volume 10, voter's guide

2 Long IsLand Press for november 1 - november 7, 2012 | www.longislandpress.com n e w s c o l u m n f e at u r e s P r e s s P L a y c l a s s i f i e d c a r s

3www.longislandpress.com | Long IsLand Press for november 1 - november 7, 2012n e w s c o l u m n f e at u r e s P r e s s P L a y c l a s s i f i e d c a r s

BASEMENTWINDOWS

COUPON

MADE UP TO 32” X18”Y INSTALLED

LLYFUWELDED!

NOTAX$159

$179No Min. Req.

NOW

•8-Coat Paint Finish•Adjustable Saddle•20 Gauge/10 Gauge

•Magnetic Seal•Double Insulated Glass•Door Knob/Dead Bolt

Reinforced Steel Frame

CUSTOM-SIZED!CUSTOM-PAINTED!STEEL & FIBERGLASS

DOORS

COUPON

FULLY INSTALLEDIncludes:

PATIODOORS

$1199

FULLY INSTALLED

DOUBLE HUNGWINDOWS

299$Low E GlassArgon Gas &Foam Filled

NowTOP QUALITY STEEL REINFORCED

& FULLY INSTALLED 5 FT.

LOW E GLASS

$$ 18992099

B W W WINDOO

FULLY INSTALLEDUP TO 96” x 45”

S

GRIDS OPTIONAL IN ALL WINDOWS

CUSTOMFULL

BASEMENT SLIDERSBASEMENT SLIDERS

Reg $389.00

CUSTOM MADE

We Are The

CommercialCondo / Co-Op

Experts!

$899 $899 $949 $949

INCLUDES CAPPING, CAULKING,STOP MOULDING and DEBRIS REMOVAL

FULL LIFETIME GUARANTEE

FREE IN HOME ESTIMATES AND ENERGY LOSS INSPECTIONS • FREE IN HOME ESTIMATES AND ENERGY LOSS INSPECTIONS

SAVE THIS AD

You Pay NO

SALESTAX

BrassLeaded Glass

BrassLeaded Glass

UNIFIEDWINDOWSYSTEMS, INC.

WINDOWS, DOORS, SIDING AND ROOFING

•

599GARAGE DOOR

$8' x7'

• 2 Inch thick steel doorNew tracks and hardware

FULLY INSTALLED!Includes cart away of your old door!

Raised Panel or Carriage Style

$799

COUPON

189$Energy Star Windows

SUPERSAVER

Uniweld Double HungFULLY WELDED and FULLY INSTALLED

•Low E Argon Gas•Fully Caulked for Airtight Seal•Removal of All Debris•Custom Made to Size•7/8” Double Insulated Glass•1/2 Screen Included•New Interior Stop Moulding

349

STORMDOORS

$

FULLYINSTALLED!

489$NO TAX

Now

TOPUALITY!Q

•Tempered Glass•Screen•Custom Hardware•Custom Hinges•White Only

Any Size

Other ModelsAvailable

Sale Prices Valid November 1st through November 30th

NOW

Owens Corning AttiCat®SystemSave up to 20%

on your heating & cooling energy bills*

for as low as

1499$1999

Attic Insulation

$COUPONCOUPON

NOSALESTAX! www.uwds.com

(516) 481-3000•(631) 612-2510•(914) 358-9650•(718) 362-5222BBB Member Metro NY Long Island • Some items not available in all areas. A $35.00 fuel surcharge will apply to each contract.

Nassau#1761650000 • Suffolk#19279 • NYConsumer Affairs#0856560 • Westchester Lic#WC-22934-H-10 • Yonkers Lic#5208 • Conn. H.I. #HIC.0629286. *Metal removal add $25 (888) 631-2131

HUNTINGTON PATCHOGUE298 Medford Ave. (rt.112)

Patchogue, NY 11772

BRONX•WESTCHESTER768 North Broadway (rt. 22)N White Plains, NY 10603

HEMPSTEAD BROOKLYN•QUEENS373 West Jericho Tpke.Huntington, NY 11743

130-11 Atlantic Ave.Richmond Hill, NY 11418

299 Peninsula Blvd.Hempstead, NY 11550

Starting at

3695

1995

ROOFING SIDING

22

3695

1995

0% Financingfor 5 years!

20% Offpurchase

LAYOVERLAYOVER

COMPLETERIP

COMPLETERIP

or0% Financingfor 5 years!

