[music]

Brian Lehrer: It's the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. As we enter the first full work day in which abortion is no longer a constitutional right, but carrying a gun in public is per the Supreme Court last week in its two landmark decisions. Does the abortion ruling make the United States a theocracy or at least the many states that are now immediately banning most abortions, are they theocracies? Opponents of legal abortion say no, but Donald Trump's reaction to the ruling on Friday was, "God made the decision."

Remember who Mike Pence was before some Democrats liked him for 10 minutes last week for not overturning the 2020 election. He was the governor of Indiana who signed a law requiring funeral services for every aborted fetus. Now the Washington Post reports that Pence will campaign for a national ban on abortion. Never mind all that talk about state's rights as a premise for reversing Roe. Related, the Texas Republican party last week, did you hear this? Adopted a platform that says, "Homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice." That's a quote from the platform.

That language is a throwback by like 50 years. They also said they oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity. That wasn't just about surgery for minors, which was in there too, but all efforts to validate transgender identity. The very existence of some people's identities is a source of opposition officially now for the Texas Republican party, and NBC News noted the platform also calls for the repeal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Nostalgia for the old days is great. Isn't it?

While we're in Texas, an article by slates military affairs correspondent Fred Kaplan says the end of Roe will have a massive effect on women in the US military. He cites numbers indicating that thousands of women in the armed forces have abortions each year. Federal law already forbids military doctors from performing abortions, but they could advise women on where to seek one or how to seek one. Now it looks like Texas law will prohibit them from doing even that, and there are some major military bases in Texas. There's all that.

On the other side, galvanizing to protect and reinstitute abortion rights, all kinds of things have begun. There's a lawsuit filed by a synagogue in Florida claiming the religious Liberty of Jews is being infringed upon by abortion bans because Judaism largely supports abortion rights. We'll talk about that later in the show. Abortion funds have been established that accept donations to help people seeking abortions travel from states where they are unavailable.

Abortion rights will now be a bigger issue for advocates of those rights in the midterm elections. Of course, there were many protests over the weekend and they are presumably just beginning. Did you hear that the lead singer of the rock group Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong announced during a concert over the weekend that he will renounce his US citizenship over this decision, and he's American-born. It's not like he came here from somewhere and has dual citizenship.

Billie Joe Armstrong says he will renounce his US citizenship over the Supreme Court decision. There are many other things too. We'll talk to Susan Page about all of this later in the hour, but today is also the day before primary day in New York state. Don't forget. We are going to spend a few minutes with all three candidates in the democratic primary for Lieutenant governor now. An important thing to remember and a key reason why we're doing this is that in this primary, you vote separately for governor and Lieutenant governor.

Some of you may not know that yet. It's not like president and vice president. They are running as running mates, but you have to vote for your governor and your lieutenant governor nominee separately for both votes to count. That also means you can split your ticket if you so choose. We have Antonio Delgado running with Kathy Hochul. He'll be on in a bit. You have Ana María Archila running with Jumaane Williams. She'll be on in a bit. And up first, Diana Reyna running with Tom Suozzi.

And again, you can vote for both or split your ticket in any way among all these pairs. Diana Reyna was the first woman of Dominican heritage ever elected to public office in New York state, born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She was in city council for 12 years. Some of you know, and then was deputy Brooklyn borough president under Eric Adams. Ms. Reyna, thanks for coming on. Welcome to WNYC in your role as candidate for lieutenant governor.

Ms. Reyna: Thank you, Brian. It's wonderful to be here with you.

Brian: Now, before I invite you to introduce yourself more broadly, let me go right to the life-changing decisions from the Supreme Court last week on abortion rights and gun rights. What would you like the governor's response or the state's response to be at the policy level or back in court or in any other practical way?

Ms. Reyna: Obviously, the state is already working on what is the fund to be able to support women's reproductive rights and services accessible, affordable services, that is first and foremost. We want to make sure that the opportunity to be able to understand and build bridges with other states that can file a lawsuit together to be able to go back to the court, to be able to appeal this decision.

This has to be a national movement once again. The opportunities to be able to do that depends on people making sure that they elect what is the right leadership to push forward. What is an opportunity to reverse this decision, to be able to fight for women's rights, to fight for the opportunities for accessible services, health services? This is a public health issue that impacts women. We should not be in a position to have to move the goal line of decisions that were made and now reversed because this is the first of many that can be in the horizon.

