SENATOR FOLEY ANNOUNCES PLANS TO INTRODUCE RESOLUTION EXPELLING SENATOR MONSERRATE FROM SENATE
Following report from committee investigating Monserrate's domestic violence conviction, Foley calls on his colleagues to join him in condemning Monserrate
ALBANY, NY - Today, Senator Brian X. Foley (D - Blue Point) announced plans to introduce a resolution expelling Senator Hiram Monserrate from the New York State Senate.
Senator Foley made the announcement after the Senate Select Committee investigating Senator Monserrate released its final report condemning Senator Monserrate's conduct. The committee, comprised of a bi-partisan group of senators, strongly recommended sanction against Monserrate.
As a longtime advocate for domestic violence victims and a board member of the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Senator Foley has consistently called for Senator Monserrate's removal from the senate, following his conviction related to domestic violence charges. Senator Foley has repeatedly urged Senator Monserrate to resign, in order to avoid expulsion proceedings.
"While we would all prefer that Senator Monserrate resign from the senate, his refusal to do so has left us no choice but to forcefully expel him," said Foley. "Domestic violence has no place in our society. It certainly has no place in the New York State Senate.
"By allowing Senator Monserrate to continue his tenure, we would be doing a disservice to victims of domestic violence across our state. I urge my colleagues to join me in not only condemning the actions of Senator Monserrate, but removing him from the senate. Senator Monserrate has been given ample opportunity to defend himself. He not only refused to testify in his criminal trial, he also refused to cooperate with the senate committee investigating him. Senator Monserrate's reprehensible conduct has rendered him unfit to hold office as a New York State Senator."
Yesterday I wrote about the hold-up in Governor Paterson's "Quick Fix" plan to plug the gap in MTA funding. As you may remember, MTA is on the brink of massive rate hikes and service cuts. Governor Paterson's proposal would plug the funding gap through a 1% payroll tax on businesses in the metropolitan New York area. Yesterday I reported that four suburban Senators were holding up the plan. At the time it looked like Senators Stewart-Cousins and Oppenheimer agreed to support the plan but Senators Foley and Johnson had not.
Thankfully, after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, it appears that Senator Foley and Johnson will support the plan.
MTA is heading for a major problem. The failure of the Legislature to pass any sort of plan earlier in the year is coming back to bite us all, and the proposed rate increases are staggering. Currently Governor Paterson is pushing a quick fix plan that will utilize a 1% payroll tax on businesses in the metropolitan counties. There was also a compromise plan that would lower the rates paid by a county the further they are away from the city. Furthermore, school districts are promised a reimbursement to avoid unduly increasing property taxes.
Four Democrats are the on-record holdouts to this plan. Their names might surprise you, as you'll find over the fold.
(Great report from today's other big race here in NY - promoted by phillip anderson)
The Brookhaven Town Democratic party defended the 9 months remaining on the vacated Supervisor term of Brian Foley who won the 3rd State Senate seat defeating Caesar Trunzo 59% - 41% this past November.
Town Democrats recruited Mark Lesko of Setauket, who was a ten year Federal prosecutor and headed the LI DOJ region. Lesko may be best known as the prosecutor of the Muttontown Slave Case. Lesko had WFP cross endorsement and major union support in the race.
Republicans countered with their 5th council district member Tim Mazzei of Blue Point. He was the leader of the Republicans 4-3 town board majority with the Democrats holding the Supervisor and two council districts to the Republicans four districts. Mazzei received the IP and Conservative endorsements.
New State Senator Brian X. Foley's office sent over this piece about the MTA yesterday. It describes how we got to this place with the MTA, especially as it regards the massive amount of outstanding debt it's carrying. Well worth a read.
How we got here
When the new Senate Majority took office in January, we inherited an economic nightmare the likes of which hadn't been seen since the Great Depression. A part of this economic crisis was the fiscal mess the MTA was embroiled in.
The former Senate Majority - led partly by the current Minority Leader Dean Skelos - tripled the MTA debt, going on a borrowing binge for loans that would balloon into a fiscal disaster for our state. The Republican Leadership put the MTA on a path of financial ruin by sending its outstanding debt and debt service fees out of control.
In 1996 the, the total outstanding debt held by the MTA was $8.6 billion. By 2008 MTA's debt had risen to $24 billion, triggering debt service in the amount of $1.5 billion per year. To put it in perspective, in addition to all its obligations, the MTA was paying $125 million each month for debt service alone.
