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December 16th, 2023 Len’s Political Note #607 Tom Suozzi New York 03
2024 General Election
The special election to fill the vacancy caused by George Santos’s expulsion from Congress is scheduled for February 13. Tom Suozzi is the Democratic nominee to complete Santos’s term as the Representative of New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
Tom Suozzi is no George Santos. He is not a fabulist. He can distinguish between his own money and his campaign money. He has been a man of ambition. He used to and may still imagine a route to the Presidency for himself. He occasionally has distressed colleagues from his own party.
Tom Suozzi is not a favorite of New York Governor Kathy Hochul. He had run for governor in 2006 and ran in the primary again, against her, in 2022. His own explanation of his candidacies for governor illuminates her displeasure with him:
“ [In 2006] I was running against Eliot Spitzer, the sheriff of Wall Street. Now, I’m running against Kathy Hochul, who I don’t think has any kind of record of accomplishment that anybody could point to.”
On Tuesday, December 5, The New York Times reported that, as the Nassau and Queens County leaders were on the verge of naming Tom Suozzi the Democratic nominee, he was summoned to Albany. The Governor wanted to speak to him.
“Mr. Suozzi knew Ms. Hochul, a bitter rival, had been toying for weeks with trying to block him from becoming the Democratic nominee in a special election to replace Mr. Santos. So he cleared his schedule, fighting through three hours of rush-hour traffic to arrive at the Governor’s Mansion after nightfall.
Inside, Ms. Hochul presented Mr. Suozzi with multiple demands, according to two people briefed on the previously unreported meeting. She wanted to see his battle plan; needed the Roman Catholic former congressman to agree to run as a full-throated defender of abortion rights; and sought assurances that he would not run ads damaging their party’s brand.
Mr. Suozzi, 61, acceded to each request. Then he offered something else to soften the ground: an apology for aggressive personal tactics he deployed against Ms. Hochul in a 2022 primary campaign for governor, particularly for casting doubt on her family’s ethics.
The meeting amounted to an unusual flex of power from a governor who has typically preferred making friends over harboring grudges. But the assurances made room for a crucial détente that has cleared the way for party leaders to formally announce Mr. Suozzi as their candidate … .”
Can you count on Tom Suozzi to sustain his commitment? In 2005, EJ Dionne used his Washington Post column to praise a Suozzi speech that was trying to achieve, not exactly a middle ground on abortion, but a position that respected the views of all on that controversial issue. Tom Suozzi said:
“As a Democrat, I do not often find it easy to talk with other Democrats about our need to affirm our commitment to the respect for life and how we need to emphasize our party’s firm belief in the worth of every human being, As a Catholic, I do not often find it easy to talk with other Catholics about my feeling that abortion should and will remain safe and legal, and that we should instead focus our efforts on creating a better world where there are fewer unplanned pregnancies and where women who face unplanned pregnancies receive greater support and where men take more responsibility for their actions.”
In Congress, for which he did not run for reelection in 2022 so he could run for Governor against Kathy Hochul, he had been Vice Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus. The likelihood of his giving up on his desire to create grand bargains with Republicans is slim. Still, he voted with President Biden more than you would expect based on the political make up of New York’s Third Congressional District according an organization that makes such calculations for every Member of Congress.
Tom Suozzi is a graduate of Chaminade High School in Mineola, Boston College, and Fordham Law School. He takes his Catholicism seriously. In going into politics, he was going into a family business. His father and his uncle had each been elected mayor of Glen Cove. Tom Suozzi served four terms as Glen Cove’s mayor. He was ambitious for more and was elected Nassau County Executive, the first Democrat in thirty years to be elected to fill that job.
Tom Suozzi achieved some important goals as mayor and as county executive. In Glen Cove, he developed brownfield and superfund sites, he demolished and closed the city incinerator. He cut spending as County Executive and fixed the county’s debt-ridden finances. Not that it got him reelected in 2009. He lost by a substantial margin.
Returning Tom Suozzi to Congress in February is crucial step for Democrats. At this moment, there are 221 Republicans, 213 Democrats, plus the vacancy in New York 03. If Tom Suozzi is elected in February, that will increase the number of Democrats to 214. Further changes in the membership of Congress, including the resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, could leave the Republicans with a 219-214 majority for much of 2024. On any single vote, if Democrats can remain together (and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been effective in keeping his group together), three Republicans voting with the Democrats can make the difference on an important vote.
After dithering, the Long Island Republican political leadership chose its Congressional candidate — County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip. Part of the airlift of Ethiopian Jews, she came to Israel with her family as a 12 year old. She fit into Israeli life. At 18, she joined the Israeli Defense Force, serving in the Paratroopers’ Brigade. After completing her service, she went to the University of Haifa, getting a degree in occupational therapy and chairing the Ethiopian Student Union. She met her future husband there – Adalbert Pilip – a Jewish Ukrainian American who was studying medicine at the Technion. She continued her studies at Tel Aviv University getting a Master’s Degree in diplomacy and security.
Together, in 2005, they moved to the United States, eventually to Great Neck on Long Island in New York. They have seven children together. He practices cardiology. She was active in the Orthodox Jewish community, serving as Vice President of Synagogue Kol Yisrael Achim. Though she had originally registered as a Democrat and has never changed that registration, she was nominated and elected twice to the Nassau County legislature by the Republicans.
