Port resident Laurie Scheinman has decided not to run for Rep. Steve Israel’s (D-Huntington) seat in Congress.
Israel decided not to run again in 2017 to pursue his career as an author. Scheinman is the creator of wit & whim in Port Washington, a shop that gives 100 percent of proceeds to charity. She is also a psychologist and has been very involved in the Port Washington community for many years.
Scheinman was contemplating running but announced last night that she would not run at this time. Scheinman said that she was seriously considering running, but “having to make a decision immediately, as all the experts told me I had to do, I decided this was not the right time to seek elected office.”
Scheinman continued: “With only three weeks from the time we all found out Steve Israel was unexpectedly leaving, I had to grapple with the responsibility of becoming a congresswoman. I felt this would be a wonderful way to serve my community and country and hopefully give a voice to so many who have told me they feel unheard. However, in good conscience, I concluded I could not immediately make the arrangements necessary and structure my life to responsibly and leave my other personal and professional commitments. It was simply too short a period of time to put all of my effort into the campaign, which is my nature, without being unfair to so many people who rely upon me. Thus, I decided this was not the right time to seek the nomination to become the Democratic nominee for N.Y.’s Third Congressional District. The support and encouragement I received during this process had been one of the highlights of my life. I will continue to do everything I can to make our community stronger, more unified and ready to face the challenges ahead.”
