Laura Gillen says to never count her out of a race

Laura Gillen is used to being the underdog. After more than a decade as a litigator with Uniondale’s Westerman Ball Ederer Miller Zucker & Sharfstein, Gillen decided to turn her attention to public service, eyeing the Hempstead town supervisor seat that hadn’t been held by a Democrat in a century.

“No one thought I had a chance,” Gillen told reporters during a recent Herald Roundtable event. “Most of the people who thought I would win were related to me, and it was very difficult to raise money because they all thought that, ‘If I give you money, then the other side’s going to know. And they’re going to get mad at me.’”

But Gillen did win, thanks to what she describes as grassroots support. And while her time leading the town lasted only until the next election, Gillen believes no one should underestimate her again. Especially as she looks to succeed Kathleen Rice in Congress.

“I’m the best representative for this seat,” Gillen said. “I grew up in this district. I went to school in this district. Now I am raising four children. I own a house in this district. I go to the grocery store in this district. I really care about what happens here.”

It’s what pushed Gillen to seek public office in the first place, and why she said she worked hard as town supervisor, even when she felt others inside the government were pushing against her. Gillen still worked to make the Hempstead town government more transparent — putting contracts and other paperwork online — and says she even stopped taxes from going up.

Succeeding despite adversity is something Gillen says she’s ready for, especially in a Congress that is most likely to flip to Republican control come January.

“I went into the most challenging circumstances” as town supervisor, she said. “I went into the lion’s den, and I never back down. Ever. But that being said, it’s not about fighting. I found a way to build bridges.”

Like with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, where they tackled a number of issues like breastfeeding and ethics.

“I feel like I’m perfectly prepared to go to Washington,” Gillen said. “At least there I’ll probably have a few more friends that I had in the town. And I’ll reach across the aisle when appropriate, and still make things work.”

One of the things a new Congress could face almost immediately, however, is what appears to be an ever-growing immigration crisis, to the point where some seeking a better life in America are becoming pawns from the largest political factions within that America.

Gillen spoke to Herald reporters just as Florida governor Ron DeSantis sent a plane full of immigrants who had made their way to Texas, up north to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Immigration has indeed been a mess, Gillen admits. But it’s also something that can be fixed, if only leaders will just set aside politics long enough to make it happen.

“We have been talking about this for decades, right?” she said. “We need a pathway to citizenship. It’s too convoluted for people who come here seeking political asylum. Or for people who are here — who are part of the fabric of our society, who our society probably couldn’t function without. If we took everybody who’s undocumented here and got rid of them, our society would probably break down because we’re so used to having them here.

“They’re members of our workforce. They contribute to our economy.”

Still, that doesn’t mean the border should be a free-for-all, Gillen adds. It’s important to know who is coming in, and ensuring the safety of those already here. But once they do get through that process, everyone should have a chance to contribute.

And then, of course, there’s the one topic that many political observers say might have the biggest impact on who wins control of Congress in the midterms: abortion.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization essentially overturn the 50-year federal precedent that allowed women to end pregnancies.

Gillen says her position couldn’t be more clear: The only people who should be involved in reproductive decisions like this are a woman and her doctor.

“We have to preserve that a woman has the right to make her own health care decisions,” she said. “Look, I have four children. I’ve had complicated pregnancies. This issue hits home for me because I’ve had a lot of issues with pregnancies in my life. And I can tell you who had no business weighing in on that — who I am not inviting into my consultation room with my doctor. And that’s the government.”