In a virtual editorial board meeting with several North Country newspapers on Oct. 20, Matt Castelli, the Democratic NY-21 candidate running against incumbent Republican Elise Stefanik for her House seat, stayed mostly true to the “moderate” brand he’s promoting in this race.

He was critical of Republicans, including Stefanik, for what he sees as their questioning of the 2020 presidential election results, politicization of the coronavirus pandemic, inaction on immigration reform, and opposition to what he sees as “common sense” gun safety laws.

But he was also critical of Democrats, including President Joe Biden, for not acting on inflation soon enough to stop its costly effects, what he sees as their inaction on immigration reform and Democratic proposals to ban assault weapons.

“Problems are solved from the middle,” he said.

Castelli, in addition to running on the Democratic line, is also running on the independent Moderate party line. He is a former counter-terrorism officer with the CIA, former counter-terrorism director with the National Security Council and a resident of Glens Falls.

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Costs of living, housing

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Castelli said the number-one topic he hears from voters is the rising cost of daily life — namely the costs of child care and affordable housing.

He said this is caused by a combination of things, and that prices have been rising for years.

Castelli said he believes by investing in child care and affordable housing, the federal government can be investing in growing the economy.

Castelli said there are lots of existing affordable housing structures, but some are vacant.

He’s proposing three “R”s to increase housing — “raze, renovate and rebuild.”

He said middle-income housing is the biggest gap he hears about, even more so than low-income housing.

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Government programs

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Castelli said he wants to preserve Social Security and Medicare. People have paid into these systems with confidence and deserve pay out, he said. Castelli said he does not trust Stefanik with his parents’ benefits. He claims she wants to “gut” them for future generations.

Stefanik said she plans to make changes to programs and what they offer future generations so they don’t become bankrupt in the future.

Castelli said he’d like to expand Medicare coverage to include dental, vision and hearing, to keep Social Security benefits in pace with inflation and to bolster the funding for these programs by taxing the top earners more to make sure they pay their “fair share.”

Castelli said he has a personal connection to the student loan crisis.

“I have a tremendous amount of student loan debt,” he said.

Castelli attended Siena College, Georgetown and Northwestern University.

He said he supports the government’s loan forgiveness program, which is currently taking applications, but he is concerned it does not address the root cause of student debt problem. Castelli said higher education costs are rising, so the federal government should make college more affordable.

He said the federal government should put more money into its Pell Grants program.

Castelli questioned why the federal government charges interest on its loans, making money on student debt. He said he’d like to bring that interest rate down to near zero.

When it comes to student loan forgiveness, Castelli believes that should be attached to public service — if someone gets a job to help community then they can get debt forgiveness. For example, he suggested someone who commits to working for five years in rural health care would qualify.

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Jan. 6

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Castelli called the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a “violent insurrection” on democracy and law enforcement.

Castelli said as the House Jan. 6 committee has investigated the attack, it has often been Republicans — some of whom worked to try to get Trump reelected — testifying and providing transparency into the attempted insurrection.

He was asked what outcome he wants from the hearings and said he wants to see “accountability and justice” next.

Castelli cites the events on that day as the reason for him running for office against Stefanik.

“She was part of a conspiracy to overturn the will of the people,” Castelli said.

Stefanik voted against certifying electors from Pennsylvania on that day and has called the committee investigating the riot a “partisan sham.” Castelli said Stefanik is the “chief defender of Jan. 6” because he believes her political future is tied to it.

Castelli has requested that Stefanik open her correspondence with Trump and other Republican officials on that day, but she has not. He alleges this proves she’s got something to hide.

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Foreign policy, Ukraine

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The U.S. has given around $17.6 billion to Ukraine in military assistance, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Castelli said Biden rallied the global community for Ukraine, which he said means the U.S. is not the only country footing the bill.

Castelli said he understands arguments he’s heard that the U.S. is helping defend Ukraine’s borders and not its own, but he believes it’s the right thing to do. And currently, he believes Ukraine is “winning” the fight.

He said sending U.S. troops to Eastern Europe is not necessary or appropriate, but the U.S. should continue to provide lethal and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Castelli says his foreign policy decisions — if and how the U.S. gets involved in conflicts around the world — would be handled on a case-by-case basis. There is a total of 535 congressmembers who vote on declarations of war.

There’s a balance, he said, between being “world police” and being “America First.” It’s no surprise, he said, that he sees himself right in the middle.

