It’s official: Tom Suozzi is running for Congress

People have a real sense of dread. They look at D.C. as all they seem to be doing is arguing about who is Speaker, and fighting to keep the government open. It’s demoralizing for people. We need to address the real problems people have.”

Tom Suozzi, congressional candidate

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of Glen Cove is running again to recapture his former seat on the House of Representatives.

He will be the Democratic candidate in a special election, which is required by New York state law to fill the seat in the 3rd Congressional District vacated by Republican George Santos, who was expelled on Dec. 1.

The special election will be held on Feb. 13 when voters will have a choice of two candidates, one from each political party. The Republicans have yet to name their candidate.

Suozzi was the congressman for the 3rd Congressional District, which includes the North Shore and parts of Queens, from 2017 to 2023, leaving for an unsuccessful run in the gubernatorial primary, which he lost to Kathy Hochul.

During his six years on the hill Suozzi, a former Glen Cove mayor, and former Nassau County executive, secured millions of dollars for community projects including $2 million for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for its Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Center for Advanced Cancer Diagnostics and $2 million for Glen Cove Hospital for use in its Geriatric Center of Excellence.

Suozzi, who refers to himself as an environmentalist, increased funding for the Long Island Sound by 1,000 percent, as well, securing funding for a variety of purposes, including $300,000 for shellfish seeding.

He said he already knows what he will focus on next if elected.

“The first thing I’ll work on is a state and local tax deduction, which isn’t a priority anymore,” he said. “And I will be more involved in immigration, securing the border. For 40 years this has been going on. We need a bipartisan compromise.”

Suozzi has always seen the value of working across the aisle. When in Congress he was a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus — 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans who meet weekly to try and find common ground — and served as the co-vice chair. It is where he built relationships with Republicans, he said. If elected, Suozzi said he will join the group again.

He has already received endorsements from mayors from both parties including Republican Bob Fagiola, the mayor of Lattingtown.

Having known Suozzi for decades, Fagiola described Suozzi as rare, someone who is “in it for his constituents, not political gain.”

Another Republican, Larry Schmidlapp, the mayor of Centre Island, remembers when Suozzi arranged for a meeting with the mayors from the local villages.

“He asked us about issues that we were dealing with and what he could do to help,” Schmidlapp recalled. “That kind of concern for citizens was unheard of previously. He is great, caring, and available to his constituents. I am with him 100 percent.”

But Suozzi will have to address the damage left behind by Santos. Many constituents say they are disheartened, and some are angry that even after Santos was outed as a charlatan he remained in office. It turned out the political outsider, who had referred to himself as the “full embodiment of the American Dream,” was anything but.

A son of Brazilian immigrants, he was the first openly gay Republican to become a congressman as a non-incumbent. That much was true. But his assertions that he had worked on Wall Street at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs as a financier, graduated from Baruch College where he was a volleyball star, was Jewish, had grandparents killed in the Holocaust and a mother who died from a Sept. 11 related illness among so many other fabrications is not.

As further transgressions by Santos were revealed he remained in Congress, even after pleading not guilty to 23 federal charges that included allegations of fraud related to receiving coronavirus pandemic unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds, lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports, among other illegalities.

“The whole thing with Santos kinda changed my views about politics,” Kenny Warren, of East Norwich, said. “I think they should have made him leave in the beginning. They had enough evidence.”

Suozzi could see the damage Santos had done in the district. Releasing a statement after Santos was expelled, he tried to offer some hope.

“This is a much-needed step in our journey to repair a broken system,” the statement read. “We must move beyond our petty, partisan, performative finger-pointing and address the real problems Americans face. Let’s fix this!”

Hopelessness and angst lead to disinterest and disengagement, a threat to democracy, which is one reason why Suozzi decided to run.

“That’s a very real concern and I want to work on that because people are so disenchanted,” he said. “But you can’t do it by flipping a switch.”

People are concerned about the cost of living, immigration, crime, bad storms, the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, and the increase in antisemitism and anti-Asian sentiments, he said.

“People have a real sense of dread,” Suozzi added. “They look at D.C. as all they seem to be doing is arguing about who is Speaker, and fighting to keep the government open. It’s demoralizing for people. We need to address the real problems people have.”

Some residents are relieved that Suozzi is running, like Ingrid Morales, who lives in Oyster Bay.

“People are hurt – they don’t know if the next person will do the job,” she said. “I’d trust Suozzi. He’s been working so long helping people and it’s not about him, it’s about helping people and doing the right thing. Being trustworthy.”

Suozzi had already announced on Oct. 10 that he was filing for a run in the Democratic primary to be held on June 25. Now he will have an opportunity to take back his seat even sooner, if he wins the special election.