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Gershon’s the One
……Long Island could be a state. With eight million residents (including Brooklyn and Queens) it would be bigger than Norway. Instead, it is part of New York State. It has its very own Donald Trump imitation. The Congressman from NY 01.
……If there were a bridge, NY 01 would be closer to New London or New Haven than to New York City. Lee Zeldin was elected in 2014 as the Congressman from New York 01 — the congressional district at the far eastern end of Long Island.
……When he was in the State Senate, Zeldin voted against the Marriage Equality Act, voted against the New York Dream Act, and opposed gun control. In Congress, he voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, co-sponsored a bill to prohibit abortions where the probable age of the fetus is more than 20 weeks, co-sponsored a bill to allow individuals to deny services to gay couples or pregnant single women if providing services violated their religious beliefs. He supports Trump’s politics and Trump’s way of talking about politics. Zeldin insists he would not attempt to wash the President’s mouth out with soap.
……There are a bunch of Democrats eager to oppose Zeldin in November. Perry Gershonhttps://www.perrygershon.com/ will win the primary. He has the resources to challenge an incumbent. He started 2018 with more than $800,000 available for the campaign. No other Democrat has $200,000 available. The incumbent started the year with more than $1.2 million.
……It is not just the money. Not that there is anything wrong with the other Democrats. They include an immigrant from Northern Ireland, a local office holder, and a political consultant formerly from Manhattan. They are each interesting in their own right.
……Perry Gershon talks the businessman talk about what would make him an effective Congressman. Founder of a sports bar in his early twenties, he expanded to commercial real estate finance. He is proud of his ability to get people with diverse views to work together and intends to work effectively in Congress across party lines. He sees his entrepreneurial experience has important for bringing good paying jobs to his district.
……His aspiration is quixotic. We’ve heard the story before. A businessman thinks his skills will tame Washington. Despite that, we should welcome Perry Gershon. He really is able to work with a variety of people. He has put his business skills to work — lending money when others would not during the financial crisis, leading an effort to cope with the impact of Hurricane Sandy.
……We should welcome Perry Gershon because he brings his progressive views to the table. He has positions that are not so easy to compromise away:
- The environment — He notes two local problems: damage from rising sea levels and pollution of the water supply. He ties the first to global warming, wants to address mitigation and remain in the Paris Treaty. He ties the second to problems with nitrate waste and speaks with an understanding of the aquifer as well as the local, state, and federal cooperation needed to prevent further pollution.
- Jobs and the economy — He notes the importance of Brookhaven Labs and SUNY Stonybrook for the jobs they provide and, more important, for the role they can play in bringing high quality, high paying jobs to the region. He describes a comprehensive plan for increased technical education, elimination of financial barriers to that education, reduced taxes to small business, financial incentives to new businesses, and infrastructure improvements. Not all of these are Congressional issues, but there is value in a comprehensive vision.
- Health care — He argues for a Medicare for All system while explaining that, until that can be achieved, he would fight for steps to stabilize the exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.
- Education — His PK-12 statement urges more funds for public schools, greater access to early childhood education, reduced class sizes, and resources for learning and excellent teachers. His post-secondary statement proposes reduced costs to students and more technical education.
- Infrastructure — After noting the D grade the country gets for infrastructure, his focus is on local needs: Long Island Railroad improvements, a freight train oriented tunnel from New Jersey to Long Island, , sewer lines, and waste treatment plants.
Perry Gershon also has detailed positions on additional issues:
- National Security
- Tackling the Opioid Epidemic
- Real Tax Reform
- Preventing Gun Violence
- Protecting Women’s Health Care
- Supporting Our Veterans
- Commonsense Immigration Reform
- Equality and Civil Rights
Perry Gershon is unfailingly thoughtful as he addresses each of these issues. Part of what he has been spending money on is creating a website that describes his views comprehensively. HIs fundraising lead is not a small matter for the primary. His capacity to raise money is crucial for the general election. Even now, though, he needs our help. He is $400,000 behind the incumbent and needs to spend some of his money to win a primary. Help Perry Gershon https://www.perrygershon.com/gain on the incombent. Victories like this will achieve a Democratic House of Representatives.…
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