I am running for Congress to represent the 1st Congressional District of the state of New York. I am a lifelong Long Island resident and am proud of it. I will be campaigning upon a multitude of aspects that I feel will help the good of the American people. Based on my views and interests I feel as if I could be the candidate that attracts support from people of all walks of life.
What I will do if elected to Congress
I want to work to establish living wages for Americans to make the cost of living cheaper. Day after day the American people are being overworked by their employers and aren’t getting paid enough for the hard work they bring to the table. A lot of people aren’t making ends meet because employers aren’t paying people enough for them to be able to get by. Many people are working 2nd jobs and are living paycheck after paycheck. All these long working days just to make a decent living is burning a lot of people out. I’ve been there done that many times myself and have had to make a few slight career changing decisions for better wages and less stress. We don’t need a minimum wage we need a living wage. Here on the Long Island region of New York State the minimum wage is $15 an hour. There are a lot of employers that are only paying their workers say $18-$20 an hour for full-time work which is only $3-$5 more than the minimum wage. Meanwhile back when minimum wage was say $8 an hour these same type of jobs paid around $15 an hour which was a much more livable wage for that time. It’s time that all employers pay fair wages and stop with their cheap labor agendas. The term cheap labor agenda is a term I like to use to describe how many companies including giant corporations and family run companies are paying their employees. They do so by eliminating middle level positions and putting more work on the ground level employees and the upper management level and still paying them the same as before the increased workload.
My theory is that a lot of employers don’t want to pay their workers what many would feel would be a reasonable wage is because they feel that the minimum wage is too high and that paying employees $20 an hour or more is too much money for a basic job but times have changed. Minimum wage has become such a politicized issue with some states raising the minimum wage to keep up the with cost of living which often results in the living costs increasing and other states that don’t want to raise the minimum wage because they are so against the idea of a $15 an hour minimum wage. A few states even reinstated child labor or plan on doing so as an alternative to having a $15 an hour minimum wage to fight the cost of living. Reinstating child labor means that parents would be allowed to send their children off to work and provide for the family so that the family can get by. These laws are unfair to children and teenagers because rather than having a childhood playing with friends and riding bikes or enjoying their teenage years hanging out with friends they could be forced to be sent off to work to provide for the family if their parents want that for their minor children. Thankfully New York isn’t one of those states looking to reinstate child labor. The bottom line is whether or not states want to raise their minimum wage or keep them as is living wages must be established. The American people are tired of having to work too hard just to make enough money to bill their bills. We need to have some fun with our lives and not have our paychecks go solely towards everyday expenses. We also need to be able to put money set aside for emergency funds which many Americans can’t afford to do.
Aside from employers not paying living wages the cost of everyday living is very expensive. When you go into a store, grab a bite to eat or fill up your car with gas you just can’t help but wonder why is everything so expensive? The prices for houses is outrageous and the cost of renting an apartment isn’t cheap. There is no reason why an average home should cost $400,000 or that anyone should be charged $2500 a month to rent a one bedroom apartment. If employers aren’t going to pay better wages than the cost of everyday goods and the cost of rent and mortgage payments needs to come down. One or the other must happen. In terms of everyday goods prices coming down I have my doubts in that happening because the cost of everything has only risen over time. But at one time there was a more steady balance between how much money people make and how much they can afford. If the cost of everyday living wasn’t as high as it is I would see no need for there to be any adjustments to employment wages but since nothing ever gets cheaper with time I feel the only solution to combat the expensive cost of living is to establish an appropriate balance between how much money people make and how much it costs to make a living.
I would like to help small businesses grow and help get businesses that aren’t on Long Island to come out to Long Island. Even as someone who’s never owned a business I feel as if I have enough insights that I can provide to help them grow their businesses which includes opening additional locations and expanding their presence. Aside from helping small businesses grow I would also like to get some of my favorite places that aren’t present on Long Island to come out to Long Island. I feel as if restaurants such as Waffle House, Cracker Barrel, and Steak n Shake would do exceptionally well here on Long Island and should open up some locations here. Wawa gas stations and convenient stores would be great for Long Island and should come here I know a lot of people would love to see Wawa here on Long Island. I also feel as if malls that include an indoor amusement park or water park along with anything else a mall would have like stores, restaurants and food courts similar to American Dream which is located in New Jersey would be a great asset to Long Island. As I drive along the streets of Long Island I see so many empty buildings and shopping centers and there is so much potential to do something with them instead they are just sitting here abandoned. We paved paradise and put up a parking lot but now that lot is just sitting there so why not do something with it? I would like to work with these businesses along with federal, state and local leaders in making this idea happen.
