| The Newsday Editorial Board is endorsing Laura Gillen for re-election as she rounds out her first term representing New York’s 4th Congressional District. The board praised the “tenacity and resilience” she has brought to the job, even in a dysfunctional Congress.
The Editorial Board pointed to the first bill Gillen introduced as a freshman to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support, something Newsday called “a rare occurrence for a freshman minority member.”
The Board said Gillen understands what her district needs and has a “deep, thoughtful understanding” of national challenges — offering a “clear road map” for lowering costs and undoing the damage of Trump policies on health care, tariffs and immigration.
By contrast, the board found Republican Jeanine Driscoll “less equipped” for Congress. When asked, Driscoll could not name a single thing President Trump has said or done that she disagrees with and said she “wouldn’t interfere” with Trump’s strategy.
Read the full endorsement here and key excerpts below:
Newsday: Laura A. Gillen for New York’s 4th Congressional District
- The first bill Laura A. Gillen introduced in her freshman term in Congress sought to extend Temporary Protective Status for Haitian immigrants, including those she represents in Elmont and elsewhere in the 4th Congressional District.
- Gillen, a Rockville Centre Democrat, and her colleagues gathered the necessary signatures and brought the bill to a vote — and it passed with bipartisan support, a rare occurrence for a freshman minority member.
- It’s a story that illustrates the tenacity and resilience that Gillen, 57, brought to her first two years in the House — and the dysfunction of Congress as a whole, as the Senate never even took up the bill.
- Even amid a complicated and partisan political landscape, Gillen, who previously served as Hempstead Town supervisor, has tried to make the most of her first two years in Congress.
- “I know what my job is,” Gillen said. “My job is to do the best that I can under the most challenging circumstances for my constituents.”
- Gillen understands those communities’ needs, from water infrastructure upgrades in the Village of Hempstead to long-sought renovations for the Lakeview Library.
- But she also has a deep, thoughtful understanding of the nation’s broader challenges, pointing to a variety of Trump administration policies that, she says, have done “so much damage,” from ending Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to immigration, to tariffs and the war in Iran. She provides a clear road map on how to undo that damage, which, she said, is key to lowering costs and improving lives in CD4.
- Driscoll is less equipped. And while she said she’s willing to work across the aisle, when asked, Driscoll told the editorial board that she cannot think of anything President Donald Trump has said or done with which she disagrees.
- Driscoll said she supports the war in Iran and called tariffs “the price of doing business,” arguing that she hasn’t seen a negative impact on constituents: “I can’t identify a tariff that’s hurt me,” she said.
- Instead, she said, they are part of a larger Trump strategy she supports. “This is how he operates . . . ” she said. “I wouldn’t interfere with that.”
- Gillen emphasizes that if Democrats win the majority, they’ll have to put policy over politics. She can bring a moderate voice with a bipartisan bent to the table, to move forward her more sweeping priorities in healthcare, immigration reform and affordability, and the more specific bills and funding asks that could intimately help her district. To succeed, Gillen will need to do both. Newsday Opinion endorses Gillen.
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