House Challenger Appears on Maloneys Turf
By [Megan Finnegan] Political newcomer Reshma Saujani faced a skeptical crowd at a May 16 candidate forum, hosted by the New York Democratic Club. Saujani, who is challenging longtime incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney, touted her fresh perspective and position as a woman of color representing a diverse community. Maloney, meanwhile, trumpeted her many achievements as a nine-term member of Congress and vowed to continue her well-respected track record. Saujani left her job as an attorney for Fortress Investment Group in January to launch her campaign. Speaking first and opening with the story of her parents" immigration from Uganda as political refugees, Saujani explained how her personal history inspired her to run for office. â??My father taught me every day about the importance of participating in the political process because if you don"t, your rights could be taken away at a moment"s notice, she said. She recounted her experience working with immigrant families after the passage of the Patriot Act and highlighted her plans to reform immigration. She also laid out the three basic issues of her campaign, the first of which is jobs and economic recovery. â??We need people experienced in the industry in order to regulate it better, she said, noting that her hedge fund experience doesn"t automatically make her a friend to Wall Street. â??The House bill was weak in that it didn"t include a provision to regulate credit agencies. The other main issues are immigration and education reform, and Saujani emphasized throughout her speech that she has been spending her days at the grassroots level, speaking with those who feel they have been left out of the political process. Since beginning her campaign, Saujani has made a point of pushing her agenda on technological development and arguing that it"s time for a new perspective in Congress. During the forum"s question period, one constituent asked if she felt that all the older women in Congress should be ousted and if she was a proponent of ageism. â??This race has nothing to do with ageism, Saujani said, mentioning that she spends time with senior citizens who don"t feel they have a voice in Congress. â??I"ve never said, â??Vote for me because I"m young." Part of passing the torch is that we have to give other people the opportunity to run. Maloney gave a shorter speech that did not mention her opponent, but instead recounting her accomplishments in Congress, including her involvement in passing national healthcare legislation. She spoke of President Barack Obama"s endorsement of her credit card bill of rights. â??The Pew Foundation has said that it will save, consumers keep $10 million in their wallets in one year alone, and the Federal Reserve joined me in supporting it and called the practices [of the credit card companies] unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive, Maloney said. She mentioned her advocacy for women"s and children"s rights, specifically the passage of the Debbie Smith Act, which gives funding to process the DNA collected in rape kits in order to identify and arrest rapists. A former teacher, Maloney noted that five new schools had recently opened in her district. Ending on a positive note, she said that in the past two months, more than 500,000 jobs have been created, and that Congress will continue to fight for more economic development. â??We will not stop until every American who wants a job can get a job, she said. Maloney has already received the endorsement of Obama and has a good shot at being backed by the Democratic clubs. But Saujani has raised a considerable amount of money for the primary and general election's around $800,000's for a newcomer taking on a popular incumbent.