Opinion

There is no politician on Long Island more established in his or her district than Kenneth P. LaValle.
That’s because he’s spent 42 years in the Senate. Fortunately for his constituents, LaValle, 79, a Republican from Port Jefferson, continues to match his longevity with results.
He worked with Assemb. Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) to protect more than 800 acres of pristine forest in Shoreham as part of the pine barrens core preservation area. He teamed with Assemb. Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) to get a bill passed that paves the way for Stony Brook University to lease land for a new Southampton Hospital, a vital East End concern.
LaValle supports two bills blocked by the Senate last session — one requiring the state to be powered 100 percent by alternative energy by 2050, another to extend the criminal statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and give them more time to bring civil cases against their attackers. LaValle should use his influence vigorously to get them passed. 
LaValle’s opponent, Democrat Gregory-John Fischer, ran against LaValle in 2016. Fischer, 61, a business consultant from Calverton, is bursting with ideas — from using maglev technology to connect Long Island to Quebec via a cross-Sound tunnel to Port Chester, to employing facial recognition technology to enable online voting. And he supports a raft of other voting and ethics reforms. But he seems to be at war with virtually everyone, including his own party, and has filed a seemingly endless number of lawsuits on a dizzying array of issues. In the Senate, he could be a party of one.
LaValle has been in the business a long time. But he still can play to his strengths — delivering for Stony Brook University and protecting the environment. Both are important to his district and to Long Island as a whole.
Newsday endorses LaValle. — The editorial board

Editorials

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Kenneth LaValle to represent NY’s 1st Senate District

Newsday endorses LaValle in 1st Senate District 

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Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan has been a tireless fighter for his district and Long Island, and we’ll need him to keep fighting for us whether his party maintains the majority or not. The benefits of the East Northport Republican’s deep knowledge, political experience and local loyalty are invaluable. 
Flanagan, 57, is seeking his ninth term after serving in the Assembly for 16 years. He has been majority leader since 2015, winning a fierce intraparty contest to keep the gavel on the Island after his predecessor as majority leader, Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre, was indicted on federal corruption charges. Whether Flanagan remains leader likely depends on how many seats the GOP wins on Long Island.
Earlier in his Senate tenure, Flanagan chaired the Education Committee, and that remains a focus. His efforts to restore funding to Long Island school districts in the face of the 2008 recession and pressure to divert funding to New York City schools were laudable and successful. 
At the same time, he has been one of the state’s strongest voices for accountability and rigor in the classroom, pushing standards and evaluation methods that will assure students are career- and college-ready and that teachers get the job done. But he also has advocated for private and parochial school vouchers and tax credits that aren’t structured to help the communities and students who need it most. He needs to evolve on this, and on his opposition to forcing yeshivas in New York City to meet reasonable educational standards.
Flanagan also has fought to get Long Island its share of economic development funding. He’s supported keeping the crucial property tax cap intact and making it permanent, a fight that will be renewed next year. And he’s worked with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to stymie wild spending plans in the Assembly.
East Northport Democrat Kathleen Bradbury Cleary, 51, has an impressive grasp of the issues for a newcomer to politics, and she has a passion to make government more workable and less partisan. She is a horticulturist and previously was a contract manager for major corporations. She supports strengthening abortion rights in New York, increasing access to voting, and charging tolls to drive in lower Manhattan at rush hour to relieve congestion and help fund mass transit. She has fine ideas of the type Flanagan and his conference should be far more open to. She just doesn’t have enough experience to equal the clout Flanagan brings to fighting for Long Island’s needs.
Whether or not Republicans hold the chamber, Flanagan will be needed to fight for our region in the battle for state funding and the needs of local voters. But he could do so far more effectively if, as leader of his conference, he could advance a bold, ambitious and attractive agenda that shows how Republicans plan to address the state’s problems and leverage its strengths.
Newsday endorses Flanagan. — The editorial board

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John Flanagan to represent New York’s 2nd Senate District