This failed policy didn't simply place the MTA's financial standing in a perilous position, it took away the authority's ability to borrow capital down the road and fix its financial books.
The Republican leadership used the Metro Card as a credit card and did everything in their power to bankrupt this critically important component of our economy.
By the time Democratic Majority took over the Senate in 2009, we had a transportation authority on life support and hemorrhaging.
Moving forward
The Senate Majority has put forth a plan that reduces a proposed increase in fares and payroll taxes. The proposed fare increase is reduced by 50% (from an 8% increase to a 4%) and the payroll tax increase is reduced by 25% (from 33 cents per $100 in payroll to 25 cents per $100 in payroll).
In addition, the plan mandates the MTA to open its books and take part in a thorough forensic audit. It will also requires the state to make a substantial commitment to Long Island's highways and bridges; infrastructure in need of immediate attention.
The Senate Majority's plan is a starting point in negotiations with the Governor and the Assembly that will lead to continued operations from the MTA and make the transportation authority more transparent and efficient.
We've already seen a substantial decrease in the amount of payroll tax proposed. This indicates that our negotiations are leading us toward the right direction.
Part of why it's so important that we move in the right direction on our MTA policy is the impact its payroll tax provision could have on our schools. As negotiations on the current proposal continue, we want to safeguard our schools, just like we did when we prevented devastating mid-year cuts and brought in more than $150 million in education aid as part of the stimulus money that averted serious education cuts to Long Island schools.
While they have no problem criticizing and being the party of "No," the Republican minority has not offered up a plan of their own, despite the fact that they were the architects of this crisis!
A real solution to this problem requires taking part in constructive dialogue that moves us forward towards a solvent MTA that is transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs of Long Island's men and women who rely on the MTA to earn a living.
I have had the pleasure of attending many a rally and town-wide nominating conventions over the years but yesterdays Democratic Party kickoff of the March 31 Special Election for Brookhaven Supervisor topped them all. An SRO crowd with actually more people standing than sitting in the main Hall spilled out to the hallway and front entry door. I estimate 500 attended with total exuberance over the prospect of keeping the Brookhaven Supervisor blue in 2009! For most, it was the opportunity to meet and hear Mark Lesko, former US Attorney LI region head, speak to his vision for this town of nearly half a million peoples future. Marsha Laufer, Brookhaven Democratic Chair, started the event off by announcing the spectacular news that the Democratic Party had registered over 20,000 new voters town-wide by year end 2008 compared with just over 400 new Republicans.
Brian Foley is going to be the next senator in the 3rd Senate District. Sen. Caesar Trunzo's time as a state senator is over. It is time for retirement.
To make sure that happens tomorrow, Foley received some help over the weekend from two of the most powerful Democrats in New York.
The Foley for Senate campaign continues its momentum towards victory, following an electrifying weekend that included two Get Out the Vote Rallies featuring Governor David Paterson and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Over 600 people attended the events. The campaign is surging in the final days as voters throw their support behind Brian X. Foley, who is seeking to retire 36-year incumbent Senator Caesar Trunzo.
On Sunday, Governor Paterson endorsed Foley for Senate during a Rally for Change event in Brentwood. Paterson pointed to Foley's record of fiscal responsibility and urged voters to support Foley to bring the change Albany needs in these weary times.
Saturday's rally was headlined by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo who called on voters to elect Foley to the Senate. "I'm supporting Brian Foley because he will bring the same integrity and common-sense approach to Albany that he has used to turn around Brookhaven," said Cuomo.
Following both rallies, volunteers took part in a "Caravan for Change" that went through the 3rd Senate District, stopping at 10 busy locations where Foley and volunteers talked to hundreds of voters and reminded them to vote on Tuesday.
"Voters want change," said Foley, whose campaign is riding a strong wave of momentum into Election Day. "Our message of fighting for family interests not special interests is connecting with voters. We're going to work tirelessly until 9pm on election night to bring the change to Albany that working families in Suffolk need."
Foley is a likely pickup for us tomorrow, but rallies and GOTV efforts like these will keep people energized and perhaps get undecided voters energized to vote for change.
The new Siena Polls are hot off the presses an things look pretty good for Dems across the state. In fact, if these numbers are correct and the election wre held today, the GOP would lose it's Senate majority.
