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Candidate Forum in New York's 12th Congressional District
01:22:58
This special edition of the show is a candidate f…
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- [00:00]
Micah Bergdale
Foreign.
- [00:08]
Ben Max
Hello and welcome to MAX Politics. This is Ben Max coming to you from New York Law School and its center for New York City and State Law. Thanks for tuning in special edition of the show here. What you're about to hear is audio of a candidate forum I moderated on the evening of Thursday, April 23, 2026, in the Democratic primary for New York's 12th congressional district. This is the Manhattan district spanning big portions of both the east and west sides that has been represented by the retiring Congressman Jerry Nadler. Nadler's district used to look very different, but in the 2022 redistricting there was a major overhaul of some New York districts and much of Nadler's district was combined with much of then Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's district. And Nadler defeated her in a very intense Democratic primary that year and was able to continue in Congress representing New Yorkers now in the new 12th congressional district. He won reelection in 2024, but then decided not to run again here in 2026, creating an open seat. And it is a very crowded and competitive race to replace him, all but certain to be decided in this Democratic primary in one of the most Democratic and liberal districts in the country, though there are voters of all political stripes in this district. The forum featured seven of the candidates who are running and plan to be on the June primary ballot, and we had a lively discussion as you're about. We covered a lot about their priorities, domestic affairs, foreign affairs. We sprinkled in a bunch of lightning round questions throughout the debate and at the end so that we could cover as much ground as possible in a little over an hour. The forum was hosted by the American Constitution Society New York Lawyer Chapter, along with its student chapter at Fordham, and it was also sponsored by the New York City Bar association, which hosted us at its Midtown headquarters and the Bar Association's Election Law Committee. The participating candidates that you're about to hear from were Micah Bergdale, an entrepreneur George Conway, an attorney and anti Donald Trump advocate Chris Deep, a software engineer Laura Dunn, a civil rights attorney Jack Schlossberg, a writer and advocate Nina Schwelbe, a public health expert and Patrick Timmons, an attorney. Two other candidates, Alex Boris, an Assembly member for the east side, and Micah Lasher, an Assembly member for the west side. Helen had long confirmed they would participate in the forum, but then did not come at the last minute. Lasher's campaign cited scheduling issues and Boris has said he had a family Emergency. New York's 12th congressional district, as I said, covers a lot of the east and west sides of Manhattan on its northern boundaries. On the west side, it goes up to about 114th street, on the east side up to about 98th Street. The southern boundary is roughly 14th street on both the east and west sides. And the district also includes Roosevelt Island. Its population, like all of New York's 26 House districts, is about 775,000 people. In this district, it's about 65% white, 14% Asian, 11% Hispanic, and 5% black. In the June 2025 Democratic primary for mayor in New York City within New York's 12th congressional district, there were about 170,000 votes cast in the first round of voting. In that primary, Andrew Cuomo got about 37% of the vote, Zoram Mamdani about 33%, and Brad Lander about 21% of the vote. In the final ranked choice voting tally, though, Zoram Mamdani very narrowly won the vote in this district in the Democratic primary, barely edging out Andrew Cuomo by only about 200 votes. So it was very close in the Democratic primary in the general election, even though for this forum and this race were really the concern with the Democratic primary in New York's 12th congressional district, but within the district's bounds in the general election, Cuomo wound up winning a little over 50% of the vote, Mamdani about 45.5%, and Curtis Sliwa got 3% of the vote in this district in the general election. So hope you enjoy this candidate forum in New York's 12th congressional district. All of these primaries this year in the House and in the state legislature and for statewide seats are coming up pretty soon in June. So hope if you're eligible to vote that you're getting ready to do so and hope you enjoy this forum.
- [04:31]
Thank you all for being here for this important event in this important election. We're heading towards primary day in June, actually exactly two months from today. June 23rd is primary day. There will, of course, be early voting before that, June 13th through 21st, and mail in voting if you want to take advantage of that leading up to primary day. This race In New York's 12th congressional district is one of the most competitive and most watched Democratic primaries in New York and beyond, as I'm sure most of you are aware. And it's great to have all of you here tonight and anybody watching afterward taking this in, and we'll get to our candidates very shortly. I'm Ben Max. I'll be moderating tonight. And this event is co sponsored by the American Constitution Society, New York Lawyers Chapter as well as the Fordham Law Chapter of the Society. It's also co sponsored by our hosts here, the New York City Bar association and the Election Law Committee of the City Bar. Just a brief bit about our Host the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy ACS is the nation's foremost progressive legal organization with adverse nationwide network that includes nearly 250 student and lawyer chapters and progressive lawyers, students, judges, scholars, elected officials and advocates. The New York City Bar association the City Bar was founded in 1870 as a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. The City Bar's mission is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation and throughout the world. Thank you again to our hosts here at the Bar Association. Just briefly, About Me I've been a New York politics and government journalist for about 15 years now. I currently run programming at the center for New York City and State Law at New York Law School. I have sort of a Journalist in residence position there. I teach a little bit moderate a lot of public conversations like this one. And I hope you will join us at New York Law School sometime soon. Do a lot of other things there and also host a podcast called Max Politics where I interview elected and appointed officials and policy experts and others. And I'll put the audio of tonight's event in that podcast feed in case you need to relive any moments here in the days to come or you want to share it with others who couldn't who couldn't make it. All right, let's get to our forum here. We have seven candidates with us. A couple of our candidates have told us last minute that they weren't able to make it or maybe there's a chance they'll slide in late. But we have seven great candidates here. Given the size of the group, we're going to keep things moving pretty quickly. I have an exciting format planned here so we get to to get to a lot and try to make sure that we're not going too long between candidates chances to speak. So we're going to start with a 90 second opening statement from each candidate. Most of the questions I'll ask after that. I'm unfortunately only going to be able to give you 60 seconds to start, but I'll ask some follow up questions and we'll have a good conversation. Please be ready for me to jump in with those follow up questions. One of the things I'll often ask you candidates is if you can provide a specific example or a specific policy that fits with maybe some of the broader language you're using. So no surprise there. I also have a variety of lightning round style questions. I know some people like those, some people don't. But we're trying to get to a lot here in a short time. So keep, keep your wits about you for those. We have a timekeeper right in the front here. Carl is going to help us. He has two signs. Keep an eye out. One says 10 seconds left and the other says end. So keep an eye on Carl there and I'll try not to interrupt you, but please try to wrap up if a candidate criticizes another candidate. I'll give you a quick chance to respond, but we can't have too much back and forth this size of, of the field here. Okay, so let's start our first round. We'll change it up round by round, but let's start our first round down from the left here with 90 second opening statements. Please introduce yourself and get us started here. Micah.
- [09:08]
Micah Bergdale
Fantastic. Hi, I'm Micah Bergdale. I have operated a business here in New York City for the past 20 years focused on transit in particular. Most recently, I've been working on electric vehicle transportation and previously focused on mass transit here in New York City. I'm a passionate advocate for the underserved communities throughout New York City and have been working tirelessly to make sure that we have access to transit throughout New York City and transit that works and that's effective for everyone. And that's a big part of why I'm running for Congress. I feel like there aren't any transit advocates or experts that are in Congress and there's really need because it impacts everybody's daily life. Whether you are taking the subway, taking the bus, taking a ferry, driving here in New York City, you need to have transit experts that are actually in Congress. And it's a big thing that I'm really focused on and it's why I'm running for Congress. So thank you and please check us out.
- [10:04]
Ben Max
Thank you. George.
- [10:06]
George Conway
Hi, I'm George Conway. I spent 30 years just a few blocks north of here at a law firm. I had a full career here in New York City and I spent more time than I can imagine in this building, sometimes in this room, watching CLE courses, sometimes on a panel, mostly cle, I have to say, and, and the reason why I'm running is because of the Rule of law that we have never faced a greater threat to the rule of law than Donald Trump. We have a government that is. It's not a government, no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It's a government of the boss by the boss, for the boss, by a man who absolutely has no respect for the law, no respect for his oath, no respect for the Constitution. And it's having a massive effect on how we lead our daily lives. A lot of people say, well, we're tired of talking about Trump. Ty can't talk about Trump. We need to talk about issues like transportation, which is important. We need to talk about affordable health care. We need to talk about affordable housing. How are you going to do all that with Donald Trump in the White House, with a criminal in the White House, with a man who could not give a hoot about anybody but himself? In the White House, you can pass all the legislation you like, you won't sign it. If you trick him into thinking it's a crypto bill, maybe he'll sign it. But even if he, if you did manage to trick him, he won't follow the law. And that's why he needs to be impeached and removed. And that's why we need a lawyer like me, an experienced one, to push for that.
