Episode 37: Beth Davidson, Democratic Candidate for New York’s 17th Congressional District

[music] Local Matters Westchester, a podcast where we interview the voices shaping Westchester. With Adam Stone, publisher of the Examiner News. Featuring Martin Wilber, former editor-in-chief of the Examiner News, a long-time journalist in the area, and now Senior Reporter for the Recorder in Bedford. And Shane McGatby, former stage manager of PCPB. Welcome to Local Matters Westchester. I'm Martin Wilber, one of the co-hosts of the show. Today we're joined by Beth Davidson, Rockland County Legislator, and one of seven Democratic candidates for New York's 17th Congressional District. This interview is part of an ongoing series where we're speaking with all the Democratic primary candidates ahead of the June election. We also hope to have Republican and Compton Congressman Mike Lawler on the show sometime before November's general election. Welcome to the program, Beth. Thanks for coming on. Thank you so much for having me. It's great to meet you both. There's a lot to cover about going on in Washington and all over the world, but let's start with a serious and recent event. On January 7th, Renee Good was killed in Minneapolis by an ICE agent during a federal immigration enforcement operation. What if any role do you think Congress should play in seeking answers about what happened there? Well, let me first of all say that this was a tragedy that I think we could have seen coming, but I hoped would not happen. I was able to join two demonstrations, one in Mount Kiscoe and one here in Rockland County, and I live over the weekend and tremendous turnout, hundreds and hundreds of people. This is definitely struck a cord, struck a nerve. In particularly the activist community, also the immigrant community, and just anyone who feels, right, like they want to feel safe in their communities, walking around our streets, I said back in the summer when Mike Lawler gave the thumbs up to Donald Trump sending federal troops into New York, that I was sure as hell not for that. I really trust our local law enforcement who knows our communities, here in NIAC where I live, the cops know that the kids know the families know the housing complexes, know the school districts, and that's how you keep a community safe by being really embedded and really engaged. So to have unskilled, poorly trained outsiders who don't know communities, I'm sad to say that we were all dreading something like this to happen. And the first thing my husband said was that could have been you. You know, think about all the protests we've all been to long before no kings, you know, the protests of 2020, rallies and vigils for things like the Pulse Nightclub shooting, and by the way, I would have had my kids with me because I take my kids to protests and rallies and vigils to help them understand what it means to be part of a community, to be a truly engaged member of a community. And so just horrifying. And I immediately called for full transparency and accountability. And in fact, if you follow me or any of my fellow candidates on social media, I worked to draft a solidarity statement to put us all on the record as condemning what happened and calling for full transparency, accountability and truth, which we saw the Trump administration jump so quickly to assassinate the character of Renee Good, of her wife, her family already in mourning must be, you know, grappling with even more hurt and pain and anger watching their daughter and her wife's name drive through the mud. And I think Christy Nome should be held fully accountable. We've already seen some accountability from attorney's quitting, the DOJ, because of the handling of this. And I'm glad to see that there are some people still in this administration with integrity and to believe in full accountability and transparency, especially in letting Minneapolis, again, if that were my community, I would of course want my local law enforcement involved if that were here. And so I understand, you know, why Minneapolis wants to investigate also. And so a role that Congress has to play is to, they have the power of the purse. So, you know, clearly, Mike Lawler's vote in that big, awful bill to add $170 billion in funding with little to no accountability or guardrails in place has been hugely destructive and now deadly. There have been calls for the impeachment of Secretary Nome among others. But would you be supportive of going in that direction if you were in Congress right now? I would certainly want to see where the investigation goes. And one thing you learn with this Trump administration is, I'm sure you've all seen the movie Heather's. When Heather Chandler's head is cut off, Heather Duke's head springs up in its place. You know, who's next in line to take that role? And so I think I'm the kind of leader that always thinks two steps ahead. And so I want to, I want to understand the repercussions of an impeachment vote. But I certainly am one who's demanding full accountability and transparency wherever that goes. Beth Adam Stone here. There's been local concern about a proposed ice detention facility. Can you fill us in on what you know about that news and your reaction to it? Sure. So that's just 20 miles, 25 miles north of where I sit in Chester, New York proposed for as I understand it, a pet boys building owned by Carl icon, a big Trump donor. So as everything with this administration, it's always follow the money. And I long suspected being given our proximity to New York City that there would be a request for a nice detention facility here, you know, either here in Rockland County or Orange County. Certainly given the large and really vital vibrant immigrant communities here in Rockland County. Our Haitian community are Dominican community are Hispanic community. We have Indian community pretty much every Ukrainian come to NIAAC and look at all the restaurants. You'll see what a what a broad community we have and vibrant community we have. And so I'm very concerned. We've already seen, you know, a 19 year old two teenagers and sorry, one 21 year old, you know, plucked from their families and sent off to ice detention facilities. And so having an additional facility here makes me concerned that we're not just looking at, you know, grabbing the violent criminals as we were, you know, initially promised. And I'm really worried about the impact it's going to have on our immigrant communities. If this indicates a broader, a broader effort to target racially profile and then kidnap, you know, whisk away, disappear. People from that community. You were in office right now. How would you address it? I am in office right now. I'm a Rockland County legislator. Anybody who has power to shut this down. If you were in Congress. I certainly would be