Immigration, infrastructure and the prospect of a comeback attempt by former President Donald Trump dominated the Democratic primary debate for New York’s 10th congressional district on Wednesday night.
The night featured six experienced politicos who want to rep Lower Manhattan and a swath of Brooklyn including Brooklyn Heights, Sunset Park, Borough Park and Red Hook: Dan Goldman, former counsel in Trump’s first impeachment, former congresswoman and city Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman, Rep. Mondaire Jones, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, Councilwoman Carlina Rivera and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon.
Each indicated they would welcome asylum seekers as national attention has been focused on recent bus convoys sent from Texas to the Big Apple.
“Anyone seeking asylum is someone we have to give safety to. We need comprehensive immigration reform,” said Jones, a freshman congressman who has repped Westchester in his first term but is running Downtown in light of this year’s redistricting.
He went on to tout his U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which he said would, if passed, provide a path to citizenship for up to 11 million immigrants.
Simon called Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott’s policy of busing migrants to New York City “highly illegal” and “cruel,” adding that Congress should consider nixing the policy that “criminalized people coming in an unauthorized fashion,” among other steps.
Niou, perhaps the furthest left candidate in the race, repeated the progressive rallying cry of banning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The elimination of ICE would be the best way to go because this is an atrocity right now, how we are hurting and harming people,” said Niou, noting she was the only immigrant on stage.
All six candidates said they would join Mayor Adams if he personally traveled to Texas to push back against Abbott’s controversial policy that’s aimed at pressuring Washington on immigration.
Transit issues like congestion pricing dominated part of the debate, with the candidates voicing broad support for Albany’s policy of charging drivers who enter Manhattan below 60th St.
Most of the candidates called for some exemptions to congestion pricing, however, with Rivera saying the plan should possibly include incentives for people to use electric cars.
“You’ve gotta make sure that the pricing doesn’t price a family out of getting into Manhattan,” said Holtzman, who served in Congress from 1973 to 1981.
Discussing the crumbling infrastructure of the triple cantilever on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, better known as the BQE, the candidates promised to include community input for the solution.
“Anything that experts come up with will have community opposition,” said Simon. “When people really understand what is going on … people can get behind something that they might not like because they understand it needs to happen.”
The contenders mostly played nice — until they got the chance to ask one another questions toward the end of the session held at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan and moderated by NY1 and WNYC.
Jones accused Goldman of investing in Fox News and the Ruger firearms manufacturer, then asked him: “Will you apologize tonight to the victims of your investments?”
Goldman promised to put his assets into a blind trust if elected to Congress, adding: “I am a vigorous advocate for ensuring that there are no ethical violations and that the American people know their representatives are acting only in the people’s interest.”
Rivera was roundly criticized for her support of the controversial “East Coast Resiliency” project. The post-Hurricane Sandy effort to protect the Lower East Side from flooding has drawn loud local opposition for demolition at the East River Park.
“They wanted a park that was rebuilt and fortified,” said Rivera, citing NYCHA tenants and other constituents, telling her rivals: “I’m sorry you all don’t know the history of this.”
Each of the candidates pounced on Trump in the wake of the FBI’s recent raid on his Mar-a-Lago home, with Goldman repeatedly touting his experience helping to impeach Trump in 2019.
“This week just made it more clear that Donald Trump will run again in 2024 and he will try to steal the election,” he said. “I was in the trenches protecting and defending our democracy, and I have the unique skills and experience to do it again.”
Since former Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped out of the race, 12 candidates have been left in the Democratic primary, with six qualifying to participate in the debate.
Early voting starts Aug. 13 and Primary Day falls on Aug. 23. The winner is all but certain to prevail in the fall general election.
During a light moment in the two-hour-long debate, Rivera touted basketball skills she said she’d honed at The Cage on W. 4th St.
“Are you a Knicks fan and will you agree to play me one-on-one?” she asked Jones.
“I would absolutely love to play you in basketball or any other game,” the congressman replied. “I think you’re awesome. I know we’re opponents in this race. I’m also a Knicks fan, yes.”