The From the Lobby podcast features a behind-the-scenes look at politics and government from New York State to Washington, DC with Jack O’Donnell, an Albany insider and Managing Partner of O’Donnell and Associates, a top lobbying firm that helps clients all over the country cut through government red tape.
Don’t be stuck on the sidelines. Get a front-row seat to what’s happening in politics with Jack! From the issues that affect taxpayers and business owners to the history of the budget process in New York, Jack has the knowledge and depth of experience to cut through the rhetoric and tell you what’s really going on.
Summary of this Episode
Guests
- Jim Gaughran: former New York State Senator for the fifth district on the North Shore of Long Island
- Alec Lewis: Vice President and Director of Campaigns at O’Donnell and Associates
- Joanne Pasceri: Director of Communications at O’Donnell and Associates
Major Topics Covered
• Jim Gaughran, former NY State Senator, discusses his campaign for Congress in NY’s 1st district.
• Gaughran highlights his experience in local government and achievements in the State Senate.
• Key campaign issues include environmental protection, tax reform, gun safety, and reproductive rights.
• Gaughran addresses the uncertainty around redistricting and its potential impact on his campaign.
Full Transcript of the Episode
Note: This is a generated transcript. Please excuse any typos.
Joanna Pasceri 00:05
Hi, everyone. Welcome back from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell, a podcast that takes you on the inside track of state and federal politics with Jack, Managing Partner of O’Donnell and Associates, a Top New York public affairs firm that’s helping political candidates run winning campaigns all across the state. I’m Joanna Pasceri, Director of Communications at O’Donnell and Associates. In 2024, New York State looks to be the battleground that will decide control of the United States House of Representatives. The House Majority PAC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are targeting seven congressional districts throughout New York State, including congressional districts on Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and a congressional district in the Syracuse-Utica area. We continue our focus on the 2024 congressional elections with Alec Lewis, Vice President and Director of campaigns at O’Donnell and Associates, Alec has a special guest Jim Goren, former New York State Senator for the fifth district on the North Shore of Long Island, who represented portions of Nassau and Suffolk counties. Jim is now running for Congress in New York’s first congressional district, and that includes parts of Suffolk County. And they are talking about Jim’s campaign and how he plans to bring his proven leadership to Congress. Hi, Alec and Jim, and welcome to the podcast.
Jim Gaughran 01:28
How are you? Thanks for having me.
Alec Lewis 01:30
We’re great, Jim. And it’s awesome to have you on the podcast. And it was absolute pleasure, having the opportunity to work with you both in a government capacity in the State Senate, as well as with you on the campaign trail. For our listeners, you are a lifelong long Islander who was raised in Huntington before attending Stony Brook and Hofstra law school. At 26, You were the youngest person ever elected to the Huntington town board, where you work to tackle corruption and protect the environment. In the county legislature, you also led the fight to pass water protection and government reform bills. You now live in Northport with your wife, Carol, where you raised your two kids, and you certainly have a Long Island story. So what are those early formative years working in local government teach you about the community that you love?
Jim Gaughran 02:10
Well thanks, Alec and Joanna. And Alec, it’s great to catch up with you again, I’m glad you are doing so well. You know, I was elected to my town board in Huntington when I was 26 years old. And apparently I was the youngest person ever in the history of the town, and it’s a pretty big town into, you know, a little bit under a quarter of a million people. And it was quite a learning curve back then, when I started out, but you know, we, we did a lot of things that I worked in a situation where I walked into town hall and we weren’t even recycling garbage around the town. So that was one of the first bills I passed. And then there were ethical issues all over the place and the prior administration, so I passed, you know, one of the first ethics laws, full financial disclosure for any municipality in the state. And then I went on to the county legislature where I got involved in a lot of similar but different issues, especially a lot of environmental issues. So I think my experience in the local government, even though it was when I was much younger, really prepared me well for when I later in life ended up in the New York State Senate.
Alec Lewis 03:30
Well, let’s talk about the New York State Senate because in 2018, You famously knocked on over 10,000 doors, where you defied the odds defeating a longtime Republican incumbent to help the Democrats take a historic Senate Majority. Now you’re now running for Congress to build a safer and better future for Long Island, and I know your congressional campaign is focused on protecting Long Island’s environment, restoring local tax deductions, passing common sense gun safety laws, and securing women’s reproductive rights. So when you look back at your four years in the State Senate, Jim, what do you view as your proudest achievements? And how are you prepared to deliver in Washington for Long Island?
