Long Island

Politics

ny-edendorsements-2010

This is a serious time for the nation. The economy is bad. Jobs are scarce, wages are stagnant, people are losing their homes, retirement security is a mirage. Our students are falling behind. Our roads and bridges are crumbling. We're strung out on fossil fuels, at war abroad and threatened at home. Our can-do spirit is slipping away. 
It's got many people thinking the once unthinkable: That the American dream may be dead. Our once unshakable conviction - that if we work hard and play by the rules, our lot in life will improve and our kids will do even better than we did - has been shaken. 
At this pivotal moment, when anger and fear threaten to overtake common sense, when so many politicians exploit our emotions instead of offering leadership, we must not be distracted from what really matters: how to best run this country. 
It's against that dark backdrop that voters will go to the polls Nov. 2 to elect a new <a href="/topics/U.S._Congress">Congress</a>. We have to decide what we really want from government and what we can pay for.
If that's the lower taxes, less regulation and smaller government that <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> promise in their Pledge to America, then it's important to be realistic about what that would actually look like. 
Washington does tax and spend a lot. Cutting taxes and spending in ways that would make a difference is hard business. It would require deep cuts in popular programs that we've come to rely on, from Social Security and Medicare to the military and homeland security.
The inescapable truth is that those items, together with interest on the national debt, account for more than the federal government raises in taxes. Leave them untouched and cut every other dime Washington spends, and the federal budget would still be in the red.
Maintaining the promise of Social Security and Medicare and guaranteeing their continued solvency will have to include slowing the rate at which their costs are rising. 
But if we're to remain the rich, powerful nation that we are, there's no escaping the need to invest in America. A commitment to rebuild the country's infrastructure, modernize the energy grid, shift to green power, improve our schools and more will cost money. But the economy of the future demands we do it.
The notion that cutting taxes and regulation will magically create jobs has been disproved. Washington cut almost $2 trillion in taxes over the last decade. In that time the federal government has gone from a budget surplus to crushing deficits and debt. And lax regulation contributed to the risky business on <a href="/topics/Wall_Street">Wall Street</a> that cratered the financial services system and ushered in the Great <a href="/topics/Economic_Recession">Recession</a>.
So this election is a defining moment. <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> and Republicans in Washington are poisonously polarized. This election will determine which party controls Congress - and to some extent the nation's agenda - for the next two years.
Voters can't afford to be deluded by promises of easy fixes and meaningless pledges. Simplistic, ideological bromides won't solve any of these problems. We need more representatives who are willing to be pragmatic problem solvers, not ideological purists. We need more people willing to work across party lines. We need more people with vision beyond the next news cycle or the next election.
Vote for candidates who understand and can deal with complex issues and will make an honest effort to find compromises that will solve them. Rants just won't do. 
It's decision time. hN

Opinion

VPINTRO17

EDITORIAL: Election 2010 a decisive moment for U.S.

New Yorkers on Election Day will face a supremely important choice in deciding who should be the state's next governor. Yet the truth is that they have hardly any choice at all. 
The Republican candidate, Carl <a href="/topics/Carl_Paladino">Paladino</a>, is a Buffalo-area builder whose bashing of Albany initially resonated with voters, even if he was going to start the process with a baseball bat. As the campaign developed, however, his shallow ideas and scant proposals suggest the old Catskills joke about the food being terrible and the portions too small. In the campaign's only debate, his weary and inarticulate performance was outshone by minor party candidates. Throughout, Paladino has demonstrated that he's unfit for the office of governor. 
On this basis alone, Democrat <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a> should get the nod. But Cuomo has earned election for reasons that go beyond simply not being Paladino. Perhaps the biggest of these reasons is the complex nature of Albany's dysfunction, which can easily defeat newcomers. 
Thankfully, <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a> is no naive crusader, besotted with the image of himself atop a white horse - and condemned to break his lance against the capital's entrenched powers. He understands politics, having served in the Clinton administration, and he knows Albany, having grown up the son of a brilliant politician and capable governor. 
Bringing change to Albany will be the new governor's paramount task. Whoever ascends to the job will have to cope with a political climate debased by scandal and gridlock, legislators made nearly invulnerable to voter ire as a result of gerrymandering, and gaping budget deficits that will be increasingly resistant to the fiscal gimmicks the state has grown dependent upon. New York spends more on education than any other state yet its graduation rate from public high school ranks 40th in the nation. Public employee pensions may require billions in unanticipated additional funds. State spending overall is growing much faster than inflation. And New Yorkers bear among the heaviest tax burdens in America. 
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To tackle the fiscal crisis, Cuomo proposes a cap on state spending and another on property taxes. He's said state government will have to shrink, and that our Medicaid program, by far the nation's most expensive, will have to be cut. He proposes a leaner pension plan for new state workers. And he wants to clamp down on the overtime and other tactics used by late-career employees to boost their payouts in retirement. He also wants gubernatorial control of - and accountability for - the <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a>. 
His opponent advocates some of the same things in his campaign but his proposals have been overshadowed by questions regarding his temperament and judgment - questions arising from his forwarding of racist and pornographic e-mails and his homophobic comments uttered in a clumsy bid for an endorsement. Cuomo's deep knowledge of the system and his infinitely superior powers of persuasion mean that he is far more likely to make change happen. 
The biggest thing a new governor will have to change is the ethical climate in Albany, where a culture of corruption has suffocated democracy. Cuomo has noted that in the past decade New York politicians were likelier to leave office as a result of investigation or conviction than by losing an election. Changing this pattern will require, at the very least, changing how legislative districts are drawn; Cuomo wants an independent panel and promises to veto any gerrymandered redistricting plan. 
But change will also require that we make official corruption much more difficult. As attorney general, Cuomo has a record of fighting public corruption, and he advocates tough new laws to limit the influence of money in politics and shine the light of day onto some of Albany's murkiest doings. His proposals include public funding of election campaigns, stricter limits on donations from lobbyists and a requirement that politicians disclose outside income sources, including law clients. 
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Cuomo seems especially promising for Long Island. He has the sensitivity and experience to work with local officials to situate a Shinnecock casino in a way that upholds the rights of the tribe as well as the larger community, and to bring south cheap hydropower from <a href="/topics/Canada">Canada</a> and wind power from upstate by means of a transmission line that will inevitably face not-in-my-backyard opposition. He's also vowed to name a real pro to head the state Department of Transportation, a post crucial to life on traffic-clogged Long Island. Our hope is that his choice is on a par with his selection of Robert Duffy, Rochester's forward-looking mayor, for lieutenant governor. 
Cuomo is right on a host of other issues as well, calling himself - with justification - fiscally prudent and socially progressive. He favors marriage equality for gay couples and the right of women to terminate a pregnancy. He likes charter schools. He opposes the death penalty. He considers <a href="/topics/Global_Warming">climate change</a> a serious threat. 
If Cuomo is elected, he'll go to Albany buoyed by the people's hopes, but Albany can't be cleaned up overnight. As he says, his power will come from the ability to galvanize popular support. Yet change really is possible, and it can start with this election. Newsday endorses <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a>. hN