Brian: Let me ask you this. Would you argue that you would be better than your opponents for the lieutenant governor nomination for any reason on these two issues in particular, abortion rights and gun rights?

Ms. Reyna: The answer is yes, Brian. I have more than two decades of governing, being able to have experience in having represented what is a district, having been able to oversee what are laws in our system, implementing what are policies, having oversight over departments, holding government accountable. Governing isn't about activism. Governing has much more responsibility to be able to enforce our laws.

The opportunity to be able to have the foresight to prevent and intervene when appropriate, to collaborate, to be able to address the issues that impact New Yorkers. Obviously, these two issues are two of so many impacting New Yorkers as they're fleeing and making decisions whether or not to remain in New York.

Brian: All right. Now, I'll back out and give you an opportunity to talk about yourself a little bit and listeners, if you're just joining us, we're beginning three short interviews with the three candidates in the democratic primary for lieutenant governor of New York on primary day tomorrow. They run as a team, with the top of the ticket, but you vote for each individual separately, each individual office separately.

You can split your ticket if you want. Diana Reyna, former city council member, former deputy Brooklyn borough president with us, she's running with Tom Suozzi. Would you like to introduce yourself a little bit, take us through your upbringing and why you got into politics in the first place and why you are in politics today?

Ms. Reyna: Of course. I grew up in Williamsburg, as you had mentioned. I was born and raised in lo sur Williamsburg, the south side of Williamsburg. My mom came from the Dominican Republic as a single woman, not speaking any English. She was a seamstress. She worked in the factories of Manhattan and Brooklyn. What is today known as SoHo? The decline of what is the garment industry forced her into what would be transitioning into a home attendant career.

She is living and aging in place in her own home that she owns. She came in 1965 and she's a trailblazer. One of the pioneers in our family, because she changed the lives of so many thereafter. She was responsible for bringing her family. She's one of eight children. My dad is one of twelve, and he, later in her travels, met him in Dominican Republic, and was able to start a new life together here in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. My dad was a Toledo owner. In the local neighborhood, he was a delivery driver for 30 years after his business had failed.

The opportunities to be able to see them struggle and raise us. I'm one of four sisters and I went to public school in the beginning. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to a local Headstart. The program started by the great late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. The opportunities to be able to benefit from a Headstart program to learn English, because my parents didn't speak English. I was able to learn English in school. The opportunity to see that back then, if you had a Spanish last name, they would trap you into a bilingual program. Not learning English, not learning Spanish, and my parents were not happy with the public school education.

They later made sure that we went to Catholic school. I was raised in Transfiguration church. We have a great respect and affinity to Transfiguration as a neighborhood because they were a church, non-conventional. They started what would be institutions that today model what are many others throughout the city. I was able to see them develop our community. They started a formal childcare called [foreign language].

We were able to see what would be the provider's program come from that center. The first HIV Hospice Center was created by Transfiguration Church. The opportunities to be able to organize community to fight for a Mitchell-Lama program called [foreign language]. The opportunity to be able to see what would be Southside Housing Development Corporation, which was our community development organization, nonprofit, developing and preserving affordable housing throughout the neighborhood.

I grew up in the '70s and '80s in this neighborhood, and it was tough. It was crime-ridden. It had dilapidated housing. We had what would be arson. Landlords that abandoned their properties. They would create--

[crosstalk]

Brian: All those things and I want to move to the next question for time, but that's a lot, and that's fascinating and grounding. All those things led you into a life of public service?

Ms. Reyna: Those are where my values have aligned, fighting for my community, making sure that we repaired and we structured and we constructed what would be a transformation of our community.

Brian: Let me ask you a hypothetical since you're running with Tom Suozzi as a ticket, but as I mentioned, people can split their votes. What if you are elected governor, and one of the other Democrats, I mean, if you're elected lieutenant governor, I'm sorry, and one of the other Democrats is elected governor. If Jumaane Williams, who's probably the most politically different from Suozzi in this race or if Kathy Hochul were to be the governor, and you'll be lieutenant governor, would you consider yourself a partner just as much as with Tom Suozzi, or maybe a watchdog, or a dissident on certain issues. How would you see your role if it's split up like that?

