Move Over Joe-The-Plumber

Long Islanders Go To The Polls

On Tuesday, Joe The Plumber steps aside, and all of us regular Joes get to decide who will govern – and by that we mean, who will not only lead our nation in these most difficult days, but represent our community, that which is global as well as local, in a time of uncertainty and angst.

The top of the ticket may well be a done deal in New York, but down-ticket, the races are wide open, and, particularly as concerns the New York State Senate, where the balance of power hangs by a thread, the stakes could not be higher.

The real question here, in the Long Island community, selfish though it may appear, is do we keep a steady-handed Long Islander at the Senate’s helm, and the Long Island delegation well placed, so they can continue to fight for us on school aid, property tax relief, health care, and the other bread and butter issues that impact so greatly upon us, or do we, after generations of one-party control, switch gears, giving the new kids on the block a chance?

In ordinary times, we would be hard-pressed to set aside our credo that the status quo is never good enough; our mantra that one-party rule flies in the face of democracy; that you can’t keep sending the same folks in to do the job, year after year, decade after decade, and expect a different outcome.

These are, however, no ordinary times. For the first time in collective memory, a Long Islander is the second most powerful man in New York (third, if you include this blogger :-)). Senator Dean G. Skelos has, presiding over the Long Island delegation, always stood firm and fast for this community. He is not only a well-respected leader, but a renowned consensus builder, who puts Long Island first. In these times of budget deficits, shortfalls, STAR reductions, and cutbacks across the board, we cannot afford, having come in to our own at long last, to cede that authority to New York City or upstate.

If this sounds parochial or provincial – running against the grain of our conventional wisdom – it is. We admit to having a bias in favor of our own Long Island, and an overriding interest in protecting the homes, the health, the jobs, and the wallets of each and every Long Islander.

Do we cringe when we endorse an incumbent State Senate octogenarian (Caesar Trunzo) who, notwithstanding the fact that he delivers for his constituents with bacon galore, has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel? You betcha. Still, the precarious balance of power in that legislative body, that now, by a single vote, favors Long Islanders, is too important to shift to the other party, where parochial and provincial interests far afield from our own may well dictate policy and redirect fiscal priorities.

Of course, some of our basic tenets cannot – and will not – be compromised.

Peter King – who we see as one of those “anti-Americans” that the California Congresswoman of the lunatic fringe was ranting about – is wrong on immigration, wrong on racial profiling, wrong on waving the flag while stomping on the Constitution, wrong on continually beating up on his own constituents, and wrong on latching on to the discredited Bush doctrine, lock, stock, and barrel. While he’s likely to be re-elected (read as, “you CAN fool most of the people, most of the time”), we endorse Graham Long in his challenge to unseat the King.

Our endorsements are not about party, or about politics, although no one would dare accuse us of being apolitical. They are, first and foremost, about what we believe would be best for the future of our Long Island. Call it, Community First!

But don’t take our word for who would best serve Long Island. You can – and should – check out ALL of the candidates at the League of Women Voters of Nassau County Voters’ Guide on the web at www.lwvofnassaucounty.org/2008VG.pdf

Finally, if you’re thinking of sitting out this election because “it’s a done deal,” “they’re all the same,” or “what difference could my vote possibly make,” think again. This is no time to sit on the sidelines, a spectator to our community’s future. Not this time. Not this election.

On Tuesday, November 4th, consider what is best for YOUR Long Island. VOTE!

PRESIDENT
· Barack Obama

CONGRESS
· 1st Congressional District: Timothy Bishop
· 2nd Congressional District: Steve Israel
· 3rd Congressional District: Graham Long
· 4th Congressional District: Carolyn McCarthy
· 5thCongressional District: Gary Ackerman

SENATE
· 1st Senatorial District: Kenneth LaValle
· 2nd Senatorial District: John Flanagan
· 3rd Senatorial District: Caesar Trunzo
· 4th Senatorial District: Owen Johnson
· 5th Senatorial District: Carl Marcellino
· 6th Senatorial District: Kemp Hannon
· 7th Senatorial District: Craig Johnson
· 8th Senatorial District: Charles Fuschillo
· 9th Senatorial District: Dean Skelos

ASSEMBLY
· 1st Assembly District: Marc Alessi
· 2nd Assembly District: Fred Thiele
· 3rd Assembly District: Patricia Eddington
· 4th Assembly District: Steve Englebright
· 5th Assembly District: Ginny Fields
· 6th Assembly District: Phil Ramos
· 7th Assembly District: Michael Fitzpatrick
· 8th Assembly District: Elizabeth Bloom
· 9th Assembly District: Karen Kerr-Ozimek
· 10th Assembly District: James Conte
· 11th Assembly District: Robert Sweeney
· 12th Assembly District: Keith Scalia
· 13th Assembly District: Charles Lavine
· 14th Assembly District: Robert Barra
· 15th Assembly District: Rob Walker
· 16th Assembly District: Michelle Schimel
· 17th Assembly District: John Pinto
· 18th Assembly District: Henry Conyers
· 19th Assembly District: David McDonough
· 20th Assembly District: Harvey Weisenberg
· 21st Assembly District: Thomas Alfano

JUDICIARY

Nassau County District Court – 2nd District

· Fred Hirsh
· Fran Ricigliano
· Robert Bruno
· Dana Jaffee
· Ignatius Muscarella

Nassau County District Court – 4th District

· Angelo Delligatti

Nassau County Family Court

· Carnell Foskey, Jr.

Nassau County Court

· Norman St. George

Supreme Court

· Robert Lifson
· Edward Maron
· Kenneth Davis