know I signed a petition from February of 2017 for a Democratic candidate. The only way I could have done that was people tried to get me a science mission before but haven't been at least a Democrat

Moderator 107:34 on that day. So I don't know what the discrepancy is

Unclear 107:38 and I know that I drove there today after the election and they're fine with my husband. I would in trouble.

Jessica Reinmann 108:03 The most important election of every single one of your lifetimes and each of you are all different ages is in June of 2026. That is the most important election of your lifetime. Why do you do that? Because the person that we put up against Mike Mahler is the person who is going to help us turn the house blue. Every pundit, every article, every person who talks about changing the house blue talks about it running through New York 17. So the question is and my answer and my closing is why am I the best person to beat Mike Mahler? And I have a four point plan but I'm sure I'm not going to get through it all properly. So I'm going to start with the most important one. I have been working in this community for our voters, for our community, for the last decade. I know what they need. I've given them solutions to their problems. I can listen to them and I have worked with them. Number two, I am the only candidate running that has significant ties to both Westchester and Rockland counties. Obviously, I live here. My husband was raised in Rockland County until two years ago. His parents still live there and he's celebrating every single month. Lastly, because I know he's going to hold up his son or two days. Lastly, and most importantly, I don't have a political history. So when Mike Mahler and his operatives come after me, which we all know they do, we know that he has government paid people go after candidates. When they come after me, what are they going to find? That's a question that is important for me enough. They're going to find,

Moderator 109:44 yes, I was uncomfortable. I think that helped me beat Mike Mahler.

Jessica Reinmann 109:49 They're going to find, yes, I help undocumented people with the basic essentials they need in life. Yes, I am an advocate. Yes, I am a collaborator. Yes, I am a lawyer. Those are all the things they're going to find now when they go into my background. They're not going to find any mention of anything political because that's not going to be non-profit executive working to help our families in need, survive, and thrive. And that is what I am going to do. And that's why I am the best person

Unclear 110:25 to beat Mike Mahler and the reason why he took over for me in the country in 2013.

Moderator 110:30 Thank you all so much for coming out. Thank you, everybody. If you have tonight, let me know, please. All right, you're welcome. We're going to spend your evening. We have a second forum and I will say thank you all too and those of you who are very different.

Unclear 111:20 We'll be on September 29

Moderator 111:22 at the Pleasantville Library meeting from 630 to 8 p.m. The reason for that is the library closes today. Please be sure to be very kind. So, thank you, everybody, for coming and for addressing the evening's impact. Who is our local Democratic candidate for the concept he's writing about us. That's very important. It looks very important. It's kind of strange if you can't attend this forum

Jessica Reinmann 112:35 and that is going to be the next meeting.

Unclear 112:45 Thank you.

Bruce Campbell 0:55 Okay, so thank you for joining us this evening. My name is Bruce Campbell on the second vice chair of the county Democratic Committee, and welcome to another in our series of forums, featuring candidates for CD 17. You can applaud that. Although I want to start with something tonight I think we kind of have to. Based on current events. That's not so happy.

Randy Glazer 1:30 I assume most of you have heard that you may not have Charlie Kirk, who was shot earlier today in Colorado has died.

Bruce Campbell 1:44 Colorado, Utah. There was a school shooting in Denver, Colorado as well. With that in mind, it's certainly an indication of where our country has been headed. How the work that we have to turn it around to end this violence to end the use of guns for senseless killing I hate that phrase but since it is it's totally senseless so anyway, I thought we would just. Let me begin with a moment of silence please for all the victims of gun violence. Thank you. Okay. So, there are a number of people here this evening that I would like to recognize first of all, I want to thank the town of Newcastle for offering us this wonderful space. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. We also have with us this evening, former assembly member Sandy Galif is really. Newcastle I think I don't know they're gonna. Yes. Board members Jeremy Hernandez with us tonight. I'm finally supposed to be here. Alright so we thank them for coming and joining us. This is actually the third in a series of. I'm sorry it's the fourth in a series of forms by these candidates. It's an effort to have you, and all our Democratic voters and our Democratic district leaders throughout the 17th district, decide who's going to go up and who's going to challenge Michael Allen next year, and who's going to help us bring back the House of Representatives. I want to thank the candidates for being here tonight. I mentioned the town of Newcastle and I want to thank especially Carrie Crams who's the town's a person she's been enormously helpful. Thank you. This is an effort when it's across Westchester County. We have working our students and I bring the news from unpleasant. Brian, and I want to thank Michael Menard or Bedford or itself on our organizing. So, thank you very much for that. This is our new castle Democratic committee was our host committee for this evening. And one chance we have to name Ray Blazer and Jane Silverman. Randy and Jane will be your moderators for our discussion this evening. Alright so before we begin, I also want to introduce the chair of our Westchester County Democratic Committee, Suzanne Berger.

