32 The QUEE NS Courier • june 30, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com CAMPAIGN 2016 Queens Democrats in the thick of the Congressional sit-in on Capitol Hill By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@qns.com @robbpoz Members of Congress representing Queens made their voices heard in the sit-in that began on June 22 on the floor of the House of Representatives and ended on the afternoon of June 23. House Democrats, led by Georgia Congressman John Lewis, began their protest just after 11 a.m. on June 22 demanding that the Republican-led chamber take a vote on proposed gun control regulations in the wake of the June 12 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. They want the Republican leadership to schedule votes on various proposed gun regulations aimed at preventing QUEENS DEMS SPEAK OUT Queens’ Democratic voters gave the nod to former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi in the June 28 Primary vote. Suozzi, who made inroads with Queen’s elected officials and communities early on in his campaign, spent a large majority of his time hitting the borough’s pavement and getting out the vote. Suozzi also captured his native Nassau, while holding his own in neighboring Suffolk County. Suozzi will now presumably run against either Republican state Senator Jack Martins or former corporate fraud investigator Philip “Flip” Pidot in the November general election. The reason why Suozzi doesn’t have a clear opponent yet is because the Republicans didn’t run a primary on June 28, even though they probably should have. Apparently, Republican candidate Pidot was illegally prevented from running for office, according to a State Supreme Court decision. Pidot has now filed a federal lawsuit to run a primary against Senator Martins and is currently awaiting the decision of U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Bianco, who ordered that a conference be held on Pidot’s effort to bar Martins’ certification as the Republican nominee. Pidot’s camp has cast blame on his primary opponent, Senator Martins, for dragging out the lengthy, complicated legal proceedings in an effort to Queens Politics & More BY MIKE FRICCHIONE effectively tie up the courts before a decision on Pidot’s eligibility to run could be reached. Pidot, in his federal lawsuit, also asserts that “thousands of registered and eligible Republican voters in the district will be effectively disenfranchised,” if he is not allowed to run in a primary. Not every race in Queens was as dramatic though. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who was spotted on June 28 shaking hands with voters on 30th Avenue in Astoria, cruised to an easy re-election. The Congresswoman garnered 90 percent of the vote over her primary opponent, the largest margin of victory out of all 12 New York Congressional primaries that were held on June 28. Congressman Gregory Meeks also had an impressive showing, racking up 80 percent of the vote against Elmont businessman Ali Mirza. Mirza ran much closer in his neighboring Nassau County, but simply couldn’t break into Meek’s stronghold in southern Queens. future mass shootings and other gun violence, including one bill that would bar suspected terrorists on the government’s no-fly list from being able to purchase weapons. The Republican leadership has refused to schedule votes on the matter up to this point. “They could potentially turn the air off, potentially turn the lights off in the chamber, but a fire has been lit in our nation,” Woodside-based Congressman Joe Crowley, who is also deputy minority whip, said at a early morning press conference on June 23. “It’s a new day in Washington, we’re not going to sit back and do nothing. … We demand that these bills be taken up as soon as possible, and if my Republican colleagues don’t, then they will answer to the American people.” The sit-in began on June 22 as the House was in the closing moments of its session prior to their July 4 recess. South Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks was on the floor when Lewis and his colleagues started the sitin. The Republican leadership gaveled out, halting the House’s regular business. Speaker Paul Ryan — who dismissed the sit-in as a publicity stunt — had the House’s video feed interrupted; Democrats resorted to live-streaming their protest on their smartphones. “Following the deadliest shooting in our nation’s history, an overwhelming majority of the American people want Congress to close the loophole that allowed the hateful gunman in Orlando to murder 49 people and wound dozens more,” Meeks said in a statement. “The NRA National Rifle Association, however, has muffled the voices of those demanding action on gun safety. While Americans are pleading for Congress to enact stronger gun safety laws, Republicans have sat on their hands and done nothing, disregarding the cries of victims, their friends and their families.” Other lawmakers from the Queens delegation — Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney, Grace Meng and Nydia Velazquez and Congressmen Steve Israel and Hakeem Jeffries — joined the sit-in and took turns speaking about the need for new gun regulations. Supporters of the cause from the Senate also visited them, including Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy — who led a 15-hour filibuster on gun regulation last week that spurred a vote on June 20 in which four proposed regulations were defeated — and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Things turned tense just after 10 p.m. on June 22, when Ryan showed up to gavel the House back into regular business. Democrats shouted over his remarks, “No bill, no break!” and “Shame! Shame! Shame!” They then sang the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” as the House proceeded with a vote on an unrelated presidential veto, which failed to be overridden. The House again took a break, but the Democratic members remained on the floor well into the early morning hours. House Republicans reconvened at 2:30 a.m. on June 23, passed a bill funding various Zika protection measures and officially recessed for the week. Though the House Republicans left, a number of House of Democrats remained and continued their occupation. Speaking on the House floor just after 4 a.m. on June 23, Maloney noted that the phones of her office were “ringing off the hook” with people “thanking the Democrats for standing up and making a difference.” “More people have died of gun violence since 1968 than all of the people that died for our country in wars,” she said. “How insane is it that we’re not considering common-sense, no-fly, no-buy background checks? These are reasonable, moderate positions that in no way infringe upon the Second Amendment.” Once the House reconvenes after the July 4 break, Congressman Lewis told CNN he intends to pick up the protest where it left off: “We must come back on July 5 more determined than ever before.” Photo via Twitter/@RepGraceMeng Congresswoman Grace Meng (at left) participates in the sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives.
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