Often, someone’s character is tested in the face of impending defeat. Unfortunately for the residents of New York’s 16th Congressional District, Representative Jamaal Bowman has failed in so many ways that it’s hard to keep track of it all. Bowman has resorted to a ruthless campaign of blatant falsehoods in an attempt to maintain political power. It’s disqualifying.
As head of the 20,000-strong New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters, it is my responsibility to keep an eye on what our elected representatives are doing in the halls of power. Job openings, the right to organize, and the benefits we fought so hard for are directly related to the decisions made in Washington, DC. It was in that spirit that I took Bowman for a tour of our training center to learn more about our union, its members and how we can work together to expand opportunities for all of his constituents who wanted to become union workers. The congressman promised to always stand up for workers. His actions in Washington DC quickly made him a liar.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill of 2021 was one of President Joe Biden’s biggest achievements and will create thousands of good jobs for those who belong to unions and internship opportunities for those who want to join them. It is also part of a groundbreaking federal effort to combat climate change and create safe drinking water for all Americans. Bowman loudly led the charge against it. He voted against. But now, on the brink of electoral defeat for opposing the infrastructure bill, he has suddenly found religion.
He has sent text messages containing false statements such as “Jamaal helped pass the infrastructure bill” (the bill he voted against). He then goes on to lie that his vote secured investments in “our infrastructure, housing, green jobs and insulin price caps for seniors” and then follows that up by claiming, again falsely, that his opponent, County Executive George Latimer, is “not on board” despite Latimer’s well-known support for the infrastructure bill. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has pointedly criticized all MAGA Republicans who voted against the bill, but take credit for it in their districts.
In his questionnaire asking for our approval, the congressman also claimed to have voted for the bill. I’m not a congressman. Just a carpenter. Maybe it’s different in Washington DC, but on a job site we have a name for it: Liar.
The congressman went a step further and justified his anti-worker vote against the infrastructure bill. Bowman falsely claimed that “90% of the jobs in the first infrastructure bill will go to white men.” Mr. Bowman visited our training center. He saw that our union members reflected what Mayor Dinkins called the “beautiful mosaic” that is New York City and America. He praised us for it, then turned around and said something completely different to the media when it suited him.
Right now, workers’ rights are under attack and we must build unity to preserve our middle class. We understand that because we live with it every day. Without unity among workers, there is no minimum wage, no prevailing wage, and literally no weekend. Bowman’s pathological ability to lie is a dagger in the neck of worker solidarity.
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Because of Bowman’s anti-working class vote and dishonesty, our union proudly supported his opponent, Democrat George Latimer. We did this not only because Latimer knows what it means to grow paycheck to paycheck and has always stood for working people, but also because we know he will be honest with us about what he does and why.
The truth is in short supply in politics these days, and that’s because people like Bowman realize that if they continue to lie and trick their social media followers into repeating the lie, it could become what former President Donald Trump’s associates call “alternative facts.” ‘ mentioned. “We’ve seen Trump do it in the White House; we don’t need a congressman in New York to join him in tearing our country apart with lies, all in a vain attempt to win an election. That kind of politics is bad for our nation , bad for democracy and bad for the future. Worst of all, Bowman’s lies are bad for the people of the 16th Congressional District. On Primary Day, June 25, we look forward to changing that.
Joseph Geiger is executive secretary-treasurer of the New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: George Latimer is the right choice in NY-16