Suzanne Berger 4:55 I'm glad to see everybody. We have a full house. That's very encouraging that we have so much engagement and participation. I wanted to say a few words about how we got here tonight. We, as Bruce mentioned, we've had a series of forums starting in May. We had three host committees for those Bedford, Yorktown, and the Mount Pleasant committee hosted the first three. We had three or three candidates in each of those and then we had another session in at the Chrome Library with all seven candidates participating focused on labor issues. And now we just, and there was a forum, also in sponsored by the Putnam County Democrats in August, up in Putnam County, with all seven candidates who had declared as of that time. And we like to change up the format every time we do this because people come to see different things and so we, the Westchester Democratic Committee asked our executive committee CD 17 part which is about 30 people to who they would like to see in the next forum. We asked them to select four of the seven candidates, and we would invite those seven. This was not an endorsement. This was not meant to foreclose anybody else's chances or opportunities for running. It was just an opportunity to try to get a smaller than seven group of smaller than seven here tonight so we could speak in more depth to each of these candidates. It will be, I am pleased to announce at least two other events. The Mount Pleasant Democratic Committee is hosting one on September 18 and the second session on September 29 for candidates the first night, three candidates the second. One and two, this might be news to the candidates, and the Austin Democratic Committee will be hosting an event on November 17 at seven o'clock. Details to follow, but it will be focused on environmental issues. Again, we try to focus them on particular issues so we can get more in depth on those issues. The executive committee members participated as I said in helping us select the candidates you're seeing tonight. These are rank and file Democrats, the Democrats who we couldn't get on the ballot without they carry our petitions they knock on doors. They're not pundits or donors or armchair warriors fighting social media battles, their workers and I appreciate every single one of them as the chair of this committee. This forum tonight is being recorded on zoom it's being streamed live on zoom right Brian and when I stood up we had over 50 people already signed on on the zoom. And we will post it all goes well tomorrow on our YouTube channel. That's Westchester County, then Westchester County Democratic Committee is our YouTube channel, you'll be able to watch it at that point. Welcome, Senator man. Okay. So, with that, I, and I have one final announcement we as a county committee are going to be pausing our CD 17 efforts. After tonight. We're going to be pausing our CD 17 efforts. Other than the Mount Pleasant events that we talked about. We will still be going out campaigning, going to meet and greets, raising money, but we in Westchester County have a local election coming up on November 4. We have to reelect Ken Jenkins is our county executive have a few signs here. If we don't have enough, you can give orders to Brian Goodman, and he'll get you one. No, nothing like raising an opportunity you know. We have to elect our county clerk Tom Roach, it's an open seat. Every member of our county Board of legislators is up for reelection. We have 15 Democrats on the council on the Board of legislators out of 17. We want to keep it that way. That means here in Newcastle we want to reelect the doc gashi. Other parts of CD 17 we have a million online college Smith, Erica Pierce. It's important to vote. We have local town races. We introduced some of our town officials here in Newcastle. We have village races for those of you who live in villages. There's a city race in the city of peak skill. And we have judicial races to and we all know in this day and age, judicial races are key we have four great candidates for Supreme Court, their town and village judges. I want to tell you that the ballot design is different this year. Thank you to the state legislature. The judges now do not leave the ballot there at the end of the ballot. So it's all the more important to stay on row a all the way. It's easy to remember. With that, I think I've taken enough time away, but we're really pleased to have every seat in the house it looks like filled, and maybe we'll have a few more. So, with that, I'm going to turn it over to Randy Glazer co chair of the Newcastle Democratic.

Randy Glazer 11:12 Good evening everybody. The Newcastle Democratic Committee. Welcome to the town of Newcastle. I'd like to thank some of the district leaders to help us this evening. I'd also like to thank our supervisor.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 11:47 With the use of our town hall. Okay, time to introduce our candidates. I'm Beth the Phillips daily. She's a Westchester County, certainly serving as territory town village trustee. That's Cait Conley. So what's just a county resident army combat veteran and national security expert. Beth Davidson is a Rockland County resident currently serving on the Rockland County Board of legislators. And last but not least, Jessica Reinmann, the Westchester County resident and founder of 914 cares. So, I'm going to go through some of the rules. I guess, based on the clapping that just went on, one of the rules is going to be that we're really going to ask that everybody hold the applause till the end. It's nice just because our hometown, you know, from Chappaqua and it's great that you have so many people here but I think if we could just keep it down till the end, and everybody can be applauded. Each candidate will have two minutes and 30 seconds for their opening and closing statements responses to questions will be kept to two minutes. If a candidate is mentioned by name by another candidate, they may have one minute for a rebuttal, if they choose. We have our timekeepers tonight, our gal Mark health and Ken Thomas, and they will be holding up the signs, the stop sign is not a suggestion. And you will get a warning when there's 30 seconds. These were called from prior forums that where they were not able to be able to be asked. We also received some by email, and we put the questions together and Randy and I will be asking all of the questions. So there won't be any questions from the audience. All candidates can respond to every question. We will rotate who answers first. And if time allows there may be a lightning round with 30 second responses. Randy. So the order of the opening statements were chosen by live closing statements will be in reverse order. The order is Cait, Jessica, and Beth. Okay.

Cait Conley 14:44 All right, thank you so much so a huge thank you to the Westchester County Democratic Party, the leadership here tonight. Thank you all here, who are attending and who are dialing and thank you for caring and thank you for being part of this fight. My name is Cait Conley, I am a very proud public servant army combat vet and daughter of the Hudson Valley. I come from a family of working class roots that's called this place home for four generations. I pray grandfather and grandfather work the brickyards of Montrose. My mom, she's been the US Postal Service of 48 years, serving every part of the Hudson Valley, my dad and construction. I believe that my family and this community instilled in that working hard, fighting for what you believe in doing what is right. That is what has guided me my entire life. That's why I'm not 11 when we saw those towers fall. I knew my place was in that fight. I went off to West Point, graduated the top of my class, then went off to serve 16 years in the US Army. I had the privilege of my lifetime leading America's sons and daughters in combat. I deployed overseas six times to combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan, where I led teams to hunt down some of the world's most brutal terrorists to get the miracle of the world's savior. Where I come from the stakes could not be higher. It is life or death excuses that will cut it. When it's hard and people tell you it's impossible. It is your job to find a way to make it possible. And I think it is exactly that that our country is calling for right now. It is a battle test of leadership that is about action, not politics. 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. It's time for change. It's time, the leadership that New York 17 in this country, not only deserves, but so urgently needs the stakes could not be higher. So thank you to everyone in this room for what you do and for being part of this fight. Let's go get this done.

Randy Glazer 17:26 Don't remind people.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 17:32 I know the other three are going to be fine, not having to.

