Launches digital forum series as part of new digital-first campaign, designed to prioritize safety and provide resources for NY-17
Evelyn Farkas, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Obama, announced a new digital forum series to kick off March 25 as part of a new campaign approach designed in response to the coronavirus.
With health and safety as the top priority, Farkas will continue campaign operations by shifting to a digital-first operation until CDC guidance deems face-to-face interactions safe. Farkas said her campaign staff will work remotely and use social media, digital Q&A, phone and video conferences, print media, radio, and television to continue communicating with the people of Rockland and Westchester Counties.
Farkas has a unique perspective on the threat posed by the novel coronavirus. While in Congress, she was Executive Director of the Congressional Commission on WMD Prevention and Terrorism, which concluded that an infectious pandemic was one of the primary threats facing the United States and made recommendations to make our society more resilient. She also has years of experience managing national and international crises from the Situation Room and the Pentagon.
“Coronavirus presents a challenge unlike anything we have experienced in living memory. Thankfully, this is an issue that has been studied for years, and I’m confident that if we enact the expert recommendations and work together, we will be okay,” Farkas said. “We all have an obligation to follow these guidelines, my campaign included, in order to make our society more safe and resilient. If we come together as Americans as we have through so many other crises, we will come out of this stronger than ever before.”
Farkas will hold her first digital forum on Wednesday, March 25 at 6pm to provide analysis of the newly passed congressional bills and federal regulations designed to combat the impact of the coronavirus, and answer questions from the audience. Participants can call into the forum at 646-876-9923 (meeting ID: 498 004 543##), watch Live on Facebook at facebook.com/evelynforny, and submit questions through this form in advance of the forum.
To support the community during this crisis, Farkas is in the process of changing her campaign website to become a platform for critical information from the CDC and local health officials. The site will host community resources for people interested in volunteering, supporting local charity, or seeking expert opinions to better understand the changes in society brought by the coronavirus.
Recently, Farkas received votes of approval from the Greenburgh and Rye Democratic Committees. Farkas has also been endorsed by former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, current U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur and Tom Malinowski, and former U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Bob Graham. Farkas leads the pack in money raised from individual contributions, having hauled in $464,000 in the first six weeks of the campaign.
The daughter of Hungarian refugees, Farkas was raised in Westchester and attended public schools there. For nearly three decades, she has represented the United States defending democracy and advancing human rights in the Defense Department and on the Senate Armed Services Committee staff. In addition to serving as executive director of the WMD Commission, she was a human rights officer in Bosnia and a professor at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. She has advised former defense secretaries, senators, and representatives, including Hillary Clinton and Nita Lowey.
As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Farkas was responsible for U.S. policy toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. After the 2016 election, she stood up to conservative media and was one of the first to sound the alarm on President Trump’s corrupt ties to Russia. Farkas earned a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College, where she is a Trustee, and a master’s and Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
New York’s 17th Congressional District for the United States House of Representatives includes all of Rockland County and portions of central and northwestern Westchester County, including Chappaqua, Mt. Kisco, Ossining, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Tarrytown, White Plains, Cortlandt and Yorktown Heights.
