The Republican majority provided the four votes needed to approve him, and did not even bring up an eight year-old federal tax lien, since resolved, and a another federal tax lien from last year that is still pending.
However, being a tax cheat is not the only claim to fame for John Ciampoli. He was also involved in past GOP efforts at voter suppression and served as a an attorney to the magical triumvirate of Joe Bruno, Dean Skelos and Pedro Espada.
Nassau voters threw a dedicated, innovative public servant out of the County Executive's office last November and chose to return the corrupt Nassau Republican machine to power. The chickens have officially come home to roost.
In two days, Tom Suozzi will no longer be the Nassau County executive.
After a recount and falling short by some 200 votes, Suozzi conceded defeat last month to his little-known republican challenger, Ed Mangano. Despite polls that had him up by 15 points heading into election day, the anti-incumbent tide that among other things, swept Suozzi's Westchester counterpart, Andy Spano out of office by 20 points, was too much to overcome.
After Suozzi beat what was once called the most powerful Republican machine in the country in 2001, he saved Nassau from the brink of bankruptcy . He had the county achieve 11 bond rating upgrades and instituted nationally-recognized smart government reforms like No Wrong Door, a streamlining of county social services into a comprehensive approach that attacked social ills from all angles. In 2004, he waged a "Fix Albany" campaign to primary Democratic Assemblymen and take out Republican Senators in the general election. In knocking off one of each, he helped send a clear message to Albany that the status quo was unacceptable. In 2006, he unsuccessfully challenged Eliot Spitzer in the gubernatorial primary, and had the chutzpah in that campaign to say what many NY politicians felt but never had the cajones to: that Shelly Silver and Joe Bruno should resign their leadership posts for the good of the state. Although he lost that race, he found vindication of sorts when Spitzer co-opted many of his ideas and later appointed him to head the NY State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness.
Suozzi was a rising star and many believed that he would run again for a statewide office in 2010. But instead the anti-incumbent tide swept this innovative reformer out of office and replaced him with a tax-cheating Republican hack who ran an essentially ideas-free campaign. I am completely certain that Nassau voters will eventually come to regret this huge mistake, but it doesn't change the fact that on the day after tomorrow, Ed Mangano will be the County Executive of Nassau. Suozzi might still have a future, but a dark cloud now hangs over Nassau in the form of Republican cronysim, mismanagement, and fiscal irresponsibility. Both Suozzi and Nassau County deserved much, much better than this.
Say it ain't so, Joe. Our pal Joe Mondello is calling it quits as state GOP Chair.
After a meeting on Long Island on Friday with Rudolph W. Giuliani, the state Republican Party chairman, Joseph N. Mondello, has decided to call it quits, but he will remain chairman of the Nassau County Republican Party, a party official said Monday.
Mondello was pretty fantastic for Dems statewide. He became chair just in time to lose a special election in his own back yard, lost another special in a district that the GOP had held since the 1890's in the North Country, tried to avenge his loss in that first special by running a mayor of a village of 800 at the new incumbent (and got crushed), oversaw the loss of the last GOP power base in the state and then lost a special election NY-20 to a newcomer with zero name recognition. That was one hell of a streak, no?
If there is s silver lining in Joe's departure, it's that he will retain the Chair of the Nassau County GOP. Given the Dems newfound registration edge in Nassau and plenty of hot races from top to bottom there, this is quite a gift.
Oh, and this also probably means that Giuliani is definitely running for Gov next year as it appears that Rudy was the one pushing him hardest out the door.
If there is one thing you can associate Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi with, it is the property tax cap that he has pushed for in New York. But Suozzi knows, as a county executive, that the financial crisis that has provided us with plenty of media attention on how the federal government will deal with it also trickles down to the state and local governments.
Suozzi authored an op-ed featured in Politico today about the federal government should address financial woes that are not only impacting the nation's economy, but are also impacting state and local economies.
As chief executive of a county with a budget larger than 16 states, I've seen and successfully managed through some challenging situations. But during the current economic crisis, I'm doing everything wrong.
