Watch NY1’s full Democratic primary debate for the 10th Congressional District above.
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What You Need To Know
- Nader, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, facing Lindsey Boylan and Jonathan Herzog in primary.
- Challengers criticized congressman for CARES Act they said didn't do enough for constituents.
- Candidates for Manhattan, Brooklyn district also squared off on housing policy.
In a NY1 debate, House Member Jerry Nadler faced two Democratic challengers urging bold new leadership in the district to meet demands for lasting reform in the country.
“He writes strongly worded letters and gives empty talk. This is not the time for any of that. This is the time for people with guts," Lindsey Boylan said.
“We have to dismantle systemic racism and provide for real, substantive, structural reform. There’s no more time for lip service and no more time for cheap talk,” Jonathan Herzog said.
Nadler seeks re-election to his Manhattan and Brooklyn seat as health, economic, and racial crises inflame the city and country.
The congressman responded to debate attacks by pointing to what he calls a progressive record over his 15 terms.
He noted his longtime advocacy for racial justice and recent coronavirus relief legislation.
“I’ve been very involved in the Black Lives Matter movement and dealing with systemic racism ever since the days of Amadou Diallo and later, Eric Garner," Nadler said, later adding: “I have supported and we have provided in the CARES Act lots of money for people to pay the rent with, lots of money for small homeowners to pay their mortgages with. We have to extend that.”
Boylan called for the resignation of Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying he hasn’t stood up to police in the midst of recent protests.
The former state economic development official said she backs a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for racial healing.
“Every policy, whether it’s housing or education, has advantaged white people," Boylan said. “We actually have to rethink how we provide our housing, how HUD works, how our Department of Education works, how we desegregate our schools.”
Herzog advocated for policies like quadratic funding and a universal basic income (UBI) to reverse racial disparities laid even barer in recent months.
The former Andrew Yang campaign aide called UBI "the vanguard of the civil rights fights of this era.”
Herzog and Nadler didn’t call for de Blasio to step down but said he’s handled the demonstrations poorly.
Boylan and Herzog criticized the CARES Act as insufficient for the struggling and a giveaway to the rich.
Nadler said endorsements by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bolster his progressive resume.
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