June 26 primary: Five seek Democratic nod to take on incumbent Lee Zeldin

Democratic voters in New York’s First Congressional District will go to the polls Tuesday to choose a candidate to take on incumbent Republican Lee Zeldin in November.

Five people are fighting for the Democratic party’s nomination in tomorrow’s primary election. There’s not much daylight between the candidates on the issues. They all try to make the case that they are the best candidate to defeat the incumbent in the general election — painting Zeldin, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, as out of touch with the majority of voters in his district, which takes in all of eastern Suffolk County.

Democratic voters in New York’s First Congressional District will go to the polls tomorrow to choose their candidate to face incumbent Republican Lee Zeldin in November.

Five people are fighting for the Democratic party’s nomination in tomorrow’s primary election. There’s not much daylight between the candidates on the issues. They all try to make the case that they are the best candidate to defeat the incumbent in the general election — painting Zeldin, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, as out of touch with the majority of voters in his district, which takes in all of eastern Suffolk County.

Kate Browning

Kate Browning is a former Suffolk County legislator whose district includes Zeldin’s hometown of Shirley. Browning likes to highlight her working class roots. She worked as a school bus driver before entering public life and likes to mention she had Zeldin on her bus when he was a child.

Browning served in the legislature from 2005 till 2017, when she was term-limited out of office. She was a registered member of the Working Families Party until she changed her enrollment to Democrat in 2017.

She opposes the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, supports Planned Parenthood, abortion access, stricter gun regulations and giving DACA recipients a path to citizenship.

Browning raised nearly $400,000 as of June 6 and has strong labor union backing.

Elaine DiMasi

Elaine DiMasi is a scientist who worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory for 21 years. She says she will advocate for pro-science and evidence-based policies in Washington.

DiMasi supports increasing renewable energy, maintaining clean water supplies, integrating trade certification programs into public schools, and reauthorizing section 4 of the Voting Rights Act.

Perry Gershon

Gershon worked as a lender for commercial real estate investments. He has loaned his campaign $900,000 and has raised over $1.2 million in contributions — nearly three times the amount raised by Browning, his closest competitor in fundraising. Gershon says his money makes him more competitive against Zeldin.

He favors protecting the coastline and the drinking water aquifer, as well as increasing skills-based training in community colleges and decreasing the tax burden on businesses. He says he will work to provide a public option under the Affordable Care Act and toward a Medicare for All system.

David Pechefsky

David Pechefsky is a progressive who supports Medicare for All, free higher education, a $15 minimum wage, and a commission to study reparations for black Americans.

His work experience includes the New York City Council, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Mayor’s Office of Appointments, as well as international nonprofits.

Vivian Viloria-Fisher

Vivian Viloria-Fisher is a former Suffolk County legislator who, like Browning, was term-limited out of her seat after 12 years in 2012. Prior to that, she worked as an English and Spanish teacher in public schools.

She supports repealing the 2017 Republican tax bill, capping carbon dioxide emissions nationally, providing free tuition for community colleges and technical schools, and implementing Medicare for All. She has served on the board of Planned Parenthood of Hudson-Peconic.