We Mark Our Ballot: For Congress

For Congress

Both of the candidates for the 1st Congressional District seat, seeking to succeed Republican U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin, who is not seeking reelection due to his gubernatorial bid, are seasoned public servants with years of experience under their belts.

Republican Nick LaLota, a U.S. Navy veteran who lives in Amityville — outside the 1st District, but he pledges to relocate to within the district if elected — served several years as an Amityville Village Board member, before taking behind-the-scenes roles in the Suffolk County Board of Elections and in his current role as chief of staff to the presiding officer of the Suffolk County Legislature. Democrat Bridget Fleming of Noyac sits on the Suffolk County Legislature, and was a Southampton Town Board member and a prosecutor in Manhattan.

Both have shown a dedication to public service and a desire to serve the residents of Long Island. The two differ fairly predictably along party lines.

LaLota rightly recognizes the pain his constituents are feeling under inflation, rising taxes and mortgage rates, and calls for federal spending cuts — without touching Medicare and Social Security, as his colleagues in Washington, D.C., have suggested. Fleming counters that the state and local tax deductions capped as part of the Trump administration tax cuts must be restored and tax breaks given to corporations and billionaires eliminated.

LaLota would like to see voter IDs issued and limit absentee ballots to guarantee against voter fraud; Fleming correctly believes there’s no evidence of significant voter fraud, period. Fleming is calling for a national codification of abortion rights at the federal level, while LaLota agrees with the U.S. Supreme Court that abortion should be a state decision.

In any given year, either would represent a good selection for voters and would represent the district well in Washington.

But this isn’t any given year. And while it may come across as cliche, it is true that American democracy is under attack — from the failed insurrection on January 6, 2021, threatening free and fair elections in the United States, to the unprecedented Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court earlier this year upending a half century of progress in the effort to guarantee women not only the right to take control of their own bodies but to be equal citizens under the law.

No less than the very fabric of our nation is at stake. In every race this year, in every local and state office, and particularly on the federal level, it is critical to vote for leaders who have vowed to protect democracy, to guarantee elections and to fight to protect the rights of all Americans in these challenging times.

Bridget Fleming recognizes the precipice the country is teetering on and will passionately fight hard for those protections. She should be sent to Washington to represent the residents of the 1st District, and to protect the rights of all Americans.