Special Election Race 'Flipped On Its Head": Suozzi

GREAT NECK, NY — While Tom Suozzi is holding news conferences and accepting debates, his Republican challenger has been avoiding much media interaction.

Mazi Melesa Pilip, a registered Democrat, has agreed to one debate before the Feb. 13 special election.

"I've got very high name recognition. I should be the one saying, 'I don't want debates,''' Suozzi, who accepted four debates, said. "The person with low name recognition should be saying, 'I want debates' to get attention. This has been flipped on its head."

But Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, the new Minority Leader in the Nassau County Legislature, said it's a pattern for her former colleague.

"I had watched her, and I actually hoped that she would be someone who could make a difference," DeRiggi-Whitton said. "Honestly, I've been so disappointed."

Pilip, an Ethiopian Jew who lives in Great Neck, was elected to her first term in the legislature in 2021.

"She seems very hesitant to speak or in any way to go against the line of her Republican colleagues," DeRiggi-Whitton said. "We went through two budget seasons together, and I do not think she asked one question in either budget season."

Pilip was selected by the GOP bosses from Nassau and Queens to face Suozzi in the election next month to fill the void from George Santos' expulsion.

"She's there for purpose. She follows the orders of her party," DeRiggi-Whitton said. "She conveys the same message that you're going to hear from any of them."

A spokesperson for Pilip did not respond to a request for comment.

She also is accused of limited voting as "Citizen Pilip." According to the House Majority PAC, she only voted twice from 2012 until running for office nine years later.