opposed to it. And so if this is earmark funding that Mike Lawler is looking for, I'd look to shut it, you know, or whoever it is in Congress, I would look to shut that down. And certainly, certainly work with the administration to move it somewhere else. No one wants to ensure that Congressman Ryan doesn't want it in his community and I certainly wouldn't either. I'll be interested to see how he handles it being the Congressman from Orange County. That immigration reform, I think a lot of people on both sides of the aisle, agree that there needs to be changes to make it more effective and fair. But do you have any ideas or proposals about how the country should handle immigration reform and what that might look like? Well, we had it. We had the most bipartisan toughest bill passed by the Senate within bipartisan fashion and approved by the Border Patrol. And it was killed in the House by Mike Johnson and Mike Lawler and the rest of their majority, simply because Donald Trump made a phone call and didn't want to give Joe Biden a win. And that is exactly why we are where we are today. And I will tell you that I talk to Republicans, Independence Democrats, and across the board people say this is not what I voted for. If you go to these rallies and talk to folks, you'll find lots of what we call you as unaffiliated voters when you're a Democratic committee person like I am, who say, I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat, but I know this is wrong. And this is our community and these are our families and these are our, you know, people who work, work in our communities and live in our communities and pay taxes and obey the rules. We had someone snatched right from the front steps of the county legislature, who was, you know, just showing up to report for an appointment and grabbed off the steps. That is not what I voted for. That is not what most Republicans voted for. And I think Donald Trump is going to pay the price. We see that ice is underwater in the polls and with good reason. And I just think it's one more reason that this, how that the House will flip in November. So you would support that bill. I think it was in 2023. If I'm not mistaken, that it passed the Senate. I thought it was early 2024, but yeah, let's check our facts on that. But absolutely I would have voted for that. Yeah. And you want to see that with some version. Yes. A modernized streamlined, absent the cruelty. You mentioned how you were a legislator. Can you tell us more about your background, how you got into politics and a little bit about your, what led you to this point and your decision to run for the House of Representatives? Sure. So I'm a mom of two kids in public school. I was a Girl Scout leader. I served on the board of my synagogue. I served on, you know, a number of nonprofit boards here in Rockland County. The leadership Rockland. And actually I should say I go to synagogue in Westchester, which so I sort of had, you know, a foot on each side of the Hudson River for a long time, long to my synagogue for 12 years. And now I'm a, and sorry, and then I serve on the school board for two terms. I was really propelled onto the school board by like many people who ran for office the first time by the election of Donald Trump. And saw that a change I could make most immediately and a way that I could get active was to run for the school board. And so while I'd already worked on many campaigns throughout my lifetime here in the Hudson Valley around the country. I decided it was my turn to step up and run. And I'll tell you that when Hillary Clinton was running and it was, you know, her election night a night that so many remember I had all my neighbors over for watch party. I know people all over the country had those and I made my famous spaghetti meatballs and when the results started rolling in. You know, it was, you know, the Southern states come in first and I said, oh, no, don't wait. It'll get don't worry. It'll get better. But it didn't and people started kind of drifting off. And, but you know, my daughter was just right in front of the television just waiting to see the results to see that, you know, our first woman president elected and a friend of mine from Emily's list right used to work had even sent me a little package with pink tissue paper and firecrackers to set off with a card saying to set off when we have our first woman president. So that was what my daughter, you know, she was like nine. So that's what she was really excited for was the firecrackers. And so finally I said, you know what, good, I promise whatever time it is that Hillary wins, I will wake you up and we will set off the faircrackers. And the next morning I was, you know, making breakfast, you know, as as many people words trying to get through that morning that first morning after Donald Trump won and she came down and she said, you never woke me up. And that was when I had to grapple, how am I going to forge my way forward, you know, as a parent, as a member of this community that I know is going to be hit really this diverse community that was going to be hit really hard by this presidency. And so that's what I did I stepped up I ran for school board. I came in first in a five way race for three seats. And as soon as the election was called I came home and I woke up my daughter and we set off the firecrackers. And so I think I, you know, a lesson I needed to learn myself about how you, how you figure out how to pick yourself up and put good energy back into the world and a lesson I think I taught her as well. I served two terms on it on the night school board that I'm very proud of, including through COVID, reopened schools safely. Parkland happened about eight months after I was elected and so suddenly, you know, parents more fearful than ever of their kids safety in schools so we had to install a bunch of new safety improvements. I was had become acquainted with Sandy Hook Promise and my gun violence prevention advocacy. So I brought Sandy Promise programs into our schools. I highly recommend them for anyone listening. One's called say something. One's called start with hello. They're both still quite popular in my school district. And then an open seat opened up on the legislature, a retirement of a very well known legislator, Harriet Cornell here in Rockland County. So I stepped up to run again, but this time I led a slate of Democrats to win the first democratic super majority on the county legislature in history in 2023 while boosting turnout at an off your election by 20%. And then we really struggle with turnout and off your elections, Democrats do across the board. That's why the governor just signed a bill last year moving elections to even years to increase turnout. But even in that off year, we boost to turn out by 20% which I'm really proud