Cait Conley 17:39 Thank you.

Jessica Reinmann 17:45 Hi everyone, it's so great to be here in my hometown with so much so many of my friends and family in the room. My name is Abiqua as you all heard with my husband and two kids and menagerie of dogs and cats. I've lived in New York my entire life I grew up in Long Island. I went to SUNY Binghamton, and then Cardozo Law School. When I see a problem, I fix it. And 10 years ago, I was driving down Lexington Avenue and Mount Kisco, and I saw families walking to the bus stop without coats. It was not okay. So I pulled my car over and I said to them, do you need coats, and they said yes. And so I drove to target, and I bought those families coats. And the next day I went back there. And the look on the children's faces. When they got to pick out their own coats. When they got to put on a warm coat on a freezing morning. It was life changing for me. It solidified my mission to help my neighbors in need. 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. We do not work directly with the public. We work with over 200 community partners, some of which are in the room today. And they are school districts and health care centers and daycare centers and nonprofits and police departments and fire departments and even the FBI. Whenever there is a family in need our community partners can come to us and get what they need to make sure that those families survive and thrive. After the red wave in 2024. I was horrified. I knew that the families that I had spent the last decade working for, we're going to be significantly affected by the Trump Lawler administration. I knew that the voters were looking for something different. Somebody who is not a political operative. Somebody who did not put out an agenda that they could not live up to. Somebody who understood the communities, somebody who had worked in and collaborated with every single community, a lawyer, an advocate, somebody who would be there for them. And that is why I am running for Congress in New York 17. Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 20:47 All right. Good evening, Chappaqua. Thanks so much for having us. My name is epi Phillips daily, and I'm running for Congress to fight for Hudson Valley working families and to get our nation back on track as a beacon of prosperity of compassion and progress. And yes, I am a proudly progressive Democrat. What does it mean to be a progressive in this moment of skyrocketing costs, a planet on fire, the rise of fascism, and today, political violence. It means that we must throw out the old playbook. It means that we need to stop listening to the donor class and start listening to voters. It means we need leaders with bold vision and a powerful moral compass who can take back control. That's what I am. And that's why I'm running. I'm not a Washington insider. I'm a Tarrytown trustee who has gone toe to toe with developers and enemies for affordable housing, who fights climate resilient fights for climate resilient infrastructure, who's pushing for good cause eviction protections for struggling tenants, and who centers disenfranchised communities, even though the party thinks they don't vote. That's because I've spent decades in the nonprofit sector fighting for equity and justice. I know how to listen and build trust. I know how to create coalitions, and I know how to win for the people I serve. My story is an American story. Immigrant mother, blue collar father, public education veterans benefits and housing that my parents can afford. These were not government handouts. They lifted my family and many others into the middle class. But today, Trump and Mike Lawler are taking these opportunities from working Americans as career Democrats have stood powerless. I will not. I won't stand by as healthcare is stripped for millions. I'll fight for Medicare as a public option. I won't stand by as I disappears people off the streets, based on racial profiling. I'll fight for fair immigration reform, transparency, and the rule of law. And instead of handing billions to the ultra rich. I will wrap it up because the stop sign is here. Thanks for having me, I look forward to the conversation.

Beth Davidson 23:30 Thank you, Beth. Thank you very much. Good evening everyone. I'm Beth Davidson. First of all, thank you so much to the Westchester County Democratic Committee for hosting this important forum, and thank you to our wonderful Newcastle Democratic Co chairs, Randy and Jane. So, you've asked the four of us back here tonight because you want to hear more from us. So I'm not going to run through my whole resume. Tonight I want to talk about our country. Our democracy is at a tipping point, not a day like today, some might say a breaking point. And 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 represent healthcare workers who are afraid of losing their jobs. I represent people with special needs who are terrified of losing their healthcare benefits. I represent immigrants who are so so afraid of being ripped from their families and disappeared. I represent a county in which one out of six children don't know where their next meal is coming from. And I just sent a daughter off to college with fewer rights than I had at her age. Of course, you all here know what's at stake. That's why you're here. 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, because people in my community know I fight like hell for our communities, no matter their political party. 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. And you don't have to wonder what I might do in Congress. I'll tell you tonight what I am doing right now to fight for my constituents, protect critical services and stand up to Donald Trump and Mike Lawler every damn day. That's the fight I'm ready to take to Congress with your support. Thank you.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 26:12 So, we will start with question one, we'll start with UFA and then just what specific policy proposal, do you have to bring jobs back the Hudson Valley, the critical to my suburban progress agenda is housing, housing, housing.

Effie Phillips-Staley 26:35 We have over 5 million housing units short in this nation, 66,000 short in this district. That is the number we need to bring the cost of housing down to bring rents down. We, as a nation, as Congress put forward and bill that mirrors the infrastructure bill that Biden some wonderful forward and focus on a housing bill. The jobs that will come are as you can imagine, with construction and spreading all the way through, it is absolutely essential that we address this critical need this human right, and we can do so, while increasing jobs within this district. Thank you.

Cait Conley 27:29 So the questions. All right. So the questions about jobs. I will tell you that our society is not prepared for the level of entry level job displacement we're about to see what AI became becoming increasingly available across industry sectors. We're going to see what we saw decades ago manufacturing and blue collar workers, but we saw entire populations and communities displaced. What has come into the white collar side of AI and the capabilities it's bringing. Where I am 100% focused is in creating the economic opportunities for the current workforce and the future that can harness and take advantage of the economy we're going to be facing, not the past but the future. Right now we are failing to do that. And this is why change leadership matters so much. For the first time in modern American history the economic prospects of young Americans are worse than their parents. That should be unacceptable in America. Look, 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 and do the things I've done because public school education gave me the foundation to do that. I will tell you going forward I believe public school education will be more important than ever. 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. It shouldn't be that expensive to be in middle class America. Instead we need to be talking about how do we help with healthcare jobs with trade skill workers, and how do we connect that to the failing critical infrastructure that we must absolutely rebuild. Taking this on requires bold leadership that knows what the hell they're doing. And this is what I am focused on. We cannot afford to make the same mistakes we made with manufacturing with what's coming on with AI. So here in the Hudson Valley. I will tell you, we have to do far better to make it available for folks my age, to be able to not only start and leave families here and stay here, and I'm getting stops on.