Newsday endorses Flanagan in 2nd Senate District

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State Sen. Tom Croci’s decision not to seek re-election set off a frenzied race to represent New York’s 3rd Senate District. Democrat Monica R. Martinez of Brentwood is the right person to do it. 
Martinez, 41, has served ably as a Suffolk County legislator, working to deliver critically needed services to her economically struggling district. It’s a commitment that she showed even before entering politics through her work as a high school teacher and school administrator. 
Martinez immigrated to this country from El Salvador at age 3, and in a demographically changing district, she represents a necessary new perspective that will bring a breath of fresh air to Albany. 
She has done her homework to make the leap from her county legislative district to a State Senate one, with its greater responsibilities and larger array of issues. Her commitment to struggling and underserved people hasn’t changed, as demonstrated by what she calls the “grave concern” of the opioid crisis on Long Island. She would work to bring more recovery facility beds to Suffolk County and wants more state oversight of so-called “sober homes” to make sure they put individuals on track to success and are responsible neighbors in their communities.
Martinez understands that one of the key challenges for Albany lawmakers next year must be restoring public faith in the democratic system, and a big part of that includes reforms like early voting, limiting the number of terms and caps on outside income. 
Her opponent, Assemb. Dean Murray of East Patchogue, is not excited about big reforms. “Could someone tell me the part of the voting process that is difficult?” he asked rhetorically during his endorsement interview with the editorial board. Murray, 54, is unmoved by the evidence that the state’s registration system is Byzantine, and that many people have difficulty getting to the polls on a workday. He would not support most changes to a system that frustrates many. Murray, unfortunately, also represents a Republican Party in this state that can’t advance a positive agenda and would rather have the party be defined by what it is against, such as a state Dream Act that would help young immigrants attend college and a statewide plastic-bag fee to protect the environment. Instead, Murray is concerned for dog owners who would have no bags to collect pets’ poop. 
Murray has bucked his party on issues like the Child Victims Act, which would allow those who were sexually abused as minors to file civil lawsuits, but his overall willingness to go along with a philosophy of no on so many other issues is disheartening. 
Meanwhile, Martinez promises to be an independent voice who can stand up to her leaders when necessary and always fight for Long Islanders, looking for ways to make their lives better. That’s what residents of her district need. 
Newsday endorses Martinez. — The editorial board

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Monica Martinez to represent New York’s 3rd Senate District

Newsday endorses Martinez in 3rd Senate District 

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State Sen. Philip M. Boyle made a decision last year to play footsie with the Machiavellian mastermind of Suffolk County politics. Now Boyle has the taint of the swamp on him. And it won’t wash off. Worse, Boyle isn’t even trying to get rid of the stench.
That’s a debilitating problem for Boyle, who is seeking his fourth term in the Senate after many years in the Assembly.
His opponent, former Suffolk Legis. Louis D’Amaro, has unambiguous stands on voting and ethics reforms that make him the clear choice for any voter who believes in honest elections, decries backroom deal-making, and wants to pull the plug on Suffolk’s sorry political cesspool.
Boyle, 57, a Bay Shore Republican, was part of an odious 2017 deal between county Democratic boss Rich Schaffer and former Conservative Party head Edward Walsh to deprive voters of choices in judgeship races by cross-endorsing candidates. As part of the deal, Schaffer backed off the sheriff’s contest. Walsh, a former corrections lieutenant convicted of corruption charges on the basis of evidence from then-Sheriff Vincent DeMarco, abandoned DeMarco, an actual Conservative, in a favor of Boyle, who has no law enforcement experience but did employ Walsh’s wife in his office, part of Boyle’s history of hiring relatives of political cronies. And Boyle did not rule out accepting the Democratic line from Schaffer, who was ready to extend it.
The deal blew up when Boyle lost the GOP primary. Even now, Boyle says he supports the party boss system and says candidates should be allowed to run on as many lines as party bosses will give them. Primary voters stopped him from leaving the Senate for the high-paying sheriff’s job. Why should he be returned to a job he didn’t want?
D’Amaro, 57, thinks the system is repugnant and broken. He’s right. An attorney from North Babylon, the Democrat spent 12 years in Suffolk’s legislature as a thoughtful lawmaker. He supports a full range of real ethics and voting reforms — including redistricting by an independent commission to create competitive races. He says candidates should run on one ballot line, that the State Legislature should be a full-time position with no outside income, and that lawmakers should hold hearings and discuss bills before passing them. Judges, he says, should be appointed in a way that insulates them from politics. He will be a strong voice for local interests if Democrats take control of the caucus.
D’Amaro’s very presence in this race is unusual. For years, Schaffer essentially gave Boyle and his predecessor, Owen Johnson, a free pass to Albany by nominating Senate candidates who were not serious contenders. He does not support D’Amaro’s candidacy. It’s easy to see why.
To be sure, we have applauded Boyle in the past. His environmental advocacy has been sound, he did good work as chair of the Senate task force on heroin and opioid addiction, and he is fiscally conservative. But that can’t save him now that his integrity is so badly tarnished.
Newsday endorses D’Amaro. — The editorial board