Ms. Reyna: I would work with whoever is elected governor tomorrow. My values and support align with what is Tom Suozzi, but we understand these are separate tickets. We are going to be electing what would be a governor and separately a lieutenant governor. I will work with whomever becomes governor tomorrow. On day one, I'm ready to be able to collaborate, to plan, to envision the New York we want to see. Right now, we need a strong leader to take us further into the future. We have to restore public safety. We have to make sure that our schools are functioning and performing.

I was having a conversation with a parent in the Bronx yesterday, who was telling me that their school had a second-grade book that were ordered for a fourth-grade class. Do we have to hold accountable our principals to understand are they providing what is a higher standard of education in our schools? The mere fact that the principal ordered what would be a second-grade level reading material for a fourth-grade class goes to show you the values or the misalignment in our education system.

Brian: If I may follow up, since you and Mr. Suozzi have declared public safety as your number one issue, and he certainly has done a lot to highlight his differences with Hochul and Williams on that and argue that they don't go far enough in certain respects in their public safety policies. What if you were the lieutenant governor, and you had that feeling about whichever one of them was governor, what would you do in public, or would you be quiet?

Ms. Reyna: We need to make sure that we're having a discussion that doesn't close the door to the public. Brian, I think that there is this discourse, that if you're against, or want to fix anything on bail reform, we close the door. There's no discussion to be had. We cannot be closed-minded having this conversation when we hear the Bodega Association losing $80,000 on inventory just last year alone if this is a quality of life issue.

This is a crime that is happening all around us, in front of us. Some are luckier because they don't live in neighborhoods where the crime is happening, or perhaps they're isolated. This is a matter of restoring what is public safety so people can go to work, so people can enjoy a park, so people can go to school. I'm the wife of a captain in the police department, I worry about him every day for the last 25 years.

My kids who are teenage boys traveling into the city, I worry like every mother. It's important that our legislature listen to people who are experiencing crime, not just protecting the interest of a legacy because they reformed bail reform. No one is against bail reform, but what is happening is that criminals have more rights than victims.

Brian: Closing argument, 30-second elevator pitch, go.

Ms. Reyna: I am Diana Reyna, I am running to be your next lieutenant governor. Tomorrow is the primary, June 28th. Polls open at 6 AM to 9 PM. I am a proven executive leader in government, more than two decades of experience. I am ready on day one to lead with whomever is Governor. Obviously, I'm running with Tom Suozzi. Tom Suozzi and Diana Reyna as your preferred ticket, to be able to center people and their issues so that we could move forward in this state and stop hemorrhaging families out of our state. We want to make sure that we're tackling public safety matters so that you can live your lives to live, play and work in this great state of New York.

Brian: Well, good luck. I'm saying to all of you. If any of the three of you are elected lieutenant governor in November, we will invite you to be a regular presence on the show. Thank you for coming on for a candidate interview today.

Ms. Reyna: I appreciate it. Thank you. Bye-bye, Brian.

Brian: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. By the way, I'll be here tomorrow night, primary night, for a primary night special. That'll be in the eight o'clock hour, tomorrow night here on WNYC. Right now we're doing short interviews with all three candidates running in the New York State Democratic primary for lieutenant governor tomorrow. Now to candidate Ana María Archila, the running mate of Jumaane Williams, but remember the basic fact here again, you don't have to vote as a ticket in these races.

You get to choose and you have to choose a candidate for governor and one for lieutenant governor. You can split your ticket if you so decide, but you have to vote for each separately to have actually cast a vote for each. Ana María Archila is a founder of the grassroots activist groups Make the Road New York and the Center for Popular Democracy. You may remember she got a moment of national fame in 2018 when she confronted Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona in an elevator in DC during the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Her moment with Jeff Flake in the elevator, contributed to a delay in the process, while senators further considered the sexual assault accusations against Kavanaugh. Ms. Archila, thank you for coming on as a candidate and welcome back to WNYC.

Ms. Archila: Thank you, Brian. Good morning.

Brian: As I did with Ms. Reyna before I invite you to introduce yourself more broadly to our listeners, since none of the three of you are really household names in any way except in certain circles, let me go right to the life-changing decisions from the Supreme Court last week on abortion rights and gun rights. What would you like the governor's response or the state's response to be at the policy level or back in court or any other practical way?

