New york 1. Good evening, welcome to new yorks 111th Congressional District. Were less than three weeks from election day, the start of early voting starts on october 24th and many voters received their absentee ballots. With Big Decisions on the minds of many voters, we bring you a seat held by both democrats and republicans over the past decade. Its consistently been the most competitive Congressional District in the city. The 11th district encompasses all Staten Island and bay ridge and the heights. The seat is currently held by max rose, a Democrat First elected to office in 2018. Hes being challenged by Nicole Malliotakis who currently serves in the state senate. Both are appearing via skype, were holding this remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The rules agreed to, generally the candidates will have one minute to answer questions and well of course allow for exchanges. Well have a cross examination round and a lightning round. The candidates will be by themselves for the duration of the 60 minute debate. They have no prepared notes or access to any devices. For those of you at home see the full debate at ny1. Com. And share your thoughts using ny11debate. Well begin with Opening Statements now, the order for tonights Opening Statements was determined by a random drawing. The candidates have 45 seconds eachment Nicole Malliotakis goes first, good evening. Thank you. Im running for congress to replace max rose, somebody who has misrepresented our community and 97 of the time voted with nancy pelosi against our values. While she supported radical policies like bail reform, cloezing reichers highland, i have fought against it. I am the law and order candidate in this race and proudly endorsed by every nypd unit. Im going to work to restore our economy, to return american jobs here in new york and across the country and doing that by ensuring that we provide the resources that our Small Businesses need, unlike my opponent, max rose, who actually voted to stop critical funds from going to our struggle Small Businesses. Ill also support trade deals as we saw with the usmca agreement that i was supportive of. And my parents who came from greece and cuba, and millions came to pursue. Right now its under attack, we need to stand up against socialism and i will fight to stop it and preserve the American Dream for future generations. Okay. Thank you. And now, max rose. Well, errol, thank you for having me and nicole, thank you for being here and your service, well have time to deal with your lies throughout the course of this conversation. Let me first of all say this to our viewers, 2020 has been hell. Just when you think everything is going well again, the world gets turned upsidedown, but as our politicians failed us time and again, we band together. We got things done. From standing up to first drivethru testing site in new york right in this Congressional District to building our covid facility in six days, to passing the Victims Compensation fund and initiating the seawall project on the east shore of staten to island to putting sanctions on Chinese Pharmaceutical Companies for producing illicit fentanyl killing our kids in our community. So our work is nowhere near done. But what we have seen is that what he we put Country First, we stand up to both Party Leaders and when we focus on results, the skys the limit so i look forward to a great conversation and again, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Okay. Thank you. Now, on to our first topic. Were going to spend time focusing on the coronavirus pandemic and impact on new york. Staten island report shows a rising number of infections in Staten Island along with research the boroughs rate of proper mask wearing is only 45 . The district that falls in brooklyn is actually within a zone where rates are rising as well. So im going to ask you to go first, mr. Rose. Explain to voters what youve been doing during this crisis and specifically about the rising rates in the district. Thank you again, as of course i just mentioned, finally Staten Island and South Brooklyn did not take a back seat during covid and we were able to get the first drive through testing site. And i worked consistently on a bipartisan basis to make sure he we were dealing with the dual economic crisis as well as the Public Health crisis, holding the mayor accountable when he failed with the testing strategy, as well as pushing this president to assert the defense protection act, as well as other executive authorities. Now work is not done yet. We have got to practice social distancing. Weve got to wear mask, continue to race towards a vaccine and fund that effort. As well increase our treatment units so were prepares for the next pandemic. Whats critical right now is that we put the Country First and we stand up to either party leader thats willing to step in the way of additional relief. I strongly oppose Mitch Mcconnell skinny bill and Nancy Pelosis bill that she put on the house. What we need is bold bipartisan frame work and i put that forth as a member of the problem solvers caucus. Thank you, miss malliotakis. Whether it was after Hurricane Sandy where i fought to have families recover or help rebuild fighting bureaucrats at city hall or insurance companies, you know, people know that ive been there for the community during the most difficult times, during this covid pandemic at the height of pandemic, my staff and i and volunteers, we delivered 100,000 piece of ppp to the front lines and 100 bags of groceries to seniors who were afraid to leave their homes, theyre our most vulnerable. I helped food drives with various organizations in fact. Helped six pantries fill their shelves when they were running low on supplies. And also, even after when we were trying to get back to some sense of normally, ensuring that our cemeteries were open for visitors on mothers day, these are things so important to people and in order for people to really feel like were getting back to normalcy in our city, in our nation, we have to make sure that we have rapid covid testing that were encouraging people to get testing, that we ensure that we have a vaccine, hopefully were a few months