About the district
The 25th Congressional District includes most of Monroe County and part of Orleans County: Webster, Penfield, Perinton, East Rochester, Pittsford, Brighton, Henrietta, the city of Rochester, Irondequoit, Greece, Gates, Chili, Parma, Ogden, Riga, Sweden and Clarkson.
About the candidates
Democrat Louise Slaughter is a 26-year incumbent in this district, which now includes much of Monroe County. Challenger Maggie Brooks (R-Webster) is serving her third term as County Executive. This is her first year running for Congress.
Maggie Brooks
Age: 57
Occupation: Monroe County Executive
Family: Husband, Bob; Daughters, Julia and Jensen
Party endorsements: Republican, Conservative, Independence
Community involvement: United Way Women's Leadership Council, Excell Partners, Visit Rochester, Greater Rochester Enterprise, Governor's Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, St. Rita's Catholic Church
Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Age: 83
Occupation: Microbiologist
Family: Husband Robert Slaughter, three daughters and seven grandchildren
Party endorsements: Democratic, Working Families
Community involvement: As a member of Congress, I’m constantly working with local community to improve life and tackle the big issues affecting residents in Monroe County
What would you say are the top three issues in this year’s campaign for your office?
Brooks: I’ve spent each and every day as County Executive talking with local taxpayers about the issues that matter to their families. That’s why I know just how important it is that our Federal government finally gets serious about creating jobs, balancing our budget, and cutting our exploding national debt. Here in our community, we’ve balanced our budget for 8 straight years, while cutting the property tax rate, right-sizing government, and maintaining quality of life services. We’ve done it all while working with private sector employers to create over 15,000 jobs, retain over 70,000 jobs, and invest over $3 billion in our local economy. Job creation, tax stability, and fiscal responsibility have been my priorities in Monroe County and they will remain my priorities in Congress. Above all, I have the proven record and the collaborative experience to work across the aisle and fix what’s broken in Washington.
Slaughter: Hands down, creating jobs is the number one issue. We know that manufacturing will always be the backbone of our local economy. But I’ve also been committed to our future as a center of high-tech research and development, and I’ve directed federal resources to our research facilities to secure that future. Second, we have to protect Social Security and Medicare for current and future seniors. These programs have ensured financial security for our golden years, but Washington Republicans are threatening this security to give another tax cut to millionaires. Third, we have to have to reform our tax system so we can balance our budget in a responsible way. Right now, Mitt Romney pays a lower tax rate than most of the people reading this newspaper, and his plan calls for even more tax cuts for the rich. That’s an irresponsible and immoral approach to reducing the deficit.
About the district
The 25th Congressional District includes most of Monroe County and part of Orleans County: Webster, Penfield, Perinton, East Rochester, Pittsford, Brighton, Henrietta, the city of Rochester, Irondequoit, Greece, Gates, Chili, Parma, Ogden, Riga, Sweden and Clarkson.
About the candidates
Democrat Louise Slaughter is a 26-year incumbent in this district, which now includes much of Monroe County. Challenger Maggie Brooks (R-Webster) is serving her third term as County Executive. This is her first year running for Congress.
Maggie Brooks
Age: 57
Occupation: Monroe County Executive
Family: Husband, Bob; Daughters, Julia and Jensen
Party endorsements: Republican, Conservative, Independence
Community involvement: United Way Women's Leadership Council, Excell Partners, Visit Rochester, Greater Rochester Enterprise, Governor's Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, St. Rita's Catholic Church
Louise McIntosh Slaughter
Age: 83
Occupation: Microbiologist
Family: Husband Robert Slaughter, three daughters and seven grandchildren
Party endorsements: Democratic, Working Families
Community involvement: As a member of Congress, I’m constantly working with local community to improve life and tackle the big issues affecting residents in Monroe County
What would you say are the top three issues in this year’s campaign for your office?
Brooks: I’ve spent each and every day as County Executive talking with local taxpayers about the issues that matter to their families. That’s why I know just how important it is that our Federal government finally gets serious about creating jobs, balancing our budget, and cutting our exploding national debt. Here in our community, we’ve balanced our budget for 8 straight years, while cutting the property tax rate, right-sizing government, and maintaining quality of life services. We’ve done it all while working with private sector employers to create over 15,000 jobs, retain over 70,000 jobs, and invest over $3 billion in our local economy. Job creation, tax stability, and fiscal responsibility have been my priorities in Monroe County and they will remain my priorities in Congress. Above all, I have the proven record and the collaborative experience to work across the aisle and fix what’s broken in Washington.
