Why I will not be voting for Nick LaLota

Why I will not be voting for Nick LaLota

Nick LaLota cannot vote for himself because he does not live in CD 1. LaLota suggested he would move to the district if he won in 2022. He won and did not move. Living outside the district you are elected to represent is legal, so other than misrepresenting his intention to move, it is not a crime but an untruth. Instead of owning up to the fib, LaLota seeks to tarnish John Avlon by accusing him of living in Manhattan despite his owning a home in Sag Harbor since 2017. Seems a little disingenuous to me.

In 2020, when LaLota was a commissioner at the Suffolk County Board of Elections, he was disqualified from running for a state senate position because of a conflict of interest: “A candidate cannot also serve as a commissioner in charge of counting the votes.” Newsday Aug. 2020. It seems that Commissioner LaLota would have been aware of this conflict. 

In 2024, the former Board of Elections commissioner wants to enact a new law requiring U.S. citizens, including those in CD 1, to provide identification before voting. This is despite there being no evidence of voter fraud in Suffolk County and no significant indication of illegal voting in the 2020 election. Currently, 34 states require identification, but 16 states choose not to. Lalota is pushing for federal law. Currently, all people provide identification when registering. This is a tip of the hat to states that routinely implement obstacles to prevent people from voting. 

LaLota on the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade: “ The recent Supreme Court decision to allow states and their voters, not an unelected federal court, to dictate abortion policy is a step in the right direction.  The next step is for the New York State Legislature to repeal the extreme provision which allows for third-trimester abortions.” Nowhere does his statement mention a woman, a doctor, or a failing pregnancy. Lalota wants states and voters to be the decision-makers for women. People have abortions for many reasons, but what kind of cynical mind would imagine that a parent who finds out their child is pregnant, a victim of rape, possibly incest, should be reliant on the government to decide the health care or a family facing life and death decisions should be burdened with government overreach?  

At a recent Three Village Chamber of Commerce Candidates forum, LaLota, addressing the border bill, stated, “It was not a border bill. It was terrible. It was a four hundred page bill three hundred had to do with Ukraine and some other overseas funding….” LaLota left out that some of that overseas funding was for Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza. It was a bill painstakingly negotiated by Democrats and Republicans. Mitch McConnell, hardly a liberal, was involved. Funding for Israel and Ukraine was included in the bill because the Republicans demanded it be included. LaLota also stated that Krysten Sinema (I), one of the chief negotiators of the bill, walked away from the bill, which is misleading. Ms. Sinema was disgusted by the politicization on both sides of the aisle. In an interview with NPR, when asked about the bill, Senator Sinema responded “And to be clear, over the last four months, we have negotiated with(what) the Wall Street Journal now calls the strictest set of migration policies seen in decades. So we came out with a very robust, very major package on Sunday evening. And, you know, something happened between Sunday evening and today, when many of my Senate colleagues decided that they actually don’t want to secure the border. And, you know, that’s their choice, but it’s clear that folks changed their mind.” LaLota is disingenuous on this.

Perhaps it is time to change “To thine own self be true” to “To your constituents speak truth”. 

Remember to vote in the November 5, 2024 election. Your vote matters!

Pat