Incumbent Republican Anthony Palumbo and Democratic newcomer Christopher Murray took questions on ICE, affordability, water quality and more at a debate on Sept. 28 hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and the North Fork.
They both named affordability, environmental conservation and water quality as top concerns for New York’s first senate district, which covers the easternmost tip of Long Island.
Politically driven redistricting wars, as seen in Texas and California, were another topic of agreement for the pair.
“Mid-year or mid-cycle or mid-decade redistricting is just wrong,” Palumbo said, who’s held the seat since 2021. “It's wrong no matter who does it.”
Murray called it “a kind of cancer in our politics,” despite New York Gov. Kathy Hochul – a fellow Democrat – pushing lawmakers to change the state constitution and allow mid-decade redistricting.
Their positions diverged on cooperation agreements between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities, the feasibility of New York’s ambitious climate goals, and a proposal to create universal healthcare for all New Yorkers.
On large-scale data centers that support artificial intelligence, Palumbo and Murray both say they support the moratoria by New York state and Brookhaven Town on building new centers.
Palumbo said he could support data centers under the right circumstances, and if the large technology companies that want to build them also build the necessary infrastructure to lessen the burden on nearby communities.
“We can't just abandon the whole idea and let China or some other country far exceed us. Because it's coming: AI is here to stay,” Palumbo said.
But Murray said AI development in general needs to slow down due to national security concerns and the economic damage from AI taking the place of humans in the workforce.
“There's concerns about them going rogue on their own, and it's just – we’ve got to slow down,” Murray said. “I know there's a race with China to be the AI king, but we have to slow down.”
Early voting begins Oct. 24, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
