Democrats' mailer accuses GOP rival of bullying in alleged 'hazing' incident
Dueling election mailers from Democrat Alexis Pace, left, and Republican Patrick Mullaney, candidates in Nassau's 4th Legislative District.
Daily Point
Trading fire in Nassau over past FDNY flare-up
Democratic operatives supporting legislative candidate Alexis Pace have stirred an eleventh-hour fracas in Nassau’s 4th Legislative District by repeatedly proclaiming her GOP opponent, Patrick Mullaney, a “bully.” Mailers from the New York State Democratic Committee that reached voters’ homes last week cite accusations in a past lawsuit lawsuit that Mullaney, a New York City firefighter, played a role in what became a widely publicized locker-room incident a decade ago at Ladder Co. 107 in Brooklyn. Mullaney has denied the charges. The federal civil rights case was dismissed for jurisdictional reasons.
In his court complaint, FDNY member Baraka Smith, an African American, had accused Mullaney — who last year was promoted to lieutenant — of discrimination and other charges in the 2013 incident which the plaintiff called an improper first-day “hazing.”
Smith, who brought baked goods, a tradition for new assignees, claimed he was greeted by Mullaney saying, “Hey sugar,” and that Mullaney and another firefighter “grabbed plaintiff from behind and simulated sexual intercourse by forcibly holding him down” as part of that “hazing.”
This was the account Smith gave after being arrested for allegedly turning, grabbing and choking Salvatore Corallo, the other firefighter reportedly at the scene. Those police charges against Smith were dismissed. Other litigation flowed from the incident. Last year, for example, Smith in a court appeal was denied a disability pension he’d sought claiming PTSD as a result of the incident.
In the campaign, the Republicans have responded with mailers of their own accusing Pace of lying about Mullaney. One of them says a fellow firefighter with “anger management issues” made “bogus claims” against Mullaney “which were all withdrawn or thrown out by the court.” In the crossfire, Democrats argued to The Point that the cases ended without a court explicitly upholding or trashing Smith’s charges.
Pace has emphasized to The Point that she personally never called anyone a ‘bully’ and that the mailers were sent out by the Democratic Party.
The cases, now over with, have thus become part of the fog of a Long Beach election-time war.
— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com
Pencil Point
That's rich
Credit: Monte Wolverton, Battle Ground, WA.
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Final Point
'Medical Freedom' on the ballot
While Long Island’s ballot lines are typically limited to the traditional four — Democrat, Republican, Conservative and Working Families — an unusual party will appear on some New York City ballots next week.
Fifteen City Council candidates are running under the banner of the Medical Freedom Party, a party formed last year. While most are also running as Republicans or Conservatives, three candidates are solely on the ballot under the Medical Freedom Party’s line and one — Queens Councilman Robert Holden — is a Democrat who’s also running on the Republican line.
The Medical Freedom Party advertises itself as “independent, forward-thinking individuals who fiercely champion the right to our own decisions regarding our own bodies.”
The term “medical freedom” long has been used by those who oppose public health-related mandates, particularly when it comes to vaccination. Those who are anti-vax or oppose requiring vaccination to attend school — and those who came out against the COVID-19 vaccine mandates — have termed their efforts as a fight for “medical freedom.”
The party’s platform, as described on its website, doesn’t mention vaccination anywhere, instead advocating that no one can “mandate that any U.S. citizen be forced to have a medical procedure.”
Other platform elements include the notions “that any undesired chemical, electromagnetic or psychological intrusion inflicted upon a man or woman’s sovereign body is an unlawful assault,” and “that the body of an individual has borders and the right for every woman or man to regulate their own biological borders, which is the surface of their own skin, is primary and incontestable.”
Without mentioning vaccination or masking, the platform seems to encompass positions against school requirements that children be vaccinated, including against diseases like polio or measles, and COVID-era mandates on mask wearing.
While the New York City charter requires just 450 signatures to appear on the ballot as a City Council candidate, state law puts the number at 900, leading many candidates to aim for the higher figure. That’s compared with 500 signatures required to run for county legislature on Long Island, and 2,000 for countywide office.
Will Long Island — often considered the epicenter of the pushback against masks and vaccination — get its own Medical Freedom candidate? Judging by the party’s rhetoric, it seems this year may only be the beginning — a precursor to more Medical Freedom candidates appearing on next year’s ballot.
“The Medical Freedom party is currently building a slate of candidates for the 2024 elections,” its website says. “If you share our ideas and would like to run for public office with the aim of defending American citizen’s [sic] medical freedoms, please contact” the party.
An email address was provided. The Point attempted to reach the party — but did not get a reply before publication.
— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com
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