QUEENS — Longtime Southeast Queens Rep. Gregory Meeks will face off against Ali Mirza, a Pakistani businessman of Elmont, Long Island, in a Democratic primary in the 5th Congressional District Tuesday.
Meeks, 63, was first elected to Congress in 1998 and his current district covers the entire Rockaway Peninsula, a number of Southeast Queens neighborhoods, such as Jamaica, Hollis, Cambria Heights, Queens Village and St. Albans, as well as a portion of Nassau County, including Elmont and Valley Stream.
Initially, State Sen. James Sanders was planning to challenge Meeks, but dropped out of the race in March to run for re-election to his seat instead.
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Meeks, who sits on the financial services and foreign affairs committees, has supported Obamacare. He's also fought to protect Social Security and Medicare.
Over the course of his career, Meeks has faced several federal investigations, including for his connections to a nonprofit raising funds for Hurricane Katrina victims, but was cleared by the House Ethics Committee.
“Today, Congressman Meeks fights, first and foremost, for policies that strengthen America’s working families," such as tax relief for working families and an increase in the minimum wage, his campaign website reads.
Meeks' challenger Ali Mirza, 57, owns a PR and consulting company.
Mirza, who immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan more than two decades ago, said on Monday that if elected he will try to “end political corruption” in the area.
He would also seek to reform criminal justice system, which he says discriminates against minorities, make sure that future students loans will be interest free, crack down on illegal guns and fight for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