Beth Davidson 29:47 Thanks for the question and this is something I really think about both as I said as a mom who just sent her daughter off to college and wonder if she'll have a job in the Hudson Valley when she graduates. And as a county legislator who is always trying to attract new companies and businesses to my county and housing certainly is a huge issue. 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, and we talked a lot about this. How do we attract projects, how do we attract businesses, who's going to want to come and build the workers themselves have no place to live. 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. It's such an amazing idea that we could replicate other places. Public schools, also extremely important, and they go hand in hand. If we can't attract good teachers. If we can't attract the health care workers that will take care of our, take care of our families and take care of us. We see the consolidation of health care and the driving up of costs when I was out striking in front of nine month of your hospital with the nurses they were telling me that more and more of them are having to move north out of Brooklyn out of CD 17 because they just couldn't afford to live here. 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.

Jessica Reinmann 31:38 It's a hard question to go forth for because I agree with every single thing that all of my colleagues have set up here. There's a few things that I want to really focus on education being one of them, not just school teachers, but daycare workers we have a number of heads of daycare centers in Westchester County here, and our daycare center, our daycare workers do not receive the same benefits or the same salaries as teachers, and that is a career that young people can flock to, if we can provide them with the salaries and the benefits that they need to survive and thrive here in New York 17. I want to pivot for a minute and talk about the environment and talk about clean energy and talk about the fact that there are plenty of places in New York 17, including on Indian point where we can bring jobs where we can create clean energy programs to bring jobs to New York 17. I also want to talk about immigration for a second, and recognize that 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. Most people are working at jobs, entry level jobs that we need for them to stay in, and we need them to stay here and be able to afford to live here, so that they can help us they are healthcare workers, they are, they are chefs and cooks, they are people who work in the restaurant industry, they are people who work in the building industry, they are people who mow our lawns, and who, who shovel the snow, and we need to make sure that those people are also taken care of. And we need to focus on teachers, daycare center workers, the trades that the clean energy, and we need to focus on the immigrants who are living here right now, who are doing those jobs.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 33:40 Thank you. Okay, the next question will start with Cait. So given today's horrific events, and the escalation of gun violence, what specific proposals do you have to address this issue.

Cait Conley 34:02 So this is one of the hardest things I think we're seeing right is where children are scared to go to school parents are scared to send them. I think there's some reason political violence because of the polarization there's a side. I think the failure to provide adequate mental health, really support that so many folks need. 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. We need to focus on giving people the help they need and making sure that we are passing what is just common sense legislation where we shouldn't allow violent criminals to get their hands on weapons, much less combat arms. We should make sure that people who need help have the resources and access to it, even if they don't have the money. And that's the type of programming we should be investing in not divesting it. 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.

Beth Davidson 36:07 So one of the ways that I worked to put myself through college was to nanny and take care of kids. And one summer I spent a week with a family, watching their two boys, they were just wonderful boys we had a wonderful week. And in a separate ways I didn't really interact with them that much and then five or six years later my mom called me and said, I'm not the most terrible story. The younger kid used to babysit for was shot by his friend with his dad's gun in his house they were just playing in the house. This happens every day in America. But I really became a gun safety advocate, something I spent my adult life doing. And when I ran for county legislator, I ran on passing a law requiring signage at every gun store, so that people would understand the public health risks of owning a firearm in the home. This is not something that's happening somewhere else. Gun violence is an epidemic that we can fix. We have RFK talking about Tylenol and additives, and, you know, pushing his junk science debunk theories about vaccines, when we know that 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 to get weapons of war out of our schools and neighborhoods. I would push for universal background checks, I would push for, and I would push, which our congressman is not doing opposing concealed reciprocal concealed carry permits, we do not want guns coming from other states into our state of New York. I would push for specific things I would push for, along with stopping the gun industry from being shielded by immunity and 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, and we can do better, and we will.

Jessica Reinmann 38:06 September is suicide awareness month. 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 sent my son off to his junior year of high school a few weeks ago, and the first question that my father in law asked me was, what is their, what is their plan if there is a mass shooting. I asked myself, sheesh, he fought Vietnam and he's wondering about guns in my son's school. So the question is what specific policies will I do to address this. 99% of Americans pulled believe in universal background checks, not 50% not 49% 89% of Americans pulled. That means that people who vote for MAGA Republicans, who are sponsored by the gun industry, do believe that universal background checks, do not violate the Second Amendment. We need to get those done immediately. For the last decade I've worked with every single domestic violence agency across Westchester County guns are a leading cause of death in domestic violence situations. I am a full advocate for red flag laws, which prevent guns from being in homes of abusers and people who have committed crimes before. There's a loophole at gun shows, where people who buy guns at gun shows, don't have to follow the same restrictions as people who buy guns at stores. I would immediately close the gun show loophole to make sure that nobody that buys a gun doesn't respect all of the rules and requirements of gun safety laws, I gotta stop. Thank you.