The biggest numbers to pop out is the lead Brian Foley has over Caesar Trunzo (R-FL) and the huge comeback by incumbent Dem Bill Stachowski. Foley leads Trunzo by a whopping 22 points and Stachowski has turned a 13 point deficit into a 4 point lead.
A rundown:
3rd SD - Suffolk County - Caesar Trunzo (R, incumbent) vs. Brian Foley (D)
Foley has a 56-34 percent lead over Trunzo. Trunzo led 46-40 percent in the previous Siena New York Poll. While Foley has picked up a little more support among Democrats, he has cut Trunzo's lead among Republican voters to 53-39 percent, down dramatically from 71-16 percent. Additionally, Foley has opened up a 63-27 percent lead among independent voters, up from 43-40 percent previously.
Foley has expanded a two-point lead in Brookhaven to a 12-point lead, and reversed 12-point deficit in Islip and turned it into 30-point lead. Where Trunzo had a nine-point lead among voters 55-years of age and older, Foley now leads with those voters 52-40 percent. Foley leads by 13 points with men and 30 points with women. The only demographic group in which Trunzo leads is among Republicans.
If Foley leads by even 10 points in Trunzo's Islip backyard, this thing is over. The poll shows a 30 point lead. And before the GOoPs start screaming about the poll sample, look at the Obama/McCain numbers. They are essentially dead even. It's not like they are only polling Dems.
6th SD - Nassau County - Kemp Hannon (R, incumbent) vs. Kristen McElroy (D)
Hannon has a commanding 56-30 percent lead, in a district that is virtually evenly enrolled between Republicans and Democrats. Hannon has the support of 80 percent of Republicans and picks up the support of nearly one-third of Democrats. McElroy only wins among Democrats 55-32 percent, while only attracting support from 10 percent of Republicans. Hannon leads among independent voters 56-21 percent.
McElroy leads among young voters and those in the Council District 1 section of the Hempstead portion of the Senate district. However, Hannon has much bigger leads in the remainder of the district and has better than 60 percent among voters who are at least 35-years old.
Ouch. Got some work to do here.
15th SD - Queens County - Serph Maltese (R, incumbent) vs. Joseph Addabbo, Jr. (D)
Addabbo currently has a slim 45-43 percent lead over Maltese. In the September Siena poll, the two were tied at 42 percent, in this district that has an overwhelmingly Democratic enrollment edge. Maltese has the support of more than three-quarters of Republicans and one-quarter of Democrats. Addabbo leads 61-27 percent among Democrats and picks up the support of 20 percent of Republicans. Maltese leads among independent voters 51-31 percent. Maltese leads by four points with men, while Addabbo has a seven-point lead with women. Addabbo leads in the southern part of the district and Maltese leads in the north.
Maltese is viewed favorably by 45 percent of voters and unfavorably by 33 percent of voters, down from a 48-16 percent favorable rating previously. Addabbo's favorable rating is 42-30 percent, and was previously 38-20 percent.
Obama leads McCain in this district 57-32 percent, up from 49-31 percent.
48th SD - Oswego/Jefferson/St. Lawrence - Darrel Aubertine (D, incumbent) vs. David Renzi (R)
Aubertine, who had a 51-31 percent lead over Renzi in the last poll, has seen that lead drop to 49-38 percent. Aubertine has the support of nearly three-quarters of Democrats and more than one-third of Republicans in this district with a heavy Republican enrollment edge. Renzi leads 57-35 percent with Republicans, up from 41-37 percent previously, and only gets 13 percent of Democrats. Aubertine is winning among independent voters 49-34 percent, up from 41-37 percent previously. While Renzi has erased a 20-point Aubertine lead in Oswego County, and now leads there 44-37 percent, Aubertine has widened his leads in Jefferson (25 points, up from 16) and St. Lawrence (30 points, up from 27) Counties.
Aubertine is viewed favorably by 54 percent of voters and unfavorably by 31 percent of voters, down from 58-21 percent previously. Renzi has a 40-35 percent favorability rating; previously it was 34-15 percent.
Aubertine is going to fine.
58th SD - Erie County - William Stachowski (D, incumbent) vs. Dennis Delano (R)
Stachowski now has a 47-43 percent lead over Delano, after trailing 49-36 percent in the previous Siena poll in this district where Democrats have a better than two-to-one enrollment edge. Stachowski has increased his lead among Democrats to 62-30 percent (up from 51-34 percent). Delano maintains a 63-25 percent lead among Republicans (virtually unchanged from 64-23 percent) and has seen his lead among independent voters fall to 54-36 percent, down from 67-19 percent.
