By Jarred Woodward |
The second-to-last NY-22 congressional debate took place on October 22, 2020 with current incumbent Anthony Brindisi going up against Republican nominee and former congresswoman Claudia Tenney and Libertarian candidate Keith Price. The debate was hosted by WSKG and the League of Women Voters, moderated by WSKG editor Gabe Alteri, and broadcasted over both television and radio. The debate marked a rematch between Brindisi and Tenney – who faced off in 2018 with Tenney as the incumbent – with the addition of a 3rd party candidate. The debate covered topics such as immigration, federal COVID-19 relief, the nomination of now Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and included questions submitted by viewers. A majority of the debate was spent taking shots at both Brindisi and Tenney’s records in government and stances on issues, with Price withstanding the crossfire from both opponents. Each candidate was allotted two minutes to answer the question.
When asked about a tax on carbon emissions, Brindisi and Tenney seized the opportunity to not only discuss their views on the broader climate issues, but to also dig up their opponent’s records on climate legislation. Brindisi made it a point to state that he is in support of the Use It Act, a bipartisan bill that incentivizes technologies that remove carbon from the air. When asked the same question – Tenney stated that she believes science needs to be the top resources but criticized Brindisi’s support of the Green New Deal saying “[Brindisi] supports the Green New Deal, which would destroy the economy and hurt us in Upstate New York. We are struggling here right now.”
On immigration, Price began his answer by articulating that “there is no such thing as an illegal human being.” Going further, he claimed that a merit-based system needs to be a part of the country’s immigration policy. Tenney expressed her support for legal immigration and that the path to citizenship should be given to those who meet a certain criteria, saying “I don’t agree that we should have a merit-based system unless that merit includes somebody who wants to come to this country and live the American dream.” Brindisi follows by saying that the country needs immigrants of all skill sets to help aid in a variety country’s hands-on jobs. “We need to have immigration reform, so we have folks of all skills coming to this country,” He said.
The 2020 U.S. election will take place on November 3, 2020. This will be the first presidential election where New Yorkers can early vote up until November 1, 2020. Contact your local Board of Elections to find more information on where early voting polling places are located.
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