By Nicole Formisano
The entire nation is watching the 4th Congressional District race. The hotly contested seat is teetering between parties, and in the final stretch before election day, Democrats are urging voters for one last push.
Democrat Laura Gillen is challenging incumbent Republican Anthony D’Esposito in a race that could help decide the control of the House of Representatives.
More than 200 people, including U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, took to Kennedy Memorial Park in Hempstead on Oct. 17 for a “Get Out the Vote” rally supporting Gillen.
Jeffries pointed to Republicans capping state and local tax deductions at $10,000 in 2017 as part of a law that cut corporate and personal taxes.
“Anthony D’Esposito has been a member of the majority since he got to Congress,” Gillen said. “If he was an effective congressman, he could have gotten that bill brought to the floor. He did not even need one Democratic vote to get it passed, but he has failed us. Together, with leader Jeffries, we are going to bring that deduction back.”
Gillen would also join the fight of House Democrats to “fix our broken immigration system and secure the border,” “strengthen the relationship between the police and the community,” and “combat the climate crisis with urgency,” Jeffries said.
“Remember, every vote counts,” said Barbara Powell, president of the NAACP Hempstead branch. “And history has shown us that elections can be decided by a remarkably small number of votes.”
The sentiment is particularly true for this race.
The 4th District is the most Democratic-leaning district in the country that is represented by a Republican, according to The Cook Political Report. The seat is rated as a toss-up, and is one of only four seats that Democrats need to flip in order to win back the House majority they lost in 2022.
The race is made even more controversial by the recent report alleging that D’Esposito put his mistress and his fiancée’s daughter on his congressional payroll for no-show jobs, costing taxpayers $29,000.
The Village of Hempstead, it seems, is largely disillusioned with Republican leadership. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman resisted allocating funds to Hempstead to help it deal with chemically polluted water, and Congressman D’Esposito, Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. said, has not done enough for the village.
In Gillen and D’Esposito’s Oct. 15 debate, Gillen cited D’Esposito’s alleged lack of contact with Hempstead — of which 90 % of residents are people of color, nearly 40 % being Black — as evidence that he does not effectively serve communities of color.
D’Esposito, in response, said he has met with Hobbs on “multiple occasions,” and that multiple Hempstead projects are now “going through the legislative process.”
D’Esposito and Hobbs met once, two years ago, when D’Esposito first took office and Hobbs requested a meeting, he said.
“So I met with him two years ago, and you know what he’s delivered for those two years to the Village of Hempstead?” Hobbs asked. “0.0. So let the record show that he has given nothing to the Village of Hempstead.”
Meanwhile, he said, Gillen has been involved in Hempstead for more than 8 years and has a more reliable track record on delivering for the village.
Clean water, affordable healthcare, the cost of living, and the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic were at the forefront of the rally. Speakers and attendees alike opined that Republican leadership including D’Esposito has failed the nation on those issues.
Reproductive rights are at the center of this election, and this race is no different.
D’Esposito said he has not, and will never, seek to undermine women’s reproductive rights in New York.
But Gillen said D’Esposito has “voted at every turn to restrict reproductive freedom.” D’Esposito is supported by multiple pro-life organizations for his voting record.
The 4th District race is down to slim margins — and the outcome of this single seat has far-reaching national consequences.
“I want you to understand that we have a mission,” said civil rights attorney Frederick Brewington. “Not for ourselves, but for those kindergarteners that are over in the elementary school right down the street.”
“I want you to understand that we got a job to do, that we have a responsibility, that people died so that we could have this right to vote,” Brewington said. “And when we stand together, we win. When we vote, we win. When we fight, we win.”
