Jennifer Maertz, Democratic nominee against Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), has demanded that he distance himself from GOP candidate for governor Carl Paladino. There will be a whole distance-issue-fest going on all over the state in the next couple of days anyway, so here's the first local sample that's been sent to us:
Jennifer Maertz, D-Rocky Point, candidate for state Senate for the First Senatorial District, today called on her opponent, Ken LaValle, to publicly disavow his party's nominee for governor, Carl Paladino, because of Paladino's troubling past and frightful political agenda.
"Carl Paladino's personal demonstrations of racism and misogyny, and proposals to institutionalize poor and unemployed New Yorkers, is an affront to our diverse district and state," said Maertz. "Voters need to know whether Ken LaValle supports the top of his ticket or not. If he has any shred of respect for his district, he'll condemn Paladino and support that candidate's defeat on Nov. 2."
Maertz said Paladino's candidacy is about more than the candidate's shocking personal history of engaging in communication of racist, violent and pornographic subject matter with dozens of people if not more, but also his current proposal to throw poor and unemployed New Yorkers into abandoned prisons for job training and education in - his words - "personal hygiene."
She also noted that LaValle has put himself at odds with civil rights for many New Yorkers, through his efforts and continued vow to fight marriage equality for gay men and women and through his failure to support important legal protections for women's reproductive health.
"A Paladino-LaValle alliance on Election Day wouldn't just threaten to turn back the clock to the 1950s, but could turn it back to the 1850s," Maertz said. "This is at a time when we badly need 21st Century leadership in state government. LaValle needs to show basic respect for the people of his district and publicly oppose a Paladino takeover of state government."