20% Offpurchase

or

Starting at

20% offbased on

$3.00per sq ft

20% offbased on

$3.00per sq ft

Whole HouseWhole House

All Showrooms Open 7 Days!FREE in HomeEstimates

LIP

4 Long IsLand Press for november 1 - november 7, 2012 | www.longislandpress.com n e w s c o l u m n f e at u r e s P r e s s P L a y c l a s s i f i e d c a r s

Letter from the EditorIt’s an eerie feeling, driving from

town to town, village to village in the pitch black of night searching for gasoline.

All the traffic lights are out. All the streetlights are dark. When you find a station that’s open, the line snakes around the corner or spills onto roadways and lanes of anarchis-tic traffic not meant for immobile vehicles.

It’s a strange, weird feeling, scouring a Home Depot for flashlights and batteries only to be shown the section of aisle where they’re normally stacked seven feet high and told by an employee, “We have none left.”

Bizarre, really, watching a military Humvee roll down your block or hearing that your state senator compared parts of New York City to London and Dresden after the fire-bombing in World War II.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking and surreal to stand at the lip of the ocean, now smack dab in the middle of residential neighborhoods across the South Shore of Long Island, and watch the steady stream of residents who heeded public officials’ pleas for mandatory evacuation return home, many frantically searching for loved ones, oftentimes parents and seniors who refused to leave.

The expression of despair and utter disbelief, the horror on their faces, is nothing short of tragic. Trying to imagine the sorrow felt by those who’ve lost loved ones rips at my insides as if my heart is being cut out with a rusty, dull spoon.

Yet tragedy and surrealism are the new reality, not just here, but across the Northeast. Places like Breezy Point in Queens, the Rockaways, Sayreville in Jersey, and of course Fire Island, Lindenhurst, Long Beach and Babylon.

It’s become the new norm.It’s unnerving driving through the

patchwork of communities that make up this Island 2.7 million of us call home, rolling through the darkened traffic signals intersection after inter-section, of darkness and uprooted trees, lifeless storefronts and abandoned main streets, snapped power cables and upside-down telephone poles: Sunrise Highway, Route 109, Jericho Turnpike. Merrick, Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Ami-tyville, Copiague. The list goes on.

Your mind is so used to the daily

hum of life that it seems as if you’re on another planet, full of ghosts.

It’s Apocalyptic.The radio shares voices of

survivors suffering: Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie vowing to rebuild. President Obama promising immediate aid; a “fifteen-minute rule.”

“I lost everything” or so-and-so “lost everything” is a statement heard over and over, from a man filling up his truck at a gas station chatting with a driver in line or the 25-year-old from Long Beach who’s accom-panying his girlfriend into waist-high water on Bayview Avenue in Babylon on a search-and-rescue mission for her elderly father stuck on the second floor of his engulfed home.

Suddenly, there is life. Flickers of light up ahead—maybe a restaurant or a deli or even a bakery, streetlamps that somehow escaped snuffing—it almost seems like a dream.

To quote Paul McCartney: “Ob-La-Di.” Life goes on.

For many, it doesn’t.As of Thursday, four days out, at

least 71 people have been killed by Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean and 75 in the United States, including 28 in New York and two on Long Island.

More than 4.5 million people are still without power across the Northeast, down from 8.5 million, and nearly 1 million Long Island Power Authority customers across Nassau and Suffolk counties remain in the dark.

Power lines are strewn across front yards and sidewalks. Trees block side streets or hang suspended against telephone and electricity cables. Cell phone service has been knocked out. Schools remain closed. Businesses are shuttered. Entire neighborhoods on the South Shore are underwater, literally swallowed by the Great South Bay. Unknown numbers of residents, many seniors, remain prisoners in their own homes, their bottom floors inundated with seawater.

Other homes were completely destroyed; consumed by fire or erased by sea. At least a dozen homes were swept away on Fire Island, where officials estimate more than 100 residents may still be trapped.

The Long Island Rail Road—the busiest commuter train in the nation—has been shut down for days. Only recently has it resumed limited service but damaged infrastructure makes the timetable for full restoration an open

question. City of Long Beach

residents have been without running water or sanitary services since Sunday. Raw sewage is bubbling up into hundreds of thousands of residents’ toilets

and drains, compliments of Nassau County’s troubled Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant.

They can’t flush their toilets.Hurricane Sandy has brought

unprecedented devastation and hardship to Long Island and the region. As