Ms. Archila: I want our state to do everything we can do. I am waking up now every day knowing that my two children are growing up in a country where they have fewer rights than I have enjoyed. On abortion, let me give you just a snapshot of what is happening right now. Just over the weekend, Ohio codified a six-week abortion ban. There are 26 states that are set to significantly roll back abortion and these decisions, of course, will disproportionately affect Black and Latino and Indigenous and Asian women, working-class women, and people who give birth.

In New York State, actually, Planned Parenthood has said that they have seen a surge of 20% of demand and this is mostly from people who are seeking abortion care from other states. New York has always been a beacon for abortion access, but the only way that we can make sure that New York can really hold the line is if we do these two things.

First, we need to make sure that access is possible by passing legislation called The Reproductive Equity and Freedom Act, which is introduced by Jessica González-Rojas in the assembly. She has endorsed me and also by Senator Cleare.

That would make a permanent investment in abortion care and travel funds so that people can find abortion care here. Also, we need to codify protections for people against discrimination regardless of race, gender, identity, sexual orientation. In order to do that, we need to pass something called the Equality Amendments Act, which again, the legislature closed shop without passing it. There is actually going to be a legislative session starting on Wednesday, a special legislative session, but the governor has said that she will not include abortion rights in the session and I think that's wrong. We need to do more. We need to do these two things.

Brian: That one is about guns, is that right? That's about guns in particular.

Ms. Archila: She said we're only going to tackle guns, but there are two things that the state could do right now to make sure that we are also enshrining protections, permanent protections and investments in abortion care. We should do that right now. If I were the lieutenant governor, I would not be staying quiet. I would be lifting up my voice and saying we need to act with urgency and bold vision right now to make sure that New York can really hold the line.

In terms of guns, now that the Supreme Court has made it so much easier for guns to flow through our society, we need to make sure that we're actually investing in gun violence prevention programs. Jumaane Williams and I put together a very robust public safety plan that starts with asking for investments of $1 billion in gun violence prevention programs, youth programs and victim services because it is too late. By the time we are picking up the bodies, it's too late.

We need to make sure that we are actually doing the things that prevent violence from happening in the first place, and also investments in mental health services. We cannot ask police officers to solve the mental health crisis that we are facing. That is not fair. It is not right. They cannot do it. We need to make sure that we do investments in these things and actually, not just increase the age of who can buy an assault weapon in the State of New York, but actually ban assault weapons in the State of New York. Nobody should have assault weapons in this state.

One of the things that is being missed in this conversation about guns is that guns make everything more deadly. Guns make depression more deadly, guns make domestic violence more deadly, guns make street fights more deadly, guns make violence at home more deadly. Two-thirds of the deaths by gun are suicide, two-thirds. If we allow guns to circulate, we will see more people dying by gunfire. We need to do everything.

Brian: I would say that the three of you are basically on the same page on the Supreme Court decision, so would you argue that you would be better than your opponents in this lieutenant governor primary for any reason on these two issues in particular? Maybe you heard Diana Reyna at the end of our interview talk about how she and Tom Suozzi, her running mate, are putting public safety first and to her, that means not going too far on bail reform and things like that.

Ms. Archila: Well, I would argue that we are not the same. I would say that on abortion, I'm actually the only person who has done real work to prevent the end of Roe v. Wade. When I was organizing the protest against Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court, I knew at the time that if he was on the court, that would mean the end of abortion rights in this country. Not just that, but also Judge Thomas made clear that the intention of the Supreme Court is to actually also roll back protections on access to contraception, the progress we have made on LGBTQ equality and so much more.

The main difference that I want to highlight is that I envisioned the lieutenant governor's role in a very different way, as a more independent role, someone who is always lifting up the voices of working families. In this moment, I would not be staying quiet when the governor says that we should not use the special legislative session to address abortion because New York has done everything. We just have not done it everything. We actually have a lot more to do and we should do it right here right now.

Then on public safety, I did hear Diana Reyna. The only solution or the only thing that Reyna and Suozzi talk about is rolling back bail reform, but the reality is that the safest communities are communities that are well resourced, communities where people are not having to work three jobs to pay rent and leave their children back at home alone. We need to make sure that we are talking about the safety of people and to do that I would do what the New Yorkers have said.

