Politics & Government

Final Pitch: Bishop vs. Altschuler

Candidates for the First Congressional District seat give Patch their final pitch.

Election Day is tomorrow, and Patch is giving the candidates for the First Congressional District the chance to make their elevator pitches for Blue Point votes. They each get 250 words, give or take a few, to make their best argument for why they'd be best suited to stay in charge or take over the reins from the incumbent.

Incumbent: Tim Bishop, D - Southampton

I want to continue to use the federal government to provide resources to the local government that then relieves local government of the tax burden. What I have done over the last several years is try to use fed government as a means to provide tax relief for the local government and we've been very successful with that.

Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

My opponent says he would have voted against the stimulus bill – so the rail spur modification would not be happening. This federal money to schools would not be happening.

I think one of things Fed government does badly is wade into a community and say 'OK guys, we know best.' I believe my job is to work with local government and local stakeholders and try and deliver to help them achieve priorities they've established.

Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I think this is the toughest reelection I've had. I don't think that's any surprise.

This is a tough race. But I think it's a reflection primarily of times. There's an awful lot of anger out there, a lot of cynicism and skepticism. A lot of fear. We are in tough times – no reasonable person would argue otherwise.

But my opponent just moved here. He's not a person of this area, of this district – by the way, he's a formidable opponent. I'm not taking anything away from him. But I think it's more about how difficult the circumstances are.

Challenger: Randy Altschuler, R - St. James

People react to a positive message about what you're going to be doing. People react positively to the fact that I'm a businessman. I'm a private sector businessman and Bishop isn't.

I've created over 700 jobs in the United States, so I know how to create jobs. I've met and managed a budget. I'm raising a family – I have a son that's 3 – so I can understand firsthand the challenges facing families right now.

Tim Bishop is not voting with the people of this district. He's voting with his party. Hence his 97 percent voting rate with Nancy Pelosi. He has supported a slew of legislation that is not in the best interest of the district.

That includes healthcare, cap-and-trade legislation, bailouts. He didn't vote to extend the 2001 Republican tax cuts. In a nutshell, he's not voting in the best interest of the district. He's voting what his party tells him to.

The healthcare bill is not going to lower the cost of healthcare. It's not going to increase the choice of providers. In the end there are better ways to assist people. My wife is a pediatrician, so I understand firsthand as an employer and someone whose wife is a doctor how broken the healthcare system is. Costs are rising too quickly and not enough people have insurance. But this exacerbates the problem. It doesn't improve it.


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