of. And so as part of a veto proof super majority, I've been able to work across the aisle with Republicans with our Republican County executive day to pass common sense gun safety reform. And I think that's why I ran on because there was tragically murder suicide in my district domestic violence incident five days before I was sworn in. So that was the first issue I took up right there. We say, oh, it's not the time. You know, we need to wait. And I said, this is exactly the time. And so, you know, but I didn't pull a gotcha. I went into the county executive's office and worked with him hand in hand on that bill. And so I heard it passed unanimously and he signed at the very next day. So very proud of that, along with cutting taxes, preserving hundreds of acres of open space. A truly bipartisan record that I'm really proud of and that makes me the best fit for this district and to go beat Mike Lawler in November. And relationships, what's been your relationship with him over the years? He and I definitely know each other. I respect him as a relentless campaigner as a he has really good constituent services. He pays attention to his district, but over over almost a decade in public service, I've built that kind of reputation too. And it's when I'm really proud of that I show up when accounts. I do the hard things, you know, even even when it's hard, do the right thing and even when it's hard, especially when it's hard. And that's what people are looking for in their leaders right now, someone who will show up roll up their sleeves and deliver. And that's what I've done for my community. What do you hear most from voters about specifically the cost of living, which is so much on people's minds today. And what steps would you take to help families manage those costs? Sure. So here again, when when we look at the rest of the field, I actually have a record already on trying to make life more affordable for people here in the 17 congressional district. So long before affordability was a buzz word that you know, Donald Trump likes to call a hoax, but we all know is a reality. The Democrats understand that you know, working families in particular want to hear about when I was part when I was on the night school board, we I led the effort to offer property tax exemption for seniors and volunteer first responders. I'm not sure you know in your neighborhood, if you're in your communities, if you have volunteer, EMS and firefighters, but we do their valued members of our community. And if we had to go to a paid fire fire firefighter for us and EMT service that would have. You know, a huge impact on an already high tax bill that we have here. So very proud to have accomplished that. And then you know, past a tax cut my first year on the county legislature as well. And I'll also say that during the shutdown, when a snap benefits were suspended, imagine having a president who soothes to deny people food. So 55,000 people in Rockland County depend on snap benefits, which is probably a staggering number to one of one out of six kids in this county doesn't know where their next meal is coming from. And so I immediately said, you know, we have to do something. This is going to crush our feeding nonprofits most notably people to people here in Rockland, which gets its food from the Hudson Valley food bank. So we quickly held an emergency meeting and I led the resolution to pass two million dollars in funding from our fund balance to to pay for food relief and really proud of stepped up and done that at a time when I knew it was going to be really, really tough for our families, especially heading right into the holidays. So again, I'm proud to be able to have that record to deliver from my constituents and understand the time is of the essence and the people are really struggling. And this isn't happening to somewhere else. This is definitely happening in my community where health care workers are terrified of losing their jobs. And this is all the big ugly bill and Mike Lawler owns it every single line, every single page. Kids with special needs and parents with special with kids with special needs and adults with special needs are afraid of losing their health care benefits, losing their support of housing, transportation to their jobs. And the main thing that I do is really, really, really, really understand until you until you know folks who depend on it, which I do walking every day in this community. Of course, I've sent a daughter back off to college recently with fewer rights than I had at her age, which is an outrage to to women and men in this district. And PBS and so many cuts that are hurting this family, hurting families in this area. So that's going to be job number one for when we went when we take back the house is undoing some of those cuts, because that's where the root of the affordability crisis is coming with child care and everything coming after the Medicaid and food stamp cuts. It's all just going to snowball. Here are about that last camp, you're one of seven Democrats in this field, vying for the nomination. That will be decided in June. What sits you apart? What differentiates yourself from the rest of the field? Well, what we've seen from the last two elections is that not just anybody can beat my collar. And you know, our joke on the campaign trail is that a Jewish woman from Rockland County is pretty much his worst nightmare. And the only one in this field who's already beaten Republicans in tough territory, I won my own county legislative seat with 57% of the vote, which means that Republicans and independence already vote for me. So I have a track record of not only winning against Republicans, but of rolling up my sleeves and delivering results that make a difference in people's lives. And I'm really proud of that and being a tested trusted leader is something that means a lot to me and stands out in this field. And as you mentioned being a Jewish woman, there was an anti-Semitic arson attack on a synagogue in Mississippi, just the most recent example of rising anti-Semitism. What role does Congress have to address rising hate crimes, if any, in your mind? And is there any leadership role you might play to address that? So I've played a leadership role in combating anti-Semitism. My entire time certainly as a parent, both my kids unfortunately have experienced it in our community. And and in here in Rockland County, you know, there were there have been various instances where we've seen spikes in anti-Semitism, whether it's the measles outbreak that we had in 2019. There was a horrific stabbing on Hanukkah in Munse and so these are issues we've grappled with here in Rockland County for a long time. I was happy to be part of a five-town summit to discuss anti-Semitism at the time. And so government at every role, excuse me at