VPGOV24

EDITORIAL: Newsday endorses Cuomo for governor

It's difficult to imagine a tougher start to a new job than the one Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli faced in 2007. His disgraced predecessor, Alan Hevesi, resigned weeks after his re-election, and, in a tumultuous process, the legislature picked DiNapoli, who rose to the challenge admirably. 
DiNapoli has climbed a frightfully steep learning curve, brought stability to a demoralized agency, and tackled a cascade of crises. At the top of that list is the deep recession that has taken a large bite out of the state's common retirement fund, and the series of Newsday stories showing how attorneys for school districts were gaming the pension system. He has also overseen audits of school districts and the troubled <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a>.
Now DiNapoli, 56, of <a href="/topics/Great_Neck%2C_NY">Great Neck</a>, faces two more tests: One is Hevesi's recent guilty plea for placing a major investment and getting in return almost $1 million in favors. It was a huge morale jolt to the office. The other is a challenge by the impressive and financially savvy Republican candidate, Harry <a href="/topics/Harry_Wilson">Wilson</a>, 39, of Scarsdale.
After making a lot of money in private life on <a href="/topics/Wall_Street">Wall Street</a>, Wilson is offering to make a lot less in public service. Last year, he did admirable work as the <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> point man for a Democratic presidential administration in restructuring <a href="/topics/General_Motors">General Motors</a>.
Compare Wilson's financial acumen with DiNapoli's, and Wilson wins. But this job is about more than investments. In fact, Wilson says the pension fund should be less actively managed: Much of it should be invested to mimic the performance of standard index funds. That's an appealing way to eliminate a scandalous pay-to-play system. 
The pension fund faces problems. If it falls short of the 7.5 percent earnings goal that DiNapoli set, down from 8 percent, local governments will have to make vastly larger contributions to make up the difference. So the comptroller will need sound advice, possibly from a board of investment gurus, if one can be structured to avoid conflicts of interest.
A big part of the job is watching over taxpayers' money. DiNapoli should be more aggressive in his audits of local governments, state agencies and authorities, looking for big-dollar savings from broad, systemic change. Most important, he must be a leader in the much-needed restructuring of the state's entire pension system. That requires knowledge of how Albany works, plus the network of trust DiNapoli, a passionate advocate for <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>, has built over the years. Wilson's business skills alone wouldn't get it done, but Wilson is a significant talent and we hope he finds his way into public service.
Right after his appointment, we called DiNapoli "Mr. Clean and Mr. Consensus." Still true. If he wins a second term, the comptroller must now become Mr. Change, the catalyst in the urgent need to make our pension system and our state's finances sustainable. Newsday endorses DiNapoli. hN

