NY-17 Democrat Candidates Debate

The race for NY-17 is heating up as the primary election marches ever closer. Three candidates were invited by the Westchester County Democratic Committee on April 9th to debate the issues currently plaguing the American people, covering everything from the affordability crisis to the ongoing war between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Effie Philips-Staley, Beth Davidson and Cait Conley were each invited to Manhattanville College for the debate, which was moderated by Barrett Seaman (Hudson Independent) and Jeff Coltin (City & State). Peter Chatzky, despite being one of the front-runners of the race, suspended his campaign early the same day due to resurfaced social media posts where he made disparaging jokes about Melania Trump and underage girls. Mike Sachs, a former TV Journalist, and John Cappello, an Air Force veteran, were not invited to represent their campaigns on the debate stage, as candidates were required to reach a certain donation threshold. 

The through-line of the night seemed to be the candidates desire to see Lawler ousted from his seat in Congress. In the midst of the second Trump administration, the candidates stated that NY-17 needs a representative who will push back against Trump’s current policies, which all three characterized as “draconian”.

Philips-Staley was the most progressive of the three candidates, being the only one of the three to characterize Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide and Israel’s system of oppression against Palestinians both in Israel and the West Bank as apartheid. To back up her views, Philip-Staley mentioned her recent trip to Israel/Palestine, where she claimed that both Jews and Arabs spoke to her about the untenable situation on the ground and the unyielding Netanyahu regime. Both Conley and Davidson spoke differently on the issue, promoting messages of peace and throwing their weight behind a two-state solution to the conflict. 

All three candidates promoted affordability as sitting at the forefront of their platforms. Beth Davidson, who currently represents Nyack on the Rockland County legislature, spoke about the gas tax cap implemented in Rockland as an example of her action to ease the cost-of-living burden on families in NY-17. She spoke of her experience as a mom of two raising her kids in the district, and the fact that many of the young people who grew up in NY-17 simply can’t remain here due to how expensive it is. Philips-Staley spoke on corporate price gouging as a key part of the affordability crisis, citing the fact that inflation between 2020 and 2022 rose 14%, with corporate profits rising by almost 75%. She pointed to the FTC as a way to police corporations, and brought up its recent gutting under DOGE as part of the problem. Conley, who comes from a working-class background, spoke on her experience as a child watching her single mom try to raise a family in the Hudson Valley. She also spoke on how many vulnerable Americans are having their healthcare stripped from them due to those same DOGE cuts to the government. 

On the rise of Artificial Intelligence, Cait Conley spoke on her experience as a national security official. Conley spoke on how, when briefing members of Congress, many of them could not wrap their heads around the technologies she was briefing them on, and she believes that the same holds true for AI. While she stated that AI has the potential to do tremendous good, it has just as much potential to do irreparable harm. Davidson, who works as a writer, spoke on how AI has been impacting jobs already and how it has interfered in education. She spoke on the need for serious guardrails on the AI industry and the use of technology. She believes we are seeing a generation of students fail to think critically and be creative problem solvers due to the promotion of AI usage. Philips-Staley spoke on job loss and the disappearance of entry-level positions for recent college grads. As a mom of a college student, she and her son are worried about his future prospects in the wake of AI and stated that they can see that same concern growing in families across the country. 

The candidates debated these issues and many more in the over 90 minutes they had to represent themselves and their platforms. Readers can find the full Zoom recording of the debate on YouTube by searching for the Westchester County Democratic Committee and going to their channel. 

There remains only two months until June, with early in-person voting starting on June 13th. Between now and then, there will be myriad opportunities to become more acquainted with the candidates, so stay tuned and be on the lookout. Though Mike Sachs and John Cappello were not invited to speak, they are still in the running and may yet be given their time in the sun. This race is already gearing up to be quite the fight, and with the district considered purple by both insiders and outsiders, only time will tell if Mike Lawler will remain our congressman or if someone else will take his seat.