Bishop, Zeldin on the Road
Representative Tim Bishop and his challenger, State Senator Lee Zeldin, who are engaged in what is expected to be a close contest for New York’s First Congressional District, will meet a number of times over the next week — twice in East Hampton Town.
Mr. Bishop and Mr. Zeldin will debate tonight at 7 p.m. at Westhampton Beach High School. They will make opening and closing statements and answer questions from a panel including David E. Rattray, the editor of The Star, and Joe Shaw, executive editor for The Press News Group.
Mr. Bishop and Mr. Zeldin will meet again on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Montauk Firehouse when Concerned Citizens of Montauk hosts its annual Meet the Candidates Forum. They will have a chance to address the gathering and pose one question to each other. State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who is running for re-election on the Democratic, Working Families, and Independence Party tickets, and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, a Republican, are also expected at the event. Their challengers were invited, but did not respond, according to the organization. Challenging Mr. Thiele are Heather Collins, on the Republican ticket, and Brian DeSesa, on the Conservative Party line. Michael Conroy, a Democrat, is challenging Mr. LaValle.
Mr. Bishop and Mr. Zeldin will meet again next Thursday at LTV Studios in Wainscott for a 7 p.m. debate.
Tomorrow, LTV will present a “village green” meeting at its Studio 3. The open discussion is to feature Mr. Bishop, Mr. Thiele, Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, and Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst.
Mr. Bishop appeared on Sunday with several dozen veterans who support his re-election at a rally at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4927 in Centereach. Earlier this month, Mr. Bishop and labor groups presented $10,000 to the Suffolk County American Legion to fund a post-traumatic stress disorder training program that would train veterans and their family members on assisting returning veterans facing P.T.S.D. and traumatic brain injury.
Mr. Bishop’s campaign announced yesterday the endorsement of the Coalition of Suffolk Police Unions. In a statement, the county Patrolman’s Benevolent Association president, Noel DiGerolama, cited Mr. Bishop’s “long and distinguished record of supporting the Suffolk County police.”
Mr. Zeldin has been endorsed by the president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, Thomas Donahue, among others.
American Action Network, a group supporting Republican candidates, has targeted the Bishop-Zeldin race as an opportunity to pick up an additional seat in Congress, which Republicans presently control. It has pledged $1.2 million to defeat Mr. Bishop, though the political website The Hill reported on Monday that A.A.N. and a sister organization, the Congressional Leadership Fund, have now spent $1.5 million in that effort.