VPCOMP25

EDITORIAL: Newsday endorses DiNapoli for comptroller

<a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> <a href="/topics/Tim_Bishop">Tim Bishop</a> entered this race with a bullseye on his back. He has been targeted by national <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> as one of the incumbents they're out to knock off. The result has been a brutal battle with wealthy businessman <a href="/topics/Randy_Altschuler">Randy Altschuler</a>, who has poured millions of dollars into the fight. But that's the only edge the challenger brings to the contest. 
<a href="/topics/Tim_Bishop">Bishop</a>, 60, of <a href="/topics/Southampton%2C_NY">Southampton</a>, who is seeking his fifth term, is a hardworking, commonsense representative who has grown in his command of national issues and savvy about the ways of <a href="/topics/U.S._Congress">Congress</a> in each successive term. The former college provost is now a seasoned veteran who has become a leader on the issue of college affordability. He played a key role in crafting and passing legislation that redirected $40 billion in financial aid from private banks to middle class students. 
He supported the controversial, but necessary, Troubled Asset Relief Program and his judgment has been rewarded. TARP rescued tottering banks, averted even greater economic turmoil and much of the public money invested has been repaid. He supported the <a href="/topics/Economic_Stimulus">economic stimulus</a> that arrested massive job losses and drove billions of dollars to <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> and millions to his district for such things as the <a href="/topics/Brookhaven%2C_NY">Brookhaven</a> National Laboratory and <a href="/topics/Greenport%2C_NY">Greenport</a>'s sewage treatment plant. 
And he has demonstrated political courage, standing toe-to-toe with opponents of health care reform in a raucous town hall meeting, making the case for reform with facts, logic and compassion. 
<a href="/topics/Randy_Altschuler">Altschuler</a>, 39, a <a href="/topics/St._James%2C_NY">St. James</a> resident since 2007, is making his first run for office. He's an entrepreneur who founded two successful companies. 
He wants to create a more hospitable business environment by cutting corporate taxes, slashing both regulation and government spending. But lax regulation facilitated the recklessness on <a href="/topics/Wall_Street">Wall Street</a> that led to the financial meltdown. And faced with that carnage, <a href="/topics/Randy_Altschuler">Altschuler</a> said he would have rejected TARP and the stimulus. 
Altschuler's faith in tax cuts for the wealthy to create jobs is classic trickle-down economics. His is a prescription for either mounting federal deficits or retrenching on Social Security and Medicare and making too little public investment to compete in the economy of the future. His desire to repeal health care reform without first waiting to see what works is not the pragmatic approach needed in Washington. 
<a href="/topics/Tim_Bishop">Bishop</a> has been willing to take tough positions and has energetically represented this district where his family roots go back 12 generations. Newsday endorses Bishop.

VP1CD17

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 1st Congressional District

Democrat <a href="/topics/Steve_Israel">Steve Israel</a>, 52, seeking his sixth term in the House, offers no simple answers. His positions are those of an experienced, thoughtful legislator, which puts him at odds with his opponent. The campaign of Republican John Gomez, 48, relies mostly on broad tea party-approved talking points and offensive accusations. 
<a href="/topics/Israel">Israel</a> is a ferocious fighter for <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> and in every cause he trumpets, from green energy to improved infrastructure to job creation, he works to see his district benefit. 
Gomez, of Bayport, owns a telecommunications and consulting firm and used to host a program on WLIE radio. He says it was anger over the <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a> payroll tax that spurred him into the race, although the federal government has no involvement in that issue. 
<a href="/topics/Israel">Israel</a>, of <a href="/topics/Dix_Hills%2C_NY">Dix Hills</a>, is a fiscal conservative who understands the vast majority of federal spending goes to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, debt maintenance and defense. He believes tax cuts should expire for the rich but says the line, currently earnings of more than $250,000 for couples, should take inflation into consideration and rise to $388,000. 
Gomez claims he wants to shrink spending and government but supports more rail and bus service, wider and better roads, and other new infrastructure. He fails to identify many specific cuts he would support. 
Israel is unabashed in his support of the health care reform bill. Gomez opposes the new law, but in its place suggests only tort reform and 50 state health insurance markets, far from the sweeping changes needed. 
Gomez's campaign is short on ideas and long on smears, including signs calling Israel a socialist. Israel is a strong legislator, a principled public servant and a tireless advocate for <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>. 
Newsday endorses Israel.

VP2CD17

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 2nd Congressional District

<a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> <a href="/topics/Peter_King">Peter King</a> is a certainty for re-election in this district enamored enough with his confident, pugnacious approach to the job that it has elected him nine times. 
It helps that he has $1.7 million in the bank and a national profile as a hard-nosed warrior in the battle against terrorists. King, 66, of <a href="/topics/Seaford%2C_NY">Seaford</a>, is the lone <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> in <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>'s congressional delegation. 
Even his opponent, Democratic Howard Kudler, 56, of <a href="/topics/Merrick%2C_NY">Merrick</a>, allows that he is a long-shot. Kudler, who teaches high school history, is enthusiastic about a single-payer health care system and additional government spending to stimulate the economy. He would face a steep learning curve in Washington. 
Unfortunately King, like almost every other Republican in <a href="/topics/U.S._Congress">Congress</a>, chose to say "no" to everything, from an essential program that saved the financial system from collapse, and the investment act, which poured needed stimulus money into <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a>. 
The national <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a>, however, has moved so far to the right that King, even standing still, looks increasingly moderate. If his party gains the majority in the House on Nov. 2, he would likely become the chairman of the <a href="/topics/House_Homeland_Security_Committee">House Homeland Security Committee</a> once again. That's important for the <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> City region. It's the No. 1 terrorist target. A powerful advocate in the battle for resources would be valuable. 
We wish King was less given to bellicose broadsides about Muslims. Alienating loyal Muslim Americans won't make us safer. King also would serve his constituents well with a more pragmatic, comprehensive approach on immigration. If he does find himself in the House majority, he will be unbound from the lockstep "no," and have a chance to show his leadership. With that hope, Newsday endorses King.

