Cuomo ally argues for same-sex marriage

Lt. Gov. Robert J. Duffy, a former Rochester mayor and police chief, told a personal tale in his Long Island stump speech last week in support of same-sex marriage and other parts of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's legislative agenda.

"I was raised in a family that was the Parris Island of Catholicism," he told about 100 guests seated at Dowling College. "My mother, who died three years ago, was a former Catholic nun who was in a convent, left the convent, it was after World War II, she met my father, got married. I never knew it until I was in my adulthood.

"Believe you me -- discipline and faith and church was not just something you did on Sunday. But one thing that she reinforced her whole life was civil rights, equality, for everybody."

That drew applause. He made similar remarks in Albany three days earlier at an Empire State Pride Agenda rally.

After his speech Thursday, while responding to news media questions about taxes, state health aid, and criticism from Suffolk Executive Steve Levy, Duffy made his segue into the perennial topic of special districts.

"By my math there are about 400 separate government entities in Suffolk County alone. That is the core reason costs are so high," he said. "Everyone loves to talk about it, but the most difficult discussion is when it's in their own community. That's true everywhere across the state."

FRAUD FRACAS: Nassau is the spawning ground of dueling acronyms -- NYSAIF versus NYFAIR -- in a high-stakes dispute.

Roslyn-based Gotham Government Relations is promoting state legislation that sponsors say would curb widespread fraud in New York's no-fault auto insurance system. The firm's David Schwartz said, "New York is paying a fraud tax" on fake claims, some involving corrupt medical professionals. He faulted trial lawyers for fighting the bill, which is backed by the American Insurance Association. The firm's Rafe Lieber is executive director of the "New Yorkers Stand Against Insurance Fraud" (NYSAIF), which is for the bill.

In Great Neck, lawyer Stuart M. Israel heads "New Yorkers for Fair Automobile Insurance Reform" (NYFAIR), which calls for "protecting access to quality health care for automobile accident victims," and opposes the current bill -- claiming it reflects the insurance lobby's "self-serving agenda." His firm specializes in no-fault reimbursements for health-care providers.