Now that a judge has finalized new House maps drawn by a special master in New York state, we’re meeting some candidates for Congress who are racing to meet voters ahead of the August primary. Attorney Josh Riley of Ithaca is running in the new 19th district, which stretches from the Finger Lakes to the Southern Tier, from parts of the lower Hudson Valley to Greene and Columbia County.
WAMC spoke with Riley Wednesday.
My name is Josh Riley. I have a pretty typical upstate New York background. My family has been in the Endicott, New York area, which is just outside of Binghamton, for over 100 years, working in the local factories. They came here to work as tanners in the shoe factories, later worked in the IBM manufacturing plants. And, you know, as my generation was coming of age, we ended up losing a lot of those jobs. A lot of jobs were shipped overseas, because we've had some really bad policies from career politicians and a lot of greed on Wall Street.
And so I've tried to spend a lot of my career fighting back as an advocate for working folks. My first job out of law school was doing civil rights work for kids from low income families who are having trouble getting access to health care services. I worked at the U.S. Labor Department where I focused on unemployment programs and trade adjustment programs, served for a number of years as counsel on the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, where I brought Democrats and Republicans together to enact legislation to fight the opioid epidemic. And more recently, I've been an attorney in private legal practice where I've sued insurance companies that raise their rates on small businesses. And now I'm really excited about this campaign that we're building. It's a ton of grassroots momentum behind it and really excited about this election coming up.
You haven't held elective office before. What qualifies you to be in Congress?
Yeah, you know, I haven't held elected office before. And I think the folks who have held elected office for decades have not done a great job. I mean, we've seen across upstate New York the loss of jobs, we've seen poverty rates increase, we've seen an opioid epidemic that has ripped communities apart. And I think one thing I hear over and over again as I'm on the campaign trail is that people really want change. People are really sick of the status quo. And that's something I'm prepared to offer.
You know, my qualifications come from a long career both in the private sector and in public service. Fighting for working folks. I've spent time working in the United States Congress, both as a staff assistant for Congressman Maurice Hinchey, I spent some time on the United States Senate Health and Labor and Pensions Committee, and I spend time as counsel on the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. And I saw while I was working in Congress both the worst of Washington dysfunction, but also the very best of what we can accomplish if we roll up our sleeves and work together. You know, our politics today are so divided by people who are on the extremes, just trying to yell the loudest and get the most, you know, clicks and followers on social media. And my approach to this job will be the same as what it was when I worked as counsel in the Senate, which is to try to bring Democrats and Republicans together to find common ground on the issues that matter.
Well, would you say politically you're a lot like Maurice Hinchey was?
You know, one thing I do see Congressman Hinchey as a role model on was his commitment to constituent services. You know, I started my career in public service with him. And I'll always be incredibly grateful for that opportunity he gave me. I started as an intern in his Binghamton office, and then he promoted me to his staff and brought me to Washington. I always tell people, this is probably the least glamorous job, but one of the most important: I answered the phones, I opened the mail, I greeted constituents when they came to the office. This is the very, very beginning of my career. And the thing I learned from Congressman Hinchey that has been a model for me, and that I'm going to do once I'm elected, is make sure we are very, very focused on constituent services so that folks have a place to turn when they need help. You know, when a constituent walked into Congressman Hinchey’s office, the question was never whether you were a Democrat or Republican, whether you voted for the congressman or against him. The first question was always what can I do to help you? And we need more of that in our politics today and it's the approach I'm going to bring to this job.
What would you say to the criticism that there are enough attorneys in Congress already?
Yeah, I don't necessarily disagree with it. I think, you know, there's enough attorneys, there's enough career politicians, I think we a lot of change in a lot of places. I think my legal career is unique and different from, you know, what you get from a lot of folks. I've spent time both in public service and in private practice. I have a proven record of bringing people together to get legislation enacted in a really divided Washington. You know, I worked on the Senate Judiciary Committee at a time when Democrats had very narrow control of the Senate and Republicans controlled the House, and President Obama was in the White House, and I was able to build bipartisan consensus to get things done. And I think it's that that skill set that's gonna allow me to do this job really effectively.
Well, this is considered a swing district, one of the few that was established by the special master in this round of redistricting. What's your message for non-Democrats who might be listening to this, about how you would win their vote and support?
Yeah, you know, I think our country is just…one of the reasons I'm doing this is, I've had a lot of people ask me, you know, as a first time candidate, why in the world would you want to run for Congress at a time when our country is so divided, and our politics are so broken? And what I tell people is, I'm running for Congress because our politics are so divided and so broken. I have a 20-month-old son and I have real concerns about the kind of democracy that he's going to grow up in. And that's why I'm stepping forward to do this right now. I think, look, most people I talk to care less about left, right, conservative, liberal, Democrat, Republican. What most folks are concerned about is their own economic situation, creating new jobs across the region. And for at least a generation here, we have had career politicians and corrupt politicians and greed on Wall Street that has sold out upstate New York families. And I don't see that as a Democratic or a Republican message or a Democratic or Republican approach. I see that as saying that we need to have some change around here.