Whereas Delano led in all three sections of the district previously, Stachowski now leads 47-37 percent in Buffalo/Lackawanna, 48-45 percent in Cheektowaga, and 47-44 percent in the southern suburbs. Stachowski has a 12-point lead with men, while Delano has a two-point lead with women. Delano has a significant lead with Protestants. Stachowski leads with Catholics, and has a big lead among younger voters.
Stachowski has a 50-31 percent favorable rating. It had been 39-14 percent. Delano's favorable rating, 53-33 percent, is down from 63-15 percent. Delano continues to have a positive favorable rating with voters of every party, while Stachowski has increased his favorability among Democrats but lost ground with independent voters and saw his favorability among Republicans drop from 35-12 percent to 29-50 percent.
More than half of voters would like to see the Senate controlled by Democrats, and Obama has opened 55-37 percent lead over McCain, up from 45-41 percent previously.
"Senator Stachowski has turned this race around. In four weeks he has erased a 13-point deficit and turned it into a tight four-point lead. Where Delano previously had a much better favorable rating with voters, the two are now viewed by voters in virtually the same light. We will have to wait until Election Day to see if Stachowski continues his momentum to win re-election, or if Delano can turn this race back around again and defeat a 27-year incumbent in this overwhelmingly Democratic district," Greenberg said.
Stach is back. That's what a comeback looks like. I guess the more folks learn about Delano, the less they like what they see. Also, this one of those races that an Obama wave could seriously affect. If that wave reaches Buffalo, Stachowski could end up blowing Delano right out of the water.
61st SD - Erie and Genesee Counties - Michael Ranzenhofer (R) vs. Joseph Mesi (D)
Ranzenhofer has a 47-42 percent lead over Mesi, who had a slimmer 40-38 percent lead in the previous Siena poll, in this district where Republicans have a very small enrollment edge over Democrats. Ranzenhofer leads among Republicans 69-25 percent, up from 59-21 percent. Mesi leads among Democrats 62-29 percent, closer than the previous 63-19 percent. Mesi leads among independent voters 42-37 percent, although Ranzenhofer closed the gap from 43-28 percent. Mesi leads in Tonawanda by seven points (down from 10). Ranzenhofer leads in the Clarence/Newstead/Genesee County portions of the district by 15 points (up from two points), and in Amherst by three points (up a tick from two points).
Ranzenhofer has a 47-26 percent favorable rating, compared to 35-12 percent previously. Mesi's favorable rating is 46-37 percent, compared to 45-18 percent in the previous Siena poll.
While the race has shifted seven points from Mesi to Ranzenhofer, a reverse trend occurred on the question of who voters support to control the Senate. Previously, voters supported Republican control by a 44-38 percent margin, while now a slim plurality, 43-41 percent, support Democratic control. The presidential race also flipped, with McCain's 45-40 percent lead now becoming a 51-42 percent lead for Obama.
"This district is close in enrollment between Republicans and Democrats. The voters are close in their view on which party should control the Senate. The voters have switched their support from McCain to Obama over the last few weeks. And a small Mesi lead has turned into a slightly wider Ranzenhofer lead. Which party's voters turn out in larger numbers on Tuesday may well determine the outcome of this race. Either way, it figures to be a late night as the votes get counted in this race," Greenberg said.
This one may very well come down to Obama's GOTV operation as well. If his voters show in force, I think Mesi wins this thing. Mesi likes to remind folks that he is undefeated. If the Obama wave does indeed materialize in the manner that it appears to be, he'll be able to call himself undefeated still. Give him a hand.
The fact that Caesar Trunzo (R-FL) hasn't spoken a word into the record of the New York State Senate in over two years has become, rightly, an issue in the tight race in SD-3. When Azi asked GOP spokesman Joe Conway about this, his answer didn't make a whole lot of sense:
When asked for comment, Joe Conway, director of communications for the New York State Senate Republican Campaign Committee, didn't dispute the idea that Trunzo hasn't spoken on the floor of the State Senate for two years. But he attacked Foley for attacking.