Like Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg - and hundreds of governors and local leaders across the nation who are responding to rising costs, shrinking revenues, and massive projected budget deficits - I'm cutting jobs, eliminating programs, and in the case of Nassau County, reducing capital spending and raising property taxes for the first time in five years. We have to. Because unlike the federal government, states and localities must, by law, balance our budgets every year, leaving us no choice but to make difficult decisions. These efforts are necessary in the short term, but we are undoing any national efforts to stimulate the economy.
In the war to save America's economy, the local, state, and federal governments are all on the same side but pulling in opposite directions.
State and localities need our federal government's help. As Governor Paterson so articulately made the case just one month ago on Capitol Hill and again earlier this week, the American public needs Washington more than any time in recent memory. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent to bail out banks, insurance companies, mortgage firms, and maybe even the automobile industry. Why can't Washington spend $50 billion to help the beleaguered American taxpayer by stabilizing their state and local governments?
I included the rest of Suozzi's op-ed below the fold so that you can read the whole thing. It is an interesting read.
A state and local government bailout would be helpful. Surely the governments would be more responsible handling the money and the money would be easier to track. With private corporations, you can't say the same thing.
I do think that state and local governments have to be more responsible. Cutting taxes is a must and there are certain things you need to keep spending money on. However, there are some things you don't have to spend money on. There are useless expenditures and perks that are afforded to elected officials that need to be taken away during these tough times. Removing such perks would send a clear message to their constituents. Hopefully they realize that.
Suozzi's op-ed is a must read. Again, I posted the rest of the op-ed below the fold. He presents plenty of great ideas and thoughts, along with the suggestion that there be a "bailout" of state and local governments.
Skelos and crew dropped more than $800,000* on Barbara Donno's bid against Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington). She lost Plandome Manor, where she's mayor, early tallies say.
I'm sure Frank Padavan thanks you, Senator Skelos.
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.
Days after the campaign of Kemp Hannon began airing a truly misleading and dishonest ad using my heavily edited video to twist the words of challenger Kristen McElroy to make it appear that she was saying something that she most certainly wasn't, the McElroy campaign is going up with this rather simple ad in response:
The script:
My opponent Kemp Hannon is running a negative ad asking who I am.
Well, I'm Kristen McElroy. I'm a working mother of three, and, with my husband, I grew up in Garden City and have lived there my whole life
I know first hand how hard it is these days to make ends meet on Long Island.
I know property taxes are just too high.
And I know we can do better.
So now, Mr. Hannon, you know who I am, and why I'm running for State Senate.
Simple and to the point. And yeah, I think they may be feeling the heat.
Kristen McElroy racks up a big one, New York's senior US Senator:
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer Endorses
Kristen McElroy for State Senate
(Plainview, NY)- On Sunday, October 26th, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer will announce his endorsement of Democratic State Senate candidate, Kristen McElroy (SD-6). Schumer, Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, engineered Democrats successful effort to retake the U.S. Senate in 2006, bringing Democrats back in the majority of both houses of Congress for the first time in twelve years.
McElroy, challenging Republican Senate fixture Kemp Hannon, has steadily gained momentum throughout the campaign and is proud to receive the support of New York's senior senator, Schumer. Every election year, the same Republican politicians make the same empty promises to keep their jobs, but after failing to meet the needs of working families for nearly four decades, their chance is over. Honored to be joined on this day by Senator Schumer, Kristen McElroy is a new leader, committed to taking the state in a new direction- toward the real economic change we need to get New York working again.
More than 89,000 new Long Island voters - a 15 percent jump over four years ago - have enrolled to cast ballots in next month's presidential contest and Democrats have garnered a huge edge among newcomers, according to local elections officials.
Suffolk had the largest gains, with 39,762 new voters since the beginning of the year, up 50 percent from four years ago. And Democrats gained the most with 20,642 new voters while Republicans drew one third that number - 6,905. The number of new Suffolk voters not aligned with any party jumped 13,301.