- [11:46]
Chris Diep
Hi, my name is Chris Diep. I'm a software engineer and I'm running because I saw my dad live the American dream, and now I'm seeing slipping away from more and more people. So my dad, he's a Vietnamese refugee. He wanted to come to the U.S. i asked him why he chose the U.S. of all places, and he said that even though his uncle is in France, he heard good things about the US soldiers. So good reputation, moved here, met my mom, got married, had two kids, one of them being me. And he bought a house and he just kept working hard and getting better jobs. I decided to take a risk and move out here to New York with only a carry on and a suitcase. And I went to flying iron school to pivot into software engineering. And it's a really good job. I felt really good about that. It was a tough time trying to get it. I talked to my dad and he told me he just kept, like, keep looking for the next one. So what I'm seeing is with my friends, it's harder to find those jobs. So, yeah, I'm running to help rebuild the American dream for the next 250 years.
- [13:18]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [13:20]
Laura Dunn
I'm going to stand because I'm really Short. And I want everyone to see me. I'm Laura Dunn. I'm a civil rights attorney who has sued Donald Trump in his first administration. I sued him over Title 9, which is a protection against gender violence and for LGBTQ rights. And the reason I did that is because I'm a queer woman and a sexual assault survivor. I fought back for my community, and in the process, I got the attention of President Obama and then President Biden. I have worked to pass the Violence against women Act of 2013. I helped draft Section 304. I also served on the rulemaking committee to make the regulations. I advised White House task forces to protect students against sexual assault. I even clerked on the Senate Judiciary for Patrick Leahy. And we all know that highly qualified women tend not to win in office. And you all regret it every single time. So this time, make a different choice and vote for me.
- [14:13]
Jack Schlossberg
Hey, everybody. I'm Jack Schlossberg. I'm a native New Yorker, and I'm running for Congress under the campaign slogan of believe in something again, which is as dumb as it sounds. But I also think it's true. Our country was built by people who believed in government, who believed in public service, who believed that we could do incredible things if we worked together, and that it was worthwhile to spend your time building a country that had civil rights protections the strongest on earth, and defended freedom around the world. We can't believe anything that anybody says in our government, at least in the White House right now. And I'll never stop believing in politics, and that's why I'm running. We're at the Constitutional Society today. I have a law degree, and so I want to talk about the First Amendment because it's first for a reason. Freedom of speech in this country is under attack, and not just in the form of silencing critics, but also in the way that dollars are spent in campaigns. The Supreme Court held money is speech. Corporations are people. It has fundamentally corrupted our elections process. My campaign does not accept money from super PACs, corporate PACs, APAC, or big AI technology companies. 2 of the candidates who aren't here tonight have super PACs funded millions of dollars. Mr. Borres anthropic has given his super PAC millions of dollars to run ads on TV. Mr. Lasher has already spent almost $5 million in the last four weeks, rate of about a million dollars a week on ads. I think New York City. I think that's the least New York thing you can possibly do. Our campaign doesn't believe that we're Powered by small dollars. Our average contribution is under $40. We're 60,000 people have contributed to our campaign. And I think that's important not just because that means you can trust what I say, but because it's forced us to run a campaign where we're actually meeting people and listening to the constituents that we would be elected to serve. So thank you all so much for having me, and thank you. And thank you to the fellow candidates for being up here. Thanks.
- [16:08]
Ben Max
Thank you. Please.
- [16:09]
Nina Schwelbe
Hi, good evening. My name is Nina Schwelbe and I'm running for Congress because we are in deep trouble. From vaccines to abortion, from science to SNAP to rule of law, we're losing our democracy and the systems that keep us safe. And it's killing us. We have a measles outbreak now across the United States, 32 states. And in public health, when we have a measles outbreak, it's a sign that our basic systems are failing us. I've spent my career preventing and fixing exactly those types of systems failures. I'm a public health expert. I've delivered billions of vaccines. I've worked in over 100 countries, negotiated with Russia, North Korea, India. I've stood up to big Pharma and I lowered the cost of cervical cancer vaccines by 65%. I faced death threats for this work and I did it anyway. I'm sixth generation in this district. I'm a lesbian and I'm a mom. I worked with presidents and prisoners. I've worked in refugee camps and war zones. And I don't fight by screaming or waving my hands. I'm smart. I fight smart, steady, strategic, and we win. So about a year ago, Mr. Trump fired 200,000 of my peers. He gutted life saving programs and tens of millions of people lost access to care and Congress was doing nothing. And I saw the writing on the wall and that's why I decided to run. So I'm not a celebrity or a billionaire backed by a billionaire, but I bring a lifetime of experience in public service and deep expertise. So I'm a fighter, a scientist, and a mom. And Washington doesn't know what's coming. So thank you for having me here.
- [17:50]
Patrick Timmons
Good evening. My name is Patrick Timmons. I'm a Manhattanite through and through. Born in Washington Heights, family's from Inwood. My grandparents came off the boat and from Ireland, and they settled in Hell's Kitchen. You may remember my name, Patrick Timmons, because I was the lone defendant opposition to Alvin Bragg last June and lost. But I got 70,000 votes of which over 50,000 was from this congressional district. So I'm excited about reconnecting. And campaigning like I did six months ago has been very receptive. My background is that for 34 years, I've been a criminal and civil litigator. In the 90s, I was an assistant DA in the Bronx during the crack epidemic and the first big gang assault cases, which I tried, got verdicts on them. Thereafter, I became a. I represent a lot of union retirees who've come down with asbestos, cancer, horrible. And I've sued big corporations, gotten good verdicts, helped these people. So I've always been fighting for people. I'm a radical pragmatist. I don't want to work around symbolism. I want to work around substance. I'm against impeaching Trump. I'm against abolishing ice. I don't think we have time to do that, and they won't work out either, so I'll let you know about that. I look forward to talking a little bit more about some of my programs and some of my policies and new bills, including an immigration blue card. Thank you very much for coming out on a Thursday night.
- [19:26]
Ben Max
Thank you. All right, thanks, everybody, for getting us started. First, quick lightning round here. If everybody would just go down the line and list what you consider your top accomplishment, serving the public in whatever capacity or role that might be. What's the number one thing? Maybe you said it in your opening statement, maybe you didn't. But number one specific thing you want people to know that you've accomplished for the public in your time in service of any kind. Why don't we come in the opposite direction here?
- [19:53]
Patrick Timmons
Okay. Well, I would say two things. One is very quickly, I've gotten verdicts against Bloods, Latin Kings, and I also been a professor at John Jay for the last 22 years, still teaching.
- [20:04]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [20:06]
Nina Schwelbe
I delivered 500 million COVID 19 vaccines around the world.
- [20:13]
Jack Schlossberg
For the last six months, I've run a campaign that has introduced me to thousands of New Yorkers that I've met and gotten them incredibly excited about politics in a time when a lot of people feel very disillusioned.
- [20:24]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [20:24]
Laura Dunn
I created a federal law that gave both victims and the accused the right to have attorneys in campus level proceedings, then made a national nonprofit to enforce that law and became the leading attorney on this issue.
- [20:35]
Chris Diep
I volunteered as a kid's soccer coach. Volo kids.
- [20:40]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [20:42]
George Conway
As I said, I spent 30 years up at a law firm not too far from here, and I argued before the Supreme Court. But the Best thing I ever did. And what I want on my gravestone is a reference to a 5 minute conversation I had with E. Jean Carroll. And I told her she had a lawsuit and I found her a lawyer to bring that lawsuit.
- [21:02]
Micah Bergdale
I helped launch what was the East River Ferry Service and now is the NYC ferry service and also launched hundreds of electric vehicles in the South South Bronx to help reduce the amount of pollution that happens within the South Bronx.
- [21:15]
Ben Max
All right, thanks, everybody. All right, we're going to move on to some of your top priorities for the district. But before I do so, I just want to ask a couple quick follow ups to a couple candidates so far. And I'll be asking follow ups of probably everybody at different points. But, Mr. Conway, let me start with you. I think a lot of people generally know about your anti Trump activism in various forms, but you were a Republican. You have become a Democrat. You're running in a Democratic primary here. Do you still consider yourself a conservative? How would you sort of explain your political evolution here in the Trump era?