away from. We need to invest in therapeutics and cures and make sure that we bring our supply chain home. We cannot rely on the communist chinese party. We need to bring our supply chain home and supplies for future pandemics. And i have a followup for both, start with you, miss malliotakis. Its easy to provide food for people who need it, or give ppe for those who dont want to get sick. A tough situation where we saw recently the Republican Party of Staten Island had a rally where there wasnt a lot of masking going on and people were crowded together. The tough part comes when in the southern brooklyn side of the district there are businesses and other facilities that have be to be closed even though they themselves were following all of the guidelines, but just happens to be an infectious spread in the area. Are you prepared to tell your friends that there needs to be restrictions on Mass Gatherings and mandates and other kind of enforcement . Well, i think theres a balance here, errol. Look, i encourage people when theyre in groups and crowds, they Must Wear Masks and yes, we have to take certain precautions. Look at the Small Businesses in our community that really gave so much to make sure that we were able to turn the corner on the curve and flatten that curve. That is important, thats had a we do in a Community Support one another. I do believe some regulations coming forward from our mayor and governor are burdensome. We need a balance of trying to restore normalcy and also taking the proper precautions to keep safe. We know a lot more about the virus today than six months ago, i think its important to keep distributing ppe to the community. Ive continued to do that because i think its critical that people protect themselves. But we also cant just mandate people to do certain things. And there has to be a sense of personal responsibility as well and people know the proper precautions that they need to take to slow the spread. Okay, mr. Rose. Errol, look, this could have been what could have been a massive super spreader event. If we are going to follow the science we shouldnt gather many people together and many are not Wearing Masks. In youre in that situation do Everything Possible to make sure that people wear mask. I agree this has become a little too political. Youve got some democrats bragging that theyre Wearing Masks in the bathroom and some republicans saying theyre not wearing them at all. Now is the time for leadership. We are wearing mask not to protect ourselves, but to protect you. Its a patriotic duty and were obligated to exercise at all moments when were within distance of others. If i could respond to that because its not one particular event. I mean, max was marching in front of our local Police Precinct with the defund the police crowd even earlier than it was really at the height of this pandemic that they were marching in a group of over a thousand individuals. So its not one event or the other. We need to encourage people to take proper precautions no matter where theyre going. I think is critical for our city and our nation that we actually put forward a tailored, covid relief packages, we have Small Businesses that are waiting. We have people unemployed waiting for relief. We need the stimulus checks to go out and instead we have people like nancy pelosi who are politicizing the covid relief package by trying to insert policies that have nothing to do with it, trying to put cashless bail in it, trying to release convicted felons from the prisons and distribute checks to those in the country illegally. And what does that have to do with covid relief. Thank thats really been the Sticking Point of why a package thats sensible and tailored that addresses the needs of those suffering. Okay. Has become and in fact, let me followup on that with you, ms. Malliotakis. The house and senate are at an impasse to provide relief to families, cities and states, hit hard by the loss of covid activity and tax revenue. Would you have voted for heroes 2. 0 bill if not, do you think that no relief at all would be better than that bill. What would you tell constituents waiting for what you describe. Just like max rose voted against it, i would have voted against it as well. For Different Reasons. I would vote against it simply because we see nancy pelosi trying to jam ideological policies that have no place by the way he voted for this stuff whether it be releasing prisoners from our federal prisons in the first heroes act, which didnt become law, but what nancy pelosi just did was continue to jam in more ideological wish lists. I think both sides need to come to the table for a tailored bill. I think it can be done. I have hope it can be done. I urge both parties to do it and the white house as well to finish negotiations, but i really think the Sticking Point is the ideological wish list that has nothing to do with covid relief and no way should be entertained and thats really the Sticking Point here. Its shameful. Republicans tried to put forward at least a bill that would release critical ppp funds for Small Businesses that were struggling and max rose voted against that. And this is approved funding already allocated. We will hae let him respond. Yeah, at least get that out to the community its waiting. Mr. Rose you were one of i think only 18 democrats that voted against the heroes 2. 0 legislation that would have been 2. 2 trillion dollars worth of relief. Why did you cast that vote and what do you make of this . Absolutely, lets take a step back, okay . We had heroes 1. 0 over 3 trillion in relief. Complete with federal, state and local aid which clearly nicole does not care about, the testing, aid for educational institution, Small Businesses, which was absolutely vital, so on and so forth. Republicans out of long island saw that money on the table and said, you know what . This bill isnt perfect, but ive got to vote for this. Pete king endorsed nicole, surely i dont think she would criticize him for having voted for that bill, but then it went to languish Mitch Mcconnells legislative graveyard for months and it appeared the leaders were retreating to their corners until i stood up and led a bipartisan effort to butt forth a bold, and nonetheless bipartisan frame work, 1. 