Effie Phillips-Staley 40:13 When I was a kid, my father was a veteran of actually World War Two in Korea, and he had a shotgun in the house, and I have to tell you that man was so strict. He pulled the fear of God into us, if we ever went near that weapon, but also with our BB guns. If we ever pointed them at another person, the wrath of my father, you could not imagine. I don't understand. If my father were alive today, and he saw the number of shootings that happen in our nation, he would be so appalled because there has been a horrendous shift, culturally, from a culture of safety and care to one of shocking violence. The presence of assault weapons that they're even available is appalling. The lack of mental health care and I will have to say with the big beautiful bill or the big ugly bill. I don't understand how Trump or law or could say that they're pro law enforcement when they took away funding from law enforcement for domestic violence protection for gun safety protection. The double speak is disgusting. I of course agree with everyone here. In terms of everything that they've said I will say one more on extreme risk protection borders. We do need to have the capacity to take away guns from people who are deemed dangerous. This is too difficult right now. We saw what happened today. In Colorado, and of course, the shocking murder in front of students, we, and I have to say, to the point of, oops, I'm sorry I have to stop. Thank you.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 42:21 We're going to get a little local. Our next question. There is an issue between the village of Mount Kisco and how about a bed for around the use of a public park for a brief annual Russia show on the surface. This has been held annually with no controversy before this year. When the permit request was denied. What is your position on this issue.

Beth Davidson 42:48 And we'll start with you. So I can relate to this personally because I remember it was the day after anti-Semitic incident in our town there was swastikas found in a Starbucks downtown. And I was so upset and I just felt like I wanted to do something so I throw up on Facebook that I was inviting everyone in the community, no matter their faith to come down to Memorial Park public space and perform test leash with us because it was the first day of our Shoshana, and it just felt like the right thing to do let's cast away, you know, our hatred, our, you know, our, our, our suspicions of one another what whatever is living in people's hearts and really come together as a community and support each other. The first person to show up was the mayor of our village. Don Hammond, I'll never forget that. And, you know, probably a couple dozen others showed up to. That's what people do when they rally together and that's why people need sometimes their faith to bring them together. We certainly, you know, and I also have a Christmas tree live in the middle of our town we have Easter egg hunts and Memorial Park. It's part of being a wonderful vibrant diverse community is appreciating enjoying each other's celebrations. And so I would support about continuing its wonderful tradition. And as long as along with every other big community that wants to share its own celebrations with each other.

Jessica Reinmann 44:16 As a loud and proud Jewish woman. I have been advocating for about of Bedford for the last two weeks, since this issue came up, both on social media although I really don't like keyboard warriors and behind the scenes speaking with local elected and members of that community. I stand with about of Bedford, and I always will. For the last nine years, I have made sure that Holocaust education is available through the Holocaust and human education rights center in every school district across the Hudson Valley. Personally, I have brought Holocaust education to the chat across school district, and to Hackley. I have made sure that education on the atrocities that happened to the Jewish people in the 1930s and 40s, never happen again. Never again. As a lawyer, I can tell you confidently that the town of Mount Kisco is committing something that is unconstitutional. This is unconstitutional, the Constitution says that we have a right of assembly and a freedom of religion. We are going to hold any other religious events in any of their public parks, not just Leonard Park, they should allow all religions to host events there. And what I'd like to say to every single one of you is that on September 23 at 3pm, I will personally be in Leonard Park with my family to listen to the shofar being blown and I hope that many of you will come and stand with me and stand with a lot of Bedford. Thank you, as trustee and Terry town, one of the most wonderful things I think we are able to enable is the celebration

Effie Phillips-Staley 46:25 that we are here in this pluralistic society it's so essential for us to know to celebrate ourselves, and also to celebrate each other. I, it is baffling to me that this was approved, and then taken away. It's so critical within a village that we come together and any municipality in this way and celebrate each other. The worst thing we can do is stay in silos, the best thing we can do is to be in public with each other. The best thing you'd love you know when you see my kids in school, and when I went to school where I grew up it was extremely diverse, lots of immigrants, lots of celebrations of each other's culture. This is normal. Like, this is who we are as Americans, so it is a baffling decision that they made, I haven't looked at it so I don't understand why they would. But as a trustee and Terry town. That wouldn't happen.

Cait Conley 47:33 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. What we are talking about is the freedom of religion, the freedom to assemble the freedom to speak, what is happening is on American. Let's be real. It's this type of behavior that is being normalized by this event by this administration and folks like Mike Lawler who are enabling me, who are setting this is as acceptable behavior, which is not. It's fundamentally on American, especially at a time where we are seeing anti semitism in America, at a level that I haven't seen in my 40 years. This is a time where we as Americans should be rallying around our Jewish communities and saying we've got your back. We are with you. This is America. That is who we are. And this type of behavior that doesn't happen in democracies that doesn't happen in America. That we fight for the values that we've honestly probably taken a bit for granted, and, and not allow this to be acceptable or normalized. So no, this is utter bullshit. This is terrible, and we will be with you, and we're not going to say this is okay. And we're certainly not going to let it spread or continue. But let's be real we need to address the leadership that has allowed people like this to make these decisions and think they're okay.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 49:03 Accountability is coming. Change is coming. This is not who we are. Okay, so next question will be starting with Jessica. Would you please comment on the President's use of the National Guard over the objections of the state's governor, what specific tools might be available to the Congress to stop this from happening.

Jessica Reinmann 49:36 I hate turning on the television every day. I hate following JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom and all of the other governors who are having to make decisions left and right to protect their citizens. I hate that there are vehicles of war on our streets. I hate that this summer when my daughter was living in Georgetown, where she will tell you that the worst crime or the big fat rats. And she came home one day, and there were literally army vehicles lining the street where she lived. And oh, by the way, there were people in the corner, using drugs, and nobody was arresting them. So, what can we do in Congress will number one, the first thing that we can do in Congress is to turn the house blue and change the speaker of the house back to hockey and Jeffries, because the speaker of the house is the most powerful person in the United States, not the president, not the head of the Supreme Court, the speaker of the house, he or she, I wish it was she, he or she decides what bills come to the floor. They decide when they vote to allow for the President to do things, they decide when we get to hear from different people, whether it be secretaries of war. Oh, did I just say that there's a secretary of war now. And so what can we do, we can really make sure that we stop this craziness we can make sure that we don't look like Germany in 1933, because 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. We cannot go back there. And with Trump and Lawler in the White House, and in New York 17. We are getting there.

