On Saturday, Sept. 15, State Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, currently running as a Democrat in the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District in the 2018 midterm elections, visited campus for a question-and-answer event in the College Chapel. Prior to speaking, Assemblyman Brindisi sat down with
The Spectator
for an interview that covered his views on civic engagement, the congressional race, and his vision for the region, among other topics.
Editor’s Note
: The campaign of Claudia Tenney, the incumbent Republican representative running for re-election in the district, did not respond to multiple requests for interview.
Will Kaback ’20,
Editor-in-Chief
:
What part or parts of your campaign platform do you think should most appeal to college students, especially given the large out-of-state population at a school like Hamilton, where many students have switched their voter registration to this district because of this race?
Anthony Brindisi:
Probably one of the things that all voters, including young voters, should be concerned about, and one of the main points of our campaign, is that we’re not getting any corporate PAC [Political Action Committee] money. I made a decision that I wanted to have individuals and grassroots supporters step up and fund this campaign, and we have been very successful in attracting a lot of small-dollar contributions. There was one article that cited our campaign in the top 20 of congressional campaigns in the entire country for small dollar contributions. That’s important to me because, in my opinion, in every issue in this country, money in politics plays such a major role in the decision-making process in Washington, and it really shouldn’t. Whether you’re concerned about student loan debt, or the environment, or gun violence, or healthcare, there are very powerful interest groups in Washington that are driving the conversation and in many cases drowning out the voices of average citizens throughout the country. This is the basis of our whole campaign. When I go to Washington, I’m not going to be worried about who I owe favors to.
Natalie Halpin ’21,
Staff Writer
:
What do you think about college students changing their registration to this district ahead of the upcoming election, given that they will likely only be residents here for 4 years?
AB
: I think it’s a great idea, precisely because they are residents here for 4 years. This election and who their representative is during those 4 years should be very important to college students. You may come from different areas of the country, but central New York is now your home. The people of central New York, I’m sure, want you to not only get a great education while you’re here, but also want you to be involved in the community, just as any other resident would be. We’re excited that so many college students throughout the 22nd District have changed their registration to this area. Whether it is a local issue or a national issue, it impacts all of us, and we should make sure that we’re voting in this year’s election.
WK
: Americans tend to see civic engagement as an ideal of our democracy. Here at Hamilton, we have a group called HamVotes that has made it a goal to register as many students as possible regardless of party affiliation. What effect do you think a group like this has on improving civic engagement, especially given that many students will be voting in their first or second election ever?
AB
: I think it’s great that we’ve seen groups like [HamVotes] pop up all over the congressional district, particularly on college campuses, that have made it their mission to register people to vote. No matter what party they register in, I think it’s one of our most important duties as Americans to show up to the polls whenever there’s an election. I always try to lead by example. I have two young children, and since they were babies, they have come to the polls with [my wife and me] no matter if it’s a school board election or a local city election or something at the state or federal level. People should realize that decisions are made by elected officials every day that affect people’s lives and we should be showing up to the polls not just for presidential elections, when there’s a lot of attention being paid to a [presidential race], but also when there’s local elections that may impact the areas that we live in.
NH
: Your congressional race in particular has been the subject of a lot of conversation on Hamilton’s campus, and many students are also interning with your campaign. What do you think are the benefits of having college students engaged and active in races like this one?
AB
: It’s huge. I’ve been so excited to have so many students from Hamilton help out on the campaign. The one thing that I think is really going to get us over the edge in November are the young people that are not just working for the campaign, but also those folks who are volunteering or interning with us. What these elections really come down to is voter contact and how many times you can knock on a door or make a phone call or communicate with a voter in some other manner. The interns here at Hamilton have been a huge help getting out our message throughout the congressional district. As of last week, we’ve knocked on 50,000 doors in the entire district, and many of those doors were knocked on by Hamilton College students. I hope it has been a rewarding experience for them to be involved in one of the most competitive congressional races in the whole country, and I want them to know that it’s been rewarding for me seeing them out there helping on the campaign.
Benjamin Katz ’20,
News Editor
:
For many outside observers, the New York State Legislature seems very dysfunctional. What has been your experience in the State Assembly and how do you think it will affect how you work across the aisle with your colleagues should you be elected to Congress?