VP3CD17

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 3rd Congressional District

The ideological battle raging across the country is mirrored in the race to represent this district in the heart of <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County. Seven-term Democratic incumbent <a href="/topics/Carolyn_McCarthy">Carolyn McCarthy</a>, 66, of <a href="/topics/Mineola%2C_NY">Mineola</a>, voted for the recent health care reform bill. <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Fran Becker, 57, of <a href="/topics/Lynbrook%2C_NY">Lynbrook</a>, would vote to rewrite it. He thinks Washington regulates too much. She looks at the recent debacle on <a href="/topics/Wall_Street">Wall Street</a> and sees the need for vigilant oversight. 
Becker would extend the tax cuts of the last decade for all taxpayers. McCarthy would extend them only for the 98 percent of "middle class" families making less than $250,000 a year. Becker talks recklessly about a pre-emptive military strike against <a href="/topics/Iran">Iran</a>. McCarthy prefers negotiation. 
Becker, a financial planner, knows the district well and, as a 14-year <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County legislator, is an experienced public servant. But he would be a reliable vote for a replay of policies that unleashed destructive greed on <a href="/topics/Wall_Street">Wall Street</a>, plunged the nation into a punishing recession and saddled the federal government with crushing deficits and debt. The nation's problems are too critical, and too complex, for that brand of jingoistic, just-say-no governance. 
McCarthy has served the district with energy and grace. She continues to be a nationally recognized voice of reason on <a href="/topics/Gun_Control">gun control</a> at a time when commonsense regulation is badly in need of congressional champions. 
She is a strong advocate for childhood nutrition and expanded nursing education, and as the chair of a House subcommittee on Healthy Familes and Communities, has the platform to advance that agenda. If returned to Washington, she should use her position on the House Committee on Education and Labor to aggressively push <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>'s interests in the national debate on education reform. 
Newsday endorses McCarthy.

VP4CD17

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 4th Congressional District

<a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> <a href="/topics/Gary_Ackerman">Gary Ackerman</a> is running for a remarkable 15th term representing <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a>'s hugely diverse 5th congressional district covering northeastern <a href="/topics/Queens%2C_NY">Queens</a> and such upper <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County communities as <a href="/topics/Great_Neck%2C_NY">Great Neck</a> and <a href="/topics/Port_Washington%2C_NY">Port Washington</a>. 
Ackerman is a fairly traditional <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> liberal who backed <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">President Barack Obama</a>'s health-care reform bill. He supports abortion rights, marital equality for gays and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. He's made a specialty of international issues as vice chairman of the <a href="/topics/House_Foreign_Affairs_Committee">House Foreign Affairs Committee</a> and head of its <a href="/topics/Middle_East">Middle East</a> and <a href="/topics/South_Asia">South Asia</a> subcommittee. 
His challenger, James Milano, is a 43-year-old physician from <a href="/topics/Oyster_Bay%2C_NY">Oyster Bay</a>. Although he lives outside the district, his candidacy is allowed by law. He's also a registered <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a>, although running on the <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> line. He advocates a flat tax and extending Bush-era tax cuts. He embraces citizenship for illegal immigrants already here. He would bar federal funds for abortion. And he favors an immediate <a href="/topics/Iraq_Exit_Strategy">withdrawal from Iraq</a> and <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>, calling the wars pointless and expensive. He opposes <a href="/topics/Same-sex_Marriage">gay marriage</a>. Milano is thoughtful, energetic and independent-minded, qualities that make him stand out in a field of me-too <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a>. 
But Ackerman, 68, has served his district well for many years and (unlike his opponent) has lived in it for decades. He's right on the issues, too. He favors the progressive income tax, and co-sponsored the Dream Act, a proposal to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants who were brought here as children. He says the Bush tax cuts should expire except for taxpayers making $250,000 or more ("I would go up to $400,000," he adds). Ackerman has worked hard at constituent services - important given that, in his district, half the residents are foreign-born. 
Newsday endorses Ackerman. hN

VP5CD17

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 5th Congressional District

The party label has changed, but the nonpartisan approach of incumbent Fred W. Thiele Jr. is much the same. As a Republican, he was a green moderate, working well with Democrats. Now he's crossing the aisle, running as one.
Thiele, 57, of <a href="/topics/Sag_Harbor%2C_NY">Sag Harbor</a>, overreacted by demanding the ouster of the university president when <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook%2C_NY">Stony Brook</a> closed the dorms at its <a href="/topics/Southampton%2C_NY">Southampton</a> campus, but it did show how much passion he still has for issues he cares about. He is sound on environmental concerns, and worked hard to save the East End's public radio station. 
His <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> opponent, <a href="/topics/Richard_Blumenthal">Richard Blumenthal</a>, 58, of <a href="/topics/Westhampton_Beach%2C_NY">Westhampton Beach</a>, a retired guidance counselor, didn't like the way the country was going and started a website asking, "Should I Run?" He thought about Congress, but chose this race. His focus: simplifying high school diploma requirements, reducing the need for special education, cutting costs and property taxes.
Thiele's moderation and problem-solving skills are still needed in Albany. Newsday endorses Thiele.

