Letters

Representative Nick LaLota, the Republican congressman who represents the 1st Congressional District, has said the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction that the GOP wiped out in their Trump tax bill should be reinstated. He agrees with Democrats that removing SALT was unfair to taxpayers in New York, particularly those of us on Long Island.

But the truth is that the rest of the Republican Party has zero interest in bringing back SALT. If Republicans are in the majority in the House, we will never get back this deduction.

And LaLota knows that. It is easy for him to advocate for it, knowing full well that it will never pass as long as the Republicans control the House. And do not be fooled by LaLota’s fake bipartisanship. When it counts, he always votes with the Republican majority.

It is not just SALT. Under the GOP majority, the 118th House is one of the least effective in history, passing the least legislation. The only way to get anything done — to reinstate SALT, to tackle climate change, to bring back reproductive rights through legislation — is to elect President Joe Biden to a second term and give him Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate.

It is crucial that President Biden defeat the twice-impeached, four-time indicted Donald Trump. Our rights and our democracy depend on it. But there is little Biden can do to move the country forward in his second term if Republicans control Congress. The path to taking back the House runs through New York.

We are lucky in this election cycle that we have a candidate who can beat Nick LaLota, flip this district, help the Democrats take back the House and finally give us the representative we deserve who has our interests at heart, from restoring SALT to bringing federal funding to our district. That candidate is John Avlon.

While his opponent in the June 25 Democratic primary, Nancy Goroff, is a passionate advocate for Democratic causes, she lost badly when she ran against Republican Lee Zeldin in 2020. While Biden lost the district by only 4.2 percent, Goroff lost her race to Zeldin by 11.8 percent, according to Ballotpedia.

John Avlon — author of books on American history and politics, formerly managing editor of the Daily Beast, and senior political analyst and anchor on CNN — is a smart, knowledgeable, engaging moderate Democrat who will appeal to a broad spectrum of voters across our district.

If you want the best chance to defeat Nick LaLota and give Democrats the best chance to take back the House, the choice is clear: Vote for John Avlon on June 25.

Barbara Weber-Floyd

Westhampton Beach