- [21:51]
George Conway
I'm a conservative in the sense that I want to conserve things. My values haven't changed. I believe in freedom of speech, freedom
- [22:00]
Chris Diep
of
- [22:02]
George Conway
freedom and equality. But we now have. What happened was 40 years ago it was a different thing to be a conservative Republican than it is today. And I'm no longer a conservative Republican as it's defined by the conservative Republicans today. My values haven't changed. I believe in pragmatic solutions to problems and I believe in democracy. And that's what I've been doing basically at great expense to myself for the past seven, eight, eight years, fighting the autocratic tendencies of this one man.
- [22:41]
Ben Max
Mr. Slashberg, I think some people who know of you are wondering about your sort of your resume and what you've accomplished. And I think perhaps your answer to that question about your top accomplishment, citing the campaign, might again raise flags for people about inexperience. Do you want to say a little bit more about qualifications in Congress?
- [23:00]
Jack Schlossberg
And I haven't met any of those people, but I'd love if you introduced me to them.
- [23:03]
Ben Max
Sure.
- [23:05]
Jack Schlossberg
Yes. I've been working in politics and in government since Obama ran in 2008. And I went to volunteer on his campaign. I worked at the State Department for Secretary of State John Kerry on environmental policy and helped organize something called the Our Ocean Conference, which was a intergovernmental conference that raised billions of dollars for climate change and ocean conservation. I was a volunteer EMT in college. And while you may not think that content creation and building a Following based on speaking out for what you believe in at a time when others were unwilling. Taking on your own family members. Traveling across the country to every single swing state, serving as a delegate at the DNC is an experience I do. I think that the Democratic Party has lost a lot of its confidence. We are seen as out of touch. Young people have left our party in droves. I'm very, very proud to have been one of the most forefront campaigners for the Biden Harris ticket. And I would also say that I participate in giving the Profile Encourage award out every single year at the John F. Kennedy Library, an institution that I work at all throughout the year and beyond that I care about my.
- [24:15]
Micah Bergdale
That's a great.
- [24:16]
Ben Max
That's.
- [24:16]
Jack Schlossberg
That's. That's good. It seemed like there are a lot of people who are questioning my experience. So I'm involved in local community organizations that feed the homeless here in the city and I passed the bar in the top 1% of the country.
- [24:30]
Ben Max
Ms. Dunn, we're going to start this round with you. We'll go in the same order here, but we'll start with you on. On needs for this district and this. This will be 60 seconds each.
- [24:40]
Nina Schwelbe
What.
- [24:40]
Ben Max
What would you consider if you were going to Congress? The two top district needs that you try to immediately address as a member of Congress and what you would put at the forefront of your priorities in trying to address those two top needs of this district. Thank you.
- [24:55]
Laura Dunn
I think we all know that healthcare is a disaster. We have no way to pay for the bills that are coming in every single day. And if you're like me, that terrifies you. We are one accident away or one illness away from bankruptcy. So my platform has universal healthcare and I do believe that Republicans do care about catastrophic coverage and will agree with me that every single person that resides in the United States or should be protected against bankruptcy should they become sick or injured. So I want to start with catastrophic care because Medicare for all is just a talking phrase. We need actual first steps. The second big issue is affordable housing. I want to change how we fund that. Instead of having detached DCS decide what the funding should be. I want a one to one match for every dollar New York City and New York State puts in. I want the federal government to match because we have a housing crisis here. We need 80,000 homes immediately.
- [25:48]
Ben Max
Thank you. Mr. Schlossberg.
- [25:50]
Jack Schlossberg
Could you repeat the question?
- [25:51]
Ben Max
Sure. What do you consider the top two district needs and what would be your top priority for addressing each?
- [25:57]
Jack Schlossberg
Couldn't agree more with Laura. Housing crisis is something I hear about all the time from people. I'm very, very proud to have come up with my own original policy solution to provide immediate relief. We do need to increase the supply. As Laura said, that will take investment and time. Something we can do immediately is something that I proposed. And the first person to do so anywhere is a standard renters deduction. I think renters should be treated the same as homeowners who borrow against their homes. Deduct your rent from your taxes. It's about fairness. That would save people thousands of dollars a year, maybe even one month of rent per year free on me if our policy was passed. Beyond that, fully fund Section 9. Section 9 is seen as out of reach or impossible because people don't think we can get federal dollars for it. I think Donald Trump has shown we can get. You can do just about anything if you set your mind to it and make it a priority. So I want to fund Section 9 and build truly affordable housing here in the city.
- [26:50]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [26:51]
Nina Schwelbe
Great. Thank you. So starting with health care and proposing something called the American Health Security act, which will do three things. It will lower the cost of drugs, which are a major driver of our costs. It will make sure that everybody can see a family provider by expanding community health centers. And it will protect and expand Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care act while we work towards a single payer system. And I'm hoping there'll be more time to talk about health later. The second, as both Jack and Laura said, is about housing. There are federal vouchers. There are these things called warehoused apartments, which are just apartments sitting free. So there's some immediate things we can do while, like Jack, we expand and fully fund Section 9 public housing. And finally, I want to talk about something I heard a lot from voters, which is safety and accessibility. We have an Americans with Disabilities act, we have an Older Americans act, and we have 70% of subways in our district that have no elevator. And in Chelsea, we have curbs that wheelchairs can't get up. So we gotta start fully funding those programs and then working with the city to make sure they're enforced.
- [27:56]
Ben Max
Thank you, Mr. Timmons.
- [27:59]
Patrick Timmons
I think that there are two that I want to focus on and a close third is public safety with housing.
- [28:06]
Micah Bergdale
I agree.
- [28:06]
Patrick Timmons
Section 9, we have 5 NYCHA housing sites in this CD12. They need to not have buildings demolished, but new buildings built and a lot more money to fix the hallway repairs and the apartment repairs. I've had clients in section 9, so I know it well. And I know the five sites pretty well in terms of affordable housing. I'd like to see more rent stabilized apartments, more Mitchell Lama apartments. I've had a rent stabilized apartment not now but for 20 years, a five floor walk up on 3rd and 67th Street. I also want to incorporate a new bill called the Z housing Generation Z. We're going to build apartments, all studios, just like they do in Manhattan Plaza for the actors that are just going to be for Gen Z. They get a studio apartment. They get the opportunity to start in New York City and then with public safety. I was recently endorsed by Ray Kelly. We've got to fix the subways. It's not a safe, comfortable ride. It's tense. There's a lot of tension down there. Cops have to be on the trains. We need more money from the federal government. Thank you.
- [29:08]
Ben Max
Thank you. Coming down here, Micah.
- [29:10]
Micah Bergdale
It's going to be hard to just only name two, but I would reiterate the health care concern that is what I continue to hear throughout the district is that health care is a serious problem. I am a supporter of Medicare for all, but I'm also open to what pathway is that we actually get there. But I would also say that as it relates to transit and housing in particular, one of the reasons I'm not running for a city office or a state office first is that I've felt like the city and state have actually been their own worst enemy as it relates to, to getting transit and housing done. One of the perfect examples of that, you may or may not know, is the scaffold law. And one of the problems with that is it constantly creates additional liability costs for anybody that's doing any type of a development. And I will give you a great example of that. The second Avenue subway, which is predominantly funded by the federal government, has an additional billion dollar cost on it purely from the scaffold law that is at the state level. If we just reformed it, if we were like other blue states, like California for example, and had similar liability laws to them, we would actually save a billion dollars there. So I do think that if we can reform things on the federal level that we'd be able to do more at the state and city partnership.
- [30:21]
Jack Schlossberg
Thank you.
- [30:22]
George Conway
Affordability and infrastructure. Affordability to me includes everything, includes health care, it includes the cost of goods that are raised by tariffs. It includes housing. And we have to take steps to improve on all three fronts. I think we need to expand ACA subsidies and I think we need to have a ACA public option. I think in terms of housing. We need to build all kinds of housing, not just Section 9 housing, not just repairing, actually replacing the NYCHA housing that we have in this district, but encouraging private development by removing obstacles to building private housing and then infrastructure. We absolutely do need to spend more on transportation and we need to build a cross harbor tunnel. We need to finish the gateway project. But that's, you know, that's something that these are things that we can't really do to the extent we need to do them without getting rid of Donald Trump.
- [31:29]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [31:32]
Chris Diep
I'm not sure if this cheating, but rising costs and jobs, the Federal Reserve's dual mandate. And then the second one would be, let's see, housing. So with the Federal Reserve, a central bank is really important to economy. So important that Alexander Hamilton traded away the capital capital used to be in New York. So we need to make sure to protect it from Donald Trump's interference. Federal Reserve needs to be independent and also keeps the economy balanced with just interest rate tools versus the balance sheet. And then the second part is housing. I really support the 21st century road to Housing act. That will limit the amount of Wall street spending buyers on the number of housing. That way housing can be, you know, for people and families to live in.