In Nassau, there are 49,497 new voters, about the same as four years ago, but 24,844 of them enrolled Democrats; 9,245 of Republicans and 12,084 not aligned to any party. What is different in the Nassau numbers is that Democrats have a 15,600 bulge this year compared to only 8,100 four years ago.
Port Washington cops last night arrested a 22-year-old man who's been paid as a campaign consultant to Nassau Republican Senate candidate Barbara Donno (left), charging him with the theft of re-election signs for her opponent, Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington).
He's identified as Vincent Jeffrey, 22, of Manhasset.
Donno campaign spokesman Bryan Hurst described this as the action of "an overzealous campaign supporter" who has been suspended from the campaign without pay and who he said "obviously" wasn't acting on the orders of higherups.
The Johnson campaign gives this account, calling it a "new low" for Donno: "A Johnson campaign volunteer caught a person matching Jeffrey's description attempting to take a sign from Port Washington Blvd., just north of Wakefield Avenue, during Thursday's morning rush hour. The campaign later discovered that 70 to 100 Senator Johnson signs, many along Port Washington Blvd. and Searingtown Road, turned up missing within that same time period. Nearly all of them were replaced by Donno signs."
"The campaign volunteer was able to get the license plate number from the silver convertible the person was driving and a complaint was filed with police... Jeffrey was found with some of the missing signs in his possession and placed under arrest, according to Port Washington Police. Records on file with the New York State Board of Elections show that Jeffery has been on the Donno campaign's payroll since at least June 19."
Hurst of the Donno campaign said: "This was an overzealous campaign supporter who acted obviously outside the campaign...He has since been suspended without pay.
"Previous to this incident, the Town of North Hempstead Republican Party filed a complaint with the Port Washington Police Dept. stating that our signs had been stolen."
Normally, it would be easier for me to swallow the whole "overzealous staffer" thing. But, given the overtly dishonest campaign Donno has so far run, I'm not so sure.
I caught up with our good friend Senator Craig Johnson this morning at the Sheraton in downtown Denver, the home of the New York delegation. Take a look:
Yesterday we reported on the minor party ballot line shenanigans in SD-7, where two parties, the Working Families Party and the local Independence Party both wanted Freshman Senator Craig Jonson on their lines only to end up with Johnson off the WFP line and with challenger Barbara Donno taking the Indy line at the insistence of the state Indys. WFP chief Dan Cantor released this statement late yesterday afternoon:
"Senate Republicans used the courts to circumvent the democratic process and the will of Working Families Party members in the 7th Senate District."
"Senator Johnson has been a champion of middle and working class values, and has worked tirelessly to make sure that their issues and concerns are heard in Albany. No matter what line his name will be on in November, he will continue to have the support of the Working Families Party, and more importantly, the support of the hard-working men and women in his district."
"We have no doubt that Craig Johnson will be re elected to the State Senate."
More fun with minor party ballot lines in the 7th. Liz is reporting that the Appellate Division 2nd Judicial Department has ruled unanimously that freshman Senator Craig Johnson will be kept off the Working Families line. This is ironic in that the WFP is a big reason why Johnson is a Senator today and they endorsed him again 2008. The court also ruled that his challenger, Barbara Donno, will keep the Independence Party line even though the local IP has endorsed Johnson as well.
As you can see by Robert's post below, it's direct mail season again. Today we see the first mailing by Kristen McElroy who is taking on craptastic incumbent Kemp Hannon in SD-6. While we're still waiting on her website, this mailer looks awfully good and hopefully is a sign of good things to come. From our pals at the Daily Gotham:
You remember the "North Shore Committee for Truth", don't you? It's the Republican Senate Campaign Committee funded astroturf entity that I wrote about last summer that sprang up shortly after Craig Johnson won the SD-7 special election. The website for the "committee" now seems to be defunct (what did they spend the $5K Bruno gave them on anyway?), but the woman who is at least nominally behind that effort, one Christine A. Nagy (or Christine A. Imrie, depending on what documents you are looking at) is also the woman behind the apparently successful (for now, anyway) effort to keep Johnson off the WFP line this November. Spin Cycle has the goods:
The court case that has knocked Sen. Craig Johnson off the Working Families Party ballot line was brought by a Republican resident of Westbury whose address is also that of a now-you-see-it-now-you-don't civic "committee" -- which sent out letters attacking Johnson shortly after he was elected last year.