5 trillion with yes, state and local aid. I voted against the second heroes package because it was not representative of that compromise. We have got to put forth that compromise and then put it back on Mitch Mcconnell, who appears unwilling to do anything here. Nicoles policy here has been consistent, she says i stand with the Republican Party. The Republican Party has not demonstrated a willingness. Mitch mcconnell first and foremost, Kevin Mccarthy second, to do anything in regards to state and local aid. That means defunding our police, defunding mpa, laying off thousands of Public Servants, many of whom live in this Congressional District. Its a reprehensible position. With unthat is illustrative of her falling in line with her party yet again. No matter what the consequences. Lets give her chance to respond. That is absolutely not the case. As a matter of fact, i signed a letter, a bipartisan letter to Mitch Mcconnell urging for billions in transit funding for new york city. And in addition to that, ive got to tell you, the cashless bail that he supports here locally, now they want to take it and make it a National Policy . Thats what thats at stake because people are playing games with peoples life. We need the stimulus money out a good deal, 250 billion in aid for local cities and states. Making sure that we get the stimulus checks out. The ppp money that the businesses would have been approved by the way for the money are waiting. Theyre just waiting for it to be released. That money is allocated and ensure that we get the funding necessary for our local hospitals and our nursing homes, et cetera. The reality is, and max is here right now. Why is he not in washington trying to force nancy pelosi for a vote . I mean, that he is what he should be doing. If i were a member of congress i wouldnt have left washington until we had a deal. So first of all, nicoles unwilling to state whether or not she would vote for the original heroes act, she wont say yes or no whether she would have done that. Nicole youre also an elected official, you a left albany months ago, representative of your 10year career as after we passed a budget though. Of not doing anything. Not accomplishing anything. Im let him finish, let him finish. Go ahead, mr. Rose. Im happy that you are complementing the bipartisan package that we put forth. That at least is a moment of honesty for you. Im not going to lose faith that we can get this across the finish line. Nancy pelosi is wrong right now and so is Mitch Mcconnell with Kevin Mccarthy next to him why do i keep faith . Because weve beaten Mitch Mcconnell before. When it came to the Victims Compensation fund he said thats a blue state issue. I dont know if we have the money. Sounds familiar, right . Well, it wasnt until 9 11 First Responders marched down to washington d. C. And put Mitch Mcconnell facetoface with his own hypocrisy that he buckled. I got every member of the freshman class signed onto this bill and signed by the United States. Mitch mcconnell is not a demigod, hes a rich dude from the midwest. And like pete king, and stand up and put the people first. And first of all, Carol Maloney and pete king, with people together and supportive of that as well. With the heroes. Let me be very clear i would not support a bill that would eliminate bail. Would i not support a bill that would release federally convicted felons from our federal prisons and wouldnt support a bill that would undermine the integrity of our election system, same day Voter Registration where someone can walk into a poll and vote without having any vetting by the board of elections to ensure that theyre registered. Eliminating, banning states from having voter i. D. Laws . No, thats not something that i would support and not something quite frankly that should be in a covid relief package, has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Okay. I get it. I think both of you, i think we are a he clear both of you would have voted against this last round of proposed legislation for very Different Reasons and i thank you for that exchange. I want to move on now to the politics of this campaign, and the tone of it. Both of your campaigns have been running unusually harsh negative ads and the National CongressionalCampaign Committees have jumped in and followed suit. I wanted to invite each of you to pick one harsh or unfair thing you think your opponent said about it and answer it here. Well give you 60 seconds. Let go with you first, mr. Rose. Absolutely. Well, first of all, we should acknowledge that i was sworn in during the height of the longest Government Shutdown in our nations history. I at that point was one a few members of congress to donate the entirety of my first months salary to charity. Nicole at the time was in Candidates School ready to run against me and when i was in the National Guard and announced 3 million against me in negative ads so this is no surprise were at this place, but i do want to talk about this moment and defunding message. Im the only person in the race who put on the uniform and bled for my country and asked young men and women to risk their livelies. Lives. I would never ask to defund the police, and you look at the march she wants to talk about time and again. Before i participated in this march. She lauded these individuals as an example for the nation. And then, when i did take part in it though she criticized them. This was a group of young men and women who are working with the police under the banner of uniting Staten Island, calling for peace. There was not one arrest, none not one active summons and mike riley subsequently marched with them months later. Nicole led a march in South Brooklyn not too long thereafter. There were individuals at that march who said things like i hope that you get raped, black lives are garbage. I would never characterize okay, lets not i dont want to put a i just wanted to give you a chance to answer because i i would never but this is my point. I would never characterize her sentiments by the words or the actions of a small minority at a march that she led. Yes, there were