Ever since I announced a run for the 2nd Congressional District in New York against Peter King, people have asked me, “Why take on an entrenched official like Peter King?” Some even suggest he’s not as bad as most. The answer is simple: If not this seat, then whose? If not this district, then which? We are living in an age where every seat counts. The election of Donald Trump has empowered beliefs unbefitting of our nation, and we need a Congress that will be a check on the worst impulses of an administration that, at times, seems to have nostalgia for the Jim Crow era. This new reality of politics needs representatives who understand the importance of putting the country before partisan politics. Whom we send to Washington has become more critical than ever. So, here’s a little about me.
My father, an auto mechanic, and my mother, a registered nurse, moved from New York City to the suburbs of Long Island to provide better opportunities for their identical twin boys. Suburbia – with all that it could have been, a welcome mat, it was not. At age 11, while I was walking down my street alone, bouncing my basketball, my neighbor, who was sitting on his porch, commanded his dog to attack “that nigger.” I was frozen in disbelief as the large German Sheppard charged towards me, and as his teeth pierced through my skin, I wondered to myself, “What did I do? What did I do?” The answer was nothing, of course, but be black.
My childhood was not all bad. Growing up in a middle-class and union household, I learned the value of hard work. My mother often worked two jobs to help provide for the family, while also earning a master’s degree. I often wondered how she had the time to do it all. I can still see my father in his soiled work clothes with greased hands after working on people’s cars all day.
After working my way through college, I joined the United States Army in the enlisted ranks. This unimaginably was my first personal experience with poverty. I couldn’t understand how a college-educated person working full time, in the military no less, could make poverty-level wages. I earned $16,329.80 at that time as the sole provider for my family of four and was on public assistance. There were many sleepless nights spent worrying about having enough money to put food on the table and pay the bills. This constant fear motivated me to apply for Officer Candidate School (OCS) and get commissioned as an officer with better pay and more opportunities for advancement.
After my military stint ended, I returned home and started working in local government. Eventually I was elected as a county legislator in Suffolk, one of the largest counties in the country with 1.5 million people and a $3-billion operating budget. Soon I was named the first person of color to be the majority leader, and shortly after, was the first person of color to be elected as the legislature’s presiding officer. During my tenure as presiding officer, we have passed many important progressive measures. We expanded protections against discriminatory housing practices for veterans, undocumented immigrants and members from the LGBT community. We banned toxic chemicals from baby toys. We created a land bank to help facilitate the cleanup of blighted properties and rehabilitation of zombie homes for affordable housing purposes. And recently, we passed public campaign financing. What other counties talk about, we get done.
The 2nd Congressional District is not just a district that I believe I can win, but for the sake of the country, I believe we must win. President Obama won this district. The district once had a 9,000 Republican advantage and now has a 5,000 Democrat advantage. The numbers are there – this victory can be ours.
Peter King, once considered, by some, to be a bipartisan and independent voice, now is intoxicated with Trump Kool-Aid. Recently, he made the motion to move forward with the release of the infamous Representative Nunes memo in the House Intelligence committee, which many viewed as a calculated attempt to interfere with the Mueller investigation of Trump. As chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, he led McCarthy-type hearings that inspired Islamophobia across America. King, an alleged convert to immigration-friendly policies, once sponsored legislation to end birthright citizenship. He also sponsored English-only legislation.
On the day I was attacked by that dog 38 years ago, I learned sometimes it doesn’t matter how nice you are to people because some will just judge you on your race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, economic status or even party affiliation. They will identify you as different than them, which, for too many, is enough justification in their minds to hurt you physically, financially or any way they can. My attacker was a retired racist public servant. Today I see those similarities in what is wrong with Washington. Our nation’s capital is filled with a bunch of rich guys who don’t care about working families. They aren’t bothered if they hurt you by taking away your healthcare or passing tax cuts for the wealthy that hurt average families, or by voting against laws to protect those different than them. My representative, Peter King, has gone along with this “I don’t care about anyone else” agenda. He doesn’t even care to show up to have a town hall meeting with his constituents. Well, it’s about time that we send someone to Washington who cares about working families; someone who will fight for them and who will not attack their way of life through regressive policies.
Instead of us being judged for who we are, I think it’s time we judge our representatives for what they are not. What are they choosing not to stand for? What basic liberties are they choosing not to defend? What bigoted insults are they letting the president get away with? What American values are they choosing to allow to diminish?
So why take on Peter King? The answer is: We must. In fact, we must storm the castle if we are going to save our democracy.
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