Effie Phillips-Staley 51:45 The most critical thing that a Congress person could do, or Congress could do is be a check on the other branches of government which is completely abandoned Republicans have abandoned this fully, and Mike Lawler has abandoned it fully. When I gave my introduction I said something quickly but I'm going to say it again. I don't think we're slipping into autocracy I think we're there. It is an awful sobering thing. The other day, I really grieved about it a lot. But I think as we go to flip Congress. We're not just getting rid of Mike Lawler we're doing what we have to do to make government function as it should, and we cannot wait. It is existential. It is a trial run to put our military in democratic cities, when we know that crime is higher in other states. This is just a test run. I'm immensely proud of the people who are protesting in the streets, we have to protest in the streets, we have to practice corporal politics. We have to be visible. And I'm sorry to say it because I know it's very sobering. And we need to hold our elected officials accountable accountable, and I will say this, we have an immense privilege here in the 17th district that we have the opportunity to take out one of the most vulnerable Republicans that is there. None of us can rest until it's done, there has to be a level of action and activism that we have never practiced before, because our democracy means us to save it to save it from where it's at right now. Thank you.

Cait Conley 53:50 I think this question is just another example of why it matters so much to have the right person beating Mike Lawler, because we don't have time in January of 2027 for on the job training. You need someone who can get into that seat and sprint to undo the pain to roll back the harm and the cruelty and what is happening, and to actually put effective checks on what is going on. 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 have done this work with Congress and seen where it has failed, and where it has succeeded, but mostly failed. Now, what we need is someone who can sprint on day one to understand the levers the opportunities the authorities the means that are there to hold these people accountable, and to stop the pain. And that is real. 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. I'm not as a Democratic Party right now, doing everything we could be to slow this harm down, and it really upsets me. We should be doing better, even now. But this goes back to why this race matter so much, because we can do more if we are in the majority. And this is why I'm making this case. Look, I'm doing this because I love this country, and I believe our best days are still ahead of us, but we have a lot of work to do to get us there. We have to stop what is happening. And that means we need someone who can do that on day one, not 100.

Beth Davidson 56:01 Thanks for the question. And I think we can all just say upfront, it is absolutely bananas that the President of the United States is declaring war on American cities. We have friends and family, I'm sure we all do in Chicago, and in Boston. And let's not forget that Mike Lawler gave a signature thumbs up to Donald Trump sending troops into New York City. I agree that we need someone with experience. I've been working with law enforcement, local law enforcement, who I trust to take care of our communities. Thank you to the law enforcement officers who are keeping us safe here tonight. They know our kids. They know our schools, they know our neighborhoods, the local law enforcement who take care of us every day are the ones I trust to keep my community safe, safe. And remember, yes, it's not the states that actually have the highest crime, like Louisiana, Memphis, Tennessee, Alabama, that have the highest crime rates. That's not where Donald Trump is trying to intimidate citizens. It's places like Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, New York. In 2022 and 2024, Democrats missed the mark on our messaging that people didn't necessarily feel safe, for whatever reason that was gun violence, fears of now we're seeing fears of ice, fears of crime in their neighborhoods. We didn't listen. And we should have. But this is not the answer. Sending troops that are trained to fight and kill enemy adversaries combatants. That's not who we need to send into our cities. So in Congress, I will work to adequately resource, just as I have in public service thus far, our local law enforcement with the resources they need to take care of us.

Randy Glazer 57:41 Thank you.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 57:51 So, this time, okay, running for Congress seems like a full time job. The incumbent has another paid job. Do you have other paid employment now, and if so, describe what that is. And do you anticipate having some paid employment as of 2026.

Effie Phillips-Staley 58:17 My, my paid employment, my meager pay is as a trustee in the village of Tarrytown. I worked for decades in the nonprofit sector. Recently, the last 10 years or so as a nonprofit executive where I have led institutions, education foundations cultural institutions, raised tens of millions of dollars for charitable causes. But when I decided to run for Congress, I decided that this has to be full time. I was asked by Hispanic advocates to consider it. When asked by your community it's essential to find the courage and step up and I did. And I knew that this had to be full time in this moment, because as I said we are in an existential moment, and it is absolutely critical that we do everything we can to engage as many communities as possible. We cannot miss a beat. We have to be everywhere. We need to make sure that we talk to everyone because what I will say about running for office is that I hate to say it. I don't feel that the Democratic Party has done a good job of being sufficiently inclusive of people's needs. This is why so many across the board shifted to Trump. This is why so many, particularly I will say from the perspective of the Hispanic community, wonder if Democrats are really there to support them. We have to be present. We have to listen. We have to build trust, and we need to earn the votes of people who feel that we have abandoned, and that is a key reason why I'm running at this time, full time.

Cait Conley 60:24 I know this may surprise folks, but as somebody who's been a public servant since I was 18, I'm not a millionaire. I can't afford to not pay the bills living in Westchester which is a little expensive so when we talk about the affordability crisis, believe me I know it from a very personal way. 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. I'm gonna call the DoD or she's called the DoW read the hell they're renaming it. 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. That's what I'm hearing in a lot of the conversations I'm having with the tech industry. So yes, I do need to still pay the bills, and my careers in army also didn't really help with saving a lot of money. But I will tell you, I think the jobs I'm doing right now, supporting these small businesses, these medium businesses that are doing this incredible work is going to make me an even better member of Congress. Because I'm seeing what's coming and the challenges that the private sector is facing. And by the way, what makes America the powerhouse it is, is our ability to innovate. It's our economy. It's all of these things that we must continue to invest and drive forward in, to be a global leader. So, yes.