VP2SA21

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 2nd State Assembly District

Republican Dean Murray, who gained office in a special election in February, says his biggest surprise about the Assembly is that partisanship isn't an issue. Instead, it's upstate vs. downstate vs. the city - "and the city always wins." That's why one of his top issues is the <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> payroll tax. He wants a deeper look at <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a> finances and to improve efficiencies before the agency gets any new state aid. In a few months, he has established himself as a vocal member of the minority.
Democratic challenger Robert Calarco, 31, of <a href="/topics/Patchogue%2C_NY">Patchogue</a>, has worked in county government for nine years. His approach to problem-solving is to get interested parties to negotiate. As he widens his focus to broader policy issues, he should have a bright political future.
Murray, 46, of <a href="/topics/East_Patchogue%2C_NY">East Patchogue</a>, has a business background that shapes his approach. An original local tea party organizer, he focuses on the key tenets of small government, fiscal and personal responsibility, and accountability. 
Newsday endorses Murray.

VP3SA21

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 3rd State Assembly District

<a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> Steven Englebright considers it his mission to protect <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a>'s state parks. He's done it well and for that alone, his return to the Assembly for a 10th term is warranted. 
As committee chair on tourism, parks, arts and sports development, Englebright fought ill-advised budget cuts by the governor that would have limited park access. 
And as the only geologist in the legislature, Englebright, 64, of <a href="/topics/Setauket%2C_NY">Setauket</a>, will play a key role in developing the laws governing the drilling for natural gas in shale deposits upstate. 
<a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Deborah McKee, 54, of <a href="/topics/Mount_Sinai%2C_NY">Mount Sinai</a>, is a civilian dispatcher for the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County police department. She wants lower taxes and more school aid. McKee is a newcomer, but she still needs to provide solid ideas on how to make those things happen. McKee is right to oppose the <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a> payroll tax, but Englebright voted against it. 
Englebright has pushed the ruling city <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> to pay attention to the suburbs. We need him to keep doing it.
Newsday endorses Englebright.

VP4SA21

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 4th State Assembly District

<a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Alfred Graf sees the state Assembly as a group split between New York City interests and the rest of the state. He wants to reach out to lawmakers from outside of the city to build a "suburban-rural coalition to balance power.''
But first, Graf needs to beat <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> Kenneth Mangan and three-term incumbent Ginny Fields, the Working Families and Independence party nominee.
Mangan, 55, of Sayville, won the primary with the support and phone banks of union teachers, who were angered when Fields urged educators to accept a pay freeze. Mangan is a former owner-operator of local businesses, and has founded the admirable Every Child's Dream charity for homeless children. He has been a counselor at county agencies for the aging and labor, but has little other government or political experience. That's where the editorial board believes Graf has a leg up.
Graf, 52, a lawyer from <a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>, was a four-year supervisor of upstate Brighton, a town of about 1,600, in the 1990s. Former officials there recall that Graf found grant money for projects, put records on computers for the first time, and brought people together. He says he organized Adirondack Park towns to speak with a collective voice.
Graf brings his experience as a Navy veteran and New York City policeman (he left on disability), a bachelor's degree in elementary education and more recently a Touro Law degree. Graf favors giving SUNY campuses leeway to set their own tuitions, restoring STAR rebate checks and repealing the <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> payroll tax while looking for greater efficiency at the agency. He defends the state's current defined-benefit pension system for union workers, but backs efforts to have elected and appointed officials switch to a defined-contribution plan.
Fields, 64, of Oakdale, has been attentive to district needs and is running hard for her seat, but has not made the case for returning.
Newsday endorses Graf.

VP5SA21

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 5th State Assembly District

Democrat Phil Ramos, 55, is savvy to the ways of the Assembly. That's both his strength and his weakness. 
It means that the four-term incumbent from <a href="/topics/Central_Islip%2C_NY">Central Islip</a> has been able to deliver money for downtown beautification, an anti-graffiti effort and an anti-gang campaign that includes after-school and drug programs. His proposal for a "gang court" could help too. But success has made him reluctant to challenge the status quo.
Republican Mohsen Elsayed, 52, of <a href="/topics/Brentwood%2C_NY">Brentwood</a>, is a businessman and former U.S. Defense Department consultant in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>. He wants to cap property taxes and state spending and repeal the <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> payroll tax, all good things. But a Republican newcomer in the Democratic-controlled Assembly would, unfortunately, mean less for the district.
Ramos should be more inclusive of all his constituents at home. And he should take a broader view of the need for reform in Albany, even when that means bucking his party leadership. Newsday endorses Ramos.

VP6SA21

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 6th State Assembly District

For an environmentalist, Republican incumbent Joseph Saladino is rough on trees. He has produced reams of bills, proposals and detailed analyses of all that ails Albany. 
Among the proposals by Saladino, 49, of <a href="/topics/Massapequa%2C_NY">Massapequa</a>, is the Property Taxpayers' Protection Act. The bill would impose a property tax cap on school districts, but bar any new state mandate that would raise costs more than $10,000 for any district or $1 million statewide. He also wants a people's veto, to let voters block tax increases by petitioning for a referendum. 
Democrat Kevin Gorman, 59, of <a href="/topics/Wantagh%2C_NY">Wantagh</a>, works for <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a>'s Board of Elections. He has run for town, county and state offices. Gorman supports a property tax cap and Andrew <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a>'s proposed Spending and Government Efficiency Commission, the first comprehensive rethinking of state government since 1927. In general, he has read and supports Cuomo's multivolume ideas. 
Gorman seems to know the issues, but he didn't make a compelling case for expanding an already too-large Democratic majority in the Assembly. 
Newsday endorses Saladino.

