The 6th Congressional District includes parts or all of: Bayside, Flushing, Middle Village, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Glendale, Fresh Meadows, Auburndale, Briarwood, Jamaica Hills, Hillcrest, Forrest Hills, Oakland Gardens, Elmurst, Rego Park and Kew Gardens.
Name: Elizabeth Crowley
Party: Democrat
Current Position: New York City Councilmember
Personal Info: Born the 14th of 15 children, Democrat Elizabeth Crowley understands the struggles of middle class families. After college, she joined the painters’ union and worked as a decorative painter on some of the city’s most historic sites, including Radio City Music Hall, Central Synagogue and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. She later helped administer a federal grant that assisted small businesses and workers recover after September 11.
Crowley currently represents western Queens as a member of the New York City Council. She lives in Glendale with her two children Dennis and Owen.
Issues: The biggest issue, both locally and nationally, is getting our economy back on track. I will be a strong advocate for job creation that helps Queens residents. This includes securing funding to hire more police officers and firefighters to keep our city safe, investing in transportation projects to provide more options for mass transit in the borough, helping small businesses grow and securing funds for education to keep teachers at work and keep class sizes small.
Platform: With unemployment still above eight percent, our first priority has to be getting our economy back on track and putting people back to work. It is time to bring our troops home and use the billions spent in Afghanistan on investing in our infrastructure here at home. I will also be a strong defender of Social Security and Medicare from cuts or attempts to privatize. Finally, we need to begin rewarding small businesses, which are a backbone of this city’s economy, and start giving small business owners tax breaks and credits to promote hiring — not to big corporations that ship jobs overseas.
Name: Rory Lancman
Party: Democrat
Current Position: New York State Assemblymember for District 25. First elected in 2006, Lancman currently chairs the Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety and is a member of the following committees: Majority Steering; Judiciary; Codes; Labor; Banks; Housing; and Cities. Lancman still teaches local government law at St. John’s University, just down the road from his home in Hillcrest.
Personal Info: Lancman is a graduate of the New York City public school system, Queens College of the City University of New York and Columbia Law School. He lives in the Hillcrest neighborhood with his wife Morgan, whose family emigrated from Iran after the Islamic revolution, and their three children.
Issues: The biggest issue facing Queens, and the one that drives many of the other issues, is that the economic deck is stacked against middle-class New Yorkers, and this Congress isn’t doing anything about it. Whether it’s fixing a tax code that favors wealth over work, making sure that we help small businesses create jobs instead of protecting corporate profits, keeping college affordable for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers or fighting back against efforts to privatize Social Security and turn Medicare into a voucher system, Lancman will be a tireless advocate for the middle-class and for their priorities. Lancman has also been a leader on issues of national security, an issue of paramount importance in New York City, still the number one target for terrorism in the world.
Platform: No matter his role in public life, Lancman has been a fighter for New Yorkers who work for a living and struggle to build a better life for their families. A lifelong resident of Queens, he learned the values of hard work and persistence from his mother Betty, who raised him on her own while working as a waitress. As a young man, Lancman served his country as a platoon leader in New York’s own 42nd Infantry Division, and continued his service as a community board member and the chair of his local hospital advisory board.
In just five-and-a-half years in the state Assembly, Lancman passed 19 bills into law. His legislative tenure is hallmarked by his commitment to promoting homeland security and public safety, keeping our workplaces safe and leveling the playing field for ordinary New Yorkers looking to achieve the American Dream.
On the campaign trail, Lancman has distinguished himself as the “issues candidate” who can hit the ground running when he gets to Washington. Lancman’s expertise on the issues – whether on national issues like saving Social Security and keeping college affordable, or local issues like overdevelopment and saving post offices from closure — has set him apart from the field and has been the basis of much of his support.
Name: Grace Meng
Party: Democrat
Current Position: New York State Assemblymember representing Flushing
Personal Info: Before I was elected in 2008, I served my community as a public interest lawyer. I currently live with my husband Wayne, our two sons, Tyler and Brandon, and our dog, Bounce.
Issues: Creating jobs for hardworking families will be my top priority when I get to Congress. While we avoided plunging into a second Great Depression following the 2008 financial crisis, economic growth is still too slow and our unemployment rate is still too high. I have a clear vision and four-point plan for bringing jobs back to Queens:
1. Immediate federal aid to local and state governments to hire more public sector workers, including teachers, police officers and firefighters.
2. Federal transportation dollars – and transportation-related jobs – for Queens. I will seek appointment to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in order to achieve this objective.
3. Tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers.
4. Investment in technological advancement and initiatives that will help Queens thrive as a technology corridor.
If we pursue these objectives, we will create much-needed jobs right now, and lay the foundation for greater success in the long term. I have a clear vision and a specific plan, and when I get to Washington I will hit the ground running in pursuit of these objectives.
Tax reform is another important issue of concern for the middle-class families that are at the heart of my district. Republicans in Washington insist on cutting spending for vital programs that provide relief to society’s most vulnerable citizens and residents throughout Queens, while refusing to increase revenue by requiring wealthy individuals and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. We must recapture lost revenue by ending subsidies to oil companies and corporations that ship jobs overseas, and implement tax reforms like the Buffett Rule so that those who have benefited most from society do their part to help improve it.
Platform: I will continue to fight to protect the interests of seniors when I get to Washington. As a member of Congress, I will oppose the right-wing assault on the health care and senior citizen programs that are so crucial to the fabric of our society. I believe that every citizen should have access to quality, affordable health care; that individuals with pre-existing conditions should not be denied coverage; and that young people should continue to be able to stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26.
I will also fight tirelessly to protect Medicare and Social Security and ensure retirement security for our country’s senior citizens. It is essential that we make prescription medication more affordable by allowing Medicare to use its purchasing power to bargain for better drug prices. On Social Security, we should protect the program’s long-term solvency by raising the FICA limit in the next three years, once the economy improves.
Name: Robert Mittman
Party: Democrat
Current Position: Owns allergy practice on Bell Boulevard
Personal Info: Married with two kids
Issues: Increase jobs for store owners on Bell Boulevard
Platform: Economy, economy, economy. We have to do something about bringing back jobs, helping the middle class; we have to bring back the mom-and-pop shops. There’s no manufacturing going on in this country. We also need to improve education.
There are not enough millionaires to cover the debt. Pharmaceuticals are too expensive. We are subsidizing the world’s health care system.
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