Planned Parenthood pitches a choice to voters

Daily Point

20,000 pro-choice mailers to hit mailboxes in Suffolk

Could the national abortion debate make a difference in the local race for Suffolk County executive?

Planned Parenthood’s political action fund is sending out 20,000 mailers in Suffolk, emphasizing reproductive health care rights and urging voters to protect “your control over your body,” the Point has learned. The group plans a second batch of pro-choice mailers before Election Day on Nov. 7, along with similar digital ads targeting Suffolk residents.

“From what we’ve seen across the country, trends have shown that the issue of abortion has impacted voter turnout for local elections as much as at the federal level,” Vincent Russell, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Action Fund, told The Point in an email.

“This is Suffolk County’s first local race since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, so the outcome will reveal how these trends translate to our community.”

Though the mailers don’t specifically name a candidate, most observers say they are likely to help Democrat Dave Calone in his race against Republican Ed Romaine for Suffolk County executive. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Romaine is a longtime opponent of abortion, which has been legal in New York State since 1970. In the past, Romaine has protested against abortion clinics and donated money to the New York State Right to Life Party.

Recent Calone video ads have featured young women claiming that Romaine wants to take away their right to an abortion. Romaine’s camp has called the ads “desperate.”

Whether abortion will work as an issue in this local race is questionable. In last November’s gubernatorial race, incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul criticized the anti-abortion position of her GOP challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin. But in that race, crime and public safety issues loomed large, enabling Zeldin to almost beat Hochul.

Among themselves, Democrats have debated whether to make abortion an issue in this year’s county executive race. The county contracts with an outside vendor to run several health centers that provide health care referrals but no abortion services.

Suffolk County Democratic chair Rich Schaffer expressed doubt about raising the issue, but says he deferred to the judgment of Calone’s outside political consultants, who have seen the impact in local races in other parts of the country after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Calone’s camp believes the recent video ads and mailers lambasting Romaine’s position will help energize young Democratic voters in particular in an off-year election, while depressing turnout among some female Republicans who disagree with Romaine’s anti-abortion stance.

New York State Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs, who didn’t advise Calone on the abortion issue, nevertheless believes it could have an impact with some undecided voters. “It’s not across the board — it’s selected people,” Jacobs told The Point, about the target group for the messaging campaign against Romaine.

Incumbent Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who has endorsed Calone, agrees the abortion issue could be decisive with some Suffolk voters — the same way another national issue involving migrants has become the source of local attack ads for Republicans. “Both parties do it,” said Bellone.

However, Bellone acknowledged abortion is not an issue that he regularly faced in his 12 years as county executive. “It’s not something we deal with on a normal basis,” he explained.

The Planned Parenthood ad campaign hopes to have an impact with more than the county executive campaign in a county it views as “purple," with a relatively even mix of Democrats and Republicans. “We do not have one race we are specifically concerned about,” said Russell, “because we are concerned about all races in Suffolk County and their impact on our community members’ ability to access sexual and reproductive health care.”

— Thomas Maier thomas.maier@newsday.com

Pencil Point

By Georgia!

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Final Point

Campaign trackers are quite a treat

Campaigns send “trackers” to their opponents’ events — loyal observers meant to watch and record the rivals’ public statements and who says what in the audience. It’s a fact of life, a regular practice, and most often accepted as such by those on the scene.

Sometimes, the presence of the tracker at a campaign event produces an awkward moment that won’t change any votes or strategies, but will add a bit of humor to the whole rivalry.

In a recent commercial for Republican Ed Romaine, several individuals are quoted in quick succession giving straight put-downs of Romaine’s opponent for Suffolk County executive, Dave Calone, which of course the Calone camp dismisses as completely spurious. It’s a typical format for a negative ad, of the kind both sides in this race have put out.

One of the talkers in this commercial is presented only as Bill — who says at different times into the camera, “He really doesn’t support law enforcement,” “He’s gonna make our streets unsafe,” and, “As a law enforcement officer, I don’t trust Dave Calone.”

The caption on the screen identifies Bill as “former law enforcement.” He was immediately recognizable to the Calone crew — as a Romaine tracker who shows up at the Democrat's events.

Usually, they say, Bill is an amiable presence. So someone from the Calone camp decided to record him for a change. And when in a chatty way asked about Calone, in a clip provided to the Point by the Democrat’s campaign, Bill laughed and said, “I’m sure Dave’s a good prosecutor.”

Hey, that’s show biz.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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