every level has a role to play in combating anti-Semitism. And and certainly what Congress is not doing well in my opinion is controlling resources and stewarding resources to fight anti-Semitism. The civil rights division of the Department of Education that handles anti-Semitism complaints and and provides resources to colleges and students who are struggling against anti-Semitism has been eliminated. That's going in the wrong direction. So so much of this is taking back the power of the per person putting resources where they're needed and fighting anti-Semitism is certainly one of them. We're going to step aside for a quick time out so we can get a word in from our sponsor. Hey folks Kevin Kane here and I've had the pleasure of running the Salmo Club as a Mount Kisco for the past 25 years. A lot has changed over that time but one thing hasn't our commitment to community. We are absolutely obsessed with making fitness fun with programs for the entire family that keep you moving year-round. SwingbySalmoCleb.com to learn more or even better. Come say hello in person and take your free tour. I would love to meet you. We're back with Beth Davidson, one of the Democrats in the rather crowded field for the New York 17th congressional district. How would you show leadership in Congress while avoiding just following party politics? You know there's talked about bipartisanship but sometimes it gets tough when people just go to their corners and become very tribal. How would you bridge that gap? Sure well I've never been that kind of leader that goes to the corners. One thing that's such a gift about starting out on the school board is that those are nonpartisan races. So you don't just win on your party, you win on your ideas both in trying to get elected and then once you're on the school board, you know trying to pass policies and budgets that are responsible and policies that make outcomes better for your students and for your staff. That's part of the reason I have such a broad range of support here in my community as I said, you know Republicans, Independents and Democrats. And that's the kind of reputation I've built over my time as a legislator as well. Both of our the town supervisors and the towns that fall into my district are Republicans. And I have great relationships with both of them with the town council members in orange town and especially in Clark's town where I live have great relationships with them. I'm the only county legislator. We have a ward system in Clark's town and all four wards fall a piece of the of each falls into my legislative district. So I get to interact with all four of our council members. Again, looking at my record passing right fully funding law enforcement at every step and understanding, you know what's necessary for my community here in Rockland and that's well fight for is the people and I feel like that has gotten lost as people as you said go to their corners, go to their talking points. People are tired of hearing rhetoric and they want results. They just want someone to go in roll up their sleeves and get it done. And that's what I've done my entire time in service and my entire time service to this community, whether it's on boards or the school board of the kind of legislature and the kind of record I'll deliver in Congress. Whether whether it's on the school board or as a county legislator, is there an example that perhaps exemplifies the leadership that you're describing? And it would certainly say the gun safety reform that I just described, you know, the fact that it was a bipartisan initiative from the get go, but also building consensus from the community. So in doing so, I reached out to to various organizations that I knew would care about such a law, whether it was our domestic violence prevention agency. The Rockland County Pride Center, the NAACP, anyone who's impacted by violence in their communities, I reached out to ahead of time. And then as I said, worked with cutting executive Ed Day's attorney with his consumer protection commissioner. So step by step, it was a bipartisan effort. So when we got to the point where where it was going to go to the floor. I was nervous for a second that you know, we didn't have there were a couple of people absent that night, but I knew what I was doing and I knew I would have the votes and I'd we packed the room with advocates, got mom's demand action, especially I've been a volunteer member of that organization for almost a decade. So it was representatives from all of those organizations that I mentioned in the room and each of them got up and spoke about why it was important. So I don't think any legislators felt like they were just rubber stamping my idea or even an idea that the county executive and I had together it was really coming from the community and from a real need. Given as I said, there had been a very prominent tragedy right in the heart of our community. And so you know, the second it passed unanimously the whole room ripped up in applause gun safety advocates don't get to see that many wins, especially on a local level. And so not only were they obviously ecstatic that the legislation had passed, but it is its own reward and that that's why you got out and knocked all the doors and petitioned for your candidates and go to rallies and table it street fairs and parades and events to get a win like that was really meaningful even at a local level and and everyone celebrated and everyone took photos together and it wasn't you know a Republican idea or a democratic idea. It was a common sense initiative that if it saves even one life, I think everyone will feel really good about it is gun safety and issue you're going to prioritize if you were elected. Absolutely gun violence is the number one killer of American children. You know, it passed any kind of disease and car accidents years ago. And every day that we don't address it is a day we're letting an entire generation of children down and you know again it's as I said gun violence isn't something that happens somewhere else. There's even been another murder suicide domestic violence incident in my that districts since the one initially described. And so I'm more committed than ever to working as a leader in Congress to finally make something move. Another major issue that's top of mind right now is is health care it's expensive for a lot of people. What would you do about first the role of big health companies and private investors that seemingly drive up the cost basically make make health care more affordable. So as I mentioned at the top I'm a two time cancer survivor myself. So this again this is personal to me and I've experienced firsthand what it's like to it feels almost like a second job fighting with your insurance companies for the care you need for the tests for the