zephyr teachout. | ap photo/mark lennihan by nick niedzwiadek 10/13/16 10:43 pm edt troy <u+2014> thursday night<u+2019>s debate between zephyr teachout and john faso largely mirrored the first encounter between the two congressional candidates, reprising themes of the outsider versus the insider, the carpetbagger versus the faithful local. the race for new york<u+2019>s 19 th congressional district remains extremely close, with faso, a republican, leading 43 percent to 42 percent in a recent siena college poll . story continued below faso, a former minority leader in the state assembly, frequently contrasted the 33 years he<u+2019>s lived in the district with teachout, who moved to the district early last year from brooklyn. he especially used the carpetbagger criticism while challenging her stance on the state<u+2019>s property tax cap, which restricts local property tax increases to 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. <u+201c>miss teachout simply doesn<u+2019>t get it; she<u+2019>s never paid property tax in this district, maybe that<u+2019>s why,<u+201d> faso said. teachout countered by emphasizing faso<u+2019>s post-assembly career as a lobbyist, and mentioned her upbringing in a vermont farming community to demonstrate her empathy for farmers struggling with drought and low dairy prices. <u+201c>people are looking for someone who<u+2019>s going to fight for people in this district and not take orders from elsewhere,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s part of the system that isn<u+2019>t working.<u+201d> in the recent siena poll, donald trump led hillary clinton 43 percent to 38 percent in the district, and longshot senate candidate wendy long trails incumbent democrat chuck schumer by 19 percentage points <u+2014> better results for the two gop candidates than in statewide polls. but that poll was conducted before the recent scandal over trump's lewd comments and treatment of women. many republicans around the country have withdrawn their support for him as a result of the comments and accusations of sexual abuse. teachout attacked faso <u+2014> who never fully embraced trump but said he would support the party<u+2019>s nominee <u+2014> for not completely disavowing him. <u+201c>i have a lot of sympathy for principled republicans who are dealing with what donald trump has said <u+2026> but there is a point where our country has to come first before our political party,<u+201d> she said. she sought to contrast faso's position with her support for clinton despite being critical of her during the primaries, when she backed vermont sen. bernie sanders. faso said he was <u+201c>troubled<u+201d> by trump<u+2019>s statements, but added that the candidate's economic policies are closer to his own. he said he cannot vote for clinton and therefore supports the republican ticket. as was the case during the first debate, both candidates broadly agreed on many of the district<u+2019>s biggest health crises <u+2014> from holding polluters accountable in hoosick falls and elsewhere, combating the heroin and opiod epidemic and carrying on rep. chris gibson<u+2019>s legislative work in fighting lyme disease. they also agreed in opposing common core educational standards and supported greater investment in infrastructure. the candidates frequently pivoted from issues they agreed on to other issues that have dominated the airwaves in the district, which spans 11 counties and covers the hudson valley and the catskills. the seat became one of democrats<u+2019> top targets after gibson did not seek re-election and has seen a host of television advertisements from both sides. in addition to extolling the value of the state property tax cap, faso attacked teachout for supporting the iran nuclear agreement brokered by the obama administration and said she supported a carbon tax that would hurt both businesses and the average family buying heating oil. <u+201c>this would be a disaster for our state and our economy, upstate in particular,<u+201d> he said. teachout said her plan is not a tax, and called it a <u+201c>fee and dividend<u+201d> model that puts a price on emissions that would then be refunded to the average person. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t believe that the big fossil fuel companies should be able to pollute our air and water for free,<u+201d> she said. she said she supported a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and the federal legalization of marijuana, both of which faso opposed. a third debate is scheduled for oct. 24. a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york education policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york energy policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york health care policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york real estate policy and politics our morning email with must-read analysis and breaking news on state news and politics a morning email with must-read analysis and breaking news on city news and politics. a weekly round-up of legislation in city council for politics and policy professionals. a reported briefing on money in politics, executive moves, and trends in communications, lobbying and consulting. our twice-a-week digest of news on courts and the law in new york azi paybarah and jimmy vielkind's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable new yorkers.
teachout-faso debate focuses on trump and familiar lines of attack
nick niedzwiadek