In an email, he said, "When Brian Foley isn't raising taxes on his constituents, he engages in desperate negative attacks like this. In contrast, Caesar Trunzo has been hard at work cutting taxes, creating jobs, and ensuring quality schools and health care for his constituents."
OK, so he has been a non entity on the floor of the Senate. He hasn't even spoken in over two freaking years, but he's "hard at work" doing a bunch of things that actually haven't come to pass. Taxes have not been cut, at least not the taxes that most concern the residents of the 3rd SD, namely property taxes. Those have gone up. Considerably. There's not a lot of job creation out in Suffolk County at the moment either. Trunzo's record on health care is an abomination and he's one of the top recipients of HMO money in the state.
And besides, does Trunzo work so hard in some sort of other "secret" Senate? If he's not speaking for years at a time in the job we pay him quite well to perform, where exactly is he doing all of this hard work?
How can a man who hasn't uttered an official word in years be said to be "hard at work" doing anything? That's a serious question.
The folks of the 3rd SD desperately need an advocate, someone who really is "hard at work" fighting on their behalf, and they need that advocate now more than ever. Caesar Trunzo is long past being able to do that effectively.
If you believe in supporting working families and making sure that your family and others that you know remain healthy, Sen. Caesar Trunzo is not who you should vote for on Tuesday.
Brian Foley's campaign makes a compelling argument as to why that should be the case. While Trunzo is being funded by insurance companies, his Senate record shows that he has not voted in the best interests of those who want more and better health care.
While he has raked in big bucks from his friends in the health insurance field, Trunzo's failed leadership is resulting in millions of people lacking adequate health coverage. Trunzo, who is running on the slogan, "don't fix what's not broken", has a record that's resulted in our healthcare system being broken. Whenever there are legislative battles pitting insurance companies against every-day consumers struggling to pay their healthcare premiums, Trunzo's is a vote the insurance companies can and do count on.
Senator Trunzo voted against women and in favor of HMO's when he voted "No" on the Women's Health and Wellness Bill. The legislation sought to make insurance companies cover mammograms for women over 40.
Despite the fact that Long Islanders face the highest rate of breast cancer in the United States, Senator Trunzo chose to side with insurance companies over prevention, the best defense against breast cancer. In addition to mammograms, the bill would have forced HMO's to cover cervical cancer screenings.
Senator Trunzo and his colleagues killed major legislation that would have held HMO's legally liable for the consequences of their decisions. Under the bill, patients who suffer pain, injuries, and even death because of the denial of care or delays in approving care would have the right to place the blame on the insurer, just as a patient would sue a physician for medical malpractice. Thanks to Trunzo's inaction, the bill died on the Senate Calendar.
"Senator Trunzo takes $66,000 from the healthcare industry; then protects the industry from having to care for sick New Yorkers," said Ibrahim Khan, Communications Director for the Foley for Senate campaign. "I think voters can connect the dots. Trunzo's failed policies of the past demonstrate that he's either unwilling or unable to stand up for us when it matters most."
Trunzo's voting pattern demonstrates his commitment to making sure his buddies in Big Business are always taken care of, even if it means his constituents can't go to the doctor's when they're sick. In a shocking vote, Trunzo voted against making Walmart and other large employers provide healthcare benefits to their employees. This, despite that fact that most of these corporations have multi-million dollar budgets and all of them employ at least 50 people.
Trunzo seems to be your typical Republican. He's in bed with the insurance companies and votes against measures that would improve health care instead of trying to diminish it.
The folks in SD-3 have a clear choice on Tuesday: Vote for Trunzo, the status quo, or vote for Brian Foley, someone who will bring real change and real leadership to the district and to Albany.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo endorsed Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley today. From the campaign release:
Farmingville, NY - Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today endorsed Brian X. Foley for State Senate in his race against 36-year incumbent Caesar Trunzo. Cuomo's endorsement comes on the heels of other positive developments in Foley's campaign including endorsements from Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor David Paterson.
"I'm supporting Brian X. Foley for Senate because he will be a senator who puts working families' interests over special interests," said Attorney General Cuomo. "In these uncertain times, we need Brian's integrity and common-sense approach to government in Albany. He turned around Brookhaven, and I look forward to working with him to turn around our great State."
