I have attended one of Rep. Mike Lawler’s open houses and had a chance to watch him in action. He is an accomplished politician, and I understand why some people are drawn to him. Lawler rejects former President Donald Trump’s election lies and touts his own bipartisanship.
A pro-Harris Democrat told The Atlantic recently that she was leaning toward Lawler even though she wanted the Democrats to take back the U.S. House. When asked by a reporter if she’d have any regrets if a Lawler victory allowed Republicans to retain the majority, she replied: “Oh yes. That’s a terrifying thought.”
Well, guess what? If Vice President Kamala Harris wins and is confronted by a Republican House, it will be because voters like this one hoped that other districts would give us a Democratic majority. That is a terrible (and irresponsible) gamble.
With a Republican majority in the House, a Harris win would be in jeopardy just as the Biden victory was in jeopardy. House Speaker Mike Johnson was an election denialist in 2020. Who knows what he will do when it comes time to certify the Electoral College votes in January?
To be safe, we need a Democratic majority in the House. That means that no matter how nice or bipartisan Mike Lawler seems, a vote for him is a vote for a MAGA majority and another round of election denialism. In other words, we gotta vote for Mondaire Jones.
Michael Meeropol, Cold Spring
If Rep. Lawler holds a slight lead in our congressional district, it’s because moderates think he is one of them. They might think twice about that if they saw what Hurricanes Milton and Helene did to Florida and North Carolina.
Why? Because Lawler voted against the most important piece of legislation ever passed to stop climate change — the Inflation Reduction Act, which is speeding up the transition to clean energy. Lawler called the law “a Democratic boondoggle.”
That “boondoggle” has caused companies to announce $265 billion in clean-energy investments, creating more than 330,000 new clean-energy jobs. Lawler could look up those numbers himself. Then he could tell us what’s a higher priority than finally doing something about the hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires and droughts that cast a pall on our future and our kids’ futures.
If he can’t come up with anything, we’d best assume he’ll vote against clean energy again if he’s re-elected. That’s something to remember when contemplating his carefully tailored image as a moderate.
David Gelber, Garrison
As the 2024 campaign began in earnest, I expected to be flooded with glossy pamphlets lauding Rep. Lawler as a moderate Republican who has sought to reduce the political temperature by working with Democrats.
It is important for the 49.6 percent of people in District 17 who voted against him in 2022 to be informed of his true voting record.
While there have been times when he voted against his party, they were rare. His voting record for the 2023-24 Congress reveals him to be a loyal Republican who voted with his majority caucus between 60 and 85 percent of the time. If you explore the record of the Republican caucus, you can find nearly 90 representatives whose voting records were more moderate than Lawler’s.
Lawler supported his Republican majority on votes for investigations, impeachments and censuring and fining a sitting president and two of his cabinet secretaries without any evidence. He also voted to attach riders to funding bills that restricted access to abortions, diversity training and rights for the LGBTQ+ population. He supported cuts to infrastructure and environmental programs that greatly reduced funding for clean water proposals. This had a direct negative impact on New York and Putnam County, which face major problems in this area.
Many of the most controversial Republican measures passed with a margin of fewer than five votes and, in some instances, by a single vote. It is startling to realize that Lawler could, with his one vote, have defeated many of these extreme pieces of legislation.
His voting record shows the Republican caucus can always count on his vote for their MAGA agenda. Their agenda is not moderate and, based on his record, Lawler will support it.
Dennis O’Brien, Cold Spring
Mondaire Jones is the best candidate to represent the 17th District.
His Republican opponent, Rep. Mike Lawler, boasts of his bipartisanship but that claimed status does not mean Lawler’s an effective legislator. For example, rather than support a bi-partisan immigration bill that addressed border security, among other items, Lawler bowed to Trump’s call to put off a vote until after the election apparently because Trump preferred having a problem rather than a solution for this difficult issue.
Also, Lawler is against an assault weapons ban, the gun of choice for mass shootings and now for political violence. Jones is a champion for common sense gun safety legislation, supporting an assault weapons ban and voting for universal background checks when he was in Congress in 2021.
As for abortion, Lawler’s stance may not be as extreme as that of the most radical Republicans, but he supported the repeal of Roe v. Wade and backs the right of the states to set their limits, thus denying this procedure for millions of women who don’t live in states such as New York that permit women to exercise choice over their reproductive lives. Jones strongly supports the right of women to choose without government interference on how to manage their reproductive health.
Apart from Lawler’s positions on specific issues, the reality is that if he is re-elected, he would caucus with the House Republicans and their extremists who still falsely maintain Trump won the 2020 election, who continuously try to impede access to voting and who deny that our climate is in crisis because of human activity.
