WASHINGTON — The Republican challenger to incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop (D-LI) is hammering him for paying his daughter more than $500,000 for fund-raising work since he joined Congress.
“Tim Bishop is supposed to be going to Washington for the interest of this district and this country,” Randy Altschuler said yesterday. “Congress isn’t supposed to be a family affair.”
Bishop has paid his daughter $513,305 from his campaign funds since joining Congress in 2002, according to Federal Election Commission records. He has raised $10.6 million since then.
“Randy Altschuler needs to leave my family out of this election,” Bishop said in a statement. “Only the sleaziest type of politician attacks a man’s family instead of engaging on issues that matter to Suffolk.”
Altschuler, a Saint James businessman, also yesterday criticized Bishop for accepting campaign contributions from a friend from whom Bishop rents district office space.
Bishop pays $825 per month to 137 Associates, which is owned by Dr. Louis D. Pizzarello, House records show. Pizzarello has contributed $14,000 to Bishop’s campaign since 2007, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Serving his fifth term in Congress, Bishop narrowly beat Altschuler in 2010 by a 263-vote margin out of 194,000 ballots cast.