AOC challenger Marty Dolan calls for return to centrist Democratic values

June 25, 2024 By Queens Post News Team

Marty Dolan, the 66-year-old investment banker challenging Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York’s 14th Congressional District in the Democratic primary, urged Astoria residents to reject the “radical wing” of the Democratic party at a meeting of the Astoria Homeowners, Tenants and Business Civic Association last week. 

Dolan, who has positioned himself as a “moderate” alternative to Ocasio-Cortez, addressed residents on Wednesday as part of the association’s candidates’ night at Pistilli Grand Manor, located at 45-02 Ditmars Blvd. in Astoria.

Describing himself as the “self-made son of a Latino immigrant”, Dolan said he will “take the Democratic party to the center” if he defeats AOC on Tuesday. 

“We need to bring the Democratic party back to the center, back to the values that the people in this room have, which are to grow the middle class, to refund the police and to end bail reform,” Dolan told residents during Wednesday’s meeting.

If elected, he pledged to increase the number of police officers and teachers in New York City and reduce taxes by up to 30%. 

When quizzed by a local resident about how he planned to increase spending while reducing taxation, Dolan posited a value-added tax system on goods and services, stating that the United States is the only major economy in the world that does not implement such a tax regime. 

He also proposed a luxury sales tax to “tax the rich.” 

“If they’re going to take their private jet, and they’re going to go watch the Super Bowl in a $20 million suite, let them pay a luxury sales tax on that and put it into the city pension fund,” Dolan said. 

He claimed that Ocasio-Cortez represents just 10% of her voters in her district and accused her of neglecting local issues while pursuing national fame. 

He added that AOC’s efforts to prevent Amazon from opening a planned New York City headquarters in Long Island City had left New York with a “black eye worldwide”. 

“The Amazon experience created a black eye for New York all over the world,” Dolan told residents. “If you’re Samsung or you’re Tata and you’re looking at making an investment decision in Queens or in New York, maybe you won’t.” 

“We have to reverse that immediately. There’s only one remedy to reversing that, which is voting out AOC. You have to set a signal that this is intolerable. New York City was built on the working class, built on the companies that are based here. And New York has a black eye all over the world because of this representative.” 

Ocasio-Cortez, who was invited to attend the candidates’ night on Wednesday, was not present to respond to Dolan.