PHOTO: Congressman Mike Lawler (center) at presser in Nanuet on Friday.

Joining him were officers from several Rockland PDs holding signs supporting his candidacy. Rockland PBA prez Ayers announced the union’s endorsement.

By Chris McKenna | The Journal News/USA Today

NANUET — Rep. Mike Lawler went after Democratic opponent Mondaire Jones for words and a vote that he said were adversarial to law enforcement when Jones served in Congress and during his first run in 2020.

Standing with police officers and two fellow Republicans next to a busy Route 59 intersection, Lawler zeroed in on Jones’ 2021 vote to let felons vote from prison, something only two states and Washington, D.C. currently allow.

Jones was one of 97 Democrats to back that proposed bill amendment, which was soundly defeated with opposition from every House Republican and 119 other Democrats.

“It’s a total slap in the face to our community — to cops, but perhaps most importantly, to crime victims,” [Lawler] said. “Imagine knowing that someone who assaulted you, raped you, somebody who killed a family member, somebody who was found guilty of child molestation, has the same say at the ballot box as you do. It’s radical.”

The Rockland County press conference was the latest salvo in a high-profile House battle in which both candidates are painting the other as more extreme than he lets on. Jones represented New York’s 17th Congressional District in 2021 and 2022 and is trying to wrest the seat back from Lawler, who won it against a different opponent two years ago.

Jones has touted his support for law enforcement in this race, and has fired his own shots at Lawler for voting for federal spending cuts that would have cut funding for the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies.

On Friday, Lawler responded by accusing Jones of trying to hide previous anti-police rhetoric, including past remarks in support of reducing or diverting police funding. Jones made most of those comments during his successful House campaign in 2020, which took place in the midst of a heated national debate over policing after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

“He should just be honest about his record and his beliefs, and stop gaslighting the public by trying to walk back every crazy radical idea that he has previously embraced,” Lawler said.

Mondaire Jones answers back on law enforcement record

Even before the press conference began, Jones’ campaign had sent out a long defense of his support for law enforcement and critique of Lawler’s votes for spending cuts. Its figures showed increases in federal grants for law enforcement in spending bills that Jones supported in Congress, such as a $150 million bump in community policing funds in 2022.

Jones also voted that year for a bill to distribute $60 million a year to police departments nationwide for five years. That proposal — the Invest to Protect Act — fell short that year but is still pending in Congress, with Lawler as one of 74 cosponsors from both parties.

In a statement, Jones questioned Lawler’s commitment to “Back the Blue,” saying he “voted to defund the police multiple times and backs a convicted felon who promises to pardon the insurrectionists who attacked Capitol Police officers on January 6,” referring to Donald Trump.

“Mike Lawler consistently puts politics over the safety of our Lower Hudson Valley communities,” Jones said. “By contrast, I consistently voted to fund law enforcement at record levels when I was in Congress. Public safety will continue to be a top priority for me.”

Lawler casts that stance as a reversal from Jones’ first run as a progressive four years ago. Among the past statements his campaign has highlighted is an essay Jones wrote for Teen Vogue in June 2020.

“To truly address the root of police violence, we must go far beyond reforming our criminal legal system,” Jones said in that piece. “We must dismantle white supremacy in all aspects of our society, and that means moving funding away from police departments and toward programs that improve public safety by helping to address the roots of systemic inequality.”

Asked on Friday about Jones’ vote to allow prisoners to vote, campaign spokesperson Shannon Geison said, “It’s a shame Mike Lawler wants to disenfranchise American citizens. Is this the best he’s got after getting caught on camera saying the plurality of voters in his district—Democrats—’hate this country’?”

Under current voting laws decided state by state, only Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C. let felons vote from prison. New York and 22 other states automatically restore felons’ voting rights as soon as they leave prison, while 15 other states do the same after the person has finished parole or probation.

Joining Lawler at the press conference on Friday were 10 police officers from various Rockland departments, who stood behind him holding campaign signs. Larry Ayers, president of the Rockland County Police Benevolent Association, announced the police union’s endorsement of Lawler. ##

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.