Slaughter: Hands down, creating jobs is the number one issue. We know that manufacturing will always be the backbone of our local economy. But I’ve also been committed to our future as a center of high-tech research and development, and I’ve directed federal resources to our research facilities to secure that future. Second, we have to protect Social Security and Medicare for current and future seniors. These programs have ensured financial security for our golden years, but Washington Republicans are threatening this security to give another tax cut to millionaires. Third, we have to have to reform our tax system so we can balance our budget in a responsible way. Right now, Mitt Romney pays a lower tax rate than most of the people reading this newspaper, and his plan calls for even more tax cuts for the rich. That’s an irresponsible and immoral approach to reducing the deficit.
What is your definition of a public servant, or your philosophy of public service, and why did you choose to seek this office?
Brooks: My grandmother, Charlotte Gribbroek, was an activist before her time. She was a Vice President of the Western New York Women’s Temperance League, a founder of Rochester’s Dutch Reformed Church, and a long-time member of the Rochester Poetry Society. To me, the work my grandmother did represents the best kind of public service. In fact, just as she gave back to our community through her work on behalf of women, I have been proud to follow in her footsteps by serving this community in elected office. As Monroe County’s first female County Executive, I owe a debt of gratitude to my Grandmother Charlotte, and all of the strong women leaders who came before me, for blazing the trail that I find myself on today. I am running for Congress to take my grandmother’s spirit of public service to Washington, so we can put America back on a path to prosperity.
Slaughter: A public servant is someone who has an ethical responsibility to make decisions that will positively impact the community that they represent and not to abuse their office for personal gain. I chose to run for re-election because despite my record of accomplishment, there’s still a lot more to do, and it takes a tough fighter to get things done. It took me years to get the Violence Against Women Act passed. It took an extraordinary effort to get 16,000 pieces of faulty body armor replaced so more troops could come home to their families after serving our country overseas. It took six years to get the STOCK Act passed. This year I introduced legislation to end tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas, and legislation that would make sure American manufacturers are protected in trade agreements. I have to go back to Washington to get these things done.
What specific experience, either professional or personal, do you have that would uniquely inform you as you tackled the duties of the elective office you are seeking?
Brooks: As County Executive, I know that progress can only come when we put politics aside and work together. That’s why I’ve made promoting a spirit of collaboration and cooperation the hallmark of my Administration since day one. When I was sworn into office, the County Executive and Mayor of Rochester did not sit in the same room together. I was proud to repair that relationship and have since established strong partnerships with three different Rochester Mayors. In fact, our spirit of collaboration is evident througout all of Monroe County, which is likely home to more local shared service agreements than any other community in the State. From passing bipartisan legislation to ban protests near military funerals, to establishing our groundbreaking Taxpayer Protection Act to limit government spending, I know how to work across the aisle to get things done. I’ll be proud to continue promoting bipartisan cooperation and civility in Congress.
Slaughter: I never forgot the gender discrimination I faced at a younger age, and I feel uniquely blessed to represent an area that pioneered the women’s rights movement and to follow in the footsteps of those pioneers. As a representative, I’ve been an advocate for choice and an original author of the Violence Against Women Act, I made sure the health care reform law prohibited charging women more for their healthcare and ended the practice of treating pregnancy or domestic violence as “pre-existing conditions.” Just this session I expanded protections for women in the military who are sexually assaulted. Today, that advocacy is needed more than ever in Washington. Republicans have refused to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, but passed a law that makes it easier to deny choice to rape victims. We need to end this pattern of anti-woman legislation, and instead focus on jobs and the economy.
What do you think is the single biggest issue facing the nation in the next two to four years, and how would you address it for local constituents?
Brooks: Over 23 million Americans are looking for work and a dysfunctional system in Washington is only making matters worse. When a family or a small business faces economic hardship, they tighten their belts and do more with less. Facing a deepening recession, Congress did the opposite – it borrowed and spent trillions that it didn’t have. I know first-hand that to grow American jobs and expand our economy, government must work collaboratively with the private sector to promote expansion and investment. Since taking office as County Executive in 2004, I’ve worked side by side with local employers to help their businesses create over 15,000 jobs, retain over 70,000 jobs, and invest more than $3 billion in the local economy. I stand ready to help put America’s economy back on the path to prosperity.
Slaughter: Hands down, it’s jobs. We need to stop these tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and use that money to incentivize companies to bring jobs back home. We need to end the era of giveaway trade, and finally advantage the United States in overseas markets. But while we know that manufacturing will always be the base of our economy, we also know that we need to invest in the jobs of tomorrow, and that’s what I’ve done in Congress. For years, I’ve secured millions in funding to invest in biotechnology, nanotechnology and innovative research at our local universities. I’ve supported advanced manufacturing companies who are moving into Eastman Business Park. Rochester is ready to take that leap to become the Silicon Valley of the East, and it’s my responsibility as our representative to help secure that future for the next generation of Monroe County families.