Infrastructure is something I feel is important to Long Island. I am sure we would all agree that our roads are a disaster with all the potholes. Many like myself have gotten flat tires as a result of our pothole problem here on Long Island which continues to persist. While many roads here on Long Island are being repaved or will be in the near future I feel as if the focus needs to be not just on major roads and highways but local and neighborhood roads as well. Our bridges and tunnels could use some work as many are very dated and just like our roads haven’t been maintained in a very long time. Clean water is essential for all Americans. When I went to the polls to cast my vote for the 2022 midterm election I voted in favor of the Environmental Bond Measure which issues $4.20 billion in general obligation bonds for projects related to the environment, natural resources, and water infrastructure, as well as projects classified as climate change mitigation. Improvements to our sidewalks, buildings, sewers and parks would also be essential and should be maintained on a consistent basis.
The opioid and fentanyl crisis is something I would like to address in my campaign. Each day nearly 136 Americans die of drug overdoses related to opioids and fentanyl. A lot of it is because drugs like heroin along with other opioids are laced with fentanyl which is responsible for most deaths from drug overdoses. On July 30 2017 I lost my younger brother because he died of a drug overdose while in a detox facility down in southern Florida. For a few months it was unknown how exactly he died except for on that morning he was found unresponsive so they took him to the emergency room at a nearby hospital and that’s where he was pronounced dead. A few months later his autopsy revealed that he had a lot of Buprenorphine in his system which is an opioid itself and is one of the ingredients within Suboxone. This suggests that he was either able to get his hands on opioids while in this detox facility or that he could have found drugs containing Buprenorphine in the detox facility itself and took enough of it and it was enough so that he would go to sleep and not wake up the next day. I miss my brother everyday and wish he was here with us today. I do know he is looking down on me and is wishing me well including wishing me luck in this race.
What made me to want to run
Throughout the course of my life I have always had an interest in politics and government. For those who know me it may come as a surprise how much of an interest I have in politics and the fact that I am running for Congress. The reason for that is politics was never the subject that I talked about the most but is one that I have always had interest in whether it was my childhood, teen years, my 20s or now. I have always paid attention to what was going on in our world and I gained political interest through family and friends based on what was going on in our crazy world and what the subject matter is and we would share our opinions. Some people have a hard time peacefully disagreeing with each other when it comes to politics but I generally don’t care what your views are as it wouldn’t have any impact on our friendly relationship. A lot of people in my family and those who I am friends with or have been friends with all have significantly different political views and since I generally don’t agree with them 100% of the time or disagree with them 100% of the time I feel is what pushed me very far to the center when it comes to my views. I align myself based on what I believe in and don’t follow any specific political agenda except for my own.
Over the years I have voted for Democratic, Republican and Independent candidates because I believe in voting for the candidates who are best fit for the job and not necessarily vote across party lines.
The thought of me possibly wanting to run for Congress started on Christmas Eve 2022 when we were having dinner at my parents house out in Riverhead NY with myself, my parents and my aunt and uncle(both of whom are my fathers older siblings) and we were talking about what happened with George Santos with him lying about his life and embellishing his resume and were wondering if we had heard about what happened. The news had just made headlines a few days earlier so the story of him and what he did was new to the public eye. We were wondering as to whether or not he was even going to be sworn in and I don’t remember who it was but someone had wondered if George Santos doesn’t get sworn in if they would either offer Tom Suozzi another term or declare Robert Zimmerman the winner because of the lies George Santos told. It was brought up in the conversation that if George Santos doesn’t get sworn in that it would have to go to a special election.
With the speculation of whether or not George Santos was even going to be sworn in the thought of a possible special election made me think to myself “this could be my chance of getting into Congress and putting my skills to work”. When that thought had come to my head I started debating with myself off and on for several months with the idea of possibly running for Congress but wasn’t sure as to if I was going to run or not. The race filled up very quickly with many Democrats wanting to get in on the race and many Republicans wanting to get in on the race to unseat George Santos in a primary election. George Santos was planning to run for re-election in 2024 but thankfully withdrew after immense scrutiny from the findings pointed out in the report released by the House Eithics Committee. He was under scrutiny from the time he got caught up in all the lies but didn’t withdrawal candidacy for the 2024 election until the report was released. Finally on December 1 2023 he was expelled from Congress with 311 members voting to expel exceeding the supermajority of 290 votes that was needed. Initially I was planning to run for New York’s 3rd Congressional District but have decided I will be running for the 1st Congressional District instead.
On August 29 2023 I filed my Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission(FEC) and decided I will be running for Congress. I am running as an Independent and not a Democrat, Republican or any other party. I decided to run as an Independent based on where I stand politically on various issues and that Democratic talking points and Republican talking points don’t exactly fit my narrative. I consider myself to be a centrist so my viewpoints vary based on the particular topic. I don’t consider myself to be left-wing or right-wing when it comes to politics. I am ultimately the middle ground when it comes to liberalism and conservatism which is common among Independents. If you’d like to know where I stand on each political issue please visit the political positions page.