Jim Gaughran 04:05
Well, I think you just rattled off a few of them, Alec. I believe that that’s what makes me uniquely qualified as a candidate in this race, because when I get to Washington, hopefully, I’m going to try to see if we can implement what we did in New York in many of those areas. First of all, codifying Roe v. Wade, when we did it in the state legislature, we were criticized, we were told it was a stunt, that was just a political ploy, and had no meaning. Well, myself and many of my colleagues realize that President Trump was serious about appointing Supreme Court justices who was going to overturn Roe v. Wade, so we wanted to make sure that that law was in place in the event that that happened, which sadly it did. So now we have to codify Roe v Wade down in Washington and make it the law of the land for the country because if we don’t, New Yorkers rights, women’s rights, their reproductive rights, could be lost if there’s some future president or Congress, who doesn’t believe in allowing a woman to maintain her own reproductive rights. Similar was gun issues, you talked about when I knocked on 10,000 doors, and I actually did, it may sound kind of crazy, but if you do the math, you started in May, and you do 57 doors, and average a day, you get there. And I would often see people who had NRA stickers on their doors or on their car, and the vast majority of them, I would talk to them. And I made it clear, as I do today, that nobody’s looking to take away anybody’s ability to protect themselves, nobody’s looking to take away anybody’s right to to hunt, and enjoy, if that’s something that they want to do. But what we are looking to do is pass some reasonable laws like we did in New York, to make sure that we’re safe. And almost every one of the NRA members I spoke to agreed. We need a Red Flag Law, we passed it New York, we can now do it in Washington, so that you can do something about mental health and people who shouldn’t have a gun and have a process, due process, to to even on a temporary basis, take the gun away from them. We don’t need weapons of war, we need an assault rifle ban once again. And this country, you know, I was struck, when Senator Dianne Feinstein passed away, and everybody was talking about how in 19, early 1990s, she passed the assault rifles ban, and it was the law of the land for years. And it’s been gone for years. So we need to do that in Washington as well and I’m looking forward to getting about a lot of other issues, economic as well as environmental and some of the major problems we are facing in foreign policy today.
Alec Lewis 07:09
Now you are currently facing some uncertainty with your own campaign as as other congressional candidates across New York, because after deciding not to seek re-election in 2022, in part due to district lines that change significantly, you’re now faced with that process, again, given the current uncertainty on congressional lines, as those maps go through the process of being litigated in court. You’ve been through this process before. So what’s your current approach to navigating the process?
Jim Gaughran 07:36
Well, you know, there really isn’t anything I can do about that. That’s going to be up to the Independent Redistricting Commission, as well as the state legislature, assuming the Court of Appeals does order that the maps get redrawn, which I think they will, because it makes sense. My attitude is the district I’m running, and now it is very competitive. It is one that I can win. But if you look at the way, the court and the special master drew the lines, particularly for Suffolk County, they actually made mistakes that violated both federal law, the Voting Rights Act, and its intent at the federal level, the local level, and the state level, or John Lewis voting rights act, as as well as other requirements under the New York State Constitution, in that what they did with the two Suffolk County districts is they unnecessarily divided minority communities. And under the law, you’re not supposed to do that and reapportionment. So, I believe what is likely to happen is you will see that defect cured. And I believe once that happens, it probably will make the districts that I will be running stronger for a Democratic candidate. But no matter what, it’s going to be a competitive race.
Alec Lewis 08:55
Well we shall certainly see how the court of appeals decides on the case, and I know either way, you’re going to run a strong campaign. And Jim, thank you so much, again for joining us from the lobby, and I’ll transition to Joanna now to close out our program.
Joanna Pasceri 09:08
Thank you, Alec and Jim for some great insight on campaigns. And to you, Jim, for joining us and sharing your story and vision for the first congressional district. You can stay updated on Jim’s congressional campaign at jimgaughran.com. That’s jimgaughran.com. As well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and stay up on what’s really happening in politics across New York and DC. Sign up for our Monday morning memo sent right to your inbox. Subscribe on our website at odonnellsolutions.com. That’s odonnellsolutions.com. And for daily updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn threads and Instagram at O’Donnell and Associates. Thanks for listening everyone. We’ll be back from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