VP12SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 12th Assembly District

<a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> veteran Robert Germino is running against incumbent Charles Lavine with the claim that Lavine has done too little to "fix Albany'' - which was Lavine's rallying cry when he first won election six years ago. Germino, 30, a Republican who now works for the <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County executive, says Lavine went to Albany and became part of the problem.
That's an easy charge to lob at a sitting Assembly member, but Democrat Lavine doesn't deserve it. A criminal defense lawyer from <a href="/topics/Glen_Cove%2C_NY">Glen Cove</a>, Lavine, 63, has fought for a reform agenda, including fair redistricting and campaign finance changes. He stood up to entrenched Albany powers to win red-light camera legislation, which has become an important revenue source for Nassau County.
Germino, also of Glen Cove, advocates privatizing many government services, which is fair enough. But he goes too far in proposing that private companies take over Medicaid and Medicare. He needs to think through the implications of his platform.
Newsday endorses Lavine.

VP13SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 13th Assembly District

This seat is a rarity for <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a>'s calcified Assembly: There is no incumbent in the race. <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> Dermond Thomas, 34, of <a href="/topics/Valley_Stream%2C_NY">Valley Stream</a>, is battling <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Brian Curran, 41, of <a href="/topics/Lynbrook%2C_NY">Lynbrook</a>, to fill the spot vacated by Republican Robert Barra. 
Each is an attorney - Thomas specializes in mergers and acquisitions, Curran is a litigator. And each says he's running to help fix the fiscal mess that is Albany by cutting spending and controlling taxes.
Thomas shows promise in this, his first run for public office. His experience in dissecting private companies in search of synergies and efficiencies could yield valuable insights as Albany wrestles to find ways to consolidate and spend less.
But Curran, who has served four years as Lynbrook's part-time mayor, has public sector experience. He managed to cut taxes despite the rising costs of pensions and services. That trial by fire would be valuable for any Albany newcomer since time is of the essence for New York. The next legislature will have to move quickly and decisively to put the state on a sustainable fiscal course. Being ready to hit the ground running would be a big plus for a rookie legislator. 
Curran supports aggressive measures, including a property tax cap and eliminating some of the medical services covered by the state's generous, but ruinously expensive, Medicaid program and converting some full-time state jobs to part time. 
Thomas favors a more modest approach to cutting costs, emphasizing better management. That's certainly needed, but by itself wouldn't be enough. 
Thomas is one to watch. He's thoughtful and despite a lucrative career, appears genuinely committed to public service. Still, the nod this year goes to the experienced outsider.
Newsday endorses Curran.

VP14SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 14th Assembly District

Republican Michael Montesano has spent just eight months in Albany, which may explain why he says he's still enjoying it. He won the seat in a special election in February. 
Montesano, 55, of Glen Head, has climbed the learning curve quickly, having passed four bills to help the district, including one to establish a library district in <a href="/topics/Brookville%2C_NY">Brookville</a> and another authorizing the Village of Matinecock to use parks reserve funds to restore Planting Fields Road. He favors a property tax cap of 2 percent to 3 percent, along with a spending cap for Albany, municipalities and school districts.
His challenger, Democrat <a href="/topics/Leon_Hart">Leon Hart</a>, 47, of <a href="/topics/Westbury%2C_NY">Westbury</a>, senior lawyer for the City of <a href="/topics/Yonkers">Yonkers</a>, is making his first run for office. While he also favors a property tax cap, he believes a spending cap would need exceptions for certain categories - which may remove too many of its teeth. He's smart and dedicated, and he should stay active in politics. But Montesano has earned the chance to serve his first full term.
Newsday endorses Montesano.

VP15SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 15th Assembly District

Democrat Michelle Schimel says she was sold "a bill of goods" when she voted for the <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> payroll tax. That she supported the levy is not good. That she recognizes she was duped is, because she may not be such an easy mark next time. 
Schimel, 53, of <a href="/topics/Great_Neck%2C_NY">Great Neck</a>, won her seat in a special election to replace state Comptroller <a href="/topics/Thomas_DiNapoli">Thomas DiNapoli</a> in 2007. Opposing her is Scott Diamond, 31, a Republican from <a href="/topics/Mineola%2C_NY">Mineola</a>, a paralegal on contract with the <a href="/topics/U.S._Department_of_Justice">U.S. Department of Justice</a>. 
Diamond wants the <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a> reformed and the payroll tax abolished, and he makes good points about the culture in Albany. He misses the mark, though, when painting Schimel as an Albany insider. She is actually considered a real thorn in the side of her party leaders.
Schimel is a detail-oriented and passionate advocate for bringing jobs to <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>, eliminating waste and fighting illegal firearms. Add the seasoning she's gaining and you could get a very potent legislator.
Newsday endorses Schimel.

VP16SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 16th Assembly District

This legislative district has the distinction of being the most absurdly gerrymandered there is, at least in the view of someone who ought to know - its own assemblyman. 
That would be Republican Thomas McKevitt. The 39-year-old <a href="/topics/East_Meadow%2C_NY">East Meadow</a> attorney was first elected in 2006, and he shows signs of having grown into the job. In an interview, he displayed a good grasp of how power works in Albany, correctly identified Medicaid as the state's most pressing budget issue, and as the ranking minority member of the Assembly Judiciary Committee pointed to his bipartisan efforts on behalf of no-fault divorce legislation. 
His opponent is Democrat Tom Devaney, 33, of East Williston, a volunteer firefighter who mostly agrees on the issues but supports <a href="/topics/Same-sex_Marriage">gay marriage</a>. McKevitt (who acknowledges that <a href="/topics/Same-sex_Marriage">gay marriage</a> will eventually become reality) says he opposes it because his constituents do. McKevitt has a much greater command of the issues. 
Newsday endorses McKevitt.