medications for you know what you need is as a patient and now as a survivor to survive. And so in Congress you know what the affordable care act was going in the right direction obviously Mike Lawler's vote for the big ugly bill and did the affordable care act subsidies which people in my generation especially a lot of self employed folks who have their insurance health insurance through the exchange or seeing premiums explode. So a lot of it will just be restoring those subsidies undoing the Medicaid cuts because another thing that we're going to see happening is as people leave the marketplace and as people don't get the preventive care that they need. We're going to see everyone's costs rise we're going to see emergency rooms that are the war zones of the 90s nobody I know wants that back including physicians of course in hospital administrators and you know as I said earlier hospital administrators are already cutting jobs are already looking at. And so we're going to pick up cost savings from from that from that huge of you know hundreds of millions of dollars cuts and so a lot of what we have to do is to use a medical you from as a acronym it's allegory is to stop the bleeding. And then we can think about how to improve on the affordable care act in my mind with a public option so that we can make high quality coverage more accessible across the country. And so fairness to Congressman law or he did recently vote for the extension of the subsidies would you say it's. And say it's too little too late I think you don't get a medal of bravery for being the arsonist that puts out the fire. And it was really I think only when it was clear that this was going to be hugely unpopular across the country that he decided to get on board and even to the state continues to trash the affordable care act itself. While you know at least signing on to these subsidies but even that took months to get to and we never should have been there in the first place and that's all due to the big ugly bill. You mentioned your own health care journey was there anything in that experience that you learned about the industry that perhaps you didn't know from reading about it or or hearing about it. Was there anything that you learned from that experience about possible policy solutions even. Well I'll say you know zooming out at a 40,000 foot view what you learn is that science is amazing and saves lives. And so the way that my cancer was cured thyroid cancer and I've been cancer free I should say for for 21 years. Was because I didn't have to have full body radiation I got to take a radioactive iodine capsule. And then just isolate for you for a few days and it was such an easier way to be treated than a thyroid patient like my father was treated you know 20 or 30 years earlier. And then I'm an IVF mom. And so I wouldn't have my daughter if it weren't for in free to fertilization and the amazing research that made that possible. And so the fact that this administration has you know defunded so much research across the country is something that is horrifying to me to to many my constituents to medical researchers and to doctors and medical systems across the country. We are at the cutting edge of so many you know solving so many diseases preventable diseases and it's not the time to be cutting funding to any institution. And this is you know this is happening in real time I have a supporter who's a researcher who tells me you know implants are being pulled out of people. Trials are being stopped and people are going to die. And it's absolutely outrageous that the Trump administration has brought us to this level. There are so much going on abroad right now just just in recent days and weeks. Let's start off first with the unrest that's going on in Iran. There have been comments made by Donald Trump as well as other administration officials about going there doing something supporting the protesters. What is Congress's role what would you like to see country do specifically with Iran if anything? Well Congress is supposed to be in its article one powers and let's all pause and remember that article one of the Constitution is about the legislative branch not the executive branch. And Congress has ceded so much of its power and authority up to this White House with no questions asked and certainly foreign policy has been a huge piece of that. I certainly joined the outrage of many of my democratic colleagues with the invasion of Venezuela which many argue most argue is unlawfully executed. And that I spoke to members of Congress who had no idea no no heads up that that was coming. And so I certainly don't want to see the president do the same with Iran without consulting Congress. Both the funding and the policy and what's the plan afterwards right we saw Venezuela and no one was rooting for a Maduro to stay in power but then what. And suddenly you know we're running the country and oh by the way Donald Trump is ordering oil companies to go in and invest private companies. We're in some kind of dystopia where where the president is running everything. And so you know while and it's also interesting to me that you know he wants to help protesters protesters in Iran while ice shoots. You know protesters here in our country. I think we have to keep our eye on the ball and I'm always going to be suspicious that what Donald Trump does overseas is to distract from what's happening at home which is that costs continue to go up. And to suffer health care continues to be a crisis along with housing child care and so many other issues and he's always looking to distract us and you know make a buck while he's doing it. But among your Republican constituents. What do you hear if anything about the reaction to the Trump administration. This administration as possibly compared to his first time in office is there a distinction or is support similar in nature. I think more than I don't hear that much comparing to his first term more what they were hoping for with this term which was that he was going to bring cost down right he was going to bring down the cost of eggs he was going to bring down the cost of milk he was going to bring down the cost of groceries gas and everything has gone up. Including our heating bills here in the Hudson Valley including housing prices. Obviously we're going to see health care costs continue to soar. And you know those that's not just something that happens to Democrats it happens Republicans it happens to independence everyone is seeing their cost of living up and I think that's been really frustrating. That if they voted for Donald Trump you know for those reasons and you know where we started immigration this isn't what they voted for either. And so whether it's you know their rise and cost of living that aren't being addressed or their neighbors