12:00: Michael Mills, candidate for NYS Senate District 54; Bruce Blakeman, candidate for NYS governor
1:00: Special rebroadcast: Holocaust survivor Lea Malek shares her story
This election season, “Connections” brings you long form conversations with candidates. It’s your chance to hear directly from them about their priorities for office while asking your questions. We begin the hour with Michael Mills, the Democrat running for New York’s 54th Senate District seat. He discusses his platform and his take on issues affecting the district. His opponent, Republican incumbent Pam Helming, did not respond to the invitation to participate. Then, we turn our attention to New York's gubernatorial race. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is our guest. The Republican discusses his background, his priorities for office, and what he would change if he were elected to the state's top job. Governor Kathy Hochul's team said she is unavailable for a conversation on “Connections.” Our guests:
- Michael Mills, candidate for New York State Senate in District 54
- Bruce Blakeman, candidate for New York State governor
Then in our second hour, we end our week of special rebroadcasts about local history with a conversation with a Holocaust survivor. Lea Malek says she worries about history repeating itself. Malek, 83, was born in Hungary and immigrated to the United States in 1959. Her father, grandfather, two aunts, and several of her cousins were murdered by the Nazis. Malek has been watching the Ken Burns series, “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” She says the program has kept her awake at night. It’s not the images of the Holocaust that scare her, she says, but the what was happening behind the scenes in the U.S. – where Jews were turned away from the country’s borders. This hour, Malek tells her story and shares why she thinks it’s necessary to educate people of all ages about the atrocities of the past. Our guest:
- Lea Malek, Holocaust survivor
"Connections" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.