Thanks to endorsements like Cuomo's and wide-ranging support from voters, the Foley for Senate campaign is picking up crucial momentum heading into Election Day. Voters are concerned with Caesar Trunzo's record of supporting special interests over the needs of Suffolk families. Trunzo has voted against making insurance companies cover mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, despite Long Island having the highest rate of breast cancer in the country. He has crowned himself the King of Pork Barrel spending, bragging about using his pork barrel slush fund to secure support from voters, even as New York faces record budget deficits and the country confronts an economic crisis.
"We need a fighter who will stand up to special interests' influence," said Foley. "I am running for Senate so we can change the broken system in Albany and make our government work for working families right here in Suffolk County."
Yesterday, Foley also picked up the endorsement of Islip Supervisor, Phil Nolan. This i significant because Foley's power base is in Brookhaven while Trunzo's is very much centered in Islip. Such visible support from the other of the district's twin cities is a very good sign.
UPDATE: Andrew Cuomo is going to headline a "Rally for Change" for Brian Foley on Saturday:
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to Headline Rally for Change with Brian X. Foley
Date: Saturday November 1, 2008
Time:
10:30 am
Location:
95 East Main St.
Patchogue, NY 11772
Who:
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo
Supervisor Brian X. Foley
Congressman Tim Bishop
Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will join State Senate Candidate Brian X. Foley, Congressman Tim Bishop, Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington and hundreds of local voters at a Rally for Change on Main St. Patchogue.
That Caesar Trunzo and the Senate GOP has been pretty good to the Wizards of Wall St should go without saying. What really should be more of an issue this year is just how good those same folks have been to their champions in the New York State Senate. The Brian Foley campaign seems to get that.
Caesar Trunzo (Hearts) Wall St Trunzo and Senate Republicans give Wall Street Billions, Take in $1 million in campaign cash
Senate Republicans in Albany have worked overtime since 2000 to help Wall Street banks, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions secure billions in special tax breaks and to weaken state oversight and regulation of banks.
And in return, Wall Street interests have made over a million dollars in campaign contributions to the central Senate Republican Campaign Committees. To date, Senate Republicans have spent $921,651 of that money on 36-year incumbent Caesar Trunzo's reelection campaign.
"Caesar Trunzo and the Senate Republicans have been working for Wall Street, and they've been paid handsomely," said Foley, who's locked in a statistical dead heat with Trunzo. "It's the same old Albany story - Wall Street got the special deals, and Trunzo and the Senate Republicans got the money."
...
A review of 26 key votes in the State Senate reveals that:
* Senate Republicans passed special-interest tax cuts and subsidies for Wall Street banks, securities firms, and insurance companies that added up to more than $3.4 billion over the last decade. Caesar Trunzo voted "Yes" on each of these giveaways. (7 key votes)
* On top of that, Senate Republicans passed laws to give big Wall Street banks and finance companies over two-and-a-half billion dollars in special every-year property tax cuts. Caesar Trunzo voted "Yes" on each measure. (6 key votes)
* And Senate Republicans voted thirteen separate times to protect their friends on Wall Street from the strong regulation that could have prevented the crisis we're in. Caesar Trunzo voted "Yes" on each measure. (13 key votes)
In return, Senate Republicans received $1,082,499.00 in campaign contributions from Wall Street banks and big financial companies since 2000. $921,651of that money trickled down to Trunzo's campaign through the Republican Senate Campaign Committee.
"Caesar Trunzo gave Wall Street banks a two-and-a-half billion dollar property tax cut when families right here in Suffolk County got massive property tax increases," said Foley. Trunzo and the Senate Republicans gave over three billion dollars in state subsidies to Wall Street while regular families saw health care, energy, and food prices go up and up."
While Trunzo was saying "Yes!" to every handout request and favor asked by his Wall Street pals, he was voting "No" on protecting the health of Suffolk families. Trunzo voted "No" on making insurance companies cover mammograms for Women, despite the fact that Long Island has the highest rate of breast cancer in the country. Trunzo even voted to allow chemical companies to conceal cancer causing sprays on our lawns and parks.
It's a compelling case to be made against Trunzo, but it's also a case that can be made against pretty much the entire GOP caucus in the Senate.
Newsday announced its state senate endorsements today. With the exception of Sen. Craig Johnson, they backed every Republican on Long Island. Yes, they even backed Sen. Caesar Trunzo.
This is how Newsday justified their endorsement of Trunzo:
This is the one everyone has been watching. It pits state Sen. Caesar Trunzo (R-Brentwood), a Senate veteran, against an accomplished Democratic challenger, Brookhaven Supervisor Brian X. Foley of Blue Point. Surprisingly, it's not an easy choice.