that they're seeing treated in a cruel and inhumane way. I think a lot of those voters are going to come back to the center and are those actual conversations you're having with Republican voters in your district. And how do those come about is it door to door like tell us a little maybe an anecdote of a recent conversation you might have had that illustrates the point you're making. Well, I'm certainly you know going to lots of you know demonstrations and protests and things that draw people from across the board. I'm also very involved in my community. And so whether I'm chatting with someone you know at a county legislature meeting or at you know one of my kids activities you know a coffee house at our high school. Here in in Clarks town especially it's a very politically diverse community folks at my synagogue you know I hear from different viewpoints I'm going to different events around the district you know that aren't just democratic but our community events. And I'm also having in the deal my car dealership getting my card getting my car service I overhear conversations. You know having my teeth cleaned people you interact with a lot of the times want to talk about the news which is not what I remember 10 years ago but every day something is happening that feels urgent and impactful in our lives. In a way that really says something about the the all out assault that this administration is committing on working families. The people feel the need to talk about it so much. Staying on the on the foreign policy front for a bit what steps would you support Congress taking with regards to the Middle East and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. How would you like to see the country handled that situation. Sure so as as I noted I'm Jewish I'm certainly a strong supporter of Israel. It's a most important ally in the Middle East. A beacon of democracy and perseverance. That haven't been said as a as a longtime advocate for children and a humanitarian myself. The scenes that have come out of Gaza in the last year have been absolutely your plus have been absolutely heartbreaking. I remain optimistic for a two state solution with a path for self determination for the Palestinian people. But we have to make sure that Hamas you know abide by the ceasefire and you know remains lays down its arms and remains that way. And I think that for too long Donald Trump allowed Bibi Netanyahu to escalate the conflict to keep himself in power you know long after we would have wanted the hostages to come home. That was always the number one goal to bring an end to the conflict and bring the hostages home. And for most people I know and in both my faith community and here in NIAQ folks had connections to the hostages. And particularly those who didn't make it home like Omar Nutra who was a camp counselor at camp or Ma you know stone store for my house. And so I think the you know the hostages family certainly felt like those they got forgotten. And that it took just far too long and so going forward. You know I hope that diplomatic tools are are used that regional actors are brought together. Whether it's Saudi Arabia or others in the region to also have plan active role in a lasting peace for which I'm still hopeful my daughter went to Israel for a month. The last summer of our Jewish summer camp they take it as well. And it was August of 2023 that you can believe it and you know she participated in the most multi faith interracial multiracial camp experience possible. You know she hung out with Palestinian teens she visited a better and village hiked massada and participated in the protests the demonstrations are on judicial reforms. So really the most you know well rounded amazing experience possible that I don't know if it will ever happen again that way which breaks my heart. And then to experience October 7th with her with friends that she've made you know snapchatting each other. Getting together on a zoom that the camp organized because everyone was so upset and traumatized and experiencing that in real time was really powerful and I have to say that here in Rockland County the community really came together as we saw across the country to support I felt very supported. The rising type of anti-Semitism of course being a the separate and disturbing issue but I still remain you know hopeful that we can get to a place where everyone's faiths you know our respect and everyone's rights as well. You mentioned earlier about the action and then as well right after New Year's given the actions there now the controversy over Greenland. And and tensions with Russia and China what's there any specific foreign policy principles that should guide us leadership knows on those matters and other other matters. It's actually showing real moral leadership I love that you both those three situations together because when we just went into Venezuela without impunity and you know took out their leader and said we were in charge what signal does that send to China about Taiwan what signal does that send to Russia about Ukraine how can we claim a moral high ground on the world stage when the United States is. We're in its own foreign policy this way and so that's why we need again to have Congress be more of a check there is a House Foreign Affairs Committee Mike Lawler sits on it. And I would like to occupy that same seat but actually stand up for principles of democracy around the world and not weakening our alliances not weakening NATO not weakening the UN. I mean NATO is my grandfather's a World War two hero and NATO is the most important strategic alliance of the 20th century and into the 21st century and you know just saying you're going to you're going to buy Greenland or take Greenland or however Donald Trump thinks he's going to do it destabilizes the very alliances that have kept us safe all this time. And we have a role to play in and strengthening and not weakening those alliances to keep people here at home safe as you said before I assume that any if there was any action anywhere such as Greenland that that should come before Congress absolutely. Housing affordability is a major problem here is this in many communities what role would you like to see Congress play in making housing more accessible and affordable. So again here I don't have to talk about what I would do in Congress I can tell you what I am doing now I'm very proud that when we won our super majority on the county legislature. My fellow legislators and I asked for a housing committee so we have now have a housing and economic development committee. I'm proud that working with the county administration we created a housing action loan fund. Revolving loan fund to start building workforce more workforce housing here in Rockland County we are as of a 2023 report that I know is