North Shore Leader Exclusive Interview with Mazi Pilip, Republican for US Congress
Interview Conducted by Benjamin Frankel and Jacqueline Sweet
The North Shore Leader sat down for an exclusive interview with Mazi Pilip, the Republican candidate for US Congress in NY3 – a district that includes the Towns of Oyster Bay and North Hempstead; Glen Cove; and a portion of northeast Queens.
Mazi Pilip is a Nassau County Legislator serving her second term in the Legislature. She currently represents Great Neck and Manhasset.
We wanted to hear Mazi’s take on the pressing national and local issues that voters in NY3 are moct concerned about.
Q: What do you think the central issue is of this campaign, and how are you different on that from Tom Suozzi?
A: The main one, migrants, the border crisis, it has been a major issue for 3rd Congressional district residents. Suozzi, when he was in Congress, was responsible for opening the southern border.
Although we all want immigrants to have the same opportunity to come to this country, like myself, and my husband who came from Ukraine, it has to be done correctly.
Q: If you were in Congress now, would you be supportive of the current proposed border agreement?
A: There is a bill in the House, H.R. 2. I went over the details, and it is a good one, a strong one, and it is going to secure our ability to protect our border. It’s been sitting in the Senate for 200 days, and if they are really serious about this, fixing the problem, they just should adopt [it.]
Q: Elise Stefanik, with whom you have created a joint fundraising committee, recently called January 6 convicts “hostages.” Do you agree with her statement?
A: When you talk about January 6…I support the idea of protesting…but I don’t support violence. Nobody is above the law, so if you broke the law, you’re going to be charged.
I don’t have all the details of every second of that day but in general I don’t support violence.
Q: There is an effort pending now before the House of Representatives, to impeach Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security, claiming that he committed a dereliction of duty on the border. What’s your opinion on that, and would you vote to impeach him?
A: When you are thinking about border security, we are dealing with a serious crisis and there is a reason for that.
The people who were in charge absolutely failed in protecting the American people. So in that case, he failed to do his job and I will support the New York delegation to impeach him.
The fact that millions are making their way here and we don’t know if they are criminals, terrorists, this is out of control. Our job as Americans, as leaders, as elected officials is to protect the American people.
Q: You recently got into politics, you ran for Nassau Legislature in 2021. What made you decide this is the time to get involved, and what’s your driving force for wanting to represent the 3rd District?
A: My husband and I came to this country as immigrants, for the American Dream. I am a girl who was born in a village in Ethiopia, and I made my way here to become a Nassau County Legislator.
Unfortunately, this country is going in the wrong direction. There are a lot of extreme policies out there with Biden, the Squad members, that are antisemitic, that are really impacting our quality of life every single day, whether it’s defund the police movements, or the amount of drugs coming from the border.
Q: Aid to Ukraine has now run out. Should we be providing military and economic assistance to Ukraine? There’s a faction in the House that wants to stop aid to Ukraine and there’s also a faction who wants to delay aid until a border deal is done. Where do you stand?
A: We definitely should give the military aid to Ukraine. When it comes to the money, it has been almost two years since Russia invaded Ukraine and the U.S. has been supporting Ukraine, which is good, but now I agree with those saying, what’s the plan?
How are they using the money? Based on that we are going to make a decision.
Q: Do you support the current proposal for an additional $60 billion in aid to Ukraine? If that came before you, how would you vote?
A: Again, I would like to see how the money is being used, and then yes, I’d support Ukraine. The questions they are asking are very legitimate.
Q: Do you think Ukraine funding should be tied to the border?
A: I think we should have a deal, to understand how we can protect our borders and how we can be able to support Ukraine. When it comes to Israel, I think that should be separate.
Q: SALT, the state and local tax deduction: Your opponent has said he tried to work to try to lift those caps but he was not successful. Do you support trying to lift the limits on property tax deductions, and how would you be able to do what he was unable to do?
A: I’m going to join the Long Island delegation to bring SALT deductions back to New Yorkers. When you have a strong delegation from here you will have a strong voice.
Q: You said you would not support a national abortion ban. Do you support the overturning of Roe v. Wade?
A: I made it clear I do not support a nationwide abortion ban. I have faith in our Supreme Court that each state will make a decision based on [their] people.
Q: What is your stance on guns and gun control?
A: The American people have the right to own guns, however I think the federal government and local governments should collaborate to make sure we are following the regulations that are out there.
I am an expert on guns, that’s what I did in Israel, and I know how important they are to protect yourself, but also how dangerous they are. I do not support citizens owning automatic assault weapons.
Q: Because of what happened with George Santos, there has been a lot of discussion around access and transparency. Do you feel you are doing enough to talk to people?
A: Absolutely. My record can show that I am not here to hide. The GOP took their time, and really vetted every one of us. I have been available to the press, and I have been available to voters.
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This Interview was conducted for the North Shore Leader by Benjamin Frankel and Jacqueline Sweet. Frankel is the Editor of the daily Homeland Security Newswire and former Editor of the international affairs journals Security Studies and the National Interest. Sweet is a former Editor of the Patch and a contributing writer to Politico and Business Insider. The Interview was conducted at the offices of the North Shore Leader.