McCoy, a former State Senate Candidate, has had a long time dispute with Brian Foley over his Brookhaven Town progressive punch credentials yet his public statements in opposing Foley has oddly been one of "we need him here in Brookhaven if we are to recapture control of the Town" HMMM?
Should Foley go onto a November election and win his Supervisor seat becomes vacant in January and a special election will be held shortly there after. Assemblymen Steve Englebright and Marc Alesi are mentioned as serious candidates and both would be very tough for the Republicans. Brookhavens Democratic bench is strong with two council members, a Town Clerk, a very popular Supt. of Hwy in John Rouse and four County Legislators who would all be able to run competitively if Foley were to vacate after a State Senate victory! As a final piece of local on the ground news, this from Newsdays Rick Brand on Caesar Trunzo's troubles:
Of the petitions Trunzo filed for his own re-election, several high-level party sources said that 1,500 of the 2,200 signatures came from Brookhaven, now nearly half his Senate district. Brookhaven committee members also went into Islip to get petitions for Trunzo on the Independence Party line, they added.
The poor showing in what should be his home turf could not come at a worse time for the 36-year Senate veteran, now 82, who is facing his toughest re-election challenge ever from Brookhaven's Democratic Supervisor Brian Foley as the Senate GOP clings to a two-vote majority. Yet despite his age, Trunzo is still tireless in his district, bringing home from the state $4.4 million in pork funding for 231 community groups.
Trunzo did not return two days of calls to his home and office, but John McArdle, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) downplayed any impact on Trunzo's re-election, saying the "local politics will work itself out" in the end.
But what makes the dismal petition performance so telling is that gathering signatures on nominating petitions is a party committee's main job. On paper, the Islip GOP should have 446 committee members and if each gathered even a half a page - 10 names - it would mean nearly 4,500 signatures. District court primary challenger Jennifer Henry filed 3,700 signatures, nearly double that of the whole town committee. By contrast, Brookhaven Republicans filed 7,000 signatures.
"It's crucial to bring in petitions in huge numbers or else it displays your weakness and there's no place to hide it," said Stanley Klein, a C.W Post political science professor. Klein estimates the committee has 196 vacancies, and those left are aged, more divided and have little incentive since Democrats now control town hall and its patronage.
Petition woes are only the latest setbacks to befall Trunzo, leader since 1989, already weakened by the conviction of former Town Supervisor Peter McGowan and successive primary losses to party mavericks, who have clamored for him to step down as party boss, mainly because he's done nothing to rebuild the party.
Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman, said the once dominant Islip GOP is "just a shell of its former self" and it will likely cost them in November. "Any time you have such anemic performance, it not only flies back on him but all of their elected candidates," he said.
With hard work here in SD3, we can end Caesars 36 year reign and send him packing back to his Florida home while sending Malcolm Smith into the majority leaders chair!
