By Dan Murphy
Long Island Congressman and Democratic candidate for NY Governor Tom Suozzi continued his Facebook Live Town Hall meetings across New York State on April 19 and stayed on the offensive in his campaign against Governor Kathy Hochul, saying that Houchul “disqualified” herself from picking another Lt. Governor because her first pick, Brian Benjamin, was arrested and resigned this week.
Suozzi also answered questions from the 10,000 interested New Yorkers that are joining his Facebook Town Halls every evening about questions raised in the media about stock transfers he made while a member of Congress and comments he made about the “Don’t Say Gay” proposed legislation in Florida.
“Kathy Hochul has disqualified herself from appointing a new Lieutenant Governor,” said Suozzi during a Zoom press conference with his Lt. Governor canddiate Diane Reyna. “She knew when she chose her first LG that he had ethical issues. But she put her own political considerations ahead of good, sound judgement. She has proven that she cannot handle this, and she needs to let the people decide, they will do a far better job than she has.”
Suozzi also contended that Hochul was not being truthful when she claimed that she was surprised by Benjamin’s arrest. “For her to say she didn’t know shows either a lack of judgment and a lack of experience or it’s a complete and total lie. Either way, New Yorkers deserve more from their Governor.”
Suozzi also calmly address two incidents highlighted in the Metro-NY media about his campaign. One involved a federal probe into stock transfers that Suozzi made while serving in Congress, in which he may have violated ethic disclosure laws. Suozzi said that his account handles all of his ethics and disclosure filings and that his campaign will fix any overlooked filings.
The second issue concerns comments Suozzi made during an interview, when the topic of discussion became the State of Florida, and Governor Ron De Santis’ proposed “Don’t Say Gay” law. Suozzi, in an appearance on WABC Radio’s Sid and Bernie Show, called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill “reasonable.”
During the Zoom call, Suozzi said that his comments on the radio were “inartful” and clarified his stance. “I want to clear up any misunderstandings. I oppose [Florida] Governor Ron DeSantis. I oppose the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. I fully support LGBT families. I have a long record of doing so. I have a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign. I wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times in favor of same sex marriage back in 2009, before that was the popular thing to do.”
Suozzi’s running mate for Lt. Governor, Diane Reyna, now has a very good chance at winning the election for Lt. Governor after the resignaton of Benjamin, and the fact that he cannot be replaced on the ballot.
