Democrat Tom Suozzi said he offers New York’s 3rd Congressional District voters a candidate with a proven track record who will help fix the country’s problem by working across the aisle to seek out common ground solutions.

“Everybody’s got these nagging feelings in the back of their head about all these problems that are happening,” Suozzi said in an interview with Blank Slate Media. “They’re wondering ‘Is the world really changed?’ and they look to the Congress and they’re like ‘OK, what are you doing to help us?’”

Suozzi said in an hour-long interview he offers specific solutions to problems that he is willing to discuss publicly while his Republican opponent, Nassau County Legislator Mazi Pilip, has failed to explain her positions or agree to more than one debate.

The lone debate agreed to by Pilip, he said, is with News Channel 12 five days before election day and five days after early voting has begun, and will not be seen by Queens voters who make up about 20% of the vote.

The two candidates are running in a special election on Feb. 13 to finish out the term of Republican Rep. George Santos. He was expelled from Congress in December after he was found to have repeatedly lied to voters – later indicted on 21 federal charges and found to have committed numerous violations by the House Ethics Committee.

Suozzi, who was elected to Congress three times from 2016 to 2020, did not run for re-election in 2022 to make an unsuccessful challenge against Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary.

He previously served two terms as Nassau County Executive and four terms as the mayor of Glen Cove.

Suozzi said he is running for his 3rd Congressional District seat because he believes in public service and wants to use his experience to heal the divide within the country.

The former congressman was present at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection but said divisions in Congress have grown even worse in the aftermath of the insurrection.

Recounting the threat he and fellow members of Congress felt on Jan. 6, Suozzi denounced recent claims by former President Trump and Republican members of Congress who have downplayed the seriousness of an orchestrated attack intended to block the transfer of power to a new president

“Anybody who tries to make that day less than it was is lying,” Suozzi said. “That was an attack on the Capitol. It was scary. It was dangerous. And the whole time I was thinking to myself we have to get back, we have to get back, we have to vote tonight. People cannot wake up tomorrow morning and we have not certified this election, otherwise, they will have won.’”

He noted that he along with the other members of Congress did return to certify the election win of Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump.

Suozzi, a former member of the Problem Solvers Caucus focused on reaching across the aisle, said the challenge of government is finding common ground with those you disagree with.

“When you work with other people, it doesn’t mean you agree with them on everything,” Suozzi said. “A lot of people I don’t agree with on things, but I’ll work with them if they really want to solve a problem to try and find common ground to solve the particular issue.”

He said what is fueling division are self-righteous pursuits as individuals in Congress push for solutions they believe are right without seeking compromise.

His campaign slogan is “Let’s fix this,” which he said refers to combatting divisions in the country by uniting together to address issues.

“Whether it’s their home prices or prescription drugs or health insurance or the immigration crisis or climate change or guns or the threat to reproductive choice or Israel or Ukraine, it’s all broken, it’s all part of the same dysfunction that exists that people are not sitting down and working to solve the problem,” Suozzi said.

The Democratic candidate said he is pro-law enforcement, supports the right to an abortion, stricter gun laws and bolstering affordability.

Suozzi, who has a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood, said he supports a national codification of Roe v. Wade and securing the right to an abortion.

He said he also supports bans on assault weapons and the implementation of universal background checks.

“Every single thing you can think of to try and reduce gun violence in our country, I’ve signed onto that legislation,” Suozzi said.

He said he worked with former Republican Rep. Peter King to develop an immigration plan that would fix the current crisis on the border that was published as an op-ed in New York Times.

To bolster affordability, Suozzi advocated for “cool downtowns” that would include building mixed-use buildings that included apartments surrounding train stations.

While many local officials have advocated against such development due to pushback against urbanization, Suozzi said cool downtowns will still preserve the community’s environment and would only impact 5% of the land in Nassau County.

Suozzi, who recently visited Israel in support of the country, said he supported Biden’s immediate response to the Oct. 7 attack and applauded his strong support of Israel.

He said he advocates for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and following Israel’s defeat of Hamas Gaza should be governed by a group that cares for the citizens.

Suozzi said he also supports continued aid to Ukraine, denouncing Republicans in Congress who have opposed the funds.

“We can’t be isolationists,” Suozzi said. “We can’t ignore that there is this real threat taking place to democracy in the world right now.”

He said his opponent’s platform is not clear, with little transparency on her voting history and her political positions.

“She can say all the things she says in these little tweets and sound bites to her own people in structured environments, but we don’t really know what she’s standing for,” Suozzi said.

He said the Republican Party is pandering to the far right, suggesting an explanation for Pilip’s lack of transparency and lack of hardline stance on issues.

“We really don’t know what she would do about anything because she hasn’t told us anything about what she stands for,” Suozzi said.

What we do know, Suozzi said, is that the Conservative Party backs her.

“She says, ‘Well, I’m not an extremist, I’m not like that,’ well, how do we know?” Suozzi said. “You won’t debate, you won’t tell us what your position is and you say that you agree with the Conservative Party. We have to assume you’re in favor of all of these things.”

In the wake of the Santos debacle, Suozzi said it is important for candidates to have transparency.

He said this is why debates are important, but Pilip has only agreed to attend one debate despite many requests.

Brian Devine, a spokesperson for Pilip’s campaign, said she is trying to accommodate debates amid her busy schedule. He said she is prioritizing community events where she can speak directly with voters.

In response to issues Pilip has supported in her campaign –  reducing taxes, securing the border, supporting police, fighting inflation and creating jobs – Suozzi said he would push these issues, too, and he has in his career.

Suozzi said he has never been a favorite of the Democratic establishment but was picked by the party to run in the special election because he has shown his ability to win and defeat Nassau County’s Republican machine.

“I’ve been around for a long time,” Suozzi said. “I’m not perfect – nobody is – but you know that you can trust me to work on behalf of the people. That I’ll stand up to the extremists, whether it’s the far right or even some people on the far left in my party, that I’ll fight for the people on the issues that they care about…I’ll work with anybody to try to solve problems and make people’s lives better, as I have throughout my entire career.”