Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board

Voters in the 19th Congressional District are facing a fascinating choice between two starkly different candidates.

Republican John Faso has plenty of political experience as a state legislator and knows the area well, having lived here for decades.

Democrat Zephyr Teachout, a sharp law professor at Fordham University, ran a spirited campaign in her party’s primary against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014. She is new to the area but would bring a fresh perspective to Washington and governance in general. Voters have plenty of compelling reasons to give her that opportunity.

The two candidates recently exchanged ideas at a Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board meeting. That meeting was nuanced and substantive, indicative of the fact that voters will be choosing between two qualified candidates here.

Teachout wisely acknowledged she would have to work across the political aisle to get anything accomplished, recognizing the House of Representatives is most likely going to remain in GOP control after the November elections. And she pointed to specific places, such as in the fight against Lyme disease and getting broadband to rural places, where political consensus can and should be reached.

Let’s be clear: Teachout would have to employ such a strategy to be successful.

For his part, Faso is a veteran lawmaker who once served as state Assembly minority leader and unsuccessfully ran for state comptroller and governor. In the private sector, he has served as a lobbyist.

In general, Faso supports cutting taxes and regulations. He is in favor of lowering the maximum corporate rate but closing loopholes and limiting deductions. He also has offered several sound specific policies, including changing the tax code so that businesses could fully deduct investments in new equipment or technology in the same year those purchases were made. He believes this would be particularly helpful to small businesses, farmers and manufacturers, and he is right.

Teachout wants to close loopholes on hedge fund managers who exploit laws to get around paying a higher tax rate and end “taxpayer funded giveaways to oil and gas companies.”

She said more investment should be made to alternative energy sources, pointing to a fact that the Poughkeepsie Journal has long stated, “Renewable energy is not on an even playing field right now.”

Teachout would clearly be a strong defender of the Hudson River and the environment in general, calling for more cleanup of pollution in the river, opposing the Coast Guard’s large-vessel anchoring proposal and being out front in the fight against hydrofracking.

Teachout also was the first national director of the Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan group trying to make Congress more open and transparent, something that voters can be assured would be a high priority for her if elected.

To his credit, Faso did come across as more far moderate at the Editorial Board meeting than his voting record in the Assembly would suggest. He noted, for example, that a compromise is needed to keep Social Security solvent for generations and that raising the federal minimum wage should be looked at.

The Poughkeepsie Journal would urge the winner of this race to look at the person vacating this seat, Republican Chris Gibson, as a strong model. Gibson decided not to run again this year, but he built a strong and deserved reputation as a knowledgeable, honorable lawmaker willing to work across the political aisle.

At our meeting, Teachout acknowledged Gibson’s fine work, and she definitely brings a new and welcomed energy to politics. Voters should give her two years to see if she can use that energy and her intelligence to serve the district in the most fitting and admirable way.

Watch meeting online

To see the Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board meeting with these candidates go to www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/opinion



To find out more about the candidates, go to

https://johnfaso.com/ and http://www.zephyrteachoutforcongress.com/

The district includes all of Ulster, Greene and Columbia counties, most of Dutchess County and some or all of seven other counties.