It is a timeless debate in politics.
When will the old give way to the young? When is power less valuable than vitality?
“It’s 2022. It’s time to turn the page on 1992,” Suraj Patel said Tuesday at the 12th Congressional District debate hosted by Spectrum News NY1 and WNYC-Gothamist.
What You Need To Know
In 12th Congressional District primary, Maloney is 76, Nadler is 75 and Patel is 38 In 10th Congressional District primary, Holtzman is 80 while Jones, Niou and Rivera are in their 30s But older politicians, including Holtzman and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have proven they are spry and active
Patel was a fourth grader when Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler began their congressional careers. To see also : SNHD now offers online renewal of food handler cards.
Nadler is 75 years old and Maloney is 76 years old. Meanwhile Patel, at 38, is half their age.
During the debate, Patel argued that experience did not always translate to efficiency.
Maloney and Nadler, who are ranking House members, reminded him of their hard-earned influence and record of results.
“What have you done? Achievements speak louder than words,” Maloney asked Patel during the debate on Tuesday.
Several decades separate the youngest and oldest candidates in the 10th Congressional District primary as well.
Liz Holtzman, who left Washington, D.C. in 1981, would return to Congress as an 81-year-old freshman member if elected.
“If these weren’t really threatening times, if our democracy, if our country weren’t in real danger, I’d be out kayaking or on vacation,” she told NY1 in an interview. “I wouldn’t go back into this maelstrom.”
Her rivals in NY-10 include federal, state and city legislators in their 30s: Rep. Mondaire Jones, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera.
Like Maloney and Nadler, Holtzman made the case for experience.
She was the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress in 1972.
As a House Judiciary Member, she voted to impeach former President Richard Nixon.
Holtzman was also a Brooklyn district attorney and a New York City supervisor.
“When people see me out there campaigning in the hot midday sun, they think if I can handle that, I’ve got the stamina to stand in Congress,” she said.
But Holtzman is alert while Nadler is visibly struggling.
Nadler misspoke in his opening debate remarks when he touted how he, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, had impeached former President Donald Trump.
“My — leading up to this, I impeached Bush twice,” Nadler said. After the debate, Patel attacked Maloney and Nadler as “seniors” for asking whether they believed President Biden, 79, should run for re-election.
“I will tell you the fact of the matter is they think maybe they can pull young voters away from me by throwing their president under the bus,” Patel said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Maloney sought to clarify his debate remarks about President Joe Biden.
She told CNN she would support him in 2024, but thought he wouldn’t run.
The primary election is August 23rd.
