Where everyone knows Anthony D’Esposito’s name

It’s hard to find anyone within the Town of Hempstead who doesn’t know who Anthony D’Esposito is, and it’s even more difficult to find someone who hasn’t actually met him.

That’s because D’Esposito makes sure he’s anywhere and everywhere. Whether it was his time as a detective with the New York Police Department, to his volunteer work with local fire departments, to his current role as a Hempstead town councilman — D’Esposito can’t go anywhere without someone he knows running into him.

“I’ve been super active in my community, pretty much my entire adult life,” D’Esposito recently told reporters during a Herald Roundtable session. “People need to be able to see you. People need to be able to access you. And the only way that you can deliver the message — and the voices — of the people that you represent here in Washington is by hearing them.”

Wait, Washington? Yep. D’Esposito is ready to make the jump from town representative to a U.S. House representative, running to replace Kathleen Rice in the 4th Congressional District.

“You know, in the police department, we have a saying that even in the coldest of nights or the hottest of days, you always drive around with the windows down so you can hear the streets, smell the streets, and understand what’s going on,” he said. “That’s exactly what needs to be done in politics and government. You need to have the windows rolled down so you can hear and smell the streets.”

D’Esposito wants to be the first Republican representing this part of Nassau County since Dan Frisa won the seat back in 1995. Since then, the 4th Congressional District spent nine terms under Carolyn McCarthy, and then the last four terms under Kathleen Rice — both Democrats.

If he wins, D’Esposito could likely find himself a part of the majority if the GOP takes control of the House as expected. But he doesn’t plan to steamroll his way through the chamber.

“It’s all about forging relationships,” he said. “It’s about mutual respect. During my tenure on the town board, I’ve worked with Democrats and Republicans to deliver real results. It didn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or if you’re a Republican. You’re a Town of Hempstead neighbor, and that’s what mattered.”
That doesn’t mean, however, he’s setting aside his conservative beliefs. Like the right to bear arms. But those rights also carry with them heavy responsibility.

D’Esposito remembers a program in New York City known as the “Trigger-Lock Program,” where anyone arrested for criminal possession of a weapon was immediately referred for federal prosecution. There, they were likely to face far stiffer sentences.
“That sends a message around the streets that maybe I should think twice about carrying an illegal firearm,” D’Esposito said. “We need to expand programs like that, and we need to take them into every community we can.”

D’Esposito also supports requiring firearm training, and for improved background checks. If it’s good for law enforcement, it should be good for everyone.

But unlike many Democrats, D’Esposito isn’t quite ready to turn his back on civilian ownership of military-grade assault weapons.

“I don’t think anyone and everyone should be able to purchase them,” the councilman said, “but banning them across the board and painting all assault weapons with one broad brush is not the answer, either. There needs to be increased background checks. There needs to be a purpose” to purchase it.
D’Esposito also supports smaller government — but not necessarily through massive workforce cuts.

“Perhaps there’s spending cut opportunities through attrition,” he said. “Just because 10 people retire doesn’t mean that you need 10 people hired. We have the ability now, with technology, to do more with less. And that’s really the mantra.

“It’s very hard to take such a huge government and start just sitting at a table, picking off where we can increase or decrease spending. But if you take it piece by piece, and you bring real-life issues that you’ve dealt with — or I’ve dealt with — and you can deliver them in a larger scale, obviously, it’s going to take time.”

Like many Republicans running for office, D’Esposito has been characterized as someone who is anti-choice. But if he is elected to Congress, D’Esposito pledges he will never vote for a nationwide abortion ban.

However, he is calling out what he claims are Democrats’ push to allow abortions up to nine months into the pregnancy — something the Associated Press described as a misrepresentation of a bill introduced by lawmakers that would allow for an extremely rare late-term abortion necessary to protect the health or life of the mother.

“Nothing is changing in New York,” D’Esposito said. “Women’s rights are protected. But I am absolutely against the late-term extreme measures that the Democrats have taken in New York.”