We asked NY's 19th House district candidates about issues in the midterms. What they said
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Democrat Josh Riley will face Republican Marc Molinaro in the Nov. 8 election to represent New York's 19th Congressional District.
The USA TODAY Network New York asked both candidates the same set of questions on issues in the midterm, but only Riley responded. On Thursday, after this published, Molinaro's campaign answered. Both campaigns' unedited responses are below.
Josh Riley
Party: Democratic
Residence: Ithaca
Age: 41
Q: Would you seek the adoption of any new gun control measures following the Bruen decision at the Supreme Court? If yes, what? If no, why not?
Coming from a law enforcement family, I appreciate the sacrifices our first responders make to keep our communities safe, and I believe that public safety requires more resources, not fewer. As counsel in the U.S. Senate, I worked on bipartisan legislation that was supported by law enforcement, including updates to the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program. I support common-sense legislation to keep our communities safe from gun violence.
What, if any, restrictions should be put on abortion? Should abortion laws be left to states or federal government?Women’s healthcare decisions are theirs to make, nobody else’s–not politicians’, not the government’s, and not the courts’. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs–which overturned Roe v. Wade–is an affront to liberty, justice, and equality and it turned back the clock on women’s rights. On my website, I have laid out a detailed plan to restore and protect women’s reproductive freedom.
How specifically would you address inflation?
Today’s high prices are the consequence of decades of terrible trade deals that shipped jobs overseas and ceded our supply chains to Asia. We must bring jobs home and start making things in America again.
In the more immediate term, I support proposals to lower prescription drug costs; expand Medicare to cover hearing, dental, and vision; and cut taxes for working families. I have also called on authorities to crack down on the price gouging that is ripping off so many Upstate New Yorkers.
Should members of Congress and their family members be banned from stock trading? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Yes. The purpose of public service is to serve the public, not enrich oneself. I support bipartisan proposals to prohibit politicians and their immediate family members from trading stocks while in office. Politicians who receive confidential information should be prohibited from using it to play the market. For example, in 2020, Senators profited off stock trades they executed after receiving private briefings about the pandemic. That’s not fair, and the law should be updated to stop it.
Will you accept the election results in November?
Yes, period. My opponent’s campaign recently referred to his last election as having been “rigged.” We need to restore and strengthen our Democracy and our faith in it, not undermine it.
Who won the 2020 presidential election?
Joe Biden. The fact that candidates even need to be asked this question demonstrates the perilous state of our Democracy.
What is your top policy priority, how do you intend to achieve it and why do you think you deserve to be elected in November?
Throughout history, Upstate New Yorkers have risen to meet challenges by manufacturing the things we need to overcome them. Today, the world is facing big challenges again–inflation, climate change, the digital divide. We must seize these challenges as opportunities. I have released a detailed plan on my website to revitalize, innovate, and strengthen the economy in Upstate New York by creating good-paying high-tech manufacturing jobs in critical industries of the future.
Marc Molinaro
Party: Republican
Residence: Red Hook
Age: 47
Q: Would you seek the adoption of any new gun control measures following the Bruen decision at the Supreme Court? If yes, what? If no, why not?
I support the second amendment. What Congress and state governments need to be focused on now is going after criminals, and those illegal guns on our streets. I support strengthening comprehensive background checks and actually enforcing the law. Tens of thousands of gun crimes are plead down to non-gun related crimes every year. On top of that, the laws we have in effect are barely able to be enforced. Let’s give law-enforcement, the tools necessary to do their jobs, keep criminals off our streets, and keep guns in the hands of law abiding citizens.
What, if any, restrictions should be put on abortion? Should abortion laws be left to states or federal government?
Like it or not, the United States Supreme Court has determined in the Dobbs decision that this is a states rights issue. As such, I do not believe that Congress has any role to play in a woman’s right to access. I will not vote for an abortion ban. On a personal level, I do believe, like most Americans, that very late term and partial-birth abortions, should be restricted, except of course, in the case of rape, incest, and the health of the mother.
How specifically would you address inflation?
We have to do everything in our power to reduce the cost on middle-class families, farmers and small business. That starts by reigning in federal spending, it extends to exerting America's energy resources so that we can begin to bring down home heating and gas prices and it also means confronting the high burden of taxes.
Should members of Congress and their family members be banned from stock trading? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Absolutely yes, there should be a ban. We have seen too many elected officials abuse theirinsider knowledge, and become wildly wealthy beyond what they should’ve been able to as amodest public servant. Republicans and Democrats both have unfairly profited.
Will you accept the election results in November?
Absolutely. I believe in democracy I believe in America.
Who won the 2020 presidential election?
Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. I am woefully aware that he’s the duly elected president of the United States. We are living with those consequences.
What is your top policy priority, how do you intend to achieve it and why do you think you deserve to be elected in November?
My priorities are the priorities of my constituents. thousands of people have talked to me about inflation and rising energy costs, providing adequate support to law enforcement, and helping to stop the flow of illegal drugs into our communities. The struggles families are experiencing today, are the same struggles my family and I face now, and they are the struggles I faced growing up. I’m the son of a mother who, for some time, raised a young family on her own, on food stamps. I know the value of hard work and determination.
The father of four children, including one on the autism spectrum, I know the importance of family, giving your all for your loved ones no matter the personal sacrifice. After a global pandemic, rampant inflation, and a government fostered crime wave has ravaged our state and nation, I’m running for the future of our community — the health, safety, and well-being of my neighbors — and to help New York and America rebound and fulfill the ideal ofour state and country for which we’ve longed.
I’m running for the future of my children and yours; for families who can barely to heat their home or buy groceries; for employees who have struggled like never before to maintain the American dream; for small business owners whose ambitions and livelihoods have been ravaged; for those who have been marginalized, left out, and relegated to the sidelines for too long.
I’m running because I believe in America and Americans. I believe in our exceptionalism — our capacity and the need to restore our shining city on a hill. I’m running for us — we, the people.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: NY-19th House race: Josh Riley, Marc Molinaro on key issues