There was a survey that was done about three months ago of 66,000 New York City residents. In that survey, people asked what do you want to see done about public safety. People said these three things, affordable housing, I agree with them, investments in mental health services, I agree with them, and respectful policing, I agree with them. If we did these three things, we would turn the tide on violence and people would be allowed to feel safe and be safe in their communities, in their homes and our state.

Brian: Now let me invite you to back out a step and tell people what you think is important to know about your upbringing or anything else that motivates you to be in politics at all.

Ms. Archila: I am a mother. I am an immigrant. I am a Queer Latina. I came to this country when I was 17 years old and it was in New York where I found a place that felt like home again. It was in New York where I found the safety to be Queer and proud. It was also in this state where I learned about the power of people who organize, who take care of one another, who demand dignity in the workplace, young people who organize to pursue their opportunities to demand better education.

Although most people know me as one of the women who confronted Flake in the elevator to prevent Kavanaugh's confirmation, I have actually spent the last 20 years building and leading organizations that fight for everyday people. I helped build and lead Make the Road New York, one of the largest immigrant rights organizations and then went on to do national work building the Center for Popular Democracy, which was at the frontlines of pushing back against the Trump agenda. I have decided to join Jumaane Williams in this effort to really give New Yorkers an option because I don't think that elections should be coronations. Elections should be opportunities for people to really voice their demands and especially in a state like New York where we are one of the richest states in the country, but one of the most unequal. Most New Yorkers are really struggling to make ends meet and that's because of decisions by politicians who always prioritize the demands of billionaires and corporations and ask the rest of us to wait. Just wait for better schools, wait for affordable housing, wait, wait, wait. I think people are tired of waiting.

I think it's not too much to ask for our state government to actually invest in housing and better jobs in real safety. Instead of saying yes to a billionaire who says, "Give me a stadium," in a city like Buffalo where half of the children live in poverty. It's really not too much to us for our state government to choose real people over real estate and as lieutenant governor, I don't want to be a figure quiet in the background cutting ribbons.

I want to be lifting up the priorities of working families and talking about all the things that our state government can do to alleviate the pressures that people are feeling. [unintelligible 00:31:16] that I'll be the first Latino elected statewide and the first queer person elected statewide.

Brian: You'll raise your voice when you disagree with the governor if it's Hochul or Suozzi, you're making it clear. If you win this nomination, no matter who is on the top of the ticket, the Republican nominee might run against the ticket somewhat on the grounds of you being too left, to be a breath away from being governor of the state. They're going to say you are for defund the police and that's dangerous and a lot of things like that. How would you campaign back in that case?

Ms. Archila: I want to tell you a story. Throughout this campaign, I've had really amazing conversations with lots of people. One of the most moving conversations I had was with the leaders of something called the Democratic Rural Conference who are rural Democrats and many of the counties where there is a very high density of Trump voters. They said to me that they do a screen to interview candidates. In that interview, they said to me, "You seem to understand the priorities in rural communities like broadband access and rural healthcare. You understand that, but let me tell you what is really happening.

People in rural communities are aging alone. Our children are leaving because they cannot find jobs that allow them to afford a home. When the power goes out because the power lines have not been buried underground and they fall every time it rains, we are more vulnerable. When we have to travel two hours to a hospital and our children are not around, we are more vulnerable." I was reminded that I have heard this story before.

I have heard this story of people aging alone in gentrifying neighborhoods in cities like New York and Buffalo and Rochester who say, "I have section 8 housing or I have a rent-stabilized department, but my children can't stay because they cannot find a job that pays enough to afford a home." I think that this reality actually cuts across ideological lines, it cuts across the faults in our political system, and I learn so much from people.

I think that our state can do so much for people, and I would just travel to every place and have respectful, honest conversations with people about their needs instead of about my particular ideology. I think that is the way that we need to do politics. That's how we bridge the divide and that's what I'll do.

Brian: As we run out of time, closing argument, 30-second elevator pitch. Go.

Ms. Archila: Well, listen, it's very simple. New York should be a place where everyone can live with dignity. We do not lack the resources. What we lack is the political will to focus on the priorities of working families instead of just always saying yes to the billionaires. Working families are really tired of waiting and we are always asked to wait. I am the only one in this race who has put together a plan to tackle the housing affordability crisis.

