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Voters still undecided about who to back in the 34th senatorial district Democratic primary were given the opportunity to gain more insight into the three candidates’ policies, when they took on issues ranging from climate to crime, and from budgeting to job development during a recent debate hosted by Schneps media. On Tuesday, July 26, Christian Amato, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez (A.D. 80), and John Perez answered questions posed both by the two moderators, Jane Hanson and Stephen Witt, and by each other in preparation for the upcoming August 23 primary.

 

As is customary, the debate started off with opening statements. Fernandez said she was proud Latina, the daughter of immigrants, and like many, her story started with her family coming to the country to seek opportunities. “I’ve been a present, resilient, and reliable voice for my community and I’m looking forward to continuing my advocacy when it comes to mental health awareness, school funding, building climate resiliency, improving our infrastructure, increasing transit access, and bringing good jobs to this community,” she said.

 

Perez, a former 87th assembly district leader, said he was a lifelong resident of The Bronx, the youngest of three. “I’ve been raised with respect, religion, morals, and values, and those I live by, and I am committed to carrying on that and passing it down to my children,” he said. “I am also a retired army combat veteran, and I served 18 years. I’ve traveled the entire world, and I know the diversities that we have here. I’ve experienced them at their home town. I want to bring that experience to the State Senate and pretty much deal with the situations and the issues that we’re faced with today.”

 

In his opening statement. Amato said he was a proud Democrat, the proud son of Italian immigrants, a lifelong resident of the district, and a first generation Bronxite. “This community is my home, I’m deeply rooted in this district, I know the stakeholders from Soundview to City Island, and Pelham to New Rochelle,” he said. “My family lives here, my friends live here, and I’ve organized side by side with so many in this community.”

 

He went on to say that his family came to the United States in search of a brighter future, that his grandfather opened a dry cleaners on Arthur Avenue, where his parents met, and after they married, opened their own dry cleaners in Belmont. He said his parents worked hard,  bought a house in Pelham Parkway, and raised him and his brother. “I’m familiar with the struggles that face immigrant families,” Amato said. “That’s why I first got my start, organizing to connect immigrants to DACA benefits a decade ago. As your senator, I know I’ll be ready to lead on day one. I come with the experience that will ensure that our district is prioritized equitably.”

 

Amato added that in addition to managing several campaigns, he previously served District 34 as district director and deputy chief-of-staff for incumbent, State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, adding that he helped Biaggi oust from elected office members of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a now disbanded group of Democratic politicians who had traditionally voted with Republicans in the State legislature, blocking progressive laws from passing.

 

Asked what were their priorities for the district, if elected, Amato focused on climate change, mentioning how it has affected the local infrastructure as well as the need to upgrade an outdated sewage system. He plans to pass bills such as the Climate Community Investment Act (CCIA) and the Electric Buildings Act, as well as building public renewables.

 

“These proposals would help us reduce our connection to fossil fuels and lead towards a more climate sustainable future, but it’ll also help the on-the-ground impact that communities continue to face,” he said. “The 34th senate district is a coastal community, hugging the shore from New Rochelle all the way down to the Soundview border. Because of that, the threat of flooding is something that everyone in this district knows all too well. Too many constituents have lost property, have lost cars, and rising sea levels threaten thousands of homeowners,” he said.

 

Asked how he planned to fund his plan, Amato said the money would come from the biggest corporate polluters through a carbon tax and from existing Build Back Better federal funds. Asked if corporations would pass on those costs to consumers, he said that was where legislators would step in to protect consumers with legislation.

 

Fernandez agreed with Amato’s initiative to increase climate resiliency and combat climate change, saying she was already working on those issues, and added that another target project was upgrading the electricity grid and bringing green jobs to the district. However, she said one of her biggest priorities was supporting small businesses.

 

“One way to do that is to look at the property taxes that commercial businesses are stuck paying and suffering from being able to pay,” she said. “I absolutely want to address the property tax issue, making sure that home ownership is actually affordable, because when we talk about building generational wealth, we need to make sure that we can afford this, and that the jobs that this city and state offer[s] can allow us to buy homes, and sustain these homes and pass them on to our children.”

 

She said as the subcommittee chair on the Black, Hispanic, Asian & Puerto Rican caucus, the legislative caucus as a subcommittee for MWBEs and economic development, she would work towards uplifting this community in terms of the expansion of small business ownership.

 

Perez agreed that climate resilience and addressing climate change was important, added that the social impact of climate change was also important, and mentioned his prior work in the South Bronx with nonprofit, Nos Quedamos, on sustainable community development. He said environmental studies had already been done over 20 years ago, and said the price tag to implement some of the needed changes was astronomical and unachievable in the short-term in his view. He alleged the cost would fall on working families, opposed raising taxes and suggested a short-term solution could be to electrify buses.

