40 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 21, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Courier endorses
Crowley
Congressman Joe Crowley, leader of the
Queens County Democratic Party, has
emerged on the national political scene
while continuing to stay true to his Queens
roots.
Rumored to be among a number of
House Democrats who may wind up succeeding
Nancy Pelosi as the party’s leader
(sooner or later), Crowley serves as a
powerful voice in the eff ort to resist the
Trump administration’s eff orts to gut the
Aff ordable Care Act (Obamacare), trample
on the rights of any and all immigrants, and
undermine the rule of law in this country.
Crowley’s among a handful of incumbent
Members of Congress in Queens County
on the ballot in this Tuesday’s Democratic
primary, and we urge our readers to give
him their vote then, and in the November
general election.
His record isn’t perfect, but that’s something
that could be said for any elected offi -
cial. However, Crowley’s record shows that
he has worked over two decades on Capitol
Hill to improve life for the people he represents
and refl ect their values.
He may be one of Obamacare’s most
ardent supporters, but he understands that
the Aff ordable Care Act — while making
health insurance more aff ordable for his
constituents — must go further. He’s one
of the leading proponents of adopting a
“Medicare for all” provision that would let
Americans under 65 years of age opt into
the aff ordable, public healthcare program.
Crowley also remains an champion
for stricter gun laws amid the ongoing
gun violence problem the country faces
today; wants a more fair tax law than the
one railroaded through Congress by the
Republican leadership and Trump last fall;
and to bring sanity to the nation’s immigration
policies and end seemingly random
deportations that target individuals without
serious criminal records.
First elected to Congress in 1998,
Crowley has 20 years of experience in representing
the people of northwest Queens
and the Bronx. His incumbency may be
looked upon by his opponent, Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, and others through a cynical
lens.
To the contrary, Queens — and, to a
larger extent, the country — needs individuals
in government who know what they’re
doing, who know how government is supposed
to function, and who can not only
talk the talk, but walk the walk and get
things done.
Th e next Congress needs to truly represent
working- and middle-class Americans
again, while also restoring the legislative
branch as a check on executive power.
Crowley, in his leadership role within the
House Democratic Caucus, can play an
important role in achieving both objectives.
We know that Crowley can adeptly represent
northwest Queens and communicate
their concerns in Washington. Th e
times we live in call for proven leadership,
and Crowley should play a key role in fi xing
what’s so terribly broken on Capitol
Hill.
Crowley-Ocasio battle comes
down to primary vote this Tuesday
BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAFF
editorial@qns.com / @QNS
Democrats in three Queens
Congressional districts will head to the
polls on June 26 to select their candidates
to represent them on Capitol Hill.
Th e polls will be open from 6 a.m. to
9 p.m.; only registered Democrats can
participate. For more information, visit
vote.nyc.ny.us.
Th e most intriguing of the three contests
is the battle for the Democratic
nomination in the 14th Congressional
District. Incumbent Congressman Joe
Crowley is facing his fi rst primary battle
in 14 years against civic activist
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Bronx
resident, said she hadn’t ever considered
running for offi ce since she was
disenchanted with electoral politics.
But now, she’ll be the fi rst candidate
to challenge Crowley in 14 years for his
district, which spans northwest Queens
and part of the Bronx.
She interned for Senator Ted
Kennedy in college and during that
time, the Supreme Court ruled that
corporations and unions could spend
unlimited sums of money to infl uence
elections.
“Th at was around the time Citizens
United had passed and I had just really
felt like electoral politics was out of the
question, especially in New York with
how dynastic it is, how machine-oriented
New York politics was,” she told Th e
Courier in an interview earlier this year.
“I never really thought of running.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who has pledged not
to take any money from lobbyists or
super PACS, said that the community
never “truly got to know” Crowley
because of the method in which he was
elected. When former Congressman
Th omas Manton retired in 1999, he
withdrew on the last possible day so
that he could choose Crowley to replace
him on the ballot.
“We have basically, on one side, a
multimillion-dollar machine candidate
that was never elected, who does not
live in the district — he lives in Virginia,
his children go to public school in
Virginia,” she said. “It’s really kind of
the pinnacle of someone who is a little
out of touch but very infl uential.”
Crowley, on the other hand, refuted
the allegations.
“I live in Woodside; that is where
my residence is. Quite frankly, I’m a
proud Woodside resident,” Crowley
said. “Th is job requires that I be in
Washington. Th e taxpayers send me
there to fi ght for them whether on votes
or in meetings. When I’m not doing
that, I’m back here in my district, serving
my constituents.”
In many ways, Crowley’s fi ghting
two battles as he heads into his fi rst
Democratic primary in more than a
decade. Along with facing a primary
challenger, Crowley’s other fi ght is
one that he’s been waging since Jan.
20, 2017 — a battle against President
Donald Trump and his administration’s
eff orts to undo policies put forth
by his predecessors.
“I felt as though Trump has been
personally attacking my constituency,”
Crowley said in an interview on June
14 with Th e Courier. “His attacks on
the immigrant population have been
incredibly troubling to me, especially
with what’s taking place on the border,
separating families. Th at has been
an abomination.”
Since Trump took offi ce, Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
agents have visited the area, among
other parts of the country, and arrested
individuals who immigrated illegally
to the country, regardless of their
other circumstances, or had prior criminal
records that made them eligible for
deportation.
Th e crackdown naturally alarmed
immigrant groups across Queens and
Crowley. While his primary opponent,
Ocasio-Cortez, suggested that ICE be
abolished, Crowley countered that getting
rid of the agency doesn’t get rid of
the problem. (Th e topic was included
in a debate between the two candidates
hosted by NY1 News on June 15.)
“Even if ICE is gone, you still have
Attorney General Jeff Sessions,”
Crowley said, referencing one of the
Trump administration’s biggest proponents
of the immigration crackdown.
Crowley added that he and
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
have co-sponsored legislation that
would make ICE directly accountable
to Congress; every arrest ICE makes
would be reported to the House and
Senate, a move that the incumbent said
would dissuade ICE from acting “like
freelance cowboys.”
“Th at would at least report their activities
to Congress to help us understand
what they’re doing,” Crowley said.
“If they are violating people’s rights,
they have to justify to Congress why
they are taking the steps they’re taking.”
Congress could then take its own
actions to punish ICE for constitutional
violations.
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