Machado in New York were less than 230 days from the midterms.
And today we're gonna talk about New York's third congressional district.
This seat is currently held by moderate Democrat Tom Swazi,
he's not running for reelection this year.
So that leaves that seat completely wide open.
However, Democrats do seem optimistic,
they still will be able to hold onto his seat.
So joining us now is one individual that's vying for that seat.
Democrat Melanie d'Arrigo Melanie. Good to have you here.
Thanks so much for joining us now.
You ran once before as a progressive alternative
to Swazi in the last Democratic primary.
So what prompted you want to jump into this race again and do this all over again?
Well, firstly, thank you so much for having me on the show,
it's really great to be here.
Yes, this is my second congressional run.
And you know, truth be told that much has changed on the congressional level. Right?
Um I started my race in 2020 on a mission to center the needs of working families.
I've been a longtime health advocate. I'm an organizer on my mama
three and I was sick and tired of watching our representatives selling us
out to the highest bidder into the lobbyist with the biggest checks.
I'm offering a fresh breath of air to this district where we're fighting for
the needs of all of our neighbors of our community members of our families.
Um and you know, listen, in the last congressional district, you know,
we could never have foreseen that we would have to contend with the global pandemic.
But even with that we were able to secure nearly 30% of
the vote and now we're back to finish what we started.
Yeah,
so you mentioned by the way that
this district has changed because of redistricting,
the third is much different than Tom Swazi when he represented it in the past.
Do you feel that the third congressional district,
which stretches to long island and a lot of other parts of New York
it is more progressive than it was just a few years ago?
Well, yes, um it's absolutely become bluer with the new redistricting lines.
But look, this has been a blue seat for the last 20 years.
Um I think, you know,
the conversation needs to shift away from blue and red and
it needs to shift more towards are we helping our constituents?
Are we actually delivering for our families?
Um I think what we have seen and we've seen this trend certainly in district,
but across the country when we run democrats who
stand true in our values and fight for,
you know, the for social equity, for civil rights, for human rights,
those are the democrats that win,
and that's what we're delivering on here in new york.
Three.
Alright, so Melanie, let's talk about you versus the competition this race,
There's a slew of other democrats running in this race,
including another progressive two term state senator alessandra Biaggi as well?
What do you sort of see as the differences
between you and your competition in this race?
And do you almost feel like having run for this race before,
that's almost an advantage for you here?
Oh, I absolutely think it's an advantage, you know,
I've been organizing and what amounts to about 80% of the district for years,
you know, even before my first congressional run,
I've worked to build support for Medicare for all,
for stronger climate protections,
and I've built a strong grassroots network of support uh you know,
really throughout the state.
Um and, you know, since the new district lines have come out,
I feel I've been bringing that same level of commitment and passion
that I have been bringing to Long Island and queens in new york
into the Bronx and into Westchester,
um that's why I am very proud to be endorsed by 15 grassroots organizations.
And and like I said, we're just getting started, but I definitely see that we have,
you know, many, many advantages.
Um and, you know, look there any time that there's an open seat,
you're going to see folks
look at it as an opportunity to jump in the race and, you know,
that that's what primaries are all about.
It's an opportunity for us to build the electorate and bring folks in.
I feel I'm the only candidate that's running for change.
I'm the only candidate that was in this race when it was really hard,
um and that's what we're going to continue to deliver on for the people, you know,
we're gonna win in june,
we're gonna win in november and then we're gonna win for the people of new york three.
Once we get to D. C.
Melanie, we know women represent half of the population,
but they represent only about a quarter of of congressional members.
You on your site,
you actually are detailing the mom agenda as one of your platforms here.
Explain to us what is the mom agenda here?
Yeah, well,
the mom agenda is really a comprehensive plan that helps bring
folks that maybe aren't as politically oriented into the fold.
You know,
my campaign has always tried to reduce barriers to entry to meet folks where
they're at and bring them into the political arena because for too long,
you know,
there has been this common philosophy that it's impolite to talk about politics.
You know, as a mom of three, I teach my Children just the opposite.
It's absolutely polite to talk about politics.
You need to be up standards in society.
You need to lead with empathy and kindness and compassion
and I think that's what the mom agenda does,
right.
Um We talk about Medicare for all and providing health
care to all of our Children in this country.
We talk about addressing the
gender wage gap and ensuring that women
have the financial protections that they need.
We talk about a future for our Children. Uh and and this is this is very important.
You know,
sometimes parents don't or may may not see the
link between the climate crisis and their Children,
but the reality is is that, you know, we may not have committed those sins of the past,
but it is absolutely on us as parents if we want to provide
a planet for our Children to live their lives and have Children on.
Right, So it basically is a comprehensive plan of, you know,
most of our policy agenda,
but makes it um I think more accessible for
folks that maybe aren't typically involved in politics Melanie,
you mentioned climate change,
obviously a lot of President biden's more ambitious sort
of legislative accomplishments that he wanted to get done.
We're really sort of stopped by a lot of the moderate democrats within his own party,
this is why
the build back better bill basically is dead because of people like joe Manchin,
do you think for democrats to continue on in terms of their
evolution as a party need to elect more progressives to get a
lot of this stuff across the finish line here and that was
the moderate that basically put a stop to a lot of this
100% and you know,
I think there are folks and and there certainly dark money sources
that are driving a narrative that progressive is a scary word,
that progressive is somehow radical.
Um but if we look at the policies that progressive democrats are driving,
there are common sense bread and butter democratic policies, you know,
we are fighting for civil rights, were fighting for human rights.
We are fighting to bring the party back along to its roots.
Um, when did it become radical to want everyone to have health care?
When the, you know,
when the other side of it is that we
have senior citizens rationing their medicine or we have folks
dying because they're too afraid to go to the
hospital because they know the cost that is radical.
It is radical to let people die because they don't have health care in this country.
It is radical to continue to subsidize the fossil
fuel industry when we see mass migrations already happening,
when we see our soil depleting, when we see fires for excusing forest fires raging.
Uh, you know, we see a planet that is burning up.
We know the science is very clear, we have irrefutable damage at this point.
Uh, and and the road ahead is going to be extremely difficult.
Politicians for way too long have kicked this can down the
road and and now it's time to pay the piper.
And frankly it is the progressive democrats who
are holding the line and pushing back.
We are the ones that are really upholding, you know, those,
those FDR democratic roots.
Um, and so I wish we would talk about that more.
We we talk a little too much about the rhetoric, you know,
in the semantics of of what's a progressive, what's a moderate?
There's nothing moderate about not addressing the climate change,
there's nothing moderate about letting people
die because they can't afford healthcare.
Those are radical positions,
and the Progressives are holding down the Democratic Party.
All right,
Melanie D'Arrigo is running for the Democratic nomination
in new york's new third congressional district.
Melanie, thanks so much for joining us.