Advancing Negative Attacks

Daily Point

New ad paints Romaine in a negative light

The gloves are off in the Suffolk County executive race with a tough television attack ad aimed at Republican Ed Romaine by an outside group called “Advancing Suffolk” that paints the Brookhaven Town supervisor as corrupt, old, and a spendthrift on taxes.

While Democrat Dave Calone’s campaign is touting its own positive TV ad about their candidate, the highly negative attack ad by “Advancing Suffolk” does much of the nasty work for him. “When he wasn’t sleeping on the job, Ed Romaine was raising your taxes eight years in a row,” says the ad’s narrator. The 30-second TV spot complains Romaine “awarded contracts to his friends, cronies, and campaign donors. Corruption costs you money.”

Romaine’s face is made to look sinister and one of the screenshots on the ad labels him as “Crook-Ed.”

When asked about it by The Point, Calone’s campaign claimed that it had nothing to do with the ad and that Calone wasn’t aware of its existence until it appeared on cable stations and social media in recent days.

“The ad is by an outside group and we had nothing to do with it,” said Calone’s campaign manager and spokesman, Shane Wolfe. “When it aired, that was the first I saw of it.”

Dubious about that, Romaine refuted the charges made in the attack ad, and called Calone’s claim of not knowing about it in advance “nonsense.” Romaine blamed Calone for immediately setting a negative tone. 

“I’m not surprised at all,” Romaine said, mocking Calone’s hands-off claim to the attack ad. “He’s someone who’s going around saying he’s a nice guy, but we know, Dave, it’s you” who is responsible for the ad.

Insiders say this opening salvo may be the first of several attacks on Romaine by allies of Calone, a wealthy businessman and lawyer. Calone, 49, is not as well known to Suffolk voters as the GOP’s Romaine, 76, who was both the county clerk and a legislator before becoming Brookhaven’s supervisor. The attack ad appears aimed at Brookhaven’s reputation for past political scandals and suggests Romaine is too old by claiming he sleeps on the job.

Romaine wouldn’t comment on how he might respond to Calone’s attack. But one person familiar with Romaine’s strategy said that much of his campaign is being handled by Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia and that “Jesse loves to punch back.”

State Board of Election filings show that “Advancing Suffolk” is run by a Baldwin CPA named Stuart Lang who couldn’t be reached for comment. Records show that it raised $300,000 for its war chest, according to an Aug. 23 filing, and paid out at least $50,000 for television ads. The same group lists Justin Lamorte of Evergreen, Colorado as a political consultant. In 2022, Lamorte managed Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s successful reelection campaign.

Calone’s biggest Colorado connection is with Gov. Jared Polis. They were former leading associates in two venture capital firms after first becoming pals years ago as Princeton University undergraduates. In July, Polis presided over a Manhattan fundraiser for Calone.

— Thomas Maier thomas.maier@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Please sir, can I have some more ammo

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Final Point

No promotional ads on county property

Shortly after a Newsday editorial earlier this month criticizing Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for plastering his name around the Eisenhower Park venue for a Harry Chapin tribute concert, the Westchester County executive contacted us about how a similar dispute was handled in the suburban county across the Sound.

After defeating Republican Rob Astorino six years ago, County Executive George Latimer fulfilled on his first day on the job a campaign pledge to ban the use of the county executive’s name or likeness because it was “irresponsible spending and inappropriate self-promotion.”

Latimer noted that he came into office in 2018, the same time as fellow Democrat Laura Curran who also made eliminating pols' names a big issue in her Nassau County race. And true to her promise, she, too, replaced the branded signs. But Blakeman, who defeated Curran in 2021, simply ignored his predecessor’s policy.

What’s the difference?

“We went the extra step and passed it into law,” Latimer told The Point. The Westchester law, which went into effect in June 2018, is short and simple. “No promotional or informational signs that are placed on County owned or leased property shall contain the name or likeness of any sitting County Executive.”

 “Frankly, it was partisan here as there, with some Republicans initially defending the practice,” said Latimer. Even though Democrats controlled the Westchester legislature, ultimately the vote was unanimous and bipartisan. “Once I took office I think the Rs figured that keeping my name off the signs was good for them,” said Latimer, who easily won reelection without the help of public signage. 

— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com

Subscribe to The Point here and browse past editions of The Point here.