Anna Throne-Holst, Dave Calone Face Off Tuesday in Primary for Dem Nomination

Registered Democrats will head to the polls Tuesday to vote in a congressional primary race between Anna Throne-Holst and Dave Calone, both of whom are seeking the Democratic Party nomination and hoping to unseat United States Rep. Lee Zeldin.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and voters should go to their normal polling places to cast their ballots. The first congressional district includes the North and South Forks, Brookhaven Town and a section of Smithown.

Patch asked the candidates to respond to a series of questions:

1) What do you think are the single most critical issues facing residents today in this district?

Anna Throne-Holst: We need to make Long Island a more affordable place to live. We also need to protect the environment and our natural resources. I have a track record of holding the line on taxes while adding services to make Suffolk County more affordable while investing in environmental programs. My environmental efforts led Newsday to call me a "big thinker" on environmental issues. Further, we need to address modernizing and expanding mass transportation and infrastructure, provide affordable and accessible access to training and further education to support the workforce needed to fill critical positions for local businesses. We need to support well planned affordable housing — all in an effort to better support existing and new job creation efforts.

Dave Calone: Preserving and protecting our environment is critically important, and that includes building on the work that I helped lead on protecting our waters and promoting renewable energy, as well as fighting overdevelopment on the East End. We also need to make sure that good paying jobs are created here so that people can afford to live here. I have a background in creating small businesses and jobs, and I am eager to take that expertise to Congress.

2) What makes you uniquely qualified for this position?

Dave Calone: I have been a leader and problem solver in the public and private sectors at both the regional and national levels. As Chair of the Suffolk County Planning Commission, my work on environmental protection and renewable energy has been helped protect our waters and helped thousands of people install renewable energy systems. I also have worked regionally to create the “Farmers for the Future” program to support the agricultural industry and to create the Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund to make sure that good-paying jobs are being created on Long Island. At the national level, I have been a leader in helping our veterans through the creation of Patriot Boot Camp, and in fighting corporate power and protecting our national security as a federal prosecutor who worked with foreign governments on prosecutions in the oil and gas industry and relating to terrorism. I have also served as an advisor in the Congress educating members of Congress and their staff on how the United States can create the next generation of jobs.

Anna Throne-Holst: I am the only candidate who has served in local government and has a track record of getting progressive results. I turned the Town of Southampton around by cutting wasteful spending and investing in award-winning senior and veteran service, environmental protection programs, and important job creation projects. The Town of Southampton is now one of the few on Long Island to have a AAA bond rating. I also have an unmatched environmental record, where I brought the Clean Water Center to Stony Brook University, instituted stringent sustainable building codes, preserved over 2,000 acres of land and threatened wetlands, protected erosion threatened coastline with a six mile beach renourishment project, and launched "Solarize Southampton," making the Town a leader in solar energy, etc.

3) If elected, what are your first goals to accomplish in office?

Anna Throne-Holst: I want to immediately focus on providing outstanding constituent services for individuals throughout the district. Your congressional representative should recognize that the job is primarily to work with federal agencies to address the needs of the district — whether it is related to transportation, infrastructure, environmental protection, etc — and to bring back federal dollars and services to Suffolk County. In my capacity as Southampton Town Supervisor, I worked with several federal agencies and will build on that work. Further, I want to work with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to ensure that every child and family has equal opportunity to succeed, and to that end I will focus on universal pre-K, early childhood education and care, minimum wage and family health leave. I am committed to bringing back the Kennedy-McCain Immigration Reform Act and ensure that comprehensive immigration reform is adopted.

Dave Calone: My first bill would be very simple, "Corporations are not people." I have been active in working for campaign finance reform for more than a decade and two years ago I was honored by the Long Island Progressive Coalition for my leadership in that field. I firmly believe that we need to fight back against corporate influence in our government and that starts with their impact on lobbying and on our campaigns.

4) Why should voters choose you over your opponent?

Dave Calone: The New York Times has looked at this primary race and said that I am “the better candidate” because of my “stronger record as an environmentalist” and because I will be “energetic and creative in tackling the district’s challenges, including affordable housing, energy and jobs.” I am honored that virtually every current and former Democratic elected official in our district agrees with The New York Times — including the two Democratic members of the Southampton Town Board who served with my opponent. They know that I have stood up for progressive values and worked to build the Democratic Party - locally, regionally and nationally — since I was 17 years old. My opponent just joined the Democratic Party several months ago to run in this race and has contributed to the Conservative Party multiple times over the last few years. I also have the experience in both the public and private sectors that puts me in a good place to beat Lee Zeldin. I have a background in national security and national work on behalf of veterans that will allow me to go toe to toe with him in that regard. I have a background in creating jobs, that no one else in this race has — which will be a key issue in the general election. And, I have the Independence Party nomination, which is worth about 3 percent in the general election — and if I am not the Democratic nominee, that Independence Party nomination will go to Zeldin. That makes it a 6 percent swing depending on whether I am the Democratic nominee or not.

Anna Throne-Holst: I am the only one in this race that has actually served in office and gotten the job done, advancing a very proactive progressive agenda. I am the only one who has actually defeated Republicans, and have gotten elected and re-elected three times in a Republican-leaning district by 60/40 margins. My opponent's time on the LIPA board would make it difficult for him to beat Lee Zeldin, particularly in a district where candidates need broad party appeal to be victorious and hold on to their seats.

5) Why did you enter this race, and why do you feel it's essential to unseat Mr. Zeldin?

Anna Throne-Holst: Lee Zeldin has been a shill for the Tea Party and Donald Trump and completely neglected his constituents. Zelda is an avowed climate change denier and has voted to defund Homeland Security and the Pell Grants, and even refused to support a bill that would stop suspected terrorists from buying guns. We need a leader that will focus on the people of Suffolk County rather than extreme Tea Party politics.

Dave Calone: I entered the race because I was disturbed by Lee Zeldin's Tea Party values and thought he was taking us down the wrong track by voting to defund Planned Parenthood, by voting against the President’s plan to fight global warming, by voting to cut student loans, and by proposing to make it easier for people on the terrorist watch list to get guns. I am ready to bring a strong background in protecting the environment and creating jobs that would allow me to be a fighter for the progressive values that we need to lead our region into the future.

Former Southampton Town Supervisor Throne-Holst and Dave Calone, chair of the Suffolk County Planning Commission, duked it out recently at a Southold High School event organized by the Southold Town Democratic Club.

To read about that event and the candidates' stances on the issues, click here.