- [32:30]
Ben Max
Thank you. All right, quick lightning round here. We'll start again with Mr. Brugdell down at the end there. A brief word or phrase that you want your constituents, if you're elected to Congress six months into your first term, what's something you'd want them to most associate you with or something you'd. A word you'd want them to use to describe you after six months on the job.
- [32:53]
Micah Bergdale
Mr. Bergdam, one word I would hope that people use for me is empathetic. I genuinely care about people.
- [33:00]
Ben Max
We're just going to. Lightning. I appreciate that. Empathetic. Mr. Conway.
- [33:05]
George Conway
Fighting the corruption of this criminal administration.
- [33:09]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [33:10]
Chris Diep
Dare to dream. I'll say that again. Dare to dream.
- [33:14]
Laura Dunn
Accountability not just for Trump, but for the establishment.
- [33:19]
Jack Schlossberg
Fighting and dancing.
- [33:23]
Nina Schwelbe
Nina gets stuff done. I would have used another S word, but my mother wouldn't have approved of it.
- [33:29]
Patrick Timmons
Radical pragmatist. Let's turn the page here.
- [33:32]
Ben Max
All right, another lightning round here. We're going to start with Mr. Schlossberg here. Infrastructure has come up a couple times already. So in just a brief answer, what's your number one infrastructure priority for this district? To bring federal funds back to New York? 12, if you're elected, number one infrastructure priority to bring funds back to the district.
- [33:55]
Jack Schlossberg
Do you mean the way to bring the funds or the project?
- [33:58]
Ben Max
The project.
- [33:58]
The infrastructure project.
- [34:00]
Jack Schlossberg
Well, I think the subways are basically what makes New York New York. And we can do a lot better than what we've got now. So I would love to make sure we've got better subways and. Subways.
- [34:10]
Nina Schwelbe
Subways, transit,
- [34:15]
Patrick Timmons
housing.
- [34:16]
Micah Bergdale
Okay, you're going to be surprised to hear me say transit, so.
- [34:23]
Ben Max
Well, let me. Let me. Stop. Stop everybody there. Transit's very general. Any.
- [34:26]
Jack Schlossberg
Anything we.
- [34:27]
Ben Max
Investment in the subways. Anything more specific on transit, I mean,
- [34:30]
Micah Bergdale
and I've also mentioned it. Second Avenue Subway is a priority, particularly for this district. It runs down the heart of this district. And I would add the Gateway Tunnel that connects New Jersey into Manhattan is also priority.
- [34:40]
George Conway
Mr. Conway, Ditto Transit, trains, Beneath the Waves, Cross Harbor Tunnel, all of these things. I mean, it's just crucial to not just New York City, but the entire Eastern Seaboard.
- [34:54]
Ben Max
Mr.
- [34:55]
Chris Diep
Deep, I want to join the transit party. High speed rail, bullet trains, public private partnership.
- [35:01]
Ben Max
Okay, where's the bullet train going?
- [35:05]
Chris Diep
Let's start with. Oh, this is fun. Let's go to DC. I'm going to DC Ms. Dunn, I
- [35:12]
Laura Dunn
actually think we need crosstown trolleys because it's impossible to get across town and buses are way too slow. So let's be creative and get outside the box.
- [35:20]
Ben Max
Okay? All right. Next we're talking about legislative priorities. Some of you might have gotten into this a little bit in your prior answer, but in terms of pieces of legislation, you would prioritize right away if you were entering the House, especially for the sake of discussion here. Assuming a Democratic majority in the House, what pieces of legislation, top two, would you prioritize and why? A minute each on this. We'll start with you, Mr. Timmons, down there. In the end, what would be your top two legislative priorities in Congress? Either introducing your own legislation or championing something that's already there.
- [35:57]
Patrick Timmons
I want to introduce the blue card for immigrants. The blue card would consist of, if you've been here 10 years, you've been working, contributing to society, and you've stayed out of trouble with criminal justice system. You get a blue card, you get a legal status for the next 15 years to work hard and to move toward naturalization. I'd also want to get involved in the housing crisis here, that, like I said, Section 9 needs to be totally done. No demolitions, though. That's what the people don't want. But also middle income housing, Z Housing now. And I also want to help co op and condominium owners reduce these maintenance increases because they're based on oil taxes and insurance, and the management agents don't fight enough for those co op owners.
- [36:42]
Ben Max
Can you just expand on your blue card idea there? Who's, who's eligible for that?
- [36:45]
Patrick Timmons
If you've been, if you're an undocumented immigrant, you've been here 10 years and you can show that you've been contributing to society. Most of them do have a Social Security number and that you've stayed out of trouble. You would have the eligibility to be to get the legal status of the blue card. And then you have 15 years to show what you're made of. And then you have the path to naturalization.
- [37:07]
Ben Max
Okay, Mr. Bergdale, top two legislative priorities if you're entering a Democratic majority in the House.
- [37:13]
Micah Bergdale
So this one's a little bit obscure, but it has been talked about before and I always like this, and I'm with a group of lawyers here, so you should probably know this, but the very first First Amendment was actually focused on the size of the districts in the United States and it actually limited people to 50,000. That's a little small for this day and age. But we have congressional districts that have a million, more than a million people in them. It's one of the reasons that we have to raise insane amounts of money in order to even be able to run for Congress. The nice thing is that in order to increase the size of the House, it's actually a very simple legislative process to be able to do that. And I think by doing that, even a district like this could have three, four different representatives. I've said this before, there's some great people that I'm running against here. I'd love to be able to see representatives for the east side and Midtown and Upper west side. And we could do that if we actually had more localized districts, which is one of the things that we've called for. And then immigration reform is near and dear to my heart. My partner is an immigrant from Peru. His family is from Peru. And it's deeply personal to me that we actually have some level of reform as it relates to immigration.
- [38:21]
Ben Max
Just for clarity, how big is the House of Representatives in your plan?
- [38:25]
Micah Bergdale
Well, I would say probably at least one for every 250,000 people would be
- [38:29]
Ben Max
ideal, but three times the current 1200 or so members of the House. Okay.
- [38:35]
Micah Bergdale
We haven't expanded it since the early part of the 20th century. So.
- [38:38]
Ben Max
Okay, very interesting.
- [38:40]
George Conway
Mr. Common immigration reform, in particular, the abolition of ICE and then reform of the Justice Department that Moore Sullivan prevented from ever being used as a tool for political retribution. Again, those are nice things. Those are things I will propose, and those are things that won't pass until we get rid of Donald Trump.
- [39:03]
Ben Max
What does the DOJ reform bill look like? What does.
- [39:06]
George Conway
I think we can, I think we need to do something like what we've done, what was done in the post Watergate era about, for example, if you interfere with, or your White House communicates with the IRS about an audit, that's a criminal offense. And I think there should be some sanctions applied to the interference with investigations and encouraging investigations. And basically, I think we need to codify the unwritten rules that were never codified after Watergate about when the White House can talk to the Justice Department about anything, like specific, like an ongoing case.
- [39:47]
Chris Diep
Okay, George, I'll make sure that we'll impeach Trump and convict him and JD Vance too. We'll have a Democrat president, maybe Hakeem Jeffries. Okay, and then top legislative priorities.
- [40:00]
Micah Bergdale
Yes, please.
- [40:02]
Chris Diep
To power the economy, we need immigration and technology. AI is coming and we want to make sure that they create jobs and help people. I went door to door for Mehrumamdani and I love fast and free buses. They just have to be solar powered and self driving and gradually taking over, not taking everyone at once. Then for immigration, I would like to, for the Warren act, when corporations lay off people, I would like to extend it for a little bit more than I know. It's 90 days, so I think like another 30 days or more so that people can stay and work.
- [40:46]
Ben Max
Thank you, Mr.
- [40:48]
Laura Dunn
Accountability and affordability are my top two platform pillars. So for accountability, we're going to always have problems with parties until we have congressional and Supreme Court term limits. We need to have consistent rotation of our government to avoid consolidation of power and corruption, corruption within those positions. Within affordability, I want to support the bills that patriotic millionaires have put forward. They have talked about reducing taxes so people who cannot make the cost of living pay nothing to reduce the burden on the working class and then obviously to increase the burden and close the loopholes for the wealthy who are not being taxed in the same way that the working class is. We have enough money for every priority we have in this nation. We're just not collecting it. And that's why we're seeing an oligarchy. So I'm supportive of taxation reforms and also making sure we have governmental reforms.