Beth Davidson 62:26 So I think for me the issue isn't just that the incumbent has a paid job, it's that aside from being our congressman it's that his consulting firm makes money on all of the policies and messages that we see tearing our community apart for those who don't know he writes a political consulting firm that he still operates. But for me, I serve as a county legislator, and I have to keep definitely advocating for my constituents who are counting on me. I serve as the chair of the environmental committee. I serve as the chair of the transit committee. I chair, I serve as the chair of the water task force water safety is such a huge issue and the availability of source water to keep our power communities for years to come. And I also serve as a multi services committee which, which is going to help keep our healthcare services and mental health and all the other services we talked about a float. I also want to take a moment though, to say that I am a mom, my son Hugo is here with my husband, and I want to take a moment to talk about the unpaid caregivers in our community, there are many of them. And so that is another job that I have that we all have for those of us who take care of children or spouses or parents, and that's a caregiving crisis in this country that I would definitely prioritize when elected to Congress. We need to find ways to either train our unpaid caregivers to to with innovations to help them do their jobs better, and obviously lower the cost of caregiving both for childcare and elder care so shout out to all the unpaid caregivers you do very important work.

Jessica Reinmann 64:07 For almost 15 years I worked in the law firm sector, day in and day out from 6am until 12pm, and I made a lot of money, and I was miserable. And in 2014 as you all heard, I founded 914 cares. For the last decade, I have been a full time unpaid volunteer. I have worked in every single community in northern Westchester, every single town, village, and the only city peak skill in our district, I have been working in school districts, I have been in healthcare centers, delivering diapers, I've been handing out period products to women at the Mount Kisco interfaith food pantry. I have been in healthcare centers handing out bottles and formula to families who can't afford bottles and formula. 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 my glottler would put a spotlight on 914 cares and make him reconsider, since Donald Trump says the IRS can reconsider the federal and C3 status. So I had to step down from my work at 914 cares. While it was unpaid, it was 90 hours a week, every day of the week. I miss it every day. I'm still going into every under resourced community and now I have been involved in the Haitian under resourced community in Rockland County, and I'm so happy that we're not as here joining us today. And I will continue that work, I will continue to be an advocate for under resourced and marginalized communities, and I will continue to run for Congress to make sure that Michael all are only has one job in 2027.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 66:18 And we now move to the lightning round. We actually have the time for a few of those questions. Exactly, because I just have to say the rule following. Just to be amazed. Thank you all, very. We'll be asking the questions and there'll be 30 seconds for the answer so Randy's going to be begin with tape. What House committees would you seek to join?

Cait Conley 67:00 Energy and commerce. So when I talk about the future of this country in the Hudson Valley in particular fixing our failing infrastructure, the federal government and the private sector has failed to invest in the Hudson Valley in a way that it can grow and prosper, and that has to end. 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.

Beth Davidson 67:38 I want to make that stop. First of all, I just want to quickly acknowledge that 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, and I'm really celebrating that, including our role-following. And let's not forget that the long-time holder of the seat was the first woman chair of the appropriations committee. So yes, appropriations would definitely be the dream committee. And then I would also say foreign affairs. It's a really important time to reclaim our rightful place as leader as a beacon of democracy, and that would be my choice too.

Jessica Reinmann 68:17 Obviously every single one of us wants to be on appropriations, and so I'll just say that as one of all of us. But for me, it's health and human services. For me, again, the affordability crisis, taking care of the citizens of New York 17, taking care of the voters and those who can't vote yet of New York 17 will always be my priority. This is a mission-driven campaign to make sure that the mission that I have practiced continues when I get to Congress.

Effie Phillips-Staley 68:54 Wow, it's tough to be last because I picked them all. Energy, absolutely. We must rebuild our energy grid. We must have green energy moving forward. It is existential that we are not moving in this direction. And of course, health and human services as well is critical because our health care system is not doing the job. And it's only going to get worse for the reasons that all of us know. These are the two I would

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 69:27 like to be in. Next, which member of Congress do you want to emulate?

Beth Davidson 69:38 I would say the outgoing Senator Debbie Stabenow. She always said, I'm not a show pony. I'm a work horse. And I would also say that she served on the agriculture committee, which when she joined we were all like, what are you doing? But she saved Snap more times than I can tell you. So she's still my OG.

Jessica Reinmann 69:58 This is my favorite question in the whole world because I got to meet my idol Grace Meng this spring at the Westchester County Democratic Committee event. Grace has been an advocate for diaper need and period poverty for her entire career. She created one of the first period programs in all of the United States. She has fought to make sure that period products and diapers are not taxed as luxury items. I admire her. I adore her. I want to emulate her. Meeting her was the best day of my life.

Effie Phillips-Staley 70:35 Lydia Velasquez. Because when she decided to run, the entire party was against her. So she looked away, did the community organizing, did the groundwork, won by a landslide, and brought real representation to the community that she cares for. And she's been at it for a while now. And she is absolutely fierce. She is exactly who I want to be.

Cait Conley 71:06 Two, Alyssa Slotkin and Pat Ryan. So Alyssa Slotkin was part of the wave of women veterans in 2018 that flipped critical house seats from red to blue and then held them. We don't want to rent this seat. We want to own it. And that was critical. And her leadership and ability to draw people, not just Democrats, but others to vote for her, was demonstrating 24. She won a statewide Senate seat in Michigan last year, even when Kamala Harris lost the state. And I'll say Pat Ryan up north in New York 18. He and I were at West Point together. He's two years older than me. I tell him he looks a little older than that. But I think he showed how Democrats can turn around the Hudson Valley and deliver.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 71:47 What year did you register as a Democrat?

