Congressional candidates say how platforms affected
Editor’s note: The Sentinel posed questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic to all five Democrats running in the primary for the Second Congressional District, which includes Atlantic and Cape May counties. Will Cunningham didn’t respond in time for this story.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Democrats running for the Second Congressional District seat to change their campaigning, it hasn’t been having an impact on their priorities.
Dr. John Francis of West Cape May, one of the five Democrats running for the seat held by former Democrat, and now Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew, said his priorities haven’t changed, but the pandemic may have an impact on the urgency of his message.
Francis said his focus is on “protecting the environment and providing education and economic equity.” He added, “Our survival depends on love, kindness, and cooperation, not only in our relationships but in our politics and social institutions. This pandemic has laid bare the fallacies and frailties of our social and economic system. Today, universal health care, a tighter social service net, and a guaranteed income may not seem so absurd or too progressive.”
“I still believe that how we treat each other manifests in the physical environment around us, like pollution, loss of species, and climate change,” Francis said. “I now add the COVID-19 pandemic to the list. I am now able to talk more forcefully about our environment responding to how we treat each other, personally, socially, politically, institutionally, economically.”
Although his priorities haven’t changed, Francis hopes that is not the case in Washington.
“I hope that this pandemic will have changed some priorities in Congress,” Francis said. “If elected, I hope to continue to be a catalyst for those around me for the kind of government that we aspire.”
Robert Turkavage of Brigantine said the pandemic has shown his top two priorities “were well-placed. First is protecting the national security of the United States and second is “ensuring that all laws passed by the U.S. Congress are fair to all our citizens.”
“In my opinion, COVID-19 exposed a National Security (NS) weakness or ‘gap,’” Turkavage said. “In its simplest terms, there are three components to dealing with NS threats: Threat Identification; Preparedness (availability of sufficient manpower, other resources and an Operational Plan) and Plan Execution. The Trump Administration bears responsibility for lack of preparedness and for a haphazard execution of the response plan. Congress, in my opinion, likely shares responsibility for lack of preparedness due to a lack of sufficient Congressional oversight of a NS matter of which they were likely made aware.”
On the issue of fairness, the former FBI agent criticized the relief legislation’s $349 billion in Small Business Administration loans, saying Congress failed to provide “guardrails” to stop banks from catering to their wealthiest customers.
“The end result,” Turkavage said, “was that by the time the funding was totally disbursed, virtually all of the wealthiest customers had received their loans, but few of the neediest businesses received funding.”
Brigid Callahan Harrison of Longport felt a personal impact – her husband was hospitalized with COVID-19 and she said she hasn’t been able to see him since late March – and that the pandemic reinforced the need for change.
“Like so many of us in south Jersey who have been affected by the pandemic, we have had to balance our personal and professional responsibilities,” she said. “A campaign is no different. We are making great strides on the campaign front, but the health and status of my husband is always on my mind and his health was certainly a priority I was not expecting.”
However, that hasn’t diminished her belief Van Drew “put his own political career and Donald Trump before the district. Since the pandemic struck, we have seen this concern develop far more significantly,” she said. “Instead of fighting for more COVID-19 testing, caring for our seniors, or addressing the immediate needs of our boardwalks, Jeff has chosen to blindly support Donald Trump and his way of dealing with this crisis. This pandemic has only reinforced our need for change ¬– and our need to strengthen the community’s voice in Washington. And in its aftermath, we will need someone who will make our economy recovery a top priority and fight for south Jersey’s fair share of federal spending.”
Amy Kennedy of Brigantine said COVID-19 outbreak added emphasis to her priorities.
“This pandemic has underscored what I want to do in Congress and has truly shown the fault lines in our economy, the disparities in our health system, and how we undervalue industries like child care, health care workers, and other front line responders,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it’s changed my priorities, I’d say it’s made them more urgent.”
She said as a former public school teacher and mental health advocate, “my focus has been to address the inequities in access to health and mental health care. With the spread of COVID we are continuing to see just how unjust this system has been, not only to vulnerable communities, but to those who are working on the front lines, and my commitment to addressing these issues remains a constant priority.”