By Patrick Donachie
Tom Suozzi said he is looking forward to finding common ground between his fellow Democrats and Republicans after he was elected Tuesday to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Melville). The district covers parts of Long Island and eastern Queens.
“I’m very excited about our victory, but I recognize there are very serious problems we face in the country,” he said during a conference call Wednesday morning, noting Americans should “really reflect on how we’re going to bring people together to solve the problems we face.”
Suozzi won about 48.4 percent of the total vote, with all 630 precincts reporting, according to unofficial vote totals from the state Board of Elections, while his Republican opponent, state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola), had about 44 percent.
The BOE reported Suozzi had 156,315 votes out of the 322,608 total vote count. There are 505,342 registered voters in the district. Martins released a statement congratulating Suozzi and acknowledging the defeat.
“The results are in and unfortunately we’ve come up short,” he said. “While the outcome was not what we hoped and the race is over, it does not mean we will stop fighting for the ideals on which we ran.”
Suozzi will represent the 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties in Long Island, as well as parts of Bay Terrace, Whitestone, Glen Oaks and Floral Park. He pledged to open a district office in Queens, suggesting somewhere on Northern Boulevard near the border between Queens and Nassau County as a possibility.
The former Nassau County executive also promised to listen to suggestions made by Republican representatives and President-elect Donald Trump.
“I’ll have an open mind to anything,” he said about Trump. “The only thing I won’t put up with is discrimination shenanigans.”
He also said he intends to meet with the Federal Aviation Administration in the first month of his tenure to try and solve the issue of excessive airplane noise, which was a oft-relayed concern from northeast Queens residents during the campaign.
In Glen Oaks on Election Night, several voters said they did not know much about either Suozzi or Martins, saying they had personally not seen much outreach from the campaigns to their part of the district.
“I have no idea who they are,” said one voter who declined to give her name.
Suozzi did open a campaign office in Queens located in the Bay Terrace shopping plaza during the race. Suozzi faced four opponents in a Democratic primary earlier this year. He was also the mayor of Glen Cove from 1993 to 2001 and unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2006.
The future congressman said he was appreciative of the “comeback story” he was enjoying due to his victory.
“I’ll tell you right now,” he said. “Winning is a lot better than losing.”
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