It's clear that Foley, 50, stuck in a cobra-and-mongoose struggle with a GOP majority on his town board, wants this seat badly. In fact, he says he's been preparing for this run for 15 years. And it's equally clear that, even though his administration made positive changes in the town in the two years before Republicans narrowly won back control of the town board, Foley is more suited to a legislative role than an executive one.
Trunzo, 82, has kept being re-elected because he delivers for his district. But his nearly four decades in Albany have given him a jaded perspective on what it's possible to accomplish there. More than once during a joint appearance by Trunzo and Foley before this board, Trunzo responded to an idea of Foley's by referring to it as a dream. Ouch!
So the choice is between an incumbent who sees getting things done in Albany as a lost cause - the sad thing is, too often he's probably right - and a challenger with a lot of ideas - some of them insufficiently detailed - but an inflated estimate of what a single senator can do.
In the end, it comes down to this: On balance, we think a GOP-controlled Senate will probably be better able to protect Long Island interests in this current fiscal crisis. So we endorse Trunzo.
What an ill-conceived rationale for supporting a man who has delivered nothing but member items to the 3rd Senate District. I don't blame Newsday for thinking that way. We have used member items as the measure of how one "delivers" for their respective district. It's an insane way of judging one's job performance, but that is how our 62 state senators will be judged until the system (and mindset) changes.
But the argument that a GOP senate would better protect Long Island's interests tells me that Newsday believes in maintaining the status quo. The Democrat and Chronicle only endorsed two candidates - both Democrats - and said that they refused to endorse anyone else because the incumbents failed to reform Albany and the challengers didn't prove they would be much better. That, to me, was a remarkable endorsement announcement and showed some guts. Newsday showed today that they didn't put too much thought into these endorsements. They just approved the incumbents for re-election and moved on.
Sen. Chuck Schumer has been more than willing to help out New York State Senate Democratic candidates in their pursuit to take over the New York State Senate. Today he stood with Brian Foley and endorsed Foley in his run against Sen. Caesar "Rip Van Winkle" Trunzo.
Senator Chuck Schumer endorsed Brian X. Foley for State Senate citing Foley's commitment to putting working families' interests over special interests. Schumer joined Foley at a Campaign for Change event in Mastic Beach, in front of over 120 voters.
'I am supporting Brian X. Foley for Senate because he will bring the same integrity and common-sense approach to Albany that he used to turnaround Brookhaven" said Schumer. "Brian will put working families' interests over special interests and make government work for the middle-class again."
Foley thanked Schumer for the endorsement saying, "I am honored to have the endorsement of Senator Chuck Schumer. Working together, we will fight for Suffolk County families and fix the broken system in Albany."
Foley pointed out the need to focus on skyrocketing healthcare costs for Suffolk families. He discussed a new report by an independent group - Families USA - which revealed that healthcare premiums jumped 80.7% over the past seven years and median wages just couldn't keep up, rising merely 11% between 2000-2007. Premiums rose at an alarming rate of seven times faster than the average family income.
Foley is the real deal. It's great to see Schumer endorsed him.
Here's some more video of the debate between Caesar Trunzo (R-FL) and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brain Foley. In this clip, Caesar begins by threatening his own constituents, an interesting tactic to say the least. Next, he asserts that all th folks he doles out your money to ar firmly behind him. He then unwittingly admits that member items are simply money that he can "give away" before immediately backtracking and saying that it's really about "helping communities." And then...he just pretty much falls apart. It's petty obvious that he loses his train of thought and doesn't quite know what the hell he's talking about anymore. The clip ends with this gem, delivered in a somewhat confused voice:
I've been doing my job. I enjoy my job. And people really...have...never criticized me for it. They've always been thankful for what I have done. I hear it everyday no matter when...no matter what day it might be.
The New York League of Conservation Voters is about to go up with a new ad in SD-3 that hits Ceasar Trunzo (R-FL) pretty hard on energy security, something the man has done absolutely nothing on since he arrived in Albany back during the Nixon years.
This one is quite a doozy. Here, Caesar Trunzo attempts to share his thoughts on immigration, but what comes out doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I especially love the part where Trunzo speaks about those who "speak hispanic" or about how he has helped many immigrants "become senators."
