What's his record? Bowman touts aid for neglected areas in tough primary race with Latimer

LARCHMONT — Rep. Jamaal Bowman gripped a giant prop check with town officials as they gushed about the new traffic roundabout that $2 million in federal money will help build.

Over the din of passing cars, they praised a project they said will improve traffic flow, pedestrian safety and drainage at a busy, flood-prone intersection with no stop light. They also hope it will form a more welcoming entrance to the town of Mamaroneck and spur the revival of an area in need of redevelopment.

Bowman held the roadside photo op last week to promote the grant he secured in March to cover part of the cost. It was a political rite that showed off his work in Congress at a critical time for the second-term Democrat: he faces a tough primary in less than two months to try to keep his seat for another two years.

Funding brought home from Washington is a tangible part of what Bowman is touting in his case for reelection. He landed $40.4 million in grants over three years for community projects in areas of Westchester County and the Bronx in New York's 16th Congressional District. But he also takes credit for a much larger flow of federal funding to the district during his tenure, touting $1 billion in all with questionable justification.

Aside from funding, Bowman has carved out a record as a reliable progressive vote in the House and a vocal advocate for equity and social justice, though with few bills of his own that became law. He has aligned himself since taking office with the left-wing group known as "the squad," giving him a national profile in progressive circles while making him a ripe target on the right.

Regardless of that stature, the former middle school principal says he takes most pride in the ground-level work he does back home in his district.

"My favorite part of the job is working in collaboration with town supervisors, mayors, grassroots organizations, and bringing resources to the district," he told the USA Today Network in an interview at his stop in Mamaroneck last week. "My focus and vision is to bring as many resources to the district as possible, for economic development, for workforce development, for education, for safety — for all those issues.”

Challenging Bowman in a Democratic primary on June 25 is Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a longtime public official who has interacted for years with those same local leaders and groups. Here's a look at what Bowman has done in office and what he said about his record during the interview.

Bringing home the bacon

Bowman joined the House at a good time from the standpoint of bacon delivery. Congress had banned earmark grants for a decade but brought them back that year, enabling members once again to steer funding to projects in their districts by adding thousands of those items to spending bills.

Bowman secured $5.4 million in 2022, then $20.4 million in 2023. This year, when Congress finally passed an annual spending package in March to close a months-long standoff, tucked inside it was $14.6 million for 11 projects in Bowman's district.

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One was the $2 million grant for the Mamaroneck roundabout. Other grants included $4.1 million for a Yonkers rail trail; $2 million for Westhab, the affordable-housing nonprofit based in Yonkers; and nearly $1.7 million for an "environmental leaders of color" program at the Mount Vernon Green Tech Park.

"We try to approach it from an equity perspective," Bowman said, explaining how he and his staff decide which funding applications to support. "Which communities have the most need? That’s the Bronx, that’s Mount Vernon, that’s Yonkers, that’s New Rochelle after the recent string of gun violence.”

Community project grants make up a tiny portion of the more than $1 billion Bowman claims to have "brought back" to his district. His campaign website offers a rough, partial breakdown of that haul, crediting him with securing $324 million for housing, $231 million for education and $155 million for education.

Asked what types of funding that meant and Bowman's role in securing it, his office sent the USA Today Network a more detailed list and link to a website that tracks all federal spending. Some of the listed items were funding awards Bowman and New York's senators had sought and for which he could indeed take some credit, including $88 million for flood mitigation in Mamaroneck and $12 million for a road-and-park project in New Rochelle.

But much of the $1 billion he touted appeared to be annual funding streams, grants or loans that were distributed without Bowman's direct involvement to schools, businesses and other entities in his district while he was in office.

His office says it includes those other amounts because Bowman's grants team advocates for local applicants and because Bowman fights behind the scenes for Democrats' priorities in spending bills and other major legislation. His doing so "creates or increases the funding streams that feed many of these grants," spokeswoman Emma Simon said.

Endorsement chase: House Dem leaders back Bowman in primary, while Latimer racks up endorsements back home

Bills and voting record

Bowman's voting record in his first term ranked him among the dozen most liberal Democrats out of 221 in the House, according to the website govtrack.us, which hasn't done a report card yet for the current congressional term.

He co-sponsored a hefty 578 bills in his first two years and introduced 19 bills and resolutions of his own, though just one bill ultimately was signed into law. His proposal to waive costs for certain science education programs was added to the CHIPS and Science Act, a major 2022 law meant to spur computer chip manufacturing in the U.S.

When interviewed, Bowman cited feats other than enacted bills, including two amendments to the CHIPS Act that he says he helped write. He also said that two letters he wrote or co-wrote to President Biden helped spur executive actions to restrict unserialized "ghost guns" and cap rent increases on certain apartments.

One of his proudest accomplishments, Bowman said, was sponsoring a resolution passed by the House in 2022 that condemned the "great replacement theory" spouted by white supremacists.

Bowman has joined progressives in dissent from most in their party on a few notable votes. That included the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which they opposed because it wasn't paired with other Democratic priorities. Just last month, he voted against bills supported by most Democrats that send $28 billion in aid to Israel and could lead to a TikTok ban in the U.S.

Latimer has criticized Bowman for those votes and for what he has described as Bowman's penchant for performance, rather than legislative deeds. Feeding that reputation for show were a few verbal clashes Bowman had with conservative lawmakers last year that fueled viral videos and news stories.

“Mr. Bowman is stridently clear that his priority is to spread polarizing rhetoric," Latimer's campaign said in a statement on Tuesday.

Sounding the alarm

One highly publicized misstep that has dogged Bowman is his pulling a fire alarm in a House office building on a chaotic day in Washington last September. He denied mischievous intent and apologized for the "embarrassing" episode. But he was accused of trying to delay a House vote and has paid a price for the false alarm, which forced the evacuation of the building.

Police charged Bowman with a misdemeanor, and he pleaded guilty and paid a $1,000 fine under a deal that ultimately expunged the conviction. In December, House Republicans voted to censure Bowman for the incident.

"Showing up" for his district

Bowman staunchly defends his work in Congress, saying he has brought attention to "Black and brown areas of the district" that had long been neglected.

"Now they have a person who comes from the same background they come from," he said. "I come from working class, single mom, used to be an educator — now I’m in Congress governing with the working class. So, proud of all that.”

Part of his job, he argued, is "showing up" after tragic events, as he did in 2022 when a 16-year-old Mount Vernon girl was fatally stabbed by a cheerleading rival.

“It’s about showing up when a kid gets hurt or killed, or people are struggling," Bowman said. "Show up, connect with the community, understand what the hell’s going on and then do something about it. So when you talk about my record, it’s about showing up. Who shows up and who doesn’t. Who responds to the most troubled communities in our district, and who doesn’t."

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Jamaal Bowman’s record: What sets him apart in race against Latimer?