I am the only one who is asking to give New Yorkers a race so that people are not having to do magic with money they don't have in their pockets. I am the only one who is saying that we need to tackle climate change with bold action. I am the only one who's not accepting money from the real estate industry. I am the only one who actually fought to protect Roe v. Wade.

Brian: End now.

Ms. Archila: As lieutenant governor, I will not just be cutting ribbons. I will be speaking up every single day and partnering with the governor to deliver on the things that New Yorkers need the most.

Brian: As I'm saying to all three of you, good luck. If you win and become lieutenant governor in November, we will invite you to be regular presence on the show. Thank you for coming on today, Ana María Archila as a candidate and running with Jumaane Williams in tomorrow's Democratic primary. Thanks so much.

Ms. Archila: Thank you, Brian.

Brian: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. One more to go. Antonio Delgado running with Kathy Hochul, next.

[music]

Brian: Brian Leher on WNYC. We're doing short interviews with all three candidates in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of New York if you're just joining us. Again, a reminder while they are the running mates of Kathy Hochul, Jumaane Williams, and Tom Suozzi. This is a separate vote in the New York primary. It's not like president and vice president. You can decide to split your ticket if you choose and when voting, you have to remember to vote separately for lieutenant governor so your vote for that office will count.

With us now, Antonio Delgado, who is Kathy Hochul's running mate, and the current lieutenant governor after Hochul appointed him recently to replace Brian Benjamin, her original lieutenant governor who had to resign because of a scandal. Antonio Delgado briefly grew up in Schenectady, west of Albany, which used to be a company town for General Electric. His father worked there.

He went on to become a Rhode scholar, went to Harvard Law School, and became the first person of color to be elected to Congress in Upstate New York, from a district that rents from the Hudson Valley, South of Albany to areas to the west. He left his congressional seat to accept this position as lieutenant governor. Mr. Delgado, thanks for coming on, and welcome back to WNYC.

Mr. Delgado: Good to be back, thanks for having me.

Brian: Before I invite you to introduce yourself more broadly, let me do what I've done with the other candidates and go right to the life-changing decisions from the Supreme Court last week on abortion rights and gun rights. What would you like the governor's response or the state's response to be at the policy level or back in court or any other practical way?

Mr. Delgado: Well, as court's decisions, both of which are anti-democratic in my opinion. I think on the gun front, the notion that we're going to allow folks to now carry concealed weapons in public space spaces at a time like this [unintelligible 00:37:37] so rampant. We're seeing the tragic loss of life, particularly our young children. It shocks the conscience. The governor and I'm with her on this basically made it clear, we have to call a special session and make sure that we work with law enforcement, our mayors, to figure out how to mitigate the potential harm and the risk, the heightened risk associated with this decision.

Whether it's being more specific on the kinds of sensitive areas that would be carved out for where people could not carry a concealed weapon, whether it's making sure there's more training that is provided on the back end of a permitting process, whether it's making sure that the process itself has added elements to it, to the extent that after further scrutiny of the decision that is permissible.

There are different pieces to the puzzle that I think we're all going to be taking very seriously in the coming days to make sure that we are doing everything we can to mitigate the potential risk of this decision. As it pertains to Roe v. Wade, another reckless decision that defies our commitment to democracy and to equality and to women's rights, and all the struggle that people have put forth in years prior to get us to a place of genuine equality and make sure that we're living up to ideals.

I will say that in New York, we are a strong legal foot and we've codified Roe v. Wade with the Reproductive Health Act. I feel very good about that law, and I think it's important for us to recognize that that is certainly something that we should be standing on and making sure that folks all across the country understand that we have and can function as a safe hub for a number of women, millions of women who have been disenfranchised in this fundamental way. We've also poured a lot of money into expanding our capacity to absorb the flow of women who are coming from states that are disenfranchised or will disenfranchise them in this way.

We feel good about that. I think the extent that we can do more, I know there's conversations about whether or not the state of [unintelligible 00:39:33] is in a position to move forward with an amendment. I think if that is something that can be done, it should be considered, but I think it's important to understand that as a legal framework right now, we have legislation that protects women both in state and those out-of-state.