We must send Mondaire Jones back to Congress to represent us on these and other vital issues.
Susan Anspach, Cold Spring
Regardless of Rep. Lawler’s personal opinions, structurally his presence in Congress empowers people like Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene by giving Republicans a majority. It would be a mistake to re-elect a representative who will caucus with Republicans, despite what his team says regarding bipartisanship.
A Republican House majority poses several major threats as Trump eyes a return to the White House. First, Republicans have not committed to respecting the will of the voters, should Trump lose this election. A Republican majority in the House is a direct threat to democracy. It would not be wise to trust Lawler, a junior congressman who worked to elect Trump in 2016 and (unsuccessfully) in 2020, to resist his colleagues if this happens.
Republicans also pose a threat to our health and economic well-being. They have made it clear that they want to cut Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. They want to impose laws curtailing women’s reproductive freedom, including, potentially, contraceptive access. And we should not expect to get our SALT deduction back if former President Trump (the man who took the deduction away in the first place, out of spite) is reunited with a Republican Congress.
Google “Project 2025” if you want to see the rest of the scary things in store for us — all of us, even in Blue New York — if Republicans take over.
We cannot risk another Republican House majority under our current circumstances. Therefore, we should not vote to re-elect Mike Lawler.
Steven Altarescu, Putnam Valley
The campaign for District 17 has gotten messy and deeply negative, so perhaps we ought to look at what the candidates might do if elected.
Mondaire Jones is a strong supporter of women’s reproductive rights. He backs common-sense gun safety legislation. He wishes to give tax breaks to middle and working-class voters and withhold them from the ultra-wealthy and giant corporations. He is working to lower health care costs and supports an increased minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, and affordable childcare. He voted to provide funding to law enforcement and veterans’ services. He supported the bi-partisan border deal that Donald Trump personally derailed, fearing it would remove a campaign issue for him.
Jones supports reasonable efforts to combat climate change, an existential threat to the nation and the world. If you don’t believe that climate change, induced by burning fossil fuels, is real, just ask the folks in North Carolina and Florida. And please contribute to relief efforts in those areas; they desperately need help. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
Mike Lawler, on the other hand, talks a good game, but when the critical votes come up, he is in lockstep with the ultra-conservative MAGA coalition in the House. He tries to run away from Project 2025, just like his mentor, Donald Trump, but we all know better. Together, they will attempt to ban abortions nationwide. They will fight every attempt to place even the most reasonable limits on firearms. They will reverse all the efforts made to combat climate change and promote more and more use of fossil fuels. They even want to eliminate the weather bureau to ensure that no one is even warned about impending hurricanes or other natural disasters. And, of course, they will renew the Trump tax cuts for billionaires and mega-corporations. And on and on and on.
The choice is clear. We need Mondaire Jones in Congress from District 17.
Joel Gingold, Croton-on-Hudson
If anyone has any doubts about Rep. Lawler’s approach to civil discourse, here is what he said at a Trump fundraiser in August: “This election is a choice, a choice between a candidate for president [Trump] who loves this country, who cares about this country, who believes in this country, versus a party [the Democrats] that hates this country. This is a choice.”
To question the patriotism of a political opponent damages the fabric of our democratic system. Elections must be determined through voters’ informed evaluation of the candidates’ record, character, and ideas. Saying that one’s opponents hate the country is an attempt to disqualify them from consideration even before that evaluation can begin.
Why would Lawler say such a thing? He surely doesn’t believe that his Democratic colleagues in Congress or his former colleagues in the state Senate hate America. Otherwise, why would he make such a show about working across the aisle on issues of concern for the citizens of District 17?
By attacking his opponents this way, Lawler reveals much about his character and fitness for office. If civil discourse is to take hold again in our politics, politicians must lead by example.
I hope that Mike Lawler will rise to the occasion during the last few weeks of the campaign and refrain from the name-calling and demonization that too often crowds out voters’ consideration of each candidate’s real strengths and weaknesses.
Rob Abbot, Staatsburg
As we prepare to vote, I ask all candidates, whether incumbent or challenger, to remember the developmentally disabled, their professional caregivers and loved ones.
Rep. Lawler, who hopes to retain his seat, hasn’t yet met with representatives of local nonprofits that care for this vulnerable and often marginalized population, despite numerous invitations to do so.
These agencies face huge budget cuts and their direct support staffers receive a fraction of the salaries, benefits and pensions of New York’s prominent government unions.
Lawler has connected with many people in his district during his first term. It’s my hope, should he win re-election, that he’ll discover the true value of these special individuals and how much they add to our lives.
Alexandra Ballantine, Brewster