- [41:39]
Ben Max
Thank you. Top legislative priorities.
- [41:43]
Jack Schlossberg
Yes, Laura is completely right. Wealth inequality in this country is not only a moral failing, but it's an economic security issue. And we will not be able to fix, in my opinion, any of the problems that all of us care about if we do not get money out of politics. It is insane. Since Citizens United came down from the Supreme Court in 2010, election costs have tripled. Billionaires made up Before Citizens United 0% Total of election spending 2024 20% 2024 election cycle cost $16 billion There are candidates, as I said, in this primary, who are spending a million dollars a week on ads.
- [42:23]
Ben Max
This is out of supporting them. Yeah.
- [42:27]
Jack Schlossberg
And the way this works is with. It's a farce. It's. You have a super pac and if you give it to this independent group, you can spend unlimited dollars. That is insane to me for the same reason it's unlimited, because money is speech. But if any of you wants to donate to any of us, you're capped at $300,000, $3,500 and you have to disclose your name. It's out of control. Thanks.
- [42:51]
Ben Max
Sorry. Overturn Citizens United and a second legislative
- [42:55]
Jack Schlossberg
party pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. We have to fix the structural disadvantages that we face that drown out. There's a reason we all agree on so many issues. There's a reason that they don't ever get passed in Congress is because industry is writing the rules. Do we really want to let AI be regulated by somebody who is funded by anthropic? I think that's insane.
- [43:18]
Ben Max
Thank you, Ms. Schwab.
- [43:20]
Nina Schwelbe
I spoke to over 1,000 voters as we did our petitioning, and I heard healthcare, housing, and war in Iran. I've talked about the Health Security act and we've talked about housing. But my first priority would be to stop the senseless war in Iran. When I was a kid, and you guys are all lawyers, I learned there was this thing called checks and balances, and there were three parts of government. And I saw the cartoon about it and I believed it. And I think what we've seen now is there are no checks and balances, and we need to restore that. But that 60 days is coming up.
- [43:54]
Ben Max
Yep.
- [43:54]
Nina Schwelbe
He did not notify Congress. 60 days is coming up, and Congress has to reassert its power. And there are ways that it can do that. I don't want to. You guys, again, are all lawyers, but there are statutory ways. They can stop hearings. They can call people into account. But our own representatives haven't even called for this. So I think it's time to really stop this senseless war.
- [44:17]
Ben Max
Just for all the candidates. The audience is a mix of lawyers and non lawyers. We're Open to the. Open to the public here. So we've got. Got a mix of. Of attorneys and non. Okay, lightning round here as we wrap up this round. Let's start this time with Mr. Did you. He started. That's okay.
- [44:40]
Nina Schwelbe
Yeah.
- [44:41]
Ben Max
I might mess up at some point. So keep, keep, keep me honest. Yes or no? Should congestion. We're going to start with you, Mr. Schlossberg. Yes or no? Should New York expand congestion pricing further north in Manhattan? Yes or no?
- [44:56]
Jack Schlossberg
Yes.
- [44:56]
Ben Max
Yes.
- [44:58]
Nina Schwelbe
Yes.
- [45:00]
Patrick Timmons
No.
- [45:02]
Micah Bergdale
Yes. With a carve out for electric cars.
- [45:05]
George Conway
Yes.
- [45:07]
Chris Diep
Yes.
- [45:08]
Laura Dunn
Yes. But not for residents.
- [45:10]
Ben Max
Okay, another lightning round here and let's start with Mr. Conway. Choose one or the other. We heard a plug for Mayor Mamdani's push for free buses. That hasn't gone anywhere so far. But he's only 100 or so days in. But choose one or the other free buses throughout the city or more concentration on further discounts for people struggling with poverty and limited means as the city council has proposed. What would you rather see? Free buses for everybody or more focus on subsidizing for those who struggle to afford transit?
- [45:44]
George Conway
I would focus. I would focus on the people who most need it. So the latter.
- [45:49]
Chris Diep
Mr. D. I'm a software engineer, so might be biased towards the free transit self driving.
- [45:58]
Laura Dunn
The buses are too slow. So subsidies.
- [46:00]
Ben Max
Okay. Free buses or focus to subsidies.
- [46:04]
Jack Schlossberg
I believe we could do both. But if I had to choose, if
- [46:08]
Ben Max
they're free, then they're free for everybody. So you know. Right.
- [46:11]
Jack Schlossberg
But you could also subsidize people's commutes in other ways and not just buses. But anyway, I, I would say focus it on people who are economically disadvantaged. Okay.
- [46:22]
Nina Schwelbe
I'm going to go with the free buses. I'm a strong supporter of our new mayor. I'm excited about his agenda for change and I'm all there with him and I'll bring the federal government to help him do that.
- [46:31]
Micah Bergdale
Okay.
- [46:32]
Patrick Timmons
Discounts for four people.
- [46:33]
Chris Diep
Okay.
- [46:35]
Micah Bergdale
And lastly, so I actually know a lot about this topic because my experience working in transit. Your answer is? Well, I just want to make a point that in a number of cities that have done free buses, they've turned into roaming homeless encampments. And you have to be very careful about that. I do absolutely support though, providing even free omni cards to anyone who might be disadvantaged in the city. I think that's a great idea.
- [47:00]
Ben Max
Okay, Mr. Conway, starting with you, 60 seconds each year, let's talk a little bit more about democracy. Some of you have mentioned some reforms already, but what are Top priorities in terms of strengthening U.S. democracy and checks and balances. You obviously spoke a little bit about this earlier, but what would you add to your list? I know you have a long one in terms of lowercase D democracy reform.
- [47:25]
George Conway
Look, I think the most important thing is to restore checks and balances. As Nina said, the reason why we don't have checks and balances working properly is because we've had Congress abdicate its responsibilities. It's not for the courts. I mean, there are a lot of litigators come in and out of this building, but the courts can't run the government. The courts can't run the 600 federal judges, can't run the government through dozens, thousands of injunctions. Can't work that way. Wasn't meant to work that way. The framers gave us a Congress to act as a check on the president and the check. There are multiple ways that Congress can check the power of a wayward president. One is the power of the purse. And we need to be more. We have a need of Congress that is willing to stop funding things like it did with ice. And then we have to investigate, impeach, and remove the criminals who are running this government.
- [48:23]
Ben Max
Is there a specific charge that would be your focus of impeachment at this point?
- [48:30]
George Conway
Violating the Constitution, violating the laws, depriving people of their constitutional rights en masse through ice. The war crimes, they're actually not even war crimes because there was no war. Bombing people in the Caribbean, violating the War Powers Act. The fact that the Trump family has made, what, $4 billion in the past couple of the past 15 months.
- [48:56]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [48:57]
George Conway
The emoluments we got. I mean, you just, we could, we could go on and it's going to be a long list, Mr.
- [49:03]
Ben Max
Deep, your top democracy reforms that you would pursue, if any, in Congress.
- [49:09]
Chris Diep
Yeah, with last year's or just with last year's election, I felt that ranked choice voting was great. It allowed people to cross endorse. I'm not going to cross endorse right now. Sorry, guys. I also like matching funds. That would be helpful. And to be honest, James Madison is the father of Constitution, is an underrated genius. We're starting to see some pushback on Trump. No nuclear option in the Senate. Trump accepted the tariff ruling and also he already knows he's lost the birthright citizenship case, so. So we're in good shape.
- [49:52]
Ben Max
Ms. Dunn, I know you talked about term limits already. What would you add to that?
- [49:56]
Laura Dunn
So I really believe that we have affordability crisis because we have an accountability crisis. When we stop letting Congress members accumulate private wealth off their public offices, we will all of a sudden have middle class candidates like me able to lead in Congress and making sure everything is affordable. So we have bills in Congress right now, but I would double down on preventing stock trading by members of Congress. Member of the government. We literally have a Speaker of the House that has made over $100 million. And it is a shame that she has chosen to endorse a trust fund candidate who sits at this table, who has not had to work to live in the city. And that shows you the depth of corruption in this establishment. So I want to see a Congress that is made out of people like you and me, people who work hard for everything they have and don't take it for granted and definitely don't close the door behind them. We want health care that's affordable, Hous that's accessible for all.