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Louis D’Amaro to represent New York’s 4th Senate District

Newsday endorses D’Amaro in 4th Senate District

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Two years ago, James F. Gaughran lost a bitterly contested State Senate race to longtime incumbent Carl L. Marcellino. The margin was small — about 1,700 votes of more than 146,000 cast.
Our judgment in 2016 was that Gaughran was the better candidate, and nothing has happened to change that assessment. If anything, it is even more true today.
Marcellino, 75, has represented his district well in his 23 years in office. His environmental record, in particular, is strong, with dozens of good bills passed. The Syosset Republican has been effective at constituent service. But his accomplishments are mostly in the past. No longer the vigorous warrior he once was, he soldiers on without the relish for the job he once radiated. And his better instincts are boxed in by a Republican Party desperate to retain its one-vote margin in the Senate. Marcellino has to toe the line and that’s disappointing.
Gaughran, 61, a Democrat from Northport, has deep legislative experience, an important complement to his eagerness to solve problems in Albany. Currently the chairman of the Suffolk County Water Authority, Gaughran served previously in the Suffolk County Legislature and before that on the Huntington Town Board.
Gaughran promises to be independent, citing times he voted against his party as a county lawmaker. That contrariness will be essential if Democrats take over the Senate. Gaughran says he would be part of a caucus of moderates and suburbanites from around the state who would protect Long Island against a New York City-centric agenda.
On the flip side, Gaughran says Democrats would not block important legislation on issues like voting reform. He favors early voting, no-excuse absentee balloting and an easier process of registration. He says redistricting can be done by an independent group and, critically for Long Island, would put an end to candidates running on multiple party lines.
Gaughran also is pushing a proposal to help strapped Long Island taxpayers: Legalize sports betting and give the tax revenue to school districts, which would have to reduce property taxes by the same amount they receive. It’s the kind of inventive thinking Senate Republicans rarely demonstrate.
And Gaughran’s environmental advocacy — he understands intimately the region’s problems with drinking and surface water — makes him an appropriate policy heir to Marcellino. Gaughran wants to expand or build new sewage treatment plants and monitor existing ones more closely. He supports using state funds for grants to help homeowners replace cesspools with high-tech treatment systems, favors consolidation of Nassau County’s many water providers, and urges a plastic-bag ban.
Marcellino has been a fine and capable public servant. But it’s time to turn the seat over to someone new. Newsday endorses Gaughran. — The editorial board

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James Gaughran to represent NY’s 5th Senate District

Newsday endorses Gaughran in 5th Senate Dist. 

