Jack Martins' pro-bono plan for Senate reelection

Daily Point

Martins could skip a state salary if income cap goes into effect

After months of rumors that State Sen. Jack Martins might not run again due to concerns over the 2023 statute that caps the outside income state lawmakers can earn at $35,000, Martins put those questions to rest Thursday in an interview with The Point.

“I’m running,” Martins said. “... I will be complying with the law and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the residents of my district.”

Martins told The Point he was committed to serving a full two-year term if he wins.

Martins (R-Old Westbury) spoke of his decision to run as Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay announced Thursday that he would not be seeking reelection and would relinquish his leadership role. While Barclay, a lawyer and partner at Barclay Damon, did not cite the outside income limits in his announcement, his resignation would resolve that issue for him.

Republicans have challenged the outside income limit in court, and there is a temporary order to prevent it from going into effect. Martins is not a plaintiff in the suit. Sources told The Point that Martins separately had sought a decision from the state Legislative Ethics Commission, asking whether he could continue to serve while earning his outside income if he did not accept his state legislator salary, essentially allowing him to represent his district if he doesn’t take a state paycheck.

At a recent meeting, the commission apparently decided in Martins’ favor, The Point has learned. That decision has not been officially or publicly announced. Martins declined to comment.

Martins is a non-equity partner with Harris Beach Murtha, a law firm based in Uniondale. According to the latest financial disclosures, he earns between $350,000 and $450,000 in annual salary.

“It really is important to me that I not be beholden to a state salary as a legislator ... If I can’t support myself and my family independently of my responsibility in elected office, I’m doing everyone a disservice,” Martins said. “My priority is ... supporting my family ... even as I still want to continue to serve in the legislature.”

The Point has reported that Democrat Rory Lancman, who previously served in the Assembly and the City Council when he lived in Queens, planned to run for the 7th District’s State Senate seat. Lancman, who moved to Great Neck in 2021 and now serves on the Nassau University Medical Center board of directors, officially announced his candidacy Thursday.

Martins told The Point that his choice to run again was a “deliberate decision” that he considered carefully, adding that he hopes to continue to focus on key policy areas including taxes, energy, climate and health care.

“I think we are living in some really important times,” Martins said. “There are things that are happening that require discussion, and I have over the years been able to have those discussions with people from both sides of the aisle in ways that are, I think, helpful and advance policy. As long as I am able to continue to do that in an effective way, I want to continue to serve. When I don’t, I will leave.”

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Get rid of them all

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Final Point

Blakeman's running-mate pick a guessing game du jour

In advance of state Republicans convening Tuesday in Garden City, speculation abounds as to whom gubernatorial nominee in waiting Bruce Blakeman and party leaders will prefer as his would-be lieutenant governor.

Short periods of political suspense like these allow observers, journalists and party operatives to wonder and lobby and indulge in predictions. The speculation allows top candidates to flatter individuals by "considering" them as running mates.

Blakeman, whose Long Island roots are key to what’s ahead, gets a chance for “balance” in his bid for the governor’s mansion. Names kicking around for his LG pick include John Garcia, sheriff of Erie County, which also has a big concentration of GOP voters. Garcia was first elected to the post in 2021.

Others mentioned in the buzz for LG include Richard Giardino, the sheriff of upstate Fulton County, who reportedly met the county executive last month when Blakeman visited there. Former State Sen. George Amedore from the Capital Region and former Rep. Marc Molinaro, the Republican who lost to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2018, make some people’s lists, as does Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin.

One interesting suggestion from a longtime Republican operative was the regionally popular Catharine Young who served in the State Senate between 2005 and 2019. She left at the time to lead the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech, part of Cornell University. It is not known if she’s interested in returning to public service. Another woman, attorney Bobbie Anne Cox, has had her name floated.

If Blakeman does not choose a female running mate, that will mean Gov. Kathy Hochul will likely be running with former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, the first all-woman ticket of its kind, while the Republicans would field two men. But given the need for geographic balance, the only certainty now appears to be that Blakeman will not tap another Long Islander for the role.

On the Democratic side, top officials of the Kings County Democratic Committee protested Hochul’s selection of Adams, who was a rival of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. These Brooklyn leaders said they weren’t adequately consulted on the choice. “It is safe to conclude,” the committee said in a statement, that the Brooklyn delegation “will be prone to voting against or abstaining support for the ticket.” The potential impact of this dissent, if any, is unclear, and the LG spot hasn’t attracted much interest.

Unlike the Republicans, who have been shut out of statewide offices since the George Pataki administration, Democrats have incumbents to defend as attorney general and comptroller. For the powerful post of comptroller, the GOP is expected to nominate Joseph Hernandez, who heads the Blue Water Venture Partners hedge fund, as the challenger. For attorney general, some insiders are talking up the resume of Saritha Komatireddy, a former U.S. prosecutor. Khurram Dara, who’s in private practice, also announced in December he’d seek the GOP nomination.

Filling in those blank spots on the ballot will provide whatever suspense the GOP might deliver in the next few days.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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