- [50:55]
Ben Max
It's your turn anyway, so if you want to respond, but you can also add, I know you talked about overturning Citizens United, so that was on this list of democracy reform. But if you want to respond, I'm
- [51:06]
Jack Schlossberg
incredibly proud to have Speaker Nancy Pelosi's endorsement. It's a. She's a hero of mine. She's the backbone of the Democratic Party. She passed the Affordable Care Act. She is a champion for equal rights. No one has done more for working people, in my opinion, than Speaker Pelosi. And nobody understands political power in Washington better than she does. Again, if we don't get money out of politics, then these problems are going to continue. And that means ending super PACs, eliminating super PACs, but it also means mandating disclosure and transparency. I completely agree with Laura. Congressional stock trading is out of control and ridiculous. How, how have we not eliminated that yet? It's a complete conflict of interest. It should not be allowed. And I fully support a band, but I also think again, we need to protect the right to vote. If we don't, if we allow the Republicans to pass the SAVE act and eliminate mail in voting, purge the voter rolls, require idea at polling places, we're living in a new Jim Crow era and we're not going to get power back for until we change that.
- [52:10]
Ben Max
Thank you. We'll get to you in just one sec. Yeah, we're coming your way. Nope, we're coming your way.
- [52:17]
Nina Schwelbe
I mean, we've talked about big money in politics, but I want to talk about the two things that are worrying absolutely the most and those are the SAVE act and the Voter Suppression act, which are currently going through. When I read the SAVE Act, I just couldn't believe what they were requiring in terms of documentation. So our trans brothers and sisters basically can't vote now. Especially ones that black and brown brothers and sisters who may not be able to get a passport. The same for women who've changed their name. Like, like that is a serious threat to our democracy, as is Trump's Voter Suppression act, which looks like it might actually go through where people are not going to be able to mail in ballots. And again, we may not have all lawyers in the room, but we do have people who probably use early voting and mail in ballots. If you're working, if you can't get to the polls, if you are at home, you can't vote. And that is specifically targeted at disenfranchised populations.
- [53:19]
Ben Max
Thank you.
- [53:20]
Patrick Timmons
A couple of things. I would say that the money in politics, yes, it has to be changed and altered. But Even in this CD12 forum, most of the people on the, on the panel tonight have been excluded from forums that have already happened because they didn't have the big bucks to show that they were important enough. So there's stuff going on right in this, right in this forum and right in this election. I'd also say term limits are very, very important. I think in the new era of Congress that I want to see a turning of the page, not focusing on all the symbolism. We need a robust organic Congress where people come and go. I signed the term limits pledge and it gives members of the House of Congress three two year terms and it gives senators two six year terms. That's plenty. We have to establish a robust, like I said, flow of people. And then I'd also say that within the various looking for democracy, that we certainly should look at all people being able to vote. I am against the SAVE act too. I think it's been larded down with various issues. We shouldn't support it, but we need to find the way that everyone votes.
- [54:33]
Ben Max
Thank you, Mr. Burgdale.
- [54:35]
Micah Bergdale
I've already mentioned increasing the size of the House and I'll reiterate again, one of the reasons for that is that it actually reduces the amount of money that's necessary in order to run for a campaign because you can actually get to know your local community. One other thing, and I agree with most of what everyone has already said that hasn't been mentioned though, is the Appointments Clause. Listen, Congress has the capability underneath the Appointments Clause to be able to decide, you know, we're going to have judges actually appoint certain positions. I really worry about the division that exists within this country even when Donald Trump's gone. And God willing, that day comes sooner rather than later. But when we get to a point where we have a Democratic president, we are going to have another half of this country that is not going to trust that person. We need to figure out a way to restore trust. And part of what I've actually proposed is the idea that the attorney general, for example, would be appointed through a consensus of a group of judges, so you wouldn't have political partisanship, so somebody like Donald Trump could never exist again. This isn't about just getting rid of Donald Trump. It's about making sure that he can never happen again. Because what has happened to our democracy over the past now 12 years has just eroded the amount of trust that everyday citizens have within our country.
- [55:48]
Ben Max
Thank you. Ms. Schwabe, let me start with you on this one. I want to actually follow up. I think it was you, Mr. Schlossberg, brought this up earlier. But there's concerns from a variety of corners about crackdowns on free speech in recent years. Especially are there steps that you would take, specific actions in oversight, funding legislation to protect free speech? And do you have any sort of ways in which you'd look to balance free speech protections? But also some of the other concerns we've seen, we have, it's obviously not the federal level, but in the city, we've had a lot of discussions around buffer zones. Recently, legislation passed at the City council. They're considering other legislation in Albany around this, creating space around houses of worship and educational institutions. So in Congress, how would you think about protections of free speech, but also other protections like religious practice and so forth?
- [56:46]
Nina Schwelbe
I think it's a both. And, and I think that the Trump administration has done an excellent job of conflating free speech or restricting free speech with persecuting various groups. And I think the universities, what's happening at the universities is a great example. Academic free speech is critical to our democracy and our society. And we can't conflate that what people say on a campus with hate speech. My kids both are college students. And what I saw that do and the crackdown on universities around the country at Columbia and elsewhere, was it restricted debate? And the Trump administration has convinced us that healthy debate isn't allowed. So I want to see us separate those issues first and foremost and protect people as they should be protected from homophobia, Islamophobia, any forms of racism. I also want to say that,
- [57:53]
Chris Diep
you
- [57:53]
Nina Schwelbe
know, for me, free speech is okay. Just take a Look at my Instagram post and see what people say about me. I don't mind. They can say whatever they want. I prefer free speech than restricting speech. And I also find it sort of funny that, I don't know. Just take a look at my Instagram post, Jack, you're probably similar.
- [58:09]
Patrick Timmons
Mr. Timmons, are we talking about free speech?
- [58:12]
Ben Max
Yeah. Again, the question is, are there oversight, legislative funding, you know, specific steps in Congress you would take to ensure the protection of free speech especially?
- [58:21]
Patrick Timmons
Well, I think free speech really has to be evaluated insofar as the way the hate crimes are happening. Last year in Manhattan, the biggest hate crimes were anti Semitic. And they're under quite a bit of a burden, Jewish folks here in this cd. I mean, Mayor Mamdani has not made it easier as well. He said that Israel in the first debate with Andrew Cuomo was a genocidal, apartheid and occupational country. Now, whether you agree or not agree, that's inflammatory. And to most people who are good, hardworking Jewish folk that I've worked with all my life, it's not cool to say those things.
- [59:07]
Nina Schwelbe
I'm okay with it. I'm a good, hard working Jewish folk and I'm okay with free speech.
- [59:10]
Patrick Timmons
Don't interrupt, please. Not nice. So I think that that is the first thing we have to tackle in terms of this jurisdiction here. And then I think it has to be looked at across the country.
- [59:22]
Micah Bergdale
Okay, Mr. Bergdale, so we'll get into foreign policy, and I have plenty of thoughts on that, too. But as it relates to freedom of speech, I would really want to emphasize the freedom of the press, because the freedom of the press is what is really, really scary right now. And the attempts to intimidate and hold back voices. Don Lemon's arrest is one of the most prominent examples recently. But the defunding of NPR and preventing us from having true independent journalism that is so critical to a free society that allows for the freedom of speech. And we need to make sure that we are providing the funding and the oversight necessary. So that way, every single journalist that exists in this country is able to operate without fear of persecution. And for the DOJ to come down on them because they decide to report something that our dear Leader doesn't seem to want to hear in the media. It is so, so critical every single day that we have people in the press that are advocating for the truth and that we're able to have an informed citizenry.
- [60:30]
George Conway
It's a question of oversight. We have a First Amendment that protects people from being discriminated against on the basis of the views that they express. But we have a government that rewards people for expressing views that support the President and punishes people for expressing views that don't support the president. And we see that today, the Paramount Warner Brothers Discovery merger was approved. That is the ultimate in infringement of free speech and democratic discussion because we have the concentration of governmental power and the concentration of economic power joining together to eliminate criticism of the government. Now, that should be illegal. It is illegal, but we need Congress to investigate it, to learn about exactly what happened in the discussions between the FCC and these merger parties, between Brendan Carr and the people who run Paramount, what happened there, what agreements were made. We'd learn a lot if we did that. And we need an aggressive investigative. Need aggressive investigators in Congress, lawyers to do that. And I want to be one of them.
- [61:58]
Ben Max
Mr.
- [61:59]
Jack Schlossberg
Deep.