Brian: By amendment, you mean a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to abortion?

Mr. Delgado: Exactly.

Brian: Would you argue that you are better than your opponents for this office for any reason, on these two issues in particular?

Mr. Delgado: I think that what I can say to you is I bring my own record. I've been in Congress for three and a half years in upstate New York, delivering real change, real effective outcomes for people, 18 bills signed into law, 10 under President Trump, 8 under President Biden. No matter what administration, I've been able to get things done supporting small business owners, supporting small family-owned farms, making sure that we address health care, making sure we address PFAS contamination, making sure we deliver billions of dollars to the state of New York and track the funding formula included in the American Rescue Plan, which deliver over $10 billion to local governments all across the state.

That was my funding formula to ensure that every single community, every single city across the state and country for that matter, was not left behind, when it came to COVID relief to offset the negative impact of COVID. Making sure that I've had a record that has demonstrated real impact in our community, stuff that I stand on. I look forward to being able to bring all that experience and a record of success to the office, work with Hochul to make sure we have the biggest positive impact we can have on the entire state.

Brian: All right. My guest if you're just joining us, is Antonio Delgado, the current Lieutenant Governor and running for nomination in the Democratic primary tomorrow to be the candidate in November for lieutenant governor. hE is Kathy Hochul's running mate, she appointed him to his current position. Let's back out a little bit, and since you are new to the awareness of many voters, certainly many in the downstate area, what's important for people to know about your upbringing, or what motivated you in the first place to be in politics at all and where you are today?

Mr. Delgado: I appreciate the question. I grew up in a working-class family, it's connected to-- You mentioned GE, I believe in your introductory remarks. You mentioned my father. My father and my mother actually both worked for GE.

Brian: Oh, both I didn't know then.

Mr. Delgado: Yes, and it was important for us that they had those jobs that pay good wages and have benefits and provide a real stability and security force. I've literally watched them work us up into the middle class. We lived in about seven different apartments and moved to different neighborhoods over time until we bought our first house when I was a freshman in high school and that was a big moment for our family.

Having lived that story of upward mobility, very much defines my perspective, my orientation to politics. I think that's a very important red line in our country that we have to make sure we do all that we can to protect. I also grew up in the church, so really grounded in my faith and grounded in something deeper than politics. It's not just left and right politics for me, it's right versus wrong.

My mother really emphasized the power of love, the power of caring for people, having compassion, and understanding, and respect for people's perspectives and point of views. Having not worked [unintelligible 00:42:57] but your own. I think that's something I tried to bring to bear as well. My dad focused a lot on work ethic, discipline, character and integrity, and education, education was everything in my household.

My parents really did everything they could to empower me through education, telling me that it was a great equalizer, and the gateway to opportunity. In picking that lead, I was able to really move forward in life focusing on those things, whether it's love, whether it's education, whether it's being respectful and hard-working, and doing all I can to carve out my own way. I was a hip-hop artist for five years out in LA following my heart.

My parents were a bit surprised to that decision, but they supported me because they knew that I was trying to make a difference through the music. Then six years later, five years later, I became a litigator at a corporate law firm. Two very different professional experiences, but I think they've helped me to understand how to bridge divides, and the commonality beneath differences.

Then ultimately decide to run back in 2016 because I felt compelled to do so. I felt like what I was seeing in politics was wrong. I was seeing individuals [inaudible 00:44:04] in my opinion have the moral temperament and the level of integrity and quality of being to even be in these positions. I think it's important for those of us who care about democracy, who care about working people, who care about the less vulnerable, the marginalized to step up and do something about it, don't just complain.

Brian: You're running with Kathy Hochul, but as I mentioned in the intro, these elections are separate so somebody could vote for one person for governor and not necessarily their running mate for lieutenant governor in this primary. Let me ask you a hypothetical. What if a different candidate wins for governor tomorrow, but you win for lieutenant governor and you're elected that way? Would you consider yourself a partner with Tom Suozzi or Jumaane Williams just as much as with Kathy Hochul or maybe a watchdog or a dissident on certain issues in which you may be different from them based on this campaign?