some people with signs that i abhorrently disagreed with at this march not one that i led, but one i took part in. And that to me a reprehensible. We need someone who is going to unite Staten Island, we need a leader. Fair enough. One of the many, many ads talking about you im sure got under your skin. Lets have an answer. Max not only was in the crowd, he went to washington to defund the police. And eddie burns, funding where they distribute grants to local Municipal Law Enforcement organizations, including nypd. Max rose voted to cut that program. Not cut that program, but actually max rose voted to give the attorney general the ability to strip funds from our local Law Enforcement. So first of all, thats the fact. And so not only did he march with them, with those signs, that have very offensive sayings toward our police, not just defund the police, not just all cops are and im not going to repeat the term because theyre not, but to actually go to washington after you said you wouldnt do it and then vote to cut that Program Funding from our local Law Enforcement. I believe that stays it says it all. Back to his advertisements hes been very honest about my record opposing taxes. Ive been proud to vote against tax increases 350 times. Inventory led the fight to old mayor deblasio accountable when it comes to property taxes one of the reasons i ran for mayor in the first place. And local council members, and we got a Property Tax Commission whose recommendations have come out and they will actually lower the property taxes for the people of Staten Island and southern brooklyn. Ive been at the forefront of the fight every time the mayor comes to albany to push him for a property tax after he has increased the levee sense being in office. Im proud of the work we did during the height of covid 100,000 pieces of ppe to the front line. Max rose okay, we wanted to give awe chance to answer. Ive got at that question for both of you. Your offices are going to have to work after election day, what instructions are you going to give your staff to serve your constituents . Nicole malliotakis, you can go first. During the height of the height of the pandemic, i extended a hand and asked him to sign and he did in some cases and work with him despite the fact that we were an opponent. But the pandemic is over and this guy is running negative tv ads so dishonest and because nancy pelosi gives you 5 million to put behind a lie doesnt mean that it makes it the truth. So i tried to work in a bipartisan fashion and i will continue to do so no matter what role i am in. To answer your immediate question, errol, dan donovan was a gentleman who put the Country First after i defighted him last election, no matter how this election goes, my instructions to my staff would be the same as he gave his, which is to put the District First and to work with Nicole Malliotakis in any way, shape and form, but i do want to talk about the point that she just made in regards to taxes. When the republicans put forth their tax plan several years ago that included, obviously, the salt cap issue. She said that she applauded it and shade that the salt issue was irrelevant. She then subsequently said, just during this conversation that she would have voted against the heroes act, the first one, which included fixing this salt issue, lowering peoples property taxes. So, it seems that theres so many flipflops in the course of this conversation that im getting dizzy. I cant imagine how the viewers pt were going to get to it. No, were going to. Errol, hold on, errol, only one person, theres only one person here who voted against salt and its him. Were going to were going to get to that issue in just a couple of minutes. Right now i did want to talk more about criminal justice reform, the policing questions and the nationwide movement that sprung up around these issues. One frequently mentioned policy of course is curbing the use of choke holds that dates back to the killing of eric garner in the 11th district. I want to go to you ms. Malliotakis, do you support any efforts on policing reform and what are they. I did voted on choke holds, and i think that was passed unanimously and we voted to expand the Camera Program which i think is very important so people can see all sides of the story and thats very critical, but i think that we really need to look at is the ncpd nypd and show it as an example for the nation and as a member of congress i will be advocating for other local Municipal Police departments to be following the great example that is the nypd. And that is why i would never turn my back on the nypd as our congressman did. The reality is every single nypd union is supporting me because i am the law and order candidate. I would never show up at a march and see the signs that he saw, blue lives murder . Defund the police . America instead with a c with the kkk . And he proceeds to mark with that group and stands in front much precinct and theyre chanting defund the police and that to me is unconscionable and a slap in the face of the nypd members that i represent. And i go back to that eddie burn Grant Program because that hit homes. Well, hold on, let me let me. Hold on, that was more than your 60 seconds, but i do want to make sure were all talking about the same thing when we say defund the police, in fact, mr. Rose, you can maybe you can answer this to the extent it means shifting resources so police are doing less what some cops are doing social work, do you support that idea . No i think that people have it dead wrong when they think that somehow you can have social workers replace police officers. In fact, i think that this is a critical moment where we should be investing in our police even more, thats why ive led multiple efforts to increase funding for Law Enforcement across the country, thats part and parcel of making sure that our Public Institutions are as effective. Efficient and just as possible. So this notion that and nicole keeps on messing up the terminology, but i think shes referring to the 1033 program which was the system by which equipment is transferred from the pentagon to local Law Enforcement agencies. No, im not speaking about that, im