- [62:00]
Chris Diep
Yeah, free speech. I mean, today it's a lot more different. I would say with social media. You could write a substack post, you could go create your own podcasts, or I guess Jack is a great social media expert. I'm not too. Oh, yeah, you too, George. I'm not too concerned about it. We all can post. It's just very noisy. But I will answer your question, which was just how I would protect it. Yeah. So I would just make it more easier to, I guess, like, Internet available for everyone to post.
- [62:42]
Ben Max
Thank you, Ms. Tung.
- [62:43]
Laura Dunn
So, as a member of the New York City Bar Association Civil Rights Committee, I will always stand with free speech, even when I don't agree with it, and especially when I don't agree with it. But I want to talk about an issue that I think is overlooked in this campaign. And I think I'm the only candidate that's ever spoken about it yet. Section 230 of the Communications act currently gives complete immunity to Big Tech. They are collecting our data. They're tracking what you say. They're rewarding algorithms that are radicalizing especially young men who feel disenfranchised. And they are creating the problems in our society. And to boot, they can give all that information to the government as a backdoor to the Fourth Amendment, our protections. So I want to repeal it, or at least amend. Should not be creating these superpowers that have more money than sovereign nations and who are running our conversations and our connections. We need to have better regulation. And when they are like newspapers, they are accountable for what they put on there. We will have a better democracy.
- [63:45]
Ben Max
Thank you, Mr. Slashbrook.
- [63:46]
Jack Schlossberg
Laura, I could not agree more with you. I think that we need to have public oversight of these algorithms, because these companies have amassed an insane amount of control and we regulate the airwaves that way. I would also say, I think reforming defamation law is incredibly important here. In other countries, if you have a frivolous defamation lawsuit, you're liable for attorney's fees. There's something called the slap provisions here, which basically provide people who are sued for defamation in frivolous cases trying to silence speech that they are able to drop on this fund in order to make their legal defense. I think we should expand that and I also think that we should. The Trump administration has been using defamation law to silence people. That's what Cash Patel is doing at the FBI right now, suing the Washington Post. That's what Trump did with all the law firms. And it's, it's a complete abuse of defamation. And it's something that Congress could pass by, could, could fix with legislation.
- [64:48]
Ben Max
Okay, we are about to turn to foreign policy, as was mentioned. But before we do that, quick lightning round, it's been mentioned by a couple candidates already, a call for term limits for Congress. So let's get everybody to weigh in on that. Yes or no? Should there be term limits for members of the House and if so, how many two year terms? Mr. Bergdale?
- [65:09]
Micah Bergdale
Yes, absolutely. There can be flexibility in that, but I would say somewhere between four to five terms in the House and in the Senate, probably around three year terms.
- [65:20]
George Conway
I would say three to four terms, but I pledge only to serve two terms maximum because I'm here for a very special purpose.
- [65:27]
Chris Diep
Yes to term limit.
- [65:30]
Laura Dunn
Yes, yes to term limits. 12 years on both sides.
- [65:33]
Ben Max
12 years on both sides. Mr. Schlossberg,
- [65:38]
Jack Schlossberg
I would prefer.
- [65:39]
Ben Max
You might need to press the button. There you go.
- [65:44]
Jack Schlossberg
I think that there should be cognitive and age limits on, on members of Congress. But, and, and I want to say yes on term limits. I really do, because the, the problem is real, that we're all identifying. People say they're way too long and it's, they control power. But I kind of think that the framers didn't include that in the Constitution for a reason. And part of the reason why is that and how Congress works, for better or worse. I do think it's the best deliberative body in the world. You get to Congress and seniority is how things work. And so I do think that there is value in having leadership expertise and people who served there for a long time being able to take leadership roles.
- [66:26]
Ben Max
Appreciate all the thoughts. We're trying to do lightning on this one, too. But you mentioned looking at an age and cognition. So I think that's. Do you have a plan on that? Do you have what you want the test to be? The age limit?
- [66:40]
Jack Schlossberg
Yeah, I mean I think there are medical cognitive tests out there available that I would defer to doctors. And I think that an age limit would be something that I would want public input on. But I think, you know, it would have to be flexible to go with, with medicine as medicine advances and lifespans, life expansion. Can I keep talking? I'm not going to give you a number, but there you go.
- [67:00]
Ben Max
I got, I got you thinking. Thank you, Ms. Schwabi.
- [67:04]
Nina Schwelbe
Just gotta say that, that the correlation, that's not a, I mean age and ability, they're not directly correlated. So yes for term limits and somewhere between 4 and 5. And the other thing is this thing about running every two years is kind of crazy.
- [67:24]
Ben Max
Ms. Timmons, term limits, yes or no? And if yes, how many terms?
- [67:27]
Patrick Timmons
I said yes before and I signed the U.S. term limits pledge, which 150 members of Congress, both Senate and Reps, have already signed thinking about because they're becoming generational seats. That's the elephant in the room. So it would be three two year terms and two six year terms for senators. It's been supported by 150 members of Congress right now. So at this time could happen.
- [67:52]
Ben Max
Thank you. So, last big topic here and then we'll wrap up with a few more quick questions. But our final sort of major topic is foreign policy here. Let's start with you, Mr. Bergdale, down there again, please explain your view of your thinking in this campaign and how you'd approach it in the House if elected, about the United States role in the world and how you'd look to shift, if at all, foreign policy that the United States is involved with.
- [68:20]
Micah Bergdale
As a kid, I grew up in Iowa, for those of you that don't know. And one of the things that I always thought about the United States was how we were representation of democracy and democratic values throughout the world.
- [68:33]
Nina Schwelbe
World.
- [68:33]
Micah Bergdale
Now that might have been a little naive as a kid growing up in Iowa. And I've learned a lot as I've gotten older, but I still hold those values very, very deeply. And that we need to be a representation of human rights and democracy. And it's one of the reasons that the Israeli topic in particular is deeply, deeply personal to me. We absolutely need to condemn Netanyahu and the war crimes he has committed. He is a war criminal and we cannot continue to subsidize that government. I have Israeli friends. I have Israeli donors that have donated to my campaign who agree with me on this topic. I am not anti Semitic. I am Jewish, my mother's side. And it's very, very important to me that we make sure that we're calling out the human rights abuses that we are seeing systematically play out within the Middle East. I have Lebanese friends that have reported back to me about what has gone on in southern Lebanon. Supposedly, we have a ceasefire right now, and yet we still have people that are dying every single day. It cannot continue to allow for the Israeli government to operate in this lawless way. And I hold those values so deeply because it is a representation of human rights and democracy.
- [69:47]
George Conway
I think first and foremost the United States has to restore its relationships with the allies, its democratic allies that have been so severely damaged by Trump. Who cares nothing about alliances, only cares about who can provide him with a nice 747 and seems to worship corrupt dictators. We have lost so much as a nation by virtue of the fact that we no longer stand for the democratic values and that we have that have made this country great and has saved the world on a couple of occasions. And we have to get back to that. We have to get back to good relations with our traditional allies. We have to stand up for Ukraine, and we have to absolutely comply with international law and not defy it and not show contempt for it the way this administration has continued to do.
- [70:52]
Laura Dunn
Haven't you called on unconditional funding for Israel?
- [70:57]
George Conway
I do support Israel. I do not support everything that they
- [71:00]
Laura Dunn
have done that unconditional funding.
- [71:03]
George Conway
I support Israel. I strongly support Israel. I don't support everything that they have done, but they are an ally and we should support them. And they are one of the few democracies in that area of the world. But I, I understand, I understand how people object to, object to Netanyahu. I don't. I'm not particularly fond with. Of him. But the fact of the matter is we have to stand by our allies. And historically, Israel has been a tremendous ally to the United States. And there are so many Israelis who stand up against Netanyahu. We have to support them and by allowing them to defend themselves.
- [71:41]
Ben Max
Let me come to Mr. Deep and then. And Ms. Duny, you'll continue?
- [71:45]
Chris Diep
Yeah. So with how I'm looking at foreign policy, the New START treaty between the U.S. and Russia limiting the amount of nuclear weapons has expired in February. It's concerning. It almost feels like a Cold War 2.0. So with that in mind, I'm just looking at the situation in Iran and How we do not want them to have nuclear weapons. And another thing is with Israel we need to stop sending foreign aid to them and may and also see about getting them to denuclearize, give up their weapons. And we could do that with the Glenn amendment stun.