being updated about 5,000 units of housing short here in Rockland County and more than 12,000 units in Westchester. So this is a real crisis and we're not going to be able to solve the rest of our problems around attracting new businesses attracting filling our schools we're seeing declining enrollment in schools around the 17th congressional district. And none of that is going to be solvable without it being affordable for people to live here from seniors that they would love to downsize they don't need their big houses anymore they would love for a young family to buy their house but. Finding something affordable to live in in their golden years is impossible and so that's why we see so many people you know leaving for other states and not even seniors but people my age who can't find a place affordable enough to live and then our children as well. Who graduate from college and we would love to have them return to the area my daughter wants to be a journalist what better place to have her be then the New York City metropolitan area but it's difficult for her to imagine or certainly for me to imagine either her being able to afford somewhere to live on her own so it's a crisis that affects every demographic. We need a mix of housing at all levels we need more market rate housing we need more affordable housing we need more workforce housing and that's something i'm committed to on the kind of legislature and that I would certainly work to pursue not again defund we're seeing programs defund it under the Trump administration to help with homelessness to help with veterans people with HIV again some of the the cruelest cuts that you can imagine to keeping people housed we need to be investing in building more house. And housing that suits the communities where you live and so i've never been in favor of a one size fits all you know bring X number of units online I think it needs to be appropriate to each community that's what we're doing here in Rockland County i'm really proud of it we're pursuing transit oriented development around our train stations. You know accessory dwellings where that's appropriate senior housing where we need it again to get seniors out of their homes and free them up for home buyers the average excuse me the median price for a home here in Rockland County is $683,000 and that's so out of reach for so many people not all already live here but whom we want to move here so we can continue to thrive. And I would love to see the federal government play an active and not destructive role in making that happen. But as as a Rockland Legislator Rockland resident you have a lot of institutional knowledge about your home base what do you do is a candidate to learn more about other corners of the district in Westchester specifically speaking to possible Westchester voters what steps do you take to educate yourself on issues that might be local to different. The different areas of the district well i'm so lucky to have had the opportunity to build coalitions on various issues over the years whether it's clean water whether it's education so getting to know folks from different school districts around the entire Hudson Valley not even just here in Rockland. And you know around reproductive reforms i've traveled up to Albany to also lobby for gun safety so i've built alliances on both sides of the river already around those issues that's why right out of the gate i had endorsements from the head of indivisible Westchester the regional head for mom's demand action who's based out of Westchester. I have 250 endorsements from every corner of the district and a large number of those are in Westchester both because of relationships I already had and those i've built during this campaign we've held more than 160 grassroots events meet and greets around the district and a large number of those have been in Westchester so that I can really understand the issues. On both sides of the river and there's so so many of them we have in common whether it's clean water and the chair of the water task force on the county legislature but i've done clean water events up in peak skill i'm very concerned about whole tech and it's role decommissioning Indian point i'm sure you saw the the federal ruling overturning the save the Hudson act. That Pete harkam in day in 11 bird worked so hard to pass making sure that whole tech for those listening the company charged with decommissioning Indian point our former nuclear power plant. Saying that they couldn't dump the water into the Hudson but a federal court overturned it saying that they indeed could and so I immediately called a press conference the next day gathered about a dozen environmental activists from again both sides of the river along with local elected officials to call on the governor attorney general to appeal that ruling which they are. Both since said they will and i'm so grateful for that but the Hudson River is equally important to both sides and just one of the few issues that that Westchester and and put them into some extent duchess and we share. Continuing on the affordability front of families are worried about trial care and even more so in New York state and several other states that have seen there or have been threatened to have their funding cut. What should the federal government do to support working parents. So as a working mom myself and a home over for 20 years I understand this affordability affordability crisis excuse me firsthand and child care is a huge. I hate to overuse the term crisis but it is going to continue to be a problem particularly as work requirements for snap benefits and next year Medicaid kick into effect you know one of our local nonprofit leaders always asks. You know great that everyone wants to work everyone wants you know to be productive but who's going to take care of the kids especially when we have such a patchwork. Of of child care programs many of which are are simply unaffordable you know universal pre K is a great idea it doesn't exist in reality. Certainly here in Rockland County and around the 17th congressional district we're talking about universal 3 K there's still a 0 to 3 area that needs to be covered for working parents and I do hear from parents all the time that it's becoming increasingly difficult to to save money even when both parents are working because so much money has to go to child care. And the fact that Donald Trump would freeze payments to child care here in New York state and another blue states he's continuing clearly continuing to want to punish will be disastrous here in Rockland County we already have a hundred plus person waiting list for child care because New York state has run out of money and it's child care and it's affordable child care budget. And so we're already seeing a crisis there and it's only going