I feel confident in my ability to succeed in this race. With Long Island being very politically diverse I feel as if based on where I stand politically I will draw support from Independents, some moderate Democrats, some moderate Republicans and third party voters. I will be out there campaigning and getting to know the constituents I could be potentially representing in the near future. A lot of whom I already know because I live in NY-01 myself. By getting to know the people in the district I am running for it will help me build a support base and that base could be a huge determining factor on who people elect as their congressman when the election for this house seat comes on Election Day in 2024.
At the same time as feeling confident in my ability to succeed in this race I also know I am up against a challenge. I have never ran for any political office before so this will be my first time running. Current incumbent representative for NY-01 Nick Lalota is in his first term as a member of the House Of Representatives and is running for re-election. There is a crowded list of Democrats looking to challenge Mr Lalota one of whom had previously ran for Congress but did not win the general election. Because I have never held any political office before being up against candidates with experience in politics will be a challenge unseating an incumbent is not easy to do and the possibility of having other opponents who have ran in the past could leave me as the only one as a first time runner but when it comes to the odds of winning I feel as if I have a possible chance.
As your representative I will fight for you every step of the way. I will be within the district on a frequent basis and be here to answer any questions, concerns or ideas you may have. I will take the knowledge I learn from the halls of Congress in Washington DC and bring any insightful information back to my district to share with my constituents. I will have a well trained office staff here to assist you with all of your needs. I will have a heavy presence on social media platforms. If you need me i’m one call, message or email away.
I will let my constituents have say and influence in a lot of what’s going on in NY-01 and in our country. When it comes to voting on bills I will vote on them at my discretion on what I feel is the right thing to do. One thing that every member of Congress gets hit with from time to time is a difficult decision on whether to vote yea or nay on a bill. This often results in them voting present or not voting at all. I am a firm believer that whenever a member of Congress votes present it’s because they either aren’t sure on what to say or they disagree with their parties position but don’t want to vote nay so they vote present so their vote is neutral. The same thing goes for a lot of no vote cases however there are times when a particular member of Congress doesn’t vote on a bill because they can’t make it to Washington DC during the voting timeframe. If a situation like this ever emerges for me instead of voting present or choosing not to vote that’s when i’ll turn to my constituents and get a poll on what they think of the issue. If the majority say yea i’ll vote yea if the majority say nay i’ll vote nay.
I plan on having frequent town hall meetings which will be open to all constituents in the district. I also plan on having off hours phone lines which means that when my office is closed because it’s before opening or after closing there will be someone to answer the phone. The person answering the phone will either be me or one of my staff members working for me whoever answers the call first. Holding town halls and having off hours phone lines will help me be able to reach my constituents better. Most politicians hold town hall meetings but a lot of them are only on the job during 9-5 business hours. The off hours phone lines will mean my constituents will be able to contact me or one of my staff 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year,
I am not running for Congress mainly to make a six figure salary. I am running for Congress primarily because I want to do what’s right for the American people. I feel as if there are a lot of problems on both sides of the aisle and across the board that need to be fixed and that’s what I am here to do. I am loyal to Long Island i’ve lived here my whole life and am proud to call this place home. I grew up in Patchogue NY which is where I lived for my entire life until I moved to Holbrook NY in 2022 which is where I currently live.
If asked to participate in any debates I will absolutely be there. Debates would be my chance to voice my opinion publicly on various issues and where I stand on them compared to my opponents. I will not decline any debate invitations.
I will work with my colleagues in the house and the senate on both sides in a bi-partisan manner. Being that I am running as an Independent if I win the election I will be the sole minority in Congress and possibly the only Independent in the House of Representatives unless other Independent candidates get elected. As we know the House and Senate is compromised by Democrats and Republicans with Democrats having control of the Senate and Republicans having control of the House both of which having control by a slim majority. All members of the House and the Senate are either Democrats or Republicans except for three senators Angus King representing the state of Maine, Bernie Sanders representing the state of Vermont and Kyrsten Sinema representing the state of Arizona. All three Independent senators caucus with the Democratic Party. Most Independents over the years caucused with either Democrats or Republicans, If elected as to whether or not I will caucus with either Democrats or Republicans and which party I will caucus with or remain a sole independent who doesn’t caucus with either party is something I will decide upon being elected.
Well folks that just about sums up the reasons I am running. I know I mention a lot of details but I feel that getting to the point of what I have to say is essential. Especially when running for office. If people don’t know who you are or anything about you how could you expect to receive any votes? Every campaign has the same exact message which is “vote for me” but if people don’t know anything about you and you’re not out there actively campaigning why should they vote for you? Setting up a campaign website is a good way to let people know who you are but there is more to it than just that. You have to campaign, you have to familiarize yourself with the district you represent, you have to introduce yourself to your potential future constituents, you have to tell people what you will do for them if elected and you have to show where you stand on various standpoints. You have to give people a reason why they should vote for you and I think I summed everything up very clear. I look forward to seeing you folks around town, at various events and last but not least at my campaign rallies.
To all my fellow NY-01 constituents vote Ryan Kalata US House.