State attorney general Letitia James told Huntington Democrats last week that, if elected, she would crack down on corruption, protect immigrants and tackle other issues important to local residents.
James, Zephyr Teachout, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and Leecia Eve are competing for the Democratic nomination in the Thursday, Sept. 13 primary. The winner will run against Republican Keith Wofford on Nov.6 for the four-year term.
In an interview after speaking to members of the Huntington Town Democratic Committee, she said public corruption needed to be prosecuted, and she would not rely on a referral from the governor’s office to investigate. Mergers between big corporations and their impact on communities, net neutrality, the role of drug companies in the opioid crisis and excessive water rates in Nassau County were also on her list.
She also said that she would challenge the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 US Census and immigrant rights protected, with controls on ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that has come in for criticism of how it deals with immigrants. “We have to embrace immigrants and the system that provides a path to citizenship,” she said.
Changes in election law are another issue; she would like to see the addition of early voting. “We have fallen behind other states,” she said.
“I’ve been a fighter all my life, and know how to get things done,” she said. “I don’t sit in an ivory tower.”
It was the 10th campaign stop on Long Island for James, the New York City Public Advocate.
