44°
The District includes parts of Orange, Rockland, Dutchess and Westchester counties, including the towns of Somers, North Salem, Lewisboro, Pound Ridge, Bedford, Armonk and Chappaqua.
Maloney, 46, and his partner of more than 20 years, Randy Florke, have three children together: Jesus, Daley and Essie.
Maloney, an attorney, had lived in Sullivan County for 16 years and currently lives in Cold Spring.
We recently sat down with Maloney and asked him five questions about his campaign platform.
1) What are the three biggest issues facing the district?
Job creation is the Hudson Valley’s top priority. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Tea Party Congresswoman Hayworth, who has said “the best thing the federal government can do is stop trying to create jobs.” Congresswoman Hayworth and her Tea Party colleagues voted to end Medicare’s guaranteed benefit in order to reward millionaires like themselves with more massive tax breaks. That’s just wrong; we need to preserve Medicare for our seniors here in the Hudson Valley.
Congresswoman Hayworth also voted repeatedly to defund Planned Parenthood, jeopardizing the health of thousands of women here in the Hudson Valley who depend on Planned Parenthood for life-saving cancer screenings, birth control, breast exams, and counseling. The Tea Party attack on women’s health must be stopped.
2) How would you address those issues?
I know how to create jobs right here at home because I’ve done it. Working in President Clinton’s White House, I was part of a team that created millions of jobs and balanced the budget. I also built my own business that created hundreds of good-paying New York jobs. Congresswoman Hayworth hasn’t been a partner to our job creators. I support basic federal loan guarantees throughout the Hudson Valley that would create jobs.
Congresswoman Hayworth also voted to give corporations shipping jobs overseas more tax breaks paid for by forcing seniors to pay $6,400 more a year in health costs and ending Medicare’s guarantee benefit. I will stop rewarding outsourcers and I’ll always protect Medicare from Tea Party attempts to turn it into a voucher system.
I’ll protect women’s health and always support Planned Parenthood. Decisions about women’s health shouldn’t be in the hands of Tea Party extremists.
3) As the challenger, what would you do differently than the current office holder?
Congresswoman Hayworth went to Washington and voted every step of the way with the Tea Party, not the Hudson Valley. In Congress, I would put our working families first and not be beholden to a radical Tea Party ideology like Congresswoman Hayworth. I will protect and strengthen Medicare, not end its guaranteed benefit. I will deliver tax cuts to middle-class families and small businesses, not corporations that ship jobs overseas. I will support women’s health.
4) Westchester is among the highest-taxed counties in the nation. Is there anything you could as a congressional representative to lower the tax burden?
There are a number of things Congress can do to ease the high taxes faced in Westchester. First, we must preserve the mortgage interest deduction, which is primed for elimination under Paul Ryan’s devastating budget that Congresswoman Hayworth voted for twice. We can help reduce the tax burden on folks in Westchester and around the state by investing in infrastructure, like the Tappan Zee Bridge, on the federal level and easing the burden on the state’s budget. Congresswoman Hayworth also wants to block grant Medicaid and send the money back to the states, which would blow a hole in New York’s budget, forcing the state to find additional revenue through higher taxes.
5) Why should people vote for you?
It’s time to turn a page on the Tea Party here in the Hudson Valley. Congresswoman Nan Hayworth went to Washington and voted with the Tea Party to defund Planned Parenthood and end Medicare’s guaranteed benefit to pay for more massive tax breaks for millionaires like her. That’s just wrong. I’m running for Congress because the Hudson Valley deserves a representative fighting for our priorities, like protecting Medicare, strengthening the middle class, and standing up for women’s health.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Chappaqua and receive free news updates.
