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The 52-year-old representative lives in Bedford with her two sons, Will and Jack, and her husband, Dr. Scott Hayworth. For 16 years, she was an ophthalmologist, both in her own practice and as a partner in the Mount Kisco Medical Group. She also served as an attending physician at Northern Westchester Hospital.
We sat down with Hayworth and asked her five questions about her campaign platform.
1) What are the biggest issues facing the district?
The most important challenge facing our district is a troubled economy that impacts our daily lives and threatens the durability of our long-term entitlement programs, like Medicare and Social Security. I was elected to Congress in 2010 to bring the federal government down to size, to help taxpayers keep more of when they earn and to protect businesses from burdensome federal regulations that make it more difficult to create the jobs we need.
2) How would you address those issues?
Since entering Congress, I have voted for two responsible budgets that would help to bring our fiscal house in order, create an economic environment conducive to growth, and protect important programs, like Medicare and Social Security, from bankruptcy. The Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank financial reform law are important aspects of these issues.
I believe we should honor the goals of these laws – respectively, to assure good, affordable health care and affordable, portable health insurance and to provide a sound and reliable framework for financial transactions at all levels, while repealing and replacing them with alternatives that honor the American way of achieving excellence through choice, competition, and innovation in a vibrant consumer-oriented marketplace.
3) As the incumbent, what were your biggest achievements?
My No. 1 priority since entering Congress has been to vote for job-creating measures over burdensome federal regulation, taxpayer protection over Washington bureaucracy and the preservation of Medicare and Social Security over bankruptcy.
I’m proud to have co-founded the Common Ground Caucus with my Democratic colleague David Cicilline to bring Republicans and Democrats together toward the goal of a less partisan Congress. I’m also honored to co-chair the Hurricane Irene Recovery Coalition to make sure that Hudson Valley residents affected by the 2011 storms receive the federal support they need.
4) Westchester is among the highest-taxed counties in the nation. Is there anything you could do as a congressional representative to lower the tax burden?
It is vitally important we protect taxpayers in our Hudson Valley. By leaving more money in the pockets of taxpayers and sending less to Washington, D.C., we stimulate our economy and allow people to thrive. I’m proud to have voted for taxpayer relief in repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and I’m equally proud of my record in never voting to increase the taxes our community pays to Washington. The income Hudson Valley families work so hard to earn belongs here stimulating the economy in our own communities.
5) Why should people vote for you?
My priorities are your priorities -- creating jobs, protecting Medicare and Social Security and keeping more of your tax dollars here in the Hudson Valley, rather than sending endlessly more to Washington, D.C. Our Hudson Valley faces unique challenges, and we need someone to represent us in Congress who understands our community and our people. I have lived in the Hudson Valley for 24 year, raising a family here, starting a business here and caring for patients here. It has been the honor and pleasure of my life to serve my community as its member of Congress the past two years. I do my work with an open mind and my whole heart, and I aspire to be worthy of continuing to serve in the years to come.
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