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Behind the curmudgeonly and perpetually bemused facade of Republican Kemp Hannon, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience that is critically valuable to both Long Island and the state. Hannon, 72, of Garden City, has been in the State Senate since 1990, serving 13 years in the Assembly before that. 
As a walking repository of legislative history, combined with his nuts-and-bolts understanding of critical issues, it’s hard to imagine him not there, even if you disagree with some of his positions.
Chair of the Senate’s Health Committee, Hannon is working on improving water quality by setting standards to measure contaminants, and he is writing regulations to squeeze the waste from Medicaid funding. Hannon also shepherded into law a program that, starting in 2019, will require chain pharmacies to collect unwanted prescription medications for proper disposal.
Hannon’s skepticism and expertise will be needed as Democrats propose a single-payer health system, which he opposes, and move toward legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, of which he is suspicious because there is no reliable test for driving while under the drug’s influence. He says a priority should be treating those struggling with heroin and opioid addiction by adding inpatient beds and integrating treatment for mental illness into the health care system.
Democrat Kevin M. Thomas, 34, of Levittown, is a civil rights attorney who worked on high-profile cases to help those saddled with consumer debt, especially student loans. He decided to seek elective office because of his anger at policies of President Donald Trump. Thomas is passionate about making the criminal justice system fairer and supports marijuana legalization to end racial disparities, regulate its quality and increase revenue to the state. He is a welcome new face to politics, but should first seek office on a local level.
Newsday endorses Hannon.
— The editorial board

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Kemp Hannon  to represent NY’s 6th Senate District

Newsday endorses Hannon in 6th Senate District 

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What a difference two years makes.
When Republican Elaine R. Phillips first arrived on the state legislative scene, she was, more than anything else, a naysayer. She was quick to oppose the Long Island Rail Road third- track project and hesitated to favor any project or issue that had a whiff of controversy or community concern.
Phillips, the former mayor of the small Village of Flower Hill, stood in the way of the third track into the summer of 2017, until village mayors in her district received the benefits they sought. The hurdles she created added significantly to the project’s cost. 
But her third-track effort, however misguided, showed what Phillips can do when she chooses to lead, and was a clear sign of how well she stands up for her district and what she could do if she chose to work in more constructive ways. Phillips, 58, is now using her advocacy to support the project and address concerns as work is done. Similarly, rather than opposing Belmont Park’s redevelopment outright, Phillips has worked to alter pieces of the project that caused angst, such as the location of a planned electrical substation, and advocated for more community input opportunities. “We’ll get there,” she told the editorial board. 
Phillips seems to have found her footing. She has focused on important social and environmental issues, has been able to work with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and seems far more willing to take a position and defend it even when it’s not in lockstep with other GOP senators.
 Instead of a knee-jerk reaction against recreational marijuana or sports betting, Phillips talks of planning carefully to make legalization work. She supports a tolling plan on Manhattan’s roadways as long as there’s a way to address outer-borough concerns, and believes in key reforms like term limits for legislators and some degree of early voting on the weekend. Phillips says she supports the so-called “red flag” bill, which would allow teachers and school administrators to ask for court orders to remove guns from those they think are dangerous. She would enact the protections of Roe v. Wade into state law but doesn’t want non-physicians to perform abortion services.
If Phillips can match the strong voice she has used for her district for the region as a whole, and continues to be willing to stand apart from her caucus, she could be a powerful force who could look out for Long Island’s interests.
Great Neck Democrat Anna M. Kaplan, a North Hempstead Town councilwoman, has emerged as a strong supporter of the Reproductive Health Act, which would allow abortions after 24 weeks when a woman’s health is at risk, or a fetus is no longer viable, and would permit health care professionals other than doctors to perform abortions. Kaplan also advocates for the “red flag” gun bill. But Kaplan, 53, otherwise seems to find it far easier to critique her opponent than articulate positions of her own. Even when pushed, she was reluctant to express opinions on key state issues, often saying she’d have to examine potential legislation before establishing her own views.
Newsday endorses Phillips. — The editorial board

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Elaine Phillips  to represent NY’s 7th Senate District