 

The next question was on gun crime prevention and keeping youth safe. Perez said crime was not an easy issue to solve. He noted that he was the only parent among the candidates and as a single father, he had been educated by his daughter of 13 on crime as it exists today in her world, adding that she would hear about gangs in her school. He said the issue of ghost guns [gun parts purchased online and assembled at home], had to be addressed immediately.

 

He said New York was able to address organized crime in the past by passing RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act).  “We have to really put the foot in the butt on this, and let these companies know that your equipment is providing unsafe items to our communities, and if we cannot register those weapons through those means, then we have to register the manufacturing portion of it so that we can track it that way,” he said in reference to gun manufacturers not putting serial numbers on ghost guns.

 

For her part, Fernandez said, “Everyone in this community and this district deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood.” She cited the success of violence intervention programs like “Standing Up to Violence (SUV),” operating out of Jacobi Medical Center, which she said, pre-pandemic, had been reducing violence by up to 30 percent. She said she was one of the first to fund such programs and advocated for their expansion into high schools, as well as the funding of afterschool programs and youth job fairs to help keep youth occupied and on a path to success. “Crime is rooted in poverty and a solution to poverty is giving people work,” she said.

 

Perez responded by saying that such programs alone were not enough as they were not working to the level at which they should be working. “We have people walking into schools with guns, knives; the NYPD have done reports on this,” he said. He said community centers were needed and regretted that such centers had been closed in the past when the youth budget was cut at all levels of government.

 

He said it was necessary to go out into the street and intervene directly on the issue, before proposing his own t-shirt printing program for youth, suggesting that materials like fliers for election campaigns could also be part of the initiative.

 

Meanwhile, Amato agreed with Fernandez, saying the violence intervention programs were helpful and that the “data doesn’t lie.” He added, “In this state, we need to be focused on strengthening gun measures. That means better consumer safety, microstamping new handguns, removing guns from state capitals…New York has to be an innovator when it comes to strengthening our gun laws, and that means establishing schools, threat assessment teams, and funding for services for victims of gun violence as well.”

 

The candidates were then asked how they would propose to “trim the fat” on the State budget, given that federal funds awarded amid the pandemic would eventually run out. Fernandez said she felt there was little fat to be trimmed. “Everything that we put money towards has been for critical needs,” she said. “I’ve seen the budget requests. I’ve sat with the many organizations throughout the State to see exactly where this money is going.”

 

On new revenue sources to replace federal funds, she said, “The new cannabis industry… The Bronx is a place where we will be getting most of that money. That was a specific point in the legislation that we passed. The communities that have been impacted by the old cannabis laws will receive more money, so that is an avenue. I’m also supportive of looking at the ultra rich, the billionaires in this state, and having them pay a little bit more of a fair share.”

 

Pushed further on the issue, the assemblywoman said she opposed pet projects, citing the funding allocated in the last State budget to the Buffalo Bills stadium as an example of where money could have been used on another more pressing need.

 

Amato proposed investing in Web 3, digital currencies and in arts, culture and tourism to bring the Broadway revenues back to pre-pandemic levels rather than cutting the budget. Perez disputed that Amato’s proposal would help local neighborhoods, and Amato said it would, adding that as a State senator, candidates had to think about how revenues and the budget impacted on the entire state and not just on local neighborhoods.

 

Candidates then had the chance to ask each other questions. Perez asked Amato about holding a sign during a Black Lives Matter protest following the brutal murder of George Floyd in 2020 that read, “All Cops are B*stards,” as well as Amato’s thoughts on defunding the police. Amato said the holding of the sign had been a lapse in judgement which he regretted, adding that in the context of the time, it was more about police accountability. He said he was not in favor of defunding the police, and that budgets were fluid documents which should be adapted to the needs of the moment.

 

Perez essentially suggested that the action of holding the sign spoke to Amato’s judgement, and that residents would bear the consequences of similar lapses in judgement if Amato were to be elected.

 

Fernandez asked Amato why he had not submitted his campaign finance filings on time. Amato said it was essentially down to a technical issue which he was working through and had almost resolved with the Board of Elections.

 

Amato then asked Fernandez about her past support of IDC members, and queried an apparent fundraiser held for Fernandez by former State senator and IDC member, Marisol Alcántara. Fernandez said she had supported her local senator (an IDC member) in 2018 because she respected what he had been doing for the local community, and in reference to Alcantara, she said, “I appreciate the support of Marisol Alcántara. She is a strong Latina and a trailblazer at the time that delivered a lot for this state and for her district when she was a senator.”

 

Election Day is Aug. 23 and early voting started on Aug. 13. Voters are reminded to check their polling site prior to heading to the polls as it may have changed. For more information, click here. Your poll site may have changed. Check your voting card before you go to vote.

 

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.