This week it was an honor to earn the —a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, former New York Assemblyman, former director of the New York State division of Veterans’ Affairs, and a distinguished East End Republican leader.
In his endorsement, he mentioned when he first ran for office, he earned the endorsement of Otis Pike, the former Democratic congressman who represented this district for eighteen years. Mr. Behan stressed the importance of voting for the person, not just the party. That’s the way it used to be—putting your hometown values before all else.
John is a true American hero who has spent his entire adult life serving his country, his fellow veterans and his fellow New Yorkers. I believe his willingness to cross party lines to support me says a lot about me as a person of character and it speaks volumes about how hard I have worked and how effective I have been as your congressman for the past nine and a half years. And how does Randy Altschuler respond to John's endorsement of me? He responds by attacking my two daughters. I think Randy's response is all you need to know about his character.
It shouldn’t be like this.
Just like John Behan crossed party lines to do what he thought was right for Suffolk County, I’m proud of my record of reaching across the aisle to deliver for our middle class families. I have bipartisan support for a bill I’m leading to deliver funds to fix our crumbling roads and bridges. I teamed up with a Republican from North Carolina to stop taxpayer dollars from training foreign workers who take American call center jobs. I’m part of the bipartisan “Go Big Coalition” (60 Democrats/40 Republicans) that puts everything on the table to reduce our deficit, and I have bipartisan support for a bill that would give a boost to our region's economic recovery and job growth by making improvements to Long Island's wastewater infrastructure.
I decided to run for Congress to be an honest advocate for my lifelong home. And my record shows that I’ve been willing to work with whoever stands with me in putting the residents of Suffolk County first.
John said on Monday: "I know who our congressman is and I know who our congressman should be and that’s Congressman Tim Bishop."
I'm honored to have earned his support and the support of so many independent, Democratic, and Republican voters who value public service over politics.