speaking about the eddie burns Program Named after a nypd officer that gives grant money to local municipality, to local Law Enforcement like nypd in efforts for Crime Prevention and other tools. Im not talking about the 1033 issue although thats another topic. Im talking cutting it wasnt just you, it was every member of the new york city delegation. Thats why we need at least one person who is going to truly stand with the nypd and go to washington and fight for them. I proposed is lock box to assure the money given to the nypd let him respond. I am trying to be respectful of nicoles opportunity to speak, but to assert that i have defunded the police patently false. Ive led the charge to increase counterterrorism funded did im the number one counterterrorism person in congress. As we continue the pathway of lies. If we want to nitpick, nicole voted to defund the police in multiple state budgets. So lets actually talk about what our vision is for the future. Theres so much back and forth here, our time is valuable. Theres youre the one running tv ads saying you would never vote to defund the police and you did. And thats why im making it an issue because youre running millions of dollars in tv ads saying one thing here and then you go to washington and you do something else. And quite frankly, the actions that you and your colleagues, liberal democrats here in new york city have taken, whether it be attempt to go close rikers island, releasing prisoners, ending bail, all of this has culminated into the situation we are in now people have seen murders, shootings, burglaries, car thefts all increase in our neighborhoods of Staten Island and southern brooklyn. , you cant say otherwise because people feel it and see it every single day. Understood. Mr. Rose, you can respond. So, lets look at her issue of bail. I think weve dealt with the fact that ive only successfully fought to increase Law Enforcement funding, thats clear in the facts. When you look at bail though, nicole and i had the same position that when it came to low level, unviolent nicole, please, when it came to low violent, nonviolent offenders, neither want people staying in jail for hundreds upon hundreds of days, some even committing suicide, but then when the state put forth their bail reform law, which was passed by the way under nicoles watch, im the one that led a bipartisan congressional delegation to include republicans like tom reed, calling on the state to fix it. They got that actually happened. Shes talking about releasing nonviolent offenders at the federal level through cashless bail. Again, the only person releasing offenders from prison right now is donald trump and ag barr which they did as part and parcel of their covid policy. So lets exist within the facts here. Theres so many conspiracy theories being put forth by nicole time and again, so many lies. Im fearing at one point or another shes going to put on a tin foil cap. Lets talk about the issue. Okay. Thanks for keeping the debate respectful congressman, that bail is far from fixed, far from fixed. Robbery, burglary, these are crimes that skyrocketed and still on the list in which a crime, its automatic release. Illegal possession of weapons, we just had five shootings, five people shot dead in this Congressional District. This is a bill thats far from fixed. And im happy that my colleague, the police union, the d. A. We fought back and got some homicide, manslaughter. Back on the list the judge can use disgrecian. You ran in 2018 you the bill as it was. There was a bill right there and you supported it, and campaigned on it in 2018 and only came out in december, ba backtracking like the governor started to doen at mayor started to do after i called you out on it after i had a petition on my page and you and the mayor when you start today backpedal just like with the bail with defunding the police and attended the march in june 5th, it wasnt until the mayor actually cut the funding of a billion dollars people were so in the community, 10 days later you start today backtrack. Guys, lets take a little if i may real quick, mr. Rose. Very quickly, i was opposed to defunding from the getgo. You didnt say anything about it and you let him answer. Let him answer. With your message and didnt say anything about it. Let him answer, you cant overtalk him. And chanting and the signs at that rally. Nicole, nicole right between the signs. Were going to have to a word about it. Listen, nicole, Nicole Malliotakis, you have to let him respond. We dont want to start cutting mics and that stuff. Its his time to answer and well move on to a new answer. Youre aware youre running for Congress Though and youre running for congress criticizing me for something that happened under your watch at the state level. Is this whats going to happen when you are if youre in congress, that youre going to criticize things happening at the city level . Im just generally confused. Youre running for congress well, let me answer that question. All right, all right. You guys, we have a. Under the watch of one party we have a cross examination, we have a cross examination session. Alexandria ocasiocortez wanted to make it a National Policy and trying to jam it in. Now its time for the cross examination and thats when each candidate gets a chance to ask one question of his or her rival. And well start with Nicole Malliotakis, you can ask one question. You know, max, i guess i have a very simple question thats not just for me, but its really for the people of this district. Two years ago you said that you were going to be independent, you go to washington, vote 97 of the time with nancy pelosi. You said you were, you know, special interests could keep their damn money and you ends up taking half a Million Dollars of special interest pac money funneled to your campaign. You said you were not going to impeach the president and you turned around and did. So why should anyone, anyone in Staten Island or southern brooklyn believe anything that you say . How can they possibly trust you after you said one thing in the campaign and turned around and did the exact opposite . Okay. Nicole, thank you for your question. Look, im consistently