I’ll continue my work as a problem solver

I reject the extremes of both parties, and always work to find common ground.”

Our country is divided, and people are frustrated with the inaction in Washington regarding the issues of concern: the cost of living, the need to secure our border, the restoration of the state and local tax deduction, climate change, Israel, Ukraine, and attacks against women’s reproductive freedom.

Every issue is complex, and I have found that the only way to solve complicated problems is to have people of goodwill reach across the aisle — even to people they may disagree with — to find common ground. This philosophy has helped me accomplish many things in public life. I have cleaned up superfund sites and kept drinking water clean. I created jobs, brought hundreds of millions of dollars back to our communities, rooted out waste, fraud and abuse, passed major legislation on infrastructure, health care and prescription drugs and helped people in so many more ways.

When I was Glen Cove mayor, The New York Times wrote that I had “done more to revitalize the city and reinvigorate its flagging economy in a few short years than the last several mayors combined.”

As Nassau County executive, inheriting a county that had been rated “the worst-run in the country,” I was named Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year and was described as “the man who spearheaded Nassau County’s remarkable turnaround from the brink of fiscal disaster.”

I oversaw the 12th-largest police department in the country. During my tenure, Nassau’s crime rate was reduced drastically, and it was rated the safest community over 500,000 in the United States.

I know there is no more important job a public official has than keeping people safe. That’s why I have always supported common-sense solutions to prevent crime and stop gun violence. I have consistently opposed all efforts to “defund the police.”

In my six years in Congress, I focused on bipartisan solutions to get things done.

Together we must find common ground to address the problems created by undocumented immigration and the need for robust border security.

We must protect the border and support the efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those migrants who have credible claims for asylum need to be more effectively processed. And we need to establish a clear protocol to quickly deny entry to those who don’t qualify and a workable plan to return them to their countries of origin.

I was the vice chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, and worked hard to find common ground. I helped negotiate the historic Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which invested billions of dollars to improve New York’s infrastructure. I’ll continue my work with the Problem Solvers.

I worked tirelessly to protect our fragile environment, increasing funding by almost 500 percent for the Long Island Sound — from $4 million in 2016 to $40 million in 2023 — secured millions for clean air and clean water, and successfully led the bipartisan effort to finally clean up the toxic Bethpage-Grumman Plume.

I have been called Congress’s “most reliable non-Jewish Democrat in support of Israel.” I have visited Israel three times, and have been dedicated to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship, bolstering Israel’s security, and combating anti-Israel bias and antisemitism. Hamas must be defeated, and I will make sure Congress provides Israel with the necessary help it needs.

In its 2020 endorsement of my re-election, Newsday said I was “the relentless voice Long Island needs in Washington,” crediting me for “leading the effort to reduce taxes, protect the environment, and improve infrastructure on Long Island.”

There are 44 villages in our district. As a former four-term mayor, I know the value of “home rule” and understand the importance of village zoning and land-use planning, the scope and reach of village codes and the pressing need for local police protection. I’ll represent the interests of all our villages in Congress.

I promise the people of the 3rd C.D. that I will continue to reject the extremes of both parties, always work to find common ground, and continue my creed of putting the needs of my constituents over the needs of political expediency. Always.

Tom Suozzi represented the 3rd Congressional District from 2017 to 2022.