4 Key Takeaways From The East Side's NY-12 Forum

NEW YORK CITY — An engaged crowd of Democrats kicked off the congressional primary season Wednesday night at a forum featuring candidates vying to replace longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler.

Twelve Democrats have filed to run in New York’s 12th Congressional District, and nine appeared at the forum: Upper West Side Assemblymember Micah Lasher, former judge Jami Floyd, Christopher Diep, Mathew Shurka, Upper East Side Assemblymember Alex Bores, civil rights attorney Laura Dunn, public health advocate Nina Schwalbe, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg, and Alan Pardee, who joined virtually.

NY-12 includes the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, Hell’s Kitchen, Central Park, Union Square, Chelsea and Stuyvesant Town.

Democratic candidates not in attendance included Micah Bergdale, George Conway, and Liam Elkind. While the district is solidly Democratic, eight Republican and independent candidates have also filed, according to Ballotpedia.

The primary election is June 23, with the general election set for Nov. 3.

The forum was moderated by Jeff Coltin, editor-in-chief of City & State, and hosted by East Side Democratic clubs at the CUNY Graduate Center.

The fiercest race is Lasher vs. Bores

The sharpest exchanges came between Lasher and Bores, the only two sitting elected officials in the race.

Bores repeatedly drew contrasts, noting at one point that he has passed 27 bills — "something like six times the rest of the field combined."

On Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bores criticized “another elected official” in the race for not calling sooner to abolish ICE after the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, a reference to Lasher.

"We need to be clear as Democrats from the start; we don't need to be adjusting to the polls and reacting here," Bores told Coltin.

Perhaps anticipating this attack, Lasher, who was first in the lineup of candidates to speak, said, "You may hear who said what two minutes faster than someone else. I think there are a bunch of us on record with that position."

Israel emerged as a key fault line

Candidates drew clearer distinctions when discussing Israel and the war in Gaza.

Most said they would support continued funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system. Lasher, Shurka, Bores and Pardee explicitly endorsed a two-state solution.

Floyd, who described herself as a radical moderate, said she considered herself the "strongest supporter of Israel" in the race.

Diep, a software engineer, said it was in the country's interest to pull back on funding Israel.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu has mentioned that he's ready for a decrease in funds being sent there, and I would like to help accelerate that," Diep said.

Schwalbe, a public health advocate, took a similar stance. While she said she'd be in favor of funding the Iron Dome, she would not support "the use of offensive weapons on women and children and civilians."

"We need emergency access to humanitarian aid. 100,000 people died and counting, and we need safe passage for medical workers," Schwalbe said.

Dunn, a civil rights attorney, said that she supports Israel's right to exist, but would not "empower them to commit any human rights violations or genocidal acts."

"I am not supportive of the war on Gaza," Dunn said. "I'm tired of this being used to divide us rather than unite us."

Schlossberg, a Kennedy scion, said he supports Israel's right to exist, but that "war is hell."

All candidates criticized the Democratic Party

In his opening remarks, Lasher said that "Democrats are failing to meet this moment, failing to fight with the ferocity and the strategy that we need."

Floyd, a civil rights lawyer and former journalist who said she was one of the more moderate candidates in the field, put it another way.

"Congress has got to get back its cojones," she said. "We have to have Congress people who lock arms and stand tall against this autocrat, and I believe that happens with moderates who are aligned, not bickering amongst themselves about what they stand for."

Shurka, an LGBTQ+ rights advocate, said, "We all know that Democrats, specifically in Congress, are not doing everything they can."

"We still have to use every tool at our disposal to fight Trump," Shurka said.

Pardee, an Upper East Sider, positioned his outsider status as an asset to the party.

"So, as I come from the business world, I actually can do math. That seems to be a lost art in both parties," Pardee said, while pitching a tax cut for the 50 percent poorest Americans.

One attendee, Gabriel Turzo, said he thought the candidates were right to criticize the Democratic Party.

"We saw a lot of moral clarity. We saw a lot of backbone. We saw a lot of candidates responding to the Democratic hunger for backbone," Turzo said. "They are trying to meet the moment."

How candidates voted for mayor offered insight

All nine candidates revealed how they voted in the mayoral election, which saw one of the biggest political upsets in recent history.

Here are their answers, in order.

• Lasher: Scott Stringer (primary), Zohran Mamdani (general)
• Floyd: Adrienne Adams (primary), Andrew Cuomo (general)
• Diep: Mamdani (primary and general)
• Shurka: Cuomo (primary), Mamdani (general)
• Bores: Zellnor Myrie (primary), Mamdani (general)
• Dunn: Mamdani (primary and general)
• Schwalbe: Mamdani (primary and general)
• Schlossberg: Mamdani (primary and general)
• Pardee: Brad Lander (primary), Mamdani (general)

For more information on each candidate, click here.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.

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• Rep. Jerry Nadler's Protégé Launches Campaign To Succeed Him In Congress
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