| The most recent BOE Report shows this district that runs like a knife through the center of Nassau from the Nassau/Suffolk County line in the Farmingdale area due west to the western part of Nassau County up to the Stewart Manor/Franklin Sq. area just a short distance to the Queens County line, to have 70,792 Democrats, 78,955 Republicans, 41,533 Blanks and 9,892 spread among the three third parties. NH White 69%, All minorities 31%.
The 6th SD has transformed into a very competitive district as I cited on my previous post. Hannon has not had a serious challenge in years if ever but Mejias is regarded as a great young retail campaigner with a history of winning tough close races in a much more heavily Republican County Legislative seat.
Hannon his site gets the usual suburban Republican State Senate benny of getting enhanced aid for his seats public school districts. This practice has kept the suburban Republicans in office and the Albany Republicans in the majority since 1966. Hannon adds to that a record of supporting popular health care programs like Child Health Plus (CHP) Family Health Plus (FHP) and Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC, that preceded Medicare Part D).
The Republican incumbents will undoubtedly defend themselves in 2008 with paid ads showing a slow motion Spitzer with synister background music and printed words "Troopergate" and "Drivers Licenses for Illegals" while an announcer says "the only thing left in the path of this Governor having total control is your Republican State Senator".
The Mejias his site and Democratic challengers around the state will have their fund raising meet or exceed Republicans from a Governor Spitizer backed NYS DSCC dedicated to fundraise $8M this cycle as evidenced in this from the Newsday Spin Cycle Blog:
Nassau: Dem$ prep for Mejias-Hannon Senate bout
There are further signs that a new Long Island front is opening in the statewide political war between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) that began last February with a special Senate election race in Nassau.
A fundraiser is scheduled next Tuesday for Nassau Legis. David Mejias, at the Manhattan home of Senate Democratic Campaign Committee finance chairman Bill Samuels, featuring Spitzer as a "special guest.
None too subtly, the invitations to the evening event state the limits for contributions by individuals and to state Senate campaigns. Tickets go for $500 and up. A $5,000 donation rates the contributor as a "VIP" to the Friends of David Mejias committee.
and this posted on The Albany Project site:
What is it going to take for Democrats to take over control of the state Senate next year? About $8 million, Assembly Minority Leader Malcolm Smith figures.
The Democrats need to pick up two seats to gain control of the Senate for the first time since 1965. And that was only for a year, the only break in GOP control since 1938.
Smith said the Dems will go hard after probably four seats, including those held by Republicans Joseph Robach and James Alesi in Monroe County, Caesar Trunzo in Suffolk County and Kemp Hannon in Nassau County.
Some other seats now held by the GOP - including tom Morahan's in Rockland County and two in Queens- may also be in play, he said.
The Democrats are counting on a huge turnout by Democrats because of the likelihood that Hillary Clinton will be at the top of the ticket.
There are also increased advocacy groups like the Empire State Pride Agenda representing the interests of the LGBT community, Organized Labor, Environmental, Education and Statewide Universal Healthcare groups gearing up for a once in a lifetime oppertunity to pickup the two seats needed to flip Seanate control and enable Lt. Governor David Patterson to organize the chamber Democratic. Those pickups will make Malcolm Smith (D-Brooklyn) replace Joe Bruno (D-Rennsalear) as Senate majority leader. It would also result in a short term mass exodus of Republican Senate veterans now in their seventies and eighties who are holding down seats in very blue and purple districts throughout the state just to maintain the Republican majority.
Mejias and his fellow top tier Democratic challengers expected to number 8-11 by November 2008 (including the special election for the 48th SD on Presidential Primary Day February 5th) will be tasked to sell the voters on the need to end the dysfunctional Albany Govenment by ending the leadership of Joe Bruno. They will be in a position to highlight the pro-corporatist, anti-regulatory consumer protections of the State Senate, their failure to extend healthcare to all New Yorkers statewide and decidedly conservative Appelate Division and State Court of Appeals appointments that have been akin to the Federal Courts, blocking progressive agendas like Gay Marriage. You can bet that NY State and Nassau County Republican Chair Joe Mondello as Captain Ahab will do all in his power to prevent his nemises, Dave Mejias as Moby Dick from being the seat that puts the Democrats into the majority! But the mood of the electorate and the base turnout in the 2008 election may well be factors beyond Mondello's already crippled statewide party organization to overcome.
A common sense progressive message, one that Mejias knows how to deliver, in a Presidential year that is shaping up to be huge for the Democrats and their base turnout, can be successful in the 6th SD as these stats would indicate:
Voters Registered before 1990: 34294 R, 20253 D, 11247 Other
Voters Registered since Jan 2002: 7637 R, 12597 D, 10135 Other.
Clearly a decidedly blueing map for the newer voting population in this district. This will be one of the most hard fought battlegrounds in the Democratic effort to gain majority control and the Republican effort to defend their majority in the state. What are your thoughts? |
The most recent NYS BOE Financial Report has Citizens for Hannon with a healthy 295K COH. Citizens for Dave Mejias (County Legislative Account) shows him with 22K COH. Hannon has easily been elected to this seat since 1988 winning his 2006 re-election 40K to 29K against a poorly known and low funded challenger who had only the Democratic line.