What differentiates you from the likely Republican nominee, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro?
Well, I mean, a lot of things. First and foremost, you know, he has been in politics for what, almost 30 years, at least a quarter of a century. And, you know, I think what we have seen across upstate New York during that that time, for the most part, has not been great, we have lost a ton of jobs. And a lot of families are really struggling to get by. And so I think, you know, voters are gonna have a choice. If you want more of the same that you've seen for the last quarter century or three decades in terms of career politicians, and you have that choice. If you want somebody who's coming to this new and approaching things differently, you have that choice too and that's the campaign I'm running. I'm really, really proud that this is a grassroots campaign by working folks, for working folks. We're not accepting a single penny of corporate PAC money in this election. We've raised more money than any Democratic challenger campaign in upstate New York, is my understanding. And we have done that without a single penny from the corporate PACs. And in fact, most of our contributions are $25 or less. So this is really a grassroots campaign. And I think that's going to stand in stark contrast with anybody who's funded by corporate PACs and has a career as a politician.
Would you support Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic House Leader if elected?
You know, my view on this is that we need new leadership left, right, top bottom across the board. I don't know what her plans are for next term. But I my general view is that we need change across the board for the most part.
What's your vision for America's health care system?
Yeah, it's this is, you know, deeply personal to me, as I know it is to so many of your listeners as I've traveled around this new districts and also the district I was running and before redistricting. It seems like everybody has a story about their experience with the healthcare system. And for the most part, those stories are not good ones. We need to do a lot of things to bring down costs. I mean, families right now, we're seeing inflation is unacceptably high. And families are just being squeezed with high costs. And so we need to bring those down. There's a lot of things we can do. But I think one that is forefront and could be done immediately is lowering the cost of prescription drugs. You know, there's no reason at all that families in America are paying 5, 6, 8, 10 times what families in other parts of the world are paying for the exact same drugs, it's unacceptable. And the only reason it's happening is because we have a corrupt and broken campaign finance system that allows corporate PACs and the pharmaceutical industry to buy politicians send them down to Washington, and then vote against the interests of working families and in favor of the bottom line of the pharmaceutical company. So that's something you know, I'm not going to do that. When I get that vote to lower the cost of prescription drugs for working folks around upstate New York, I'm gonna vote in favor of it. There's other ways we can lower costs, and we really need to do that. But lowering prescription drugs is something that seems obvious to me and we should be doing it.
What would you say to the argument that there are enough white men in Congress, and this race presents a chance for more diversity than you offer?
Um, you know, I think there's a lot of merit to that. We need elected officials that reflect the diversity of this country. You know, one of the things I've worked on in my career when I was counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee was making sure the federal judiciary and the federal bench had more diversity and better reflected the diversity of the country. People who are in public office, whether it's on the federal courts or in Congress, should reflect the people that they represent. So, you know, I think there's some merit to that argument, certainly. I am very, very committed to diversity, inclusion and making sure we have a just and equitable legal system that has really failed for a long time. So look, I think there's some merit to it. And it's something I think about.
Just one last thing for right now. We're speaking in the wake of yet another mass shooting in America, this time in Texas, where an elementary school was absolutely decimated. What's going to be your approach to guns and the Second Amendment? And let's face it, the district you're running to represent does have many gun owners here in upstate New York.
Yeah, I appreciate you asking this question. And, you know, I'm a dad. And this is the news we saw yesterday, should be any parent’s, should be any American's worst nightmare. And I'm so sickened and saddened by what we saw in Texas yesterday. And it seems like we are getting news reports about these kinds of tragedies way too often. You know, I was counsel on the Judiciary Committee after Sandy Hook. And we grappled with something similar. And I think there are some common sense things that can be done to make our communities safer while honoring the Second Amendment and respecting the rights of law abiding gun owners.
I come from a family with a hunting tradition, with law enforcement. And so I have a an appreciation, and I'm also a lawyer. So I have appreciation for the Second Amendment. I also understand that there are things that the vast majority of people want to do to keep our communities safer. And it all goes back to a fundamental problem with our politics, which is the corporate PAC money and the special interest money, and the dark money that's flooding our politics and preventing us from doing things that the vast majority of folks want to do.
I was just talking a minute ago about prescription drugs and why, you know, we should be able to lower the cost of prescription drugs, but we've been unable to do it because of the dark money that's flooding our politics. The same thing is true here. The vast majority of people would support background checks for firearm purchases. But those sorts of things that have support from over 90% of the people don't get done because special interests are too much influencing our politics. So I'm gonna approach it listening to folks across the district, understanding from them what they want to do, and I'm gonna listen to them and not the special interests when it comes time to make these decisions.
Well, specifically with respect to guns, though, would you support a ban on AR-15s? Would you support limits on the types of ammunition or guns that can be purchased?
Well, I want to see — one thing I've learned from working on legislation throughout my career is you really need to see the details of any policy and you need to talk to your constituents about it. I do support the general proposition that we need that there are some common sense measures we can take that would keep our communities safer.