ranked and one of the most bipartisan independent members of congress. This notion of these statistics. Theres a whole swamp industry of trying to to this, doing the same thing to sam donovan and when donald trump killed soleimani, i was one of the democrats who said he did the right thing. When donald trump announced antisemetism, i was one of the few to stand with him. During the impeachment i had no Trouble Holding donald trump accountable like he was wrong for abandoning our National Guardsmen during the height of covid and standing with him when he did the right thing. Certainly when it came to nancy pelosi, opposing a blind partisan covid messaging bill or quite frankly not voting for her for speaker of the house in the first place. Weve seen consistent demonstrations of independence, lets not forget about the fact that the pieces of legislation that i have signed, that i have gotten passed were all passed with republican support and donald trump signing them. Whether it was fentanyl on pharmaceutical companies abroad, the seawall, it doesnt matter what it is, Victims Compensation funds. Significant achievements that the president of the United States signed. You talk so much about the problem of one party rule, what about the problem what about the challenge of having to try to succeed in an era of divided government . Im very proud weve been able to accomplish that. Okay. Your turn, mr. Rose. Yeah, so, you know, we had a long held tradition in this district from mike mcmahon of independent leadership. You know, from mike mcmahon to dan donovan to Michael Grimm standing up to john boehner when it came to sandy relief and Donald Trumps health care bill. And my question to you is simple. When dan donovan voted against or voted to protect obamacare, when dan donovan voted against the tax bill, do you think the tax bill that raised our property taxings, do you think he did the right thing . Well, first of all, let me say that im very proud of my bipartisan record, 113 laws that ive cosponsored with colleagues, of course im in the minority party, i have to Work Across Party Lines to get things done and we were successful in doing that whether its stripping funding from elected officials, convicted of crimes, whether standing up to mayor deblasio and back office plan to bring heroin Injection Centers to our community. Getting him to comply to deport those who are in our country illegally who commit sex crimes. So now, i dont i havent read the legislation that youre talking about. Maybe, you know, you seem to not know about the eddie burns funding that you cut in a recent cut, but, however, i read the bills and i would like to see the details. But if youre saying a bill that would create jobs, a bill that is responsible, actually for millions creation of millions of jobs, whether it be a bill that would give middle class tax cuts 2,000 on average per family in our district, yeah, thats something i would certainly take a second look at. And i would say that i am very supportive of ensuring that that salt deduction is restored. You have nt been successful in being able to accomplish that and you voted against it last week, i would make that effort because ive been the most vocal critical against rising property taxes. Thank you, candidates. Were going to switch to a new topic and to the extent that this is for many voters, this election is all about donald trump, i want to get to whether or not you think hes been a good president worth releichting. Ill start with you, mr. Rose. You did initially say that impeachment would only, quote tear our country further apart and you later voted to impeach him. Do you regret that vote. Who are you supporting for president now. When it came to impeachment i was owe vocal about the fact from the get h getgo that some of my colleagues were saying, vote out the mfer. But i couldnt never predict Something Like ukraine would happen that the president with target an american citizen and utilize to advance his own political interests and for me that did rise to the threshold of impeachment. This is the second time in my life i swore an oath to the constitution. First time was a scared soldier, and then two years ago when i was a member of congress. Impeachment is the second most serious thing i could do, second only to sending young men and women to war. Political consequences be damned. What do you say to constituents who think that the entire impeachment exercise was a partisan witch hunt . Well, what i would tell them, i think i think that they were did that i disagree with them. Of course, were celebrating this into two separate things, there is the russian issue, of which when the Mueller Report came back, i do not think rose to the threshold of impeachment. And then there is the issue of ukraine, of which i do believe did. Now, of course, i respect to the ruling that the senate came back to. During the height of impeachment i was still at the white house standing behind the president of the United States when he announced his executive order on antisemitism. Ive still made an effort to reach out a bipartisan hand and work with my republican colleagues and white house even during moments. Partisan tensions. I have a different version for you. In 2016 you supportesupportedo, rubio and then you regretted for donald trump, now youre back and what changed your mind. Max that he was independent, he participated in one. Most partisan measure there was. I mean, he votes 97 of the time with nancy pelosi, its no surprise that shes pumped 5 million in this race. If he was so independent do you really think that would be happening . Secondly of course i support the president he has done a good job against difficult odds having this partisan pressure constantly that has gone against him. They have tried to interrupt everything he has attempted to accomplishment. Thankfully he was able to create millions and millions of jobs, bring our unemployment level to the lowest possible. I look forwarded to working with him. I believe that hes going to be the president , but whoever is the president to get back to the pre covid unemployment levels that helped everybody across the board, africanamericans, hispanics, women, everyone, lifted