Newsday endorses Phillips  in 7th Senate District  

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When John E. Brooks beat Republican Michael Venditto by 314 votes in 2016, it was an upset with some caveats. 
Brooks was then actually a registered Republican running on the Democratic ballot line, although now he is a registered Democrat. And Venditto was battling the public perception of corruption in the Oyster Bay Republican establishment that included the indictment of his father, John Venditto, on federal charges a month before the election. The former Town of Oyster Bay supervisor was acquitted on the charges he faced then, but he and other town Republicans still face state corruption charges. 
But Brooks, 68, of Seaford, earned Newsday’s endorsement two years ago on his merits because he is an imaginative and nuanced thinker on the region and state’s thorniest issues, like high property taxes — and he turned out to be a very fine senator. 
He has contributed in his community at every level, from fire department and school board member to Nassau County director of risk management, so there are few issues he hasn’t studied. Like a mathematician, he educates others on the inequities of the property-tax system and his ideas for fixing education funding. And like an emergency responder, he fights for more addiction treatment and rattles off information about how the pressure in fire hydrants is maintained. 
On policy, Brooks is no ideologue. When he can’t assure himself of what a well-intentioned bill would do, as with a state plan for single-payer health care, he won’t commit until he’s sure of the cost and the consequences.
On more local issues, like Nassau’s property-tax assessment woes, his expertise could well smooth the way for the county to get the state support it seeks to fix that system. The same is true with district complaints over exorbitant rates charged by New York American Water Corp. Brooks has been a fierce advocate for more oversight or a change to public or municipal service. He says the company should probably be relieved of taxes public water providers don’t have to pay, but then should have to offer prices within 5 percent of other providers.
Republican Massapequa Park Mayor Jeffrey P. Pravato, 50, is deputy public works commissioner for the Town of Oyster Bay. He’s passionate about getting more infrastructure help to communities as the best and most focused form of economic development, and he wants to fight for more state money for roads and other public-works projects. 
But his responses are vague on big issues like education funding and property taxes, legalization of sports betting and recreational marijuana, fighting opioid addiction and voting reforms.
While the rolls show nearly 10,000 more Democrats than Republicans in the district, the numbers are deceiving. The GOP is both its history and its habit. It had been a seat of Republican power for four decades when Brooks won, with Charles Fuschillo the predecessor to Michael Venditto, and before that, beginning in 1973, Norman Levy. But Brooks has served well, and his voice, already respected, will be even more so in a new term. 
Newsday endorses Brooks.
— The editorial board

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John Brooks to represent NY’s 8th Senate District

Newsday endorses Brooks in 8th Senate District   

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Todd D. Kaminsky has become an important and respected voice for Long Island and his district.
His constant attention to the region’s transportation needs, particularly pushing for the reconstruction of the Nassau Expressway and demanding better Long Island Rail Road service, is essential. The former federal prosecutor brings his training to lawmaking, demanding facts to support policy changes and insisting on a proper process. 
Winning a 2016 special election after Dean Skelos was convicted on corruption charges, Kaminsky advocated for a law that would take away public pensions from elected officials who betray the public trust. He continues to fight for ethics reforms, including the need for term limits and a ban on outside income for legislators. He is now adding to his agenda the reform of industrial development agencies that throw around tax breaks without any accountability.
What’s more, Kaminsky, 40, of Long Beach, has a thoughtful, not reflexive, view on controversial issues, including development at Belmont Park, which he recognizes as important to his district even as he tries to address community concerns, and the legalization of marijuana and sports betting. Noting that both are likely to happen, Kaminsky focuses on how the state can ensure that the best safeguards are in place. 
Francis X. Becker Jr., a Lynbrook Republican, spent two decades in the Nassau County legislature. A financial planner, Becker said state decision-making after superstorm Sandy required only some homes to be raised, creating ugly streetscapes. Becker, 65, focuses on hot issues like LIRR service and the county’s fiscal mess, but he’s too limited in his thinking on other topics, from ethics, on which he argues no one can legislate better behavior, to the Belmont Park development, which he opposes as “way too large” without articulating what he’d like to see.
Newsday endorses Kaminsky. — The editorial board

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Todd Kaminsky  to represent New York’s 9th Senate District

Newsday endorses Kaminsky in 9th Senate District

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Newsday's 2018 endorsements for New York State Senate

Newsday's 2018 picks for NY State Senate

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