Barbs traded over Bellone's 1st TV ad
Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone's first TV ad for county executive takes unintended shots at Bellone's mentor, Suffolk Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer, county GOP chairman John Jay LaValle says.
The ad boasts of Bellone improving the town's bond rating to A-plus "from one of the worst in the county" and cutting pothole repair time from "five weeks to 48 hours."
The problem, LaValle says, is Bellone's predecessor was Schaffer:"It sounds to me like Bellone is calling Schaffer a total incompetent."
Schaffer laughed and blamed past town troubles on a "political prosecution" by LaValle's GOP allies, late District Attorney James Catterson and ex-GOP boss John Powell. "They tried to bankrupt the town and once we beat them we were able to repair the finances and hire the people to file the potholes," Schaffer said. "John's . . . got a bankrupt organization and no real candidates . . . "
-- Rick Brand
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