Meeting the state Assembly Democratic candidates

By Serena Carpino

Three Village Democratic Club held a meet-the-candidates night at the Setauket Neighborhood House Jan. 11. The two candidates, Skyler Johnson (D-Port Jefferson Station) and Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson), hope to represent New York State Assembly District 4, a seat currently occupied by Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson). At the campaign event, Johnson and Kassay discussed pressing issues facing Long Island. 

Johnson, 23, has served in multiple leadership roles. He is on the board of the directors of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the chair of the Suffolk County Young Democrats. He is also on the board of Temple Beth Emeth of Mount Sinai, the synagogue in which he was raised and is currently working for the Sound Justice Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to educating incarcerated individuals. 

Johnson has spent much of his political career in Albany and helped pass the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act. He has been endorsed by former Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant as well as several members of the New York State Assembly and Suffolk County Legislature.

Johnson’s opponent, Rebecca Kassay, possesses both political and entrepreneurship experience. The 34-year-old is currently deputy mayor in the Village of Port Jefferson and a village trustee. Kassay is also a member of the Port Jefferson Rotary Club and owns with her husband The Fox and Owl Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in Port Jefferson. 

In 2013, Kassay was involved in creating a teen environmental program at Avalon Nature Preserve, as she hoped to “​​get them off their phones, get their hands dirty and build their confidence about [being] the future environmental stewards of this area.” During the COVID-19 pandemic Kassay contacted local community members who had been handmaking masks helping them to create a legitimate organization. With Kassay’s intervention, the group was able to donate over 40,000 homemade masks. 

The candidates discussed many issues, but two topics dominated the night: affordable housing and the climate crisis. 

When asked about the biggest issue currently facing New York state, both Johnson and Kassay agreed that it is the high cost of living. “We have a crisis on housing on our hands – of affordable housing,” Johnson said. He further explained that, for him, affordable housing is defined as that which is accessible to families who make between 60% and 120% of the area median income. Here, that would equate to an apartment rent of $1,700 per month. “I checked [how many apartments would be available] — about three. And I’m sure one of them is an illegal basement apartment,” he joked. 

The candidates also talked about recent environmental problems on Long Island. They addressed the latest extreme weather events including the severe rainstorms and flooding. 

Kassay reassured the audience that she wanted, “in no uncertain terms, for voters to know that the Democratic Party is the party that’s going to lead the way to make an economically and environmentally sustainable Long Island.”

The candidates were then asked about New York’s immigration crisis. 

Both Johnson and Kassay pointed out that immigrants are an important part of this country and pay a significant amount of taxes. They agreed that they would both like to see comprehensive immigration reform and a change in the attitude of how America views immigrants. 

Johnson further said, “Those who say that immigrants are not welcome are almost never on the right side of history,” and explained that much of the negative commentary about immigrants is “a fake narrative to throw immigrants under the bus.”

Finally, the candidates called out Flood’s voting record and criticized his stance on certain legislation. 

Flood’s consistent support for anti-vaccination movements is most embarrassing to Kassay. She disagrees with Flood’s position, especially given the presence of Stony Brook University in the district. She explained, “As an assemblywoman here I would be looking to the university for help instead of embarrassing them and embarrassing the entire district by going forth with anti-vax legislation and having that be a mark on the community.”

Johnson agreed and said that Flood has “taken some really egregious stances in his short tenure in Albany.” In particular, he pointed out Flood’s opposition to abortion care, LGBTQ+ rights and other bills “simply because Democrats proposed [them].”

He encouraged the audience to go on votesmart.org and further look into Flood’s voting records. 

 In their closing remarks, the candidates left the stage with powerful statements. 

“We really can’t afford to lose this race. Our community has been suffering under the leadership or lack thereof of Ed Flood.” Kassay said. “This campaign is about reconnecting people to the government that was built to serve and protect them — it’s about Long Island’s overwhelming cost of living and the climate crisis. It’s about defending women’s choice regarding their own bodies and then going up to that legislative body and doing a little more to make it more representative of our population.”

In his closing remarks, Johnson said, “I announced that I was running on Nov. 18. On Nov. 19, Jesse Garcia, the chair of the Suffolk GOP, had a quote in the paper attacking me.” He further explained that other Republicans attacked him on Twitter, and GOP members across the state liked those tweets. “So,” he said, “if you are not sure who will beat Ed Flood, just remember: The Republicans are worried about what would happen should I become the nominee.”