wages as well and then when you talk about the opportunities he gave for veterans to seek health care where they choose to seek health care. Also, when you talk about the middle class tax cuts on average, 2,000 savings for the people in our communities. That is significant. And we also looked at lowering pharmaceutical drugs, hes doing all of this without cooperation from the house of representatives. Imagine if he had cooperation. Okay. What he could accomplish. Let me ask you a followup question. This kind of got lost i think in some. Exchange a few minutes ago. The trump administrations decision to limit state and local tax deductibility for a handful of the states including new york unquestionably hurts many constituents in the 11th district. How do you explain home owners to the district youre supporting an administration that cost them money . Well, they did receive a 2,000 break on average for income taxes and i think that we need to work hard to restore salt. I think thats the value of having a republican from new york city, someone who will have a relationship with the white house to communicate. Unfortunately every member of the house delegation from our city has decided to be obstacles instead, whether its the u. S. Mexicocanada agreement. Thats probably why we havent gotten the funding we deserved for our city and state because theres no one to talk to him and talk about what is important to four unit. Resoaring the salt deduction is key and lets not give Mario Deblasio a pass here, someone who has squandered millions of dollars. And he increased the levee50 and nothing has gotten better and we need accountability for how our tax dollars are used. I will push forward an investigation how our tax dollars are use bide this mayor, particularly those that he received the from the federal. All right, time for our lightning round and each of the candidates will answer briefly with a response usually yes or no. Let me start with this, voting absentee, early, election day. Miss malliotakis. Either or election day. I encourage people to get out there and vote, 24th first day to do that. Mr. Rose, ill vote early. Okay. [laughter] mr. Rose, when was your last covid19 test . Last week. Okay. Ms. Malliotakis. I took one before we entered the capitol to vote on the budget, so april. Okay. Ms. Malliotakis, have you gotten your flu shot this season . I have not. Mr. Rose . Not yet, no. Okay, mr. Rose. Have you eaten at a restaurant since march and if so indoor or outdoor . I have absolutely outdoor thus far. Okay. Ms. Malliotakis. Ive been trying to patronize our local restaurants as much as possible and indoor and Outdoor Dining and last week at a great place. Okay. Yankees or mets, ms. Malliotakis. Yankees. Mr. Rose. Yankees. There you go. In agreement. Hot button issue, best pizza in the district, mr. Rose. Id say lee east. Miss malliotakis. Im smart enough not to answer that one. Name one good thing that bill deblasio has done . He groo he had to finally decide to deport those who committed sex crimes. Okay, mr. Rose, one good thing that hes done. One good thing. Universal prek. Mr. Rose when is the last time you took mass transit. Last month. Ms. Malliotakis . Oh, i took the subway probably in february. Okay. Miss malliotakis, would you vote to support Kevin Mccarthy as speaker of the house. Yes, i would from nancy pelosi. Mr. Rose would you vote to support nancy pelosi as speaker . No, i didnt last time, not again. Mr. Roses have you ever voted for the rival party . What . Have you ever voted for a robl . Have i voted for a republican, avoted against the mayor. Reform party in that case. Miss malliotakis. Yes, i have. Miss malliotakis have you ever stayed at a trump property . Stayed, no, ive been at a restaurant. Mr. Rose. No, i dont think i have. I had a drink at the trump hotel in d. C. Mr. Rose, do you support the legalization of marijuana . I do. Miss malliotakis . I dont. Miss malliotakis. Do you support a federal mask mandate . I dont. Mr. Rose . No, i dont think that that that pie in the sky stuff, its not enforceable, but i do support everyone doing it. Mr. Rose, do you trust the federal government to come up with a safe Covid Vaccine and if so, would you take it . Yes, and yes. We cant politicize the vaccine, there are incredible Public Servants working toward this. Miss malliotakis. Yes, i do. Okay. Thank you, candidates. Lets move on to our final topic, were going at that talk about Climate Change and disaster preparedness, the waterfront district more susceptible than other parts of the city. What federal investments in support of Climate Change and would you support a carbon tax or higher gasoline tax in order to do it . Miss malliotakis. As i said errol, im proud of my record voting against tax increases, a great record, 50 votes against tax increases in assembly, im not going to start now. But what i will say is that this is something thats near and dear to my heart as somebody in the district most devastated by Hurricane Sandy. People know what this means to me and that i am emotional about it and also rational about it and we do need to do what we can to curb Greenhouse Gas emissions to support Renewable Energy and im proud to have voted for the bill and speaking in a bipartisan fashion, voting for the bill that was passed in the state legislature or few republicans that did vote for it that weve set goals for new york state to reduce its Greenhouse Gas emission and invest in more Renewable Energy. And i think that we should be a leader of the state in that and id love to see other states join us as well. To the extent that some of this is going to be expensive as well as the reality that taxes can be used as a way to sort of change behavior. Im thinking of carbon taxes in particular. Would you support that as a means to get to the point that you just described . What i think we need to do is foster an environment where theres innovation and when, you know, businesses are successful, and then we get revenue that way not through just an a punitive tax. Mr. Rose. Yeah, thank you for this question. I think that Climate Change is the most Significant NationalSecurity Threat