Jessica Reinmann 71:52 Everybody wants to hear this answer. 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 peak skill, wait two and a half hours to check a mark on a box and become a Democrat. And you know what I said the day after the red wave to my husband, you said it was no big deal. And I said, I'm going to be a Democratic Congresswoman.

Effie Phillips-Staley 72:25 1989. The day I turned 18 when I was old enough to register to vote and I haven't looked back, haven't always been happy with the party, not especially happy with it right now. But I know our party's roots. I know it's hard. And that's why I'm still a Democrat.

Cait Conley 72:43 So I will tell you as a proud member of the armed services who swore a note to the Constitution, I was never politically affiliated when I was an officer in this military. And I believe the politicization of the military now is wrong and bad for this country. And I will tell you that my heart though has always been with this party, because when I raised my hand and served at West Point in the army, who's 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. So I will be loaded once the day I die.

Beth Davidson 73:23 1990, the year I turned 18 as well, and proud to serve this party, proud to join the Clarkstown Democratic Committee 20 years ago when I first moved here, proud to continue to work from within to make it better, remembering who we are as Democrats, what we believe in, strong public schools, clean air and water, safe neighborhoods, good paying jobs, good union jobs. That's what I'll continue to fight for as your next Congresswoman.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 73:53 Next question, just one word. Do you commit to running a positive issue-focused primary campaign and ultimately support the Democratic nominee, whoever he or she may be? Without hesitation.

Jessica Reinmann 74:11 Yes, absolutely. 100%. Thank you.

Forum moderators / question-readers (Randy Glazer & Jane Silverman + co-hosts) 74:20 All right, now we're going to be moving to the closing statements. So we will go in reverse order. So I guess, Beth, you get to go first. Two and a half minutes.

Beth Davidson 74:31 Thank you. Well, thank you again so much to Randy and Jane and to our intrepid chair, Suzanne Berger for hosting this forum, and to all of you for being here tonight. When we look at the state of our country, especially a day like today, it's so easy to feel overwhelmed. It's so easy to feel hopeless. But things are not hopeless, and we are not helpless. We here in this room can do something, and that's beat Mike Lawler. 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. There's no question. We need to fight like hell against the chaos, the corruption, and the cruelty that marks the second Trump administration. And as you've heard, that's what I'm doing as a Rockland legislator every day. But that alone isn't enough. We can't just be the party that's against Donald Trump and Mike Lawler. 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. It was the end of the day. My kids were crapped out in the RV on their phones, and my husband and I wanted to take one more hike. We found ourselves in the Zion National Park Museum in front of a display about the history of the national park system, and 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. This cannot be a time to be defeatist. Yes, this era of polarization feels bleak. But we have the best universities, the savviest entrepreneurs, the hardest working small business owners, the best innovation and technology anywhere in the world. And we have the smartest, most hardworking, dedicated young people who want to make a difference. And I am not going to tell them their future have limits. I am not going to tell them our democracy is failing. I believe elected officials can and must do big and bold things to make our country better for our children and grandchildren. I'm running for Congress because I know how to roll up my sleeves and deliver results that make a difference in people's lives. That's the experience I'm ready to take to Congress next year. We have to do it together. Let's go get Mike Lawler and put

Effie Phillips-Staley 77:08 Congress back to work for the people. Thank you. This campaign is about us, the people of the Hudson Valley, demanding a government that finally puts working families ahead of the ultra rich and political insiders. So I'm not someone who's going to Washington to write strongly worded letters. I will fight for Medicare as a public option, universal child care, and real housing affordability right here in the Hudson Valley. I will fight for immigrants and asylum seekers because America is strongest when we open our doors and not close them. And I will fight for climate action so our kids have a livable future. I'm also running because I know what it means when public education, veterans benefits, affordable housing, and health care transforms lives. That is what lifted my family. That's what built the American middle class. And that's what Trump and Mike Lawler are taking away from us right now while the DNC is trying to figure out its messaging. This must stop now. This is our moment to stand tall, to throw out the failing DNC playbook, and authentically address the needs of people, not the systems of power. So I'm asking you to take a look at my suburban progress agenda. It was built by looking at real people's budgets and finding answers to address the needs. And I'm also asking you for your support, not just tonight, but every day until election day, because when we organize, when we fight, and when we imagine and deliver a bold future where all of us have a chance to thrive, we will not lose. Thank you so much for being here. I'm a collaborator, an advocate,

Jessica Reinmann 79:28 a fighter. I am not shy. And I am not quiet. And I never will be. And I will say right now, I am extraordinarily disappointed that we were not asked tonight what our stance is on Israel. So I'm going to take this opportunity to let every single one of you know that I am a pro Israel Democrat, that I will 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. We need Democrats who will stand up for Jewish people, for the Jewish homeland, and for the anti-Semitism that is happening around this country, not just in Mount Kisco, but everywhere. I dropped my daughter off at college four years ago, four years ago, three weeks before October 7. The war in Israel is causing horrific pain to every Jewish citizen. And the fact that we haven't heard from every single candidate as to where they stand on Israel is deplorable as far as I'm concerned. I and I alone can beat Mike Lawler, because I am the only candidate sitting up here or the other four who has relationships and a life in both Westchester and Rockland County. As many of you know, my husband was born and raised in the East Ramapo School District. I will fight like hell for every single under-resourced school district, including East Ramapo. I will not be beholden to any organization or any group of people. I will make sure that every single member of New York 17 is treated with dignity and respect. I will make sure that our immigrant communities are treated with dignity and respect. I will make sure that our Jewish communities are treated with dignity and respect. I will make sure that our LGBTQ plus communities are treated with dignity and respect. I will make sure that every single child that goes to school goes to school safely, that parents don't worry that their children are going to be shot in their classrooms. I will make sure that every single