AB
: There’s a lot of news that gets reported about the dysfunction in Albany, but there’s also a lot of good people there who are really there to do the right thing. One of the things that I’ve been the most proud of during my time in Albany is that I’ve been able to work very well with both sides of the aisle. One of my closest colleagues is a Republican state senator, and we have been able to put aside partisan differences, and actually focus on issues that matter to the people and this region. I’m also someone who’s been independently-minded in my approach. I’ve had disagreements with the governor of New York [Andrew Cuomo], who’s a Democrat, on issues that I think he may have been pushing that could have been harmful to the people I represent. I’ve also been a part of a group of younger members of the legislature that led the charge to oust our former Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, when he was accused of misusing his office. So, there’s a lot of good things that are happening in New York, but there’s a long way to go to really turn around the state, especially issues at the federal level that are negatively impacting the state right now.
BK
: You and Congresswoman Tenney grew up geographically proximate to each other (childhood homes less than a mile away), you both attended colleges and universities in the region for your undergraduate education, and are both lawyers, yet you have divergent views of this country and the role of government. What do you think has contributed to these differing worldviews?
AB
: It’s hard to pinpoint what has shaped her views, but I can say that my views have very much been shaped by my upbringing. I lost my mother at a very young age, so I had three sisters who really stepped into the role of being a mother to me. They were very strong women who taught me the important of integrity and hard work and standing up for what you believe in, and the reason that I got involved with politics is because I’ve seen over the course of my childhood how my family members have gone out of their way to try and help other people. That is the most rewarding part of being in elected office to me — when you can actually go out and help someone, whether it’s through a piece of legislation or when they call your office with a problem they’re having, and
you work on that problem and bring some solution to whatever the issue is, just making a difference in someone’s life.
WK
: Claudia Tenney has a history of making remarks that could be considered insensitive or offensive. One that comes to mind was after the shooting in Parkland, FL last year, when she said that “so many” mass murderers “end up being Democrats”, a statement which you spoke out against on Twitter. How do you strike a balance between the personal values you mentioned and appealing to a more conservative voter base in a tight election when you’re running against an opponent who makes statements like this?
AB
: My approach has always been based around the knowledge that this area has traditionally been represented in Congress by people on both sides of the aisle who have been more moderate in their views and have also worked very well with both sides — Democrat and Republican. I think we have lost that in our current representative, who seems to want to appeal to the extreme side of things. I don’t want our congressional district to be known for their representative who says all kinds of hurtful remarks, like the statements that were made after the Parkland shooting, which was a horrible event in our nation’s history and an event that should never be politicized. When late night talk show hosts are mentioning your member of Congress because of controversial comments that she has made, that’s not a good reflection of the region. We need to change course and bring civility back into our politics. I think she is contributing to a negative discourse that is plaguing the whole country right now.
NH
: Have you noticed differences in your reception between the towns in the district you have visited?
AB
: There’s so many similarities, but also differences, throughout the congressional district. The one commonality I’ve seen is that people want a representative who is going to show up and listen to them. They feel like they don’t have that right now because the current representative does not hold town hall meetings, she outright offends groups of people, and is generally unresponsive to the concerns of her constituents. In many cases, she has voted directly against their interests. People have responded to this campaign in urban areas, suburban areas, and the more rural communities in a more positive way, because they see me as someone who is always going to put their interests ahead of special interests and who is going to make a decision not based on party, but what’s best for the people that I represent, and that’s a big change from what they have right now.
BK
: You have two young children, a demanding job, and your wife also has a demanding job as a college professor at Mohawk Valley. As students, we are often told to think about striking a healthy work-life balance. In light of your responsibilities, how do you balance it all?
AB
: We try to involve the family in as much as we can in the campaign and my work in office. The children frequently travel with me to events, and my wife, when she has time, is also travelling with me. We always look for events to attend that are more family-friendly so they can all come along. The children have really taken an interest in this campaign, to the point where they actually like coming to some of the events that I attend. When we do town hall meetings, they come. One of the great things about Upstate New York is that we have such a beautiful landscape and seasonal festivals, and now in the fall, [my children are] excited about the various apple and pumpkin festivals that are going to be happening. And a little bribery with ice cream always goes a long way.