Senate GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre has made no secret of his special desire to unseat Johnson, the only Democrat in Long Island's 9-member Senate delegation. The Senate Republican Campaign Committee donated $5,000 last year to the North Shore Committee for Truth, whose treasurer was listed as Christine A. Nagy.
Records show Nagy, 35, is registered to vote under that name, and did so in 2007, but on other records is Christine A. Imrie, who made the successful application to challenge Johnson's petitions. Meanwhile the "truth" committee's Web site, active a year ago, seems to have gone off-line, though you can see some of the content by clicking this Google-cached item. Phone numbers that are listed under both of the petitioner's names seem to be disconnected.
Just in case this tactic didn't work, Nassau Republicans also sent out one Patrick Lilavois to collect petition signatures for a WFP candidacy that only ever existed as a means for denying Johnson the ballot line.
Meanwhile, the earlier gambit by which Patrick Lilavois, also of Westbury, gathered 44 signatures for the WFP line -- with help from North Hempstead Republicans -- seems to have paid off for the GOP as a tactical move. If a party member signs two candidate petitions, only the first one counts. In some cases, Lilavois got to the doors of party members first, helping Johnson's foes' efforts to winnow down his number of valid signatures and thus aid the prospects of keeping him off the WFP line. Some earlier partisan analysis from the Johnson side is here.
(Lots of info in this post. This smells pretty bad. - promoted by phillip anderson)
Dan Janison at the Newsday Spin Cycle posted this:
Ruling that Sen. Craig Johnson's campaign violated proper petitioning practices, State Supreme Court Justice Karen V. Murphy has thrown the Nassau Democrat off the Working Families Party's November ballot line. If the ruling stands, it will be the second time this election season that Johnson lost a minor-party endorsement that he'd appeared to have secured. The first occurred when the GOP-aligned state Independence Party recently changed its bylaws as a prelude to overruling its county committee to nominate the Republican challenger, Barbara Donno.
Now all this seems like normal petition stuff, until you realize who the judge is in this case. Karen V. Murphy was before ascending to the bench, the Republican County Clerk in Nassau. More to the point, the current County Clerk, Maureen O'Connell, was Judge Murphy's close political ally and her hand picked successor to the Clerk's office. If the name Maureen O'Connell rings a bell, she is the same Maureen O'Connell who lost the special election to Craig Johnson in SD 7.
Republicans have filed petitions for candidates who have never voted to run primaries against freshman State Sen. Craig Johnson on the Independence and Working Family party lines.
But Nicole Gadaleta, 23, of Manhasset, who filed 531 signatures to get on the Independence ballot line, more than double the 255 she needed, declined the nomination just before the end of the day Friday, leaving it to a party committee on vacancies to fill the line. Democrats say her Facebook listing indicates she is friends with Republican candididate Barbara Donno's daughter.
The GOP also circulated petitions for Patrick Lilavois of Westbury to run on the Working Families Party line. He filed 44 signatures, and needed only 17. Among those who circulated petitions in an attempt to deny Johnson the minor parties' lines were GOP heavyweights, including North Hemsptead GOP leader Frank Maroney, Nassau GOP elections commissioner John DeGrace, former town supervisor John Kiernan, and Mineola Republican leader Jacki Carway, whose husband John ran for North Hempstead supervisor last year.
"I am very disappointed if the Republicans tried to do this," said Bobby Kumar, Nassau Independence chairman, who supports Johnson. But it is state chairman Frank MacKay who has the power authorize for non-party members to run on their ballot line. MacKay said he "will follow" Kumar's lead on who to back.
Dan Cantor, the WFP executive director, called the move "the start of a new Republican dirty tricks campaign" and said the GOP "should be ashamed of themselves."
