Laura Curran attends Cairo Family Foundation event
Nassau Republican Party vice chairman Joseph Cairo. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Despite last Friday’s nor’easter, the 23rd annual Pat Cairo Family Foundation dinner dance at the Sand Castle in Franklin Square was packed, attendees say.
The foundation, started in 1995 by Nassau Republican Party vice chairman Joseph Cairo and his children after Cairo’s wife, Pat, died of cancer, has raised millions of dollars in donations for Calvary Hospital and doctors at the hospital.
The annual dance also has been considered a must-attend event for Nassau Republicans.
One surprise guest last week was new Democratic County Executive Laura Curran, who stood near former Republican County Executive Thomas Gulotta while former Republican Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino worked the room.
Curran was “pleasantly received, standing and talking and being introduced,” said one attendee. “Everybody took notice.”
Curran spokesman Michael Martino said Curran had been invited to the event. “She attended in her capacity as county executive. It was not a political function.”
Past notable guests have included Democratic judges, who are not allowed to attend political fundraisers, and former Democratic County Executive Thomas Suozzi.
Curran’s immediate predecessor, former Republican County Executive Edward Mangano, did not attend. Mangano goes on trial next week on federal corruption charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
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