Mr. Delgado: Well, let me first just say that I very, very, very, very much look forward to working alongside Governor Hochul. I think she brings so much to bear and has demonstrated that over the course of her term, thus far, as governor, during a very challenging time. She's an incredibly hard worker who's dedicated to public service, who gets it, and who listens to people. I'm excited, if I'm fortunate enough to win the primary, I'm very confident that she will win hers, that we'll be able to serve as a partnership alongside each other.

At the same time, I will note that my orientation to this role is to do everything I can to help the state. To the extent that I'm in a position where I have a responsibility to work with whoever I work with for the betterment of the state and make sure that to do that, we're able to bring [unintelligible 00:46:03] and values to bear in a collective way that can have the biggest impact in a positive fashion.

I owe that to the state. I owe that to people who look to these positions of leadership in a way that is about actually serving and not about yourself or your own power. There's always going to be a commitment no matter the dynamic, where I am mindful of my responsibility as the senate governor to the whole state, and always--

Brian: That's to say if Governor Williams or Governor Suozzi did something that you really disagreed with and there are disagreements between Kathy Hochul-

Mr. Delgado: That applies to probably both.

Brain: -and the two of them, what would you do? You'd be quiet, basically.

Mr. Delgado: No, I didn't say I'd be quiet. I didn't say that even a little bit. What I said was, I would work just like I work with Governor Hochul. If you have disagreements, you have disagreements, right? I expect that they'll be disagreements at some point between Governor Hochul and I, we're different people. The point is, what is the ultimate goal? What is the objective here? From my vantage point, I'm trying to detail for you what the objective is, what the goal is? The goal of any dynamic, ultimately in service, in service to the state is to extract as much value as you can from the relationship that you have.

If I have a relationship with the governor, the goal is to figure out how to do that in a way that we're able to extract the most value that we can from that relationship on behalf of the state. It is not a me first, ego-first dynamic, nor should it be. It should be a position where you actually humble yourself, no matter who it's with, and with an eye towards how do I empower the state? How do I empower working families? How do I empower those who are not being heard or accounted for? That should be the objective.

Brian: One specific comparison question. Ms. Archila is running on an activist model that will galvanize certain voters to turn out of real enthusiasm, the Bernie voters, the AOC voters, et cetera. The other two of you may not have that same movement energy. Is that good, bad, or don't you agree with the premise?

Mr. Delgado: I think the premise is a bit faulty in the sense that practically speaking, as I just laid out for you, the objective should be how does one work with the governor in a way to bring about the most effective change possible for the entirety of the state? That needs to be the focus. Now, arguably, you can have different perspectives on how to actualize that, how to ultimately achieve that. I will say that the process almost by definition to some extent has to be collaborative, it has to be to some extent.

Because if it is not, then what you're going to end up spending most of your time doing is going back and forth, and not doing anything, not ultimately accomplishing a shared agenda that's going to benefit the state. It doesn't mean you can't have disagreements, it doesn't mean you don't have to work through differences, but what it should mean is that you have an eye, a collective eye towards how you can bring to bear your collective set of experiences and perspectives for the betterment of the state. The moment you lose sight of that, then you really create a situation where dysfunction and stagnation are more likely to occur, which it doesn't help anyone.

Brian: Closing argument, 30-second elevator pitch, go.

Mr. Delgado: I just hope people understand that in me, you have somebody who genuinely cares about the work, who's put into work. I was able to succeed in a district that a lot of folks thought a Democrat especially a Democrat of color, in a very white and rural district that Trump won. No one thought it was possible, and yet we were able to connect with people in a meaningful way and win over hearts and mind because we led with love, compassion, and understanding.

I know it's hard right now and it's easy to be angry, but there's got to be a different way to bring people together without abandoning your principles or values. In fact, being just as passionate as I hope people can tell that I am, but I think it's important that we do this at a high plane, at a high level, with dignity, responsibility, and with respect. I've tried to do that ever since I got into office, I might keep doing that work.

Brian: Antonio Delgado, the current appointed leutenant governor running for nomination to a full term. Thanks for joining us, good luck as I'm saying to all the candidates, if you win, we'll invite you to be a regular presence on the show. Thanks for coming on today.

Mr. Delgado: Thanks for having me.

Brian: There you have our short interviews with all three candidates in the Democratic Primary for lieutenant governor on primary day tomorrow.

 

Copyright © 2022 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.