- [72:31]
Laura Dunn
So I know that NY12 is going to lose the United Nations. We have not only failed to pay for that building but other countries are positioning themselves to be the new home. And that should show us how far we are falling in the standing of this world. We cannot keep giving unconditional aid to Israel. This is insanity. We are seeing war crimes. We are part of that every time we give dollars. Now defense is one thing for an ally, but that's not what's happening. We are killing civilians with our weapons that we have handed over. We cannot do this any longer. I am calling for an end of ongoing support of Israel. They agree to recognize Palestine as a state, to have a two state solution, to abide by international law, to end human rights violations. And all of us should be calling for an end to a war in Iran. There are men sitting here that will be called overseas if this does not stop. So when we talk about international relations we must realize we are falling in this world and we must have a moral center. And that starts with standing up to Israel who should be our ally. They should work with us, not make us fall in the world standing.
- [73:48]
Jack Schlossberg
I've opposed the war in Iran since day one. I think it's a strategic failure and opposing the war in Iran. I have no sympathy for the Iranian government but our country's at war right now. We have no idea really what's going on. I think it's a strategic failure and I think opposing that war means opposing all funding for the war were and that includes, and that includes providing offensive military assistance to the state of Israel. And I think that it is, it is high time that we do that. It is. It's hard to stomach what's going on beyond that singular issue. The United States has moved closer to authoritarian governments and away from democracies while breaking up our alliances and alienating our closest allies and friends, driving people into the arms of China. We need to remember who our adversaries are because we have them. And we need to make sure that we uphold the high standard of civil rights, human rights here at home so that when we do go and throughout the world that we're respected because I don't believe that we are today.
- [74:59]
Ben Max
Thank you, Ms. Schwalbe.
- [75:01]
Nina Schwelbe
Yeah, I wish we had more than one minute to discuss this question. I've spent most of my life working as a diplomat in the area of health policy. I've worked in over 100 countries and we've reduced this question in our debates to two or three countries. I want a full debate where we talk about the Rohingya. We talk about Sudan, three years just past, where we talk about Uganda and gay people who are being stoned there. We talk about the destruction of pepfar, the US government's HIV program, and the new extractive agreements that have been put in place where we are trading HIV life saving drugs for minerals. We have so much to talk about on this topic, and I implore you in the audience to have a debate where the focus is, is U.S. foreign policy.
- [75:58]
Micah Bergdale
Thank you, Mr. Timmons.
- [76:02]
Patrick Timmons
I do not want to see any ground troops anywhere. It can't happen right now. The President's in a pickle with Iran. There's a war powers check in on May 1st. I think he's allowed to get 60 more days. But that has to be something that's bipartisan and that we protest as much as we can that we have to get out of that situation. I also think in Ukraine, Ukraine needs to be supported. Right now, what they've done is heroic. And it also keeps us connected to, and we have to improve our relations with NATO. That's a severely important thing. And in Taiwan, Taiwan has to be given as much support as possible. China is our biggest enemy intellectually with their stealing our patents and our intellectual economically and militarily. They're just waiting for the time. And if we deploy more troops to the Mideast, something could happen in the South China Sea. So I hope that we can recognize worldwide where we have to put our resources and no soldiers on the ground.
- [77:05]
Ben Max
Thank you. Okay, Mr. Conway, let me just come back to you for a second. You said in your answer before that the United States must uphold international law. But then you also, on the topic of aid to Israel, seem to not want to put, put even those conditions on that aid.
- [77:21]
Jack Schlossberg
Is that accurate?
- [77:22]
Ben Max
Is that an exception that you would make to the US's?
- [77:25]
George Conway
No, it's not an exception. It's not an exception. I think Israel should be held responsible for any violations of international law that it commits. But I also think that the United States should be held accountable for its violations of international law. I think it all applies to everyone. But the fact of the matter is Israel is our ally, has been our steadfast ally for 40 years, and I would not abandon them because we have one particular Prime Minister, who may have pushed. May have gone too far. And in this particular, in the Gaza war. And I absolutely agree with everyone else that this. This war against Iran, as far as the United States involvement in it is concerned, has absolutely done nothing to advance the interests of the United States and has done everything to damage it.
- [78:23]
Micah Bergdale
I just want to make a point, though, because it's not just Netanyahu. It is the entire government that has enabled him. In his coalition. We are talking about Smotrich in particular, who has gone and had these settlers go into the west bank and they have killed innocent Palestinians over and over and over again, taken their land. They have nowhere to go. This is not Hamas. This is Palestinians that are living in the West Bank.
- [78:48]
Jack Schlossberg
Thank you.
- [78:49]
Ben Max
All right, last. Last few quick questions as we wrap up here. And as Ms. Schwalbe got at, and I said at the beginning of the night, obviously nowhere near getting to every topic this evening, but hopefully those of you that liked what you've heard from certain candidates will continue to ask them questions and research them and all of that. Okay, last few questions here in Lightning fashion. Mr. Schlossberger, let's start with you here. Yes or no? If Democrats take a House majority. Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker or someone else.
- [79:23]
Jack Schlossberg
The election were today, I would support Speaker Jeffrey. Leader Jeffries.
- [79:27]
Nina Schwelbe
Fair and free elections. Let's see who wants the job and then make our decision.
- [79:31]
Ben Max
Mr. Timmons.
- [79:32]
Patrick Timmons
Hakeem Jeffries.
- [79:35]
Micah Bergdale
I would need to know who the other candidates are, but my support would not be with Hakeem Jeffries at this point.
- [79:40]
George Conway
I support Leader Jeffries.
- [79:46]
Chris Diep
I support him. I'm open to someone else if necessary.
- [79:50]
Laura Dunn
Trump must be impeached. So I am going to get in line and plug my nose and vote for Hakeem. But that only for impeachment.
- [79:57]
Jack Schlossberg
Thank you.
- [79:58]
Ben Max
Ms. Dunn, let's stick with you to start this one. No one's allowed to name Jerry Nadler here who you're trying to succeed, although I don't know if anybody would. But other than Jerry Nadler, in case that would be popping to mind, who's a political role model of yours? One name, please, with an explanation. No, just one name. Political role model.
- [80:20]
Laura Dunn
Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- [80:22]
Ben Max
Mr. Slasberg.
- [80:23]
Jack Schlossberg
Abraham Lincoln. Okay.
- [80:26]
Nina Schwelbe
Sarah McBride.
- [80:28]
George Conway
Okay.
- [80:28]
Patrick Timmons
Mario Cuomo.
- [80:31]
Micah Bergdale
Man, this is going to be a tough one. I mean, somebody that's in Congress right now, I would say Ro. Com. Okay.
- [80:38]
George Conway
Pat Moynihan was always a big admirer of him.
- [80:42]
Chris Diep
Lincoln was taken. So I'll go with Alexander Hamilton.
- [80:45]
Ben Max
All right. And to wrap us up, Mr. Deep got at this earlier, actually. But let's start with you, Mr. Conway. One name here. If you couldn't vote for yourself in this race, who would you vote for?
- [81:01]
George Conway
I think I'd vote for Jack.
- [81:02]
Jack Schlossberg
Jack. For Jack.
- [81:04]
George Conway
Okay.
- [81:04]
Ben Max
Mr. Deep.
- [81:06]
Chris Diep
Cross endorsing. Interesting. I think. Lore. Just because she welcomed me when I first joined you.
- [81:14]
Ben Max
You don't have to give a reason. But that's. That's very nice, Miss.
- [81:17]
Laura Dunn
Because we need qualified women who are badasses in Congress, Mr. Schlossberg.
- [81:22]
Jack Schlossberg
It's like choosing between children. I don't know how, but I. Right back at you, George.
- [81:27]
Ben Max
Okay.
- [81:28]
Nina Schwelbe
I gotta say, I probably moved to District 10 at Lander. I'm all for Brad.
- [81:34]
Ben Max
Okay.
- [81:35]
George Conway
The most honest candidate here.
- [81:37]
Ben Max
Well, that's a cop out. That's what? That's a cop out. Our first cop out answer, Mr. Timmons.
- [81:44]
Patrick Timmons
Say Alex, Boris, or Jack.
- [81:45]
Ben Max
Okay.
- [81:46]
Micah Bergdale
You know, Nina, I was gonna name you, but after that cop out, I don't know.
- [81:50]
Ben Max
Okay. Are you gonna name anyone Nina? Nina. Okay. Want a second shot at it? The only one that didn't choose someone voting.
- [82:01]
Nina Schwelbe
Going on the next. On the next event.
- [82:02]
Ben Max
Next time. Okay. Thank you to the candidates for a spirited conversation. Thank you all for being here. Don't forget to vote in June, and we'll see everybody out there.