8th Senate Dist.: Gordon vs. Fuschillo again

Despite having been trounced by state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. in 2008, Democrat Carol A. Gordon is back this year trying to oust the incumbent Republican.

The contest pits Fuschillo - a 12-year Albany veteran and member of Long Island's once-powerful Republican Senate bloc - against a grandmother of 10 with a populist message and a paltry campaign war chest.

"I hear people, I've been in neighborhoods that he's never been to - Roosevelt, Freeport, Amityville," said Gordon, 57, a retired Veterans Affairs worker from Massapequa. "All the money that I have gotten is from people just like me."

Gordon portrays herself as an everywoman who understands the concerns of residents struggling with unemployment, foreclosures and crime. She attended classes at Farmingdale State University and later became a patient advocate at the Northport VA hospital. She is vice president of the Breezy Point Civic Association and made an unsuccessful run for a seat on the Oyster Bay town council in 2007.

Battle of the 'outsiders'

A divorced mother of four, Gordon says her heroes include the late Brooklyn Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali. She promises to bring "the people's agenda" to Albany and is also running on the Working Families line. If elected, she said, she would set up committees in each neighborhood to keep her office connected with the community.

"I feel that I can make a change," said Gordon. "I know I can make a difference."

But this year Fuschillo, 50, of Merrick, also has positioned himself as a sort of outsider - a fiscal conservative seeking to turn the clock back to happier times before Republicans lost control of the Senate in 2008. Fuschillo is also running on the Conservative, Independence, and Tax Revolt Party lines.

Fuschillo said New York needs to resurrect the property tax rebate and set strict caps on spending by the state and local school districts. "Property taxes are out of control, and you can't limit it until you control spending," he said.

Married with three children, Fuschillo graduated from Adelphi University with a bachelor's degree in finance. He has served as Nassau's chief deputy county clerk and was operating officer of the Education & Assistance Corp., a nonprofit human services organization in Hempstead.

Fuschillo calls Gordon "a very nice person." Still, he said, she lacks the experience needed to represent the district during such challenging economic times.

Judging by his comments in a recent News 12 Long Island debate, Fuschillo now sees as his real opponents "the Democratic leadership from New York City" who control all three branches of state government.

He said voters are disgusted after watching Senate Democrats struggle amid scandals, an economic meltdown and coup attempts from renegade members. Democratic leaders sent less state education aid to Long Island than it received when Republicans ran the Senate, Fuschillo said, and they approved $12 million in fees and taxes.

A shift at the ballot box

Voter registrations in the 8th Senatorial District have shifted since the two candidates last faced one another. In March of 2008 there were 73,178 registered Democrats and 81,036 Republicans, according to the New York State Board of Elections. As of April, Democrats in the district had gained a slight edge, outnumbering Republicans by 79,556 to 78,295 registrations.

But Gordon lags far behind Fuschillo in terms of fundraising. Campaign disclosure filings show Fuschillo had amassed $586,335 one month before the election. Thus far, Gordon said she had raised around $6,000, although her campaign committee is not listed as an active filer on the board of elections website.

Focus on fiscal issues

Money is on the minds of both candidates as New York State struggles to pay for critical services amid declining revenues.

Gordon said she wants to jump-start the economy by increasing loans to small businesses. She also wants to set up a state bank to provide low-interest loans.

Fuschillo said the state needs to tighten its belt - something he said Democrats had failed to do. Among his proposals: merging the state's parks and environmental conservation agencies, which he said have overlapping missions. "Fourteen billion in new spending in the past two years has just taken the state in the wrong direction," he said.

But Gordon said the state's troubles had deeper roots and that her rival had been part of the problem. "He's been in there all this time," she said. "He wants two more years for what?"

The 8th District both seek to represent spans South Shore neighborhoods from Baldwin Harbor, Roosevelt and Seaford to Amityville, North Lindenhurst and East Farmingdale.