to get worse and so I joined legislators on both sides of the river to to restore those that funding before we really see a crisis here in the Hudson Valley around child care. That's going to politics for just a moment there's to be a debate within the democratic party about whether positioning a candidate as more progressive versus more center left more moderate is more of the winning strategy what's your take on that debate assuming you agree with the premise that there is that debate going on within your party and also where might you define yourself along that spectrum. I do agree there's a debate and I think it's a I don't think it's a useful debate I think you can't point to any one candidate who's been successful over the past couple of years and say that's the face of the democratic party clearly the democratic party has many faces when we look at the wide variety of candidates that were elected last November i'm so excited to see the first woman governor of Virginia. To see a democratic woman governor in New Jersey those are pragmatic middle of the road women who you know have extend who know their communities well know their politics well and work hard to get where they are and that's the kind of reputation that I have as well the only label I care about is being a fighter for the Hudson Valley. I think there are things that we can glean from both sides of the aisle to make policies that will help the most people and that's what i'm proud of done so far as just roll it my sleeves as I said and deliver results that make a difference for people and that requires building consensus and it often requires especially. In a county like Rockland and in a divided government as it will be what you know when we take back I say when don't crash take back the house will still be in divided government and it'll be important to have voices in the middle that are interested in talking to both sides what is your biggest disagreement or disagreements with congressman wall or how would you approach the job differently. So my glowler is the most right wing out of step out of touch member of congress that we've had in this district his record on reproductive health as wildly out of step with this district his record on the environment his record now certainly on health care on Medicaid and snap benefits and so many the programs that keep our the keep our communities of float. So you know I have many many disagreements with him I think we agree that the needs of our constituents you know must be met but certainly have different ways of approaching them and you know really being honest with the residents of the 17th district about what this bill does he is not been he has constantly said you know gas let us you know saying that he's saving Medicaid when we know that he is voted to cut it same with snap benefits and now the affordable care act which is. You know coming around the right side of it far too late and it's time for change and someone who shares the values of this community and will actually fight for it and I'm proud I will be proud to be that person. Beth one topic we haven't touched on or touched on in any depth this climate change it's a topic that can feel somewhat abstract to some people but pretty urgent to others what should Congress be be doing right now or if you're elected to Congress what leadership role might you play on that issue. It's certainly not abstract us here in the Hudson Valley you know having living in a Rivertown community alongside many other Rivertown communities from have a straw to an eye act to pure mont and then on the other side of the river obviously Terry town aweson and peak skill you know superstar standing devastated our communities and you know some of which businesses that never even recovered and now what we would call once in a generation storm seem to happen you know couple times a year and some instances with you know the parkway flooded and cars swept away here in Rockland we have a route 59 shuts down a couple of times a year because of the stream weather and so it's something that is continuing to impact our community and impact our bottom line when we look at where we can build housing to the kind of you know tourism we want to continue to attract you maintaining a vibrant waterfront as sea levels rise is going to be challenging for us here in the Hudson Valley. So it's a great chance to take a look at this process in our drinking water is also one that I'm very attuned to as chair of the water task force and it's not even just in our municipal water sources but in private wells as well and we know the adverse health outcomes of PFAS range from neurological problems to reproductive health problems to birth defects. So we have a lot of issues that are going to be fast and that's forever chemicals for those listening that stay in your body a long time that's something I'm really committed to fighting as well. There are issues that we may not have touched upon or issues that are unique to the 17th congressional district that we haven't discussed that that you might might want to take a crack at. I think we've been really comprehensive I would I would say that the environment is really important and so I'm glad we closed on that and that is really pursuing clean energy. I was really like like many others disheartened to see all the clean energy tax incentives and gains that were made through the inflation reduction act rolled back with this administration with an EPA that's looking to roll back clean water clean air standards. We already see our children suffering from asthma from other health problems and we know that we you know can turn them around if we actually protect their health through the environment and that's something I'm very committed to as well. So I hope when we take back the house we can put the power of the purse back towards protecting the environment and moving towards renewable energy. There you know I've been opposed to project maple gas pipeline that was proposed to run you know underneath the Hudson River and pop up here in Rockland County I passed the first countywide resolution in New York State opposing that pipeline and so being a fight or the environment to something I've had it every role and will continue to be in Congress. Thank you so much Beth for for joining us here on local matters Westchester pleasure talking to you and and best of luck in the campaign the rest of the way. Thank you Beth Davidson for Congress dot com for anyone want to learn more about our campaign and the issues very good that Beth Davidson rock on county legislature legislature to who's one of the Democratic candidates in the 17th Congressional district this year. Thanks everyone for joining us here on the podcast see you next time so long. You've been listening to "Local Matters Westchester."