For Brian Mandel, part of his political identity lives in his garage: a license plate from his time in Washington, D.C.

“I went to D.C. for college, and I spent about 10 years down there before I moved back up to the Hudson Valley,” Mandel said. “I learned a lot while I was there, it was a really great place to become engaged, and to learn about how politics works, the good and bad of it.”

His time in the nation’s capital inspired him to continue his activism in the Hudson Valley. Mandel was a volunteer for Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan’s bid for a full term representing New York’s 18th Congressional District. On this day, he’s reading a book titled, “Leadership in Turbulent Times.”


What You Need To Know

  • An AP survey says top issues for Democrats voting this year include abortion, health care and climate change

  • Democratic voter Brian Mandel voted for Pat Ryan because of his leadership qualities and the need to protect abortion rights

  • Mandel thinks the way to bring Americans together is to focus on long-term goals like what the country should look like years from now

“Talk about turbulent times. I think the past few years absolutely have been, if you consider the pandemic, climate change becoming worse than it ever has been and very much noticeable in our day-to-day lives, I would include the Jan. 6 insurrection in the same breath as well,” Mandel said. “Qualities of leadership is definitely something I think about a lot in terms of our elected officials, and who I want to represent me.”

It's why he said he voted for Ryan.

“He’s a person who wants to represent all the people that he’s representing, whether or not they voted for him. As far specific issues that I think were extremely important, I think the right to choose which is under more attack than it ever has been in this country,” he said. “Pat Ryan was a staunch supporter of that and a staunch supporter of abortion access.”

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An Associated Press VoteCast survey of voters found the top issues for Democrats voting this year included abortion, health care and climate change.

“The Democratic Party certainly isn’t perfect, but they are people who have solutions to the problems that we are trying to face,” he said. “I see it as my role, even if I do support them, to continue to hold them accountable. Just because the election is over doesn’t mean we should stop being engaged with politics.”

Mandel isn’t a lifelong Democrat. Growing up, he leaned more Republican.

“If we ever want to actually come together, and work toward the future of our country together, we are going to have to understand where each other are coming from," he said. "We’re going to have to compromise.”

With a divided Congress, Mandel believes the way to bring Americans together is to get them thinking about the long-term.

“I hope that the political leaders that we do have in place regardless of the party they’re in, have a vision for this country,” he said. “That to me goes beyond individual policies or politics. To me, it’s about what do we want this country to look like 10 years from now? Or 50 years from now?”

With the views of Mount Beacon as the backdrop, Mandel reflects on the current political landscape and Rep. Ryan as his top choice in D.C. to represent him.

“There’s no time to waste. I hope he becomes a champion for climate change. I hope he continues to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Mandel said. “I hope he continues to make our government better and improve the lives of everyone here. I have faith in him, but I will also be not afraid to call him out if I think he falls short.”