North Shore officials share their hopes for Biden presidency

The day after the historic inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from Glen Cove, held a press conference to discuss his feelings of optimism toward the country’s next presidential administration. He was excited to see the inauguration go smoothly, he said, especially after the Capitol insurrection that had occurred only two weeks prior.

“We’ve gone from insurrection to impeachment to inauguration,” Suozzi said, “and it’s a brand new day here.”

Suozzi the first member of the House of Representatives to publically endorse Biden when he announced his run for the Democratic Party nomination prior to the 2020 election, said he is excited to see the new administration get underway. He is looking forward to Biden addressing five key issues toward the start of his presidency: curbing the coronavirus pandemic, helping the country rebound from the pandemic’s economic effects, taking on climate change, addressing racial inequity and restoring people’s faith in the media and the government.

Biden’s commitment to bipartisanship was one of the most encouraging things about the inauguration, Suozzi said. The president wants to unify the country to get things done, something which Suozzi said it very much needed.

State Sen. Jim Gaughran, a Democrat from Northport, said the Biden administration did the best it could to recreate a normal inauguration under irregular circumstances. He appreciated it, having attended the inauguration ceremonies of former President Jimmy Carter, the first of Bill Clinton’s and both of Barack Obama’s. Additionally, he said he shed a tear seeing Harris take her oath of office, as it represented an incredible step forward in gender equality.

Gaughran said he was encouraged by Biden’s focus on bipartisanship. Unity is the most important thing to have to help the country get back on track, Gaughran said.

“Biden’s years and years and years of experience as a senator, not just his relationships and understanding of the process, but also his willingness to work on a bipartisan level, I think is going to be tremendous,” Gaughran said.

Both Suozzi and Gaughran said they are optimistic that New York will benefit greatly under the Biden administration. The state has been paying the federal government more than it gets back, something which they expect will change in the near future. This, both said, should help the state’s economy rebound from the pandemic.

Assemblyman Michael Montesano, a Republican from Glen Head, said he was glad to see the inauguration went by without any violence. Nonetheless, he said tempers are hot right now and that federal government agencies need to listen to people’s needs.

As the country moves into a new administration, Montesano said he is most concerned about the economy, especially the nation’s reliance on China for its medical goods. However, he said he too feels that people need to go in the same direction even though they have different opinions.

“I’m trying to be optimistic about where we are going to go,” Montesano said. “I always say, a president or governor is only as good as his legislators. Biden has an ambitious agenda. Time will tell if he can implement these things.”

Assemblyman Charles Lavine, a Democrat from Glen Cove, said he felt a great sense of pride in the nation and in Biden during the inauguration, especially considering the insurrection that had occurred only two weeks beforehand. This, he said, made it even more meaningful.

Lavine said he is very confident that a Biden administration is in the best interest of all Americans. The president is someone who values institutions and government programs, which focus on benefiting the population at large, Lavine said, something which was not the focus during former President Donald Trump’s administration. He also said president’s choices in cabinet members and agency leaders have instilled confidence in him. 

“Every single person he has appointed to head our agencies and every person he has appointed to be in his cabinet is a person with true governmental experience,” Lavine said, “and each of these individuals are people who are dedicated in preserving and protecting the agencies that they will head, the departments that they will head and the American people.”

Laura Lane and Jennifer Corr contributed to this story