He said the GOP has allowed a “pro-Putin faction” within its party that wants to cut off aid to Ukraine. He said this is a “gift to Vladimir Putin.”

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President Biden

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Castelli was asked to grade the performance of President Joe Biden’s administration so far. After a moment of thought, he said “B-minus.”

Castelli said Biden was handed challenges: the coronavirus pandemic, a “terrible surrender deal” with U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But he said Biden is still responsible for mismanaging things like Afghanistan and the economy.

He said his grade is a “mixed bag.”

He gives the Biden administration credit for its handling of the Ukraine invasion and pandemic, but said it has been slow to act on the economy.

“I’ve given them criticism, too, about believing for far too long that inflation was transitory and they didn’t take steps with the fed to take actions to cool our economy and the demand side of things,” Castelli said.

Castelli believes the $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was good, but it took longer to pass because Democrats tried to “court” progressives and the “far-left wing” in their party for too long. Granted, he said, they got no help from GOP.

He also said he believes Congress was “asleep at the wheel” on Afghanistan, including Stefanik.

He said in 20 years of war in Afghanistan, both major parties in Congress did not oversee the executive branch enough. He said when Trump and Former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed the U.S.-Taliban deal in February 2020, Stefanik did not speak about it then.

Then, in May 2021, the Pentagon announced its plans for the withdrawal with the House Armed Services Committee.

“Stefanik failed to participate in a meeting on May 12, the first opportunity she had to hear about the Biden administration’s plan for withdraw,” Castelli said.

“You want to know what she had plenty of time to do on May 12? … Vote (U.S. Rep.) Liz Cheney out of office in order to take her position as the number three in House Republican leadership,” he said.

Castelli accused Stefanik of putting her career ahead of the country.

Border

Castelli takes a stronger stance on border security than is typical for his party, advocating for more manpower, technology and a “physical barrier” on the southern border.

As a former CIA counter-terrorism officer, he said a secure border is important to him and a “prerequisite” for any immigration reform. He believes the border is not secure and that the U.S. needs to create a better path for legal immigration. But he feels politicians of major parties are currently using the border as a political cudgel.

Castelli says there is currently no trustworthy source of solutions on the border, and he pins the blame for this on both Republicans and Democrats.

Castelli is proposing taking the border issue out of politicians’ hands by creating a “9/11 style” independent bipartisan commission on the border to study “gaps” in security and propose solutions for Congress to act on.

He is the grandson of immigrants, he pointed out. His grandmother’s name is on the wall at Ellis Island.

“We are the greatest nation in the world,” Castelli said, adding that people seek economic opportunities here.

People also flee their home countries because of violence, oppressive governments or climate change bringing natural disaster. He said the country needs a way to process them all in a “legal and humane” way.

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Guns

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Castelli was asked how he believes mass shootings could be stopped in America. He describes himself as a “strong supporter of the Second Amendment” who believes in “common sense” gun control — red flag laws, universal background checks and mental health investments.

He said gun control is an “urgent issue,” not a partisan one. He accused Stefanik of allowing “cop-killers, kid-killers, domestic abusers or terrorists” to stay armed.

Castelli has faced criticism for his stance on gun control from both sides of the politicial spectrum, with Stefanik using his support of gun control to paint him as a gun-grabber. Some Democratic voters at a town hall in Saranac Lake were vocally disappointed by his position to not blanket-ban assault weapons.

“I guess that’s the job, right? You put yourself out there and to build a coalition and you’re likely to get criticized from some factions,” Castelli said. “I think if you’re getting criticized from the far-left and from the far-right, you’re probably doing something right.”

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Future of COVID

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Castelli said he believes there is going to be a “normalization” of the coronavirus as it morphs into new variants and new vaccines are created to treat it, and eventually, it will be treated like the “annual flu.”

He said he wants to depoliticize public health issues in the future, because he believes the virus being politically weaponized killed people.

He gave credit to both the Biden and Trump administrations for the speed of vaccine creation they oversaw.

He’s still concerned about the rise of disinformation around things like viruses. Castelli spoke about social media being misused by politicians, countries and tech companies to the detriment of citizens, especially children.

Castelli was asked if he believes the government should regulate tech companies.

Castelli said self-regulation doesn’t work out, so the government should stop them from using profit models that cause harm.

Early voting in this election starts today, Saturday, and runs through Nov. 6. Election Day is on Nov. 8.