Nancy Goroff should be the East End of Long Island’s next representative in Congress. Even for First District voters not politically aligned with her, having a member of the majority party in the House of Representatives simply makes practical sense. Our region is facing unprecedented challenges from growth, economic disparity, and the effects of a changing climate, specifically sea level rise — all of which require an active partnership with the federal government of the sort only a member of the House can assure. Any specific ideological differences have to be put aside to help this region gain back the full resources of Washington.
It is perhaps a flaw in the way the United States’ system of governing has evolved since the Constitution was ratified that members of the political minority in the House or Senate are little more than placeholders. As such, they may be able to make noise, but when it comes to actually providing a true conduit to services and funding can do little.
Ms. Goroff, should she win, would be a member of the House majority, but also in all probability the party in control of the executive branch, the expertise and services of which are sorely needed on the East End and have been missing since Lee Zeldin was first elected in 2014. And now that it appears that the Democrats might take the Senate, a Zeldin win would leave the First District even further out in the wilderness [more].