Running for the County legislature, her platform was opposition to anti-Semitism. She regularly expressed support for her homeland – Israel. As for the variety of other issues that a candidate for Congress might have — on abortion, gun safety, the Presidential race, she is not so clear. When she was recently introduced by Republican political leaders, a reporter asked whether she supported a national abortion ban. The politician introducing her interrupted, explaining they were not going to review the entire political platform at that moment.
We are going to have to wait to see what her views are. Or how her views are formulated for this race. She will be a formidable opponent for Tom Suozzi. She has such a good life story. The people of NY 03 know Tom Suozzi. He has represented the district in the past and is liked by its constituents. Right now, he needs your help. His victory will put pressure on the slim Republican majority and will help build a Democratic majority in the November, 2024 election. The Republicans will put an enormous amount of money into this campaign. DONATE TO TOM SUOZZI. HELP HIM WIN IN FEBRUARY.
Support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
As we look toward November, 2024, Help sustain the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaign. Every donation, large or small, does make a difference. Larger donations mean more money for the campaign. But many in the media count the number of small donations as a measure of enthusiasm for the candidate. So
make a small donation or a large one. DONATE TO JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/web-bfp-december-2023
The Northeast has a bunch of Vulnerable Republicans to target. Should New York redistrict, the Republicans in that state could be even more vulnerable. Fewer Democrats are vulnerable, but there are enough to make the entire northeast a battleground.
Inc Democrat Jahana Hayes CT 05 is #3 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House; she is tied for #11 on Daily Kos’s List. She will be opposed by her 2022 opponent former State Senator George Logan who she defeated in a very close race. Jahana Hayes had $900,000 on October 1; Logan had a negligible amount. DONATE TO JAHANA HAYES. Keep her far enough ahead of Logan so a competitive campaign seems implausible. See Len’s Political Note #541
Mike Lawler NY 17 is #4 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. He is #2 on Daily Kos’s List. Former Congressman Mondaire Jones will be the Democratic nominee. Mike Lawler entered October with $2 Million; Mondaire Jones began with $850,000. DONATE TO MONDAIRE JONES. If he catches up, he wins. See: Len’s Political Note #579
Inc Democrat Pat Ryan is #5 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House. He is #8 on Daily Kos’s List. Two Republicans have announced their candidacies. Neither had any money on October 1. Pat Ryan had $1.6 Million. DONATE TO PAT RYAN. More will allow him to minimize support for those opponents.See Len’s Political Note #545
Inc Democrat Susan Wild PA 07 is #6 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House. She is #5 on Daily Kos’s List. Only State Rep Ryan McKenzie had more than $100,000 on October 1. Susan Wild had $1.1 Million. DONATE TO SUSAN WILD Keep her far enough ahead to discourage Republican donors and the Republican candidates. See Len’s Political Note #546
Brandon Williams NY 22 is #6 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. He is tied for #4 on Daily Kos’s List. Recent confrontations with former staffers have only made him more vulnerable. Previous candidate Sara Klee Hood was the first Democrat to announce for the nomination and is a likely, but not certain nominee. Sara Klee Hood had $250,000 on October 1; the incumbent had a relatively low $850,000. If Sara Klee Hood catches up to Williams, she wins. DONATE TO SARA KLEE HOOD. See Len’s Political Note #557
Inc Democrat Matt Cartwright PA 08 Is #7 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House. He is tied for #3 on Daily Kos’s List. Businessman Rob Bresnahan is the only Republican to announce and he reported having raised no money.Matt Cartwright is prepared and had $1.4 million on October 1. DONATE TO MATT CARTWRIGHT. Keep him far enough ahead to discourage Republican donors and the Republican candidate. See Len’s Political Note #547
Mike Molinaro NY 19 is #9 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. He is tied at #7 on Daily Kos’s List. Josh Riley will be the Democratic nominee. He is closing in financially with $1 Million on October 1. The incumbent was leading with $1.3 Million. Josh Riley can flip this seat if he raises more than the incumbent. DONATE TO JOSH RILEY See Len’s Political Note #580
Tom Kean Jr NJ 07 is #14 on both Len’s List and Daily Kos’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. Sue Altman is the probable Democratic nominee. On October 1, she had $350,000 available for her campaign. The incumbent had nearly $1.8 million. DONATE TO SUE ALTMAN. Help her catch up to the incumbent. See Len’s Political Note #578.
Anthony D’Esposito NY 04 is #15 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House and tied for #4 in Daily Kos’s List. Laura Gillen is the probable Democratic nominee. On October 1 she had $400,000 available for her campaign. The incumbent had $1.1Million. DONATE TO LAURA GILLEN She does not have that far to go to catch up. See Len’s Political Note #596
Inc Democrat Jared Golden ME 02 is #17 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House; #10 on Daily Kos’s List. His probable opponent is State Rep Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver. On October 1, Jared Golden had just under $900,000 available; his probable opponent had less than $50,000. DONATE TO JARED GOLDEN Discourage his probable opponent and his opponent’s supporters. See: Len’s Political Note #575
Scott Perry PA 10 is #23 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. 2022 candidate Shamaine Daniels was the first to announce and I wrote a note on her behalf. Her fund raising has been insufficient. The incumbent has not raised much, though – less than $550,000. DONATE TO SHAMAINE DANIELS. Few Republicans are more worthy of defeat that Scott Perry. See Len’s Political Note #559