potentially, second only to pandemics. It was real three things that we have to do. First of all, we have to recognize that this is a global problem, this president leaving the paris accords was the most Significant National security mistake since the invasion of iraq. We have to get back into it building alliances to reduce global co2 emissions. Second thing we have to do is it recognize truly we have to figure out one of the carbonfree technologies of the future and we have to do that at the federal level with an apollo project for battery technology, smart grid technology, as well as carbonfree energy systems, but third, it is absolutely necessary for us to think about how do we slowly and incrementally shift america away from a carbon intensive energy production. I think something to the effect of pa cap and trade model not a carbon tax, but cap and trade could be effective in terms of doing that so long as we ensure that it does not hit working class and middle class taxes or households, but rather hits people that have the production sites. Miss malliotakis should the u. S. Rejoin the Paris Climate Accord . I dont believe so. I think we need to see that other nations are stepping forward and i think that one of the things this president is doing is ensuring that nations like china, the communist party of china that they are actually participating and doing their Due Diligence to reduce these emissions. For both of you, the Green New Deal plan put forward by alexandria ocasiocortez and senator ed markey, it includes had a lot of different things, but in particular, i want today drill down on the fact that it includes, well, money for weatherization, incentives for solar power and other items that might be of interest to your constituents. So if elected or reelected would you seek Climate Change legislation as a partisan fight or as the kind of federal program that might benefit people in the district . Well start with you miss malliotakis . Well, as i mentioned, i worked across party lines with my colleagues who supported a measure that would reduce Greenhouse Gases in the state and also, invest in Renewable Energy. I do not support alexandria ocasiocortezs Green New Deal, as a matter of fact, when we mayor came on your show the other day and says he supports the democrat in this race with an understanding that its a package deal when you vote for max and get nancy pelosi again as speaker, you get the power individuals like alexandria ocasiocortez who are pushing a radical agenda. I think its critical that new york city has a voice who is going to push back against that and i will be that voice that holds her accountable and pushes back on policies that just dont make sense. Mr. Rose. Yeah, nicole, im happy to find you a Real Estate Agent so you can move to San Francisco if youre interested in running oac and nancy pelosi. How do you achieve true resiliency efforts part and parcel of Climate Change. Errol, you hit the nail on the head. I in the first 90 days, taking the baton from donovan and grimm prior to that. We cant stop there as significant as it is, we have to include Climate Resiliency as a significant fixture of a generations multitrillion dollar infrastructure package, with unthat prepares us for now what is the inevitability of Climate Change. We cant put our head in the sand and hope that this may not happen. Thats where what politicians in the past have done and not admitting that its science. We have to get to work and do it in a bipartisan manner. Let me see if i can both of you try to stick to one minute on this one. Whats the number one issue youd like the next mayor of new york focus on start with you district. Mart can you, miss malliotakis. Youre always starting with me and i appreciate it. Look, we really need to tackle this issue of public safety. We need to reverse a number of the policies that have been put in place by this mayor. We need to restore the anticrime unit. We need to make sure our police are fully funded, but we also need to address the issue of property taxes. I pushed for Property Tax Commission with my colleagues in the city council, to actually ensure that were looking at a very system that require the people of Staten Island and southern brooklyn and where the mayor lives and manhattan. I famously held up my tax bill and the mayors tax bill at the Budget Hearing in abney. Why am i paying 2,000 more when my home is valued a third of his home. So this is a real issue, i would like to see a commitment from those running for mayor, that they are not only going to implement the recommendations of this Property Tax Commission na we fought so hard for that will lower property taxes for our community, but i also want to see a cap. I said when i ran for mayor that i would have frozen the cap, the levee, the mayor didnt want to do that. At minimal, the middle class cant afford to stay there, the congressmans joke for finding a me a realtor, its all too real and they are fleeing because much one party rule of him and bill deblasio and the rest of them. Okay, mr. Rose. Of course, so, look [inaudible] significant points there. I would also though assert that the next mayor of new york city has got to figure out what is our testing strategy. What is our pandemic strategy. This guy failed to open up the schools effectively and he has got to figure out or she, how to rescue our economy, not Chase Companies away like amazon, not chase things away like what just happened in industry city. We need that tax revenue to pay everyone from our teachers to our cops to our firemen to our sanitation workers more. We need to invest in our Transportation Systems and infrastructure. Justly, sustainably, and robustly, into this decade and beyond. Lastly, the mayor has got to figure out how to work with washington, d. C. To get federal state locals across both sides. I will be right there by the mayor side. Host that is going that is going to be the last word. Thanks so much for your participation both of you. That will do it for tonight debate. Early voting starts saturday, october 24. If one absentee ballot there still time. Dont forget election is tuesday november 3. If you missed any part of this debate you