VP17SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 17th Assembly District

Entrenched Democrat incumbent Earlene Hooper of <a href="/topics/Hempstead%2C_NY">Hempstead</a> spends a lot of time in Albany, where she is well-known as the member who has garnered hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel and living expenses since she first arrived in 1988. 
For more than a decade her opponents have charged she is not responsive to her district. Republican Derek Partee, 58, of Hempstead, is making that case yet again, but Partee, a former <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County homicide detective, isn't actively campaigning because the <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> knows Hooper will get her ticket punched yet again in this Democratic stronghold. 
Despite her unresponsiveness to many groups and organizations, Hooper, 71, does carve out time to advocate for <a href="/topics/Roosevelt%2C_NY">Roosevelt</a> schools and is sponsoring a bill that would require the bigger villages to approve any tax breaks awarded by industrial development agencies.
Hooper, however, is being overly dismissive when she says Albany's dysfunction is only a "perception" and legislators work hard. 
Newsday makes no endorsement.

VP18SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday declines to endorse in the 18th Assembly District

In some elections, the choice is tough because the candidates are equally uninspiring. But in other races, two good candidates make us wish that one of them would relocate so that both could serve. This year, that's how we feel about <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County's 19th Assembly District.
The incumbent is <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> <a href="/topics/David_McDonough">David McDonough</a>, 73, a former Chamber of Commerce official who's been in office since 2002. McDonough, of <a href="/topics/Merrick%2C_NY">Merrick</a>, is well-liked and speaks frankly and knowledgeably about the problems in Albany. He favors a property-tax cap and repeal of the controversial <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> tax on payrolls, which he voted against. 
But our endorsement must go to <a href="/topics/John_Brooks">John Brooks</a>, a 61-year-old <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> who is one of the most impressive Assembly challengers we've seen. An insurance expert with deep roots in <a href="/topics/Seaford%2C_NY">Seaford</a>, <a href="/topics/John_Brooks">Brooks</a> has developed an imaginative plan - in writing - for reforming state aid to education. His plan would radically reduce the importance of property taxes in school finance, shifting the burden for "core" educational expenditures to the state, which would distribute funds on a per-student basis, taking account of regional cost differences. The state would also pay for special-needs students, and local districts would get incentives to save by sharing services. Local taxpayers wanting to spend more on education could tax themselves for this purpose.
Brooks' approach to other issues was equally thoughtful and well-informed. He advocates state and local spending caps, for example, an end to Nassau's unusual practice of covering the cost of assessment refunds, and elimination of the <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a> payroll tax. He also proposes development of a statewide master plan for mass transit, including an expert assessment of costly personnel practices.
Dave McDonough is a good guy. But John Brooks is just the kind of person we need more of in Albany.
Newsday endorses Brooks.

VP19SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 19th Assembly District

<a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> <a href="/topics/Harvey_Weisenberg">Harvey Weisenberg</a>, who's spent 21 years in the Assembly, almost seems surprised that anyone would dare run against him. The 76-year-old from <a href="/topics/Long_Beach%2C_NY">Long Beach</a> beat back a primary challenge from former <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> Legis. Jeff Toback, and now he faces <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Joshua Wanderer. Weisenberg's mantra appears to be that change comes from experience, not from new people.
Wanderer, 45, of <a href="/topics/Lawrence%2C_NY">Lawrence</a>, is a tax attorney - a worthwhile skill set, given the complexity of the state's tax code. He cites the crushing tax burden in <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> as a top priority. He's also made a study of the numbers behind school aid and, by comparing school-lunch reimbursement rates to make the case for poorer districts on <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>, offers a more sophisticated fair-share argument than is usually heard.
Weisenberg is certainly passionate in his efforts to deliver for the disabled. But his ferocious defense of the status quo in Albany is troubling - and tone deaf. 
Newsday endorses Wanderer.

VP20SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 20th Assembly District

This district will send a fresh face to the Assembly, either Democrat Patrick Nicolosi, 53, a seasoned community activist and retired bakery truck driver, or Republican Edward Ra, 28, an assistant <a href="/topics/Hempstead%2C_NY">Hempstead</a> Town attorney. In this contest between insurgent and establishment, the elder candidate is the rebel.
Nicolosi, of <a href="/topics/Elmont%2C_NY">Elmont</a>, beat the party-backed candidate to win his spot on the ballot. Ra, of <a href="/topics/Franklin_Square%2C_NY">Franklin Square</a>, is the son of Hempstead's town attorney and is following his party's script for career advancement. 
Nicolosi and Ra each wants to cap property taxes and state spending, capture a "fair share" of school aid, and bring casino gambling and development to <a href="/topics/Belmont%2C_NY">Belmont</a> Racetrack. But with his blue-collar and union background, Nicolosi will demonstrate that Long Islanders aren't all rich and that nepotism doesn't always rule. He promises to challenge public unions for resisting higher pension contributions and padding retirement income. Those are key messages. Newsday endorses Nicolosi.

VP21SA22

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 21st Assembly District

<a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Sen. <a href="/topics/John_Flanagan_%28politician%29">John Flanagan</a> championed a freeze of public-sector wages last year to close budget gaps at state agencies and school districts. Though Flanagan's idea didn't pick up adequate political steam, he earned himself a bullseye on his back from those constituencies.
<a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> Ira L. Bernstein, 67, a retired <a href="/topics/Commack%2C_NY">Commack</a> schoolteacher, candidly admits that he is seeking the teachers' vote, as well as those of senior citizens. A <a href="/topics/Selden%2C_NY">Selden</a> resident, Bernstein serves on the <a href="/topics/Brookhaven%2C_NY">Brookhaven</a> senior advisory board. But his philosophy of continued spending doesn't meet the challenge of the times.
Flanagan, 49, of <a href="/topics/East_Northport%2C_NY">East Northport</a>, has spent eight years in the Senate and 16 years in the Assembly. He needs to put that extended experience to work enacting some of the strong reform ideas he's presenting on the campaign trail. Depending on which party takes the Senate majority, Flanagan can expect to serve as the chairman or ranking Republican of the Senate Education Committee.
He's right that <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> needs to take a tough look at expensive special education, perhaps, as he suggests, by empaneling a commission such as the 2006 Berger Commission on hospital closures. Flanagan should also air his ideas to ease burdensome pensions obligations, which include a defined benefit with increased employee contributions and a cap on payments.
Newsday endorses Flanagan.

VP2SSEN20

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 2nd State Senate District

In this battle the challenger, <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> <a href="/topics/Lee_Zeldin">Lee Zeldin</a>, is scary because he hasn't shown what he can do. The incumbent, Democratic Sen. Brian <a href="/topics/Brian_X._Foley">Foley</a>, is scary because he has.
Foley, 52, from <a href="/topics/Blue_Point%2C_NY">Blue Point</a>, won the seat two years ago, just in time to take part in the first Democratic majority in decades. The term was unkind to <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>, and Foley couldn't stem the damage. He was duped into supporting the <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> payroll tax because, he says, he was promised it would be proportionate to use, which would have made <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County's burden 70 percent less than it is. He still believes it will be made proportionate, a complete fairy tale.
Zeldin, 30, from <a href="/topics/Shirley%2C_NY">Shirley</a>, is an attorney and captain in the Army Reserves. He says he would have voted against the <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a> tax and wants to fight the power monopoly New York City enjoys in the State Legislature.
Zeldin previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress buthas been able to garner fundraising help from sources outside the state so conservative they support seizing nearly every power from the federal government and vehemently fighting the separation of church and state. That's worrisome.
But Foley has already proven he isn't up to job. If elected, Zeldin should reject ultraconservative views even if he accepts ultraconservative money. 
Newsday endorses Zeldin.

VP3SSEN20

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 3rd State Senate District

The contest between Democratic Sen. Craig <a href="/topics/Craig_M._Johnson">Johnson</a> of <a href="/topics/Port_Washington%2C_NY">Port Washington</a> and <a href="/topics/Mineola%2C_NY">Mineola</a> Mayor Jack Martins, a <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a>, is difficult to call because both present strong candidacies.
Martins has been a very effective mayor, taking over in 2003 when the village had a $250,000 budget shortfall and a debt load of $33 million. Yes, he raised taxes to return the village to financial health, but he kept annual increases reasonable, below 4 percent. The debt has been whittled to $20 million. Also, he's accomplished one of the toughest tasks on NIMBY <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>: approval of multistory housing near the train station with community support.
Martins levels his sharpest criticism at Johnson for his vote in favor of the reviled payroll tax supporting the <a href="/topics/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a>. The mayor calls it a job-killing tax, a charge this page has wielded from the start.
But Johnson defends his vote without flinching, and we like that he stands by his convictions - too rare a quality in politics. Johnson points out that, in early 2009, the <a href="/topics/MTA">MTA</a> was preparing to hike fares by 40 percent. "I was not going to play chicken with my constituents' lives," he says. To his credit, he leveraged the vote to win himself an influential seat on the MTA Capital Program Review Board, one of only four voting members.
Johnson now needs to do more to fund the latter three years of the MTA's 5-year capital plan, and to restore road and bridge funding as part of <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a>'s overall commitment to transportation. He should continue to explore tolling the East River bridges to Manhattan and allowing lone drivers to use HOV lanes for a fee. 
The incumbent also stood up to peer pressure early this year, as one of just two <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> to break with Senate colleagues to defeat a bill that would have quashed New York's charter school movement, ruining the state's chances to win a $700-million federal grant under the Race to the Top program. In so doing, Johnson earned the enmity of the <a href="/topics/New_York_State_United_Teachers">New York State United Teachers</a>, which tried unsuccessfully to field a primary challenger against him.
Martins believes in term limits and says he will limit himself to two terms as Mineola mayor, meaning he'll leave next year. But his effectiveness presents one of the best arguments against term limits. His next post, wherever he sets his sights, should capitalize on his proven executive abilities.
Johnson should continue to push for better public schools. His ideas on merit pay and reworking the tenure system deserve more attention. He should also give more thought to the urgent issue of pension reform.
Newsday endorses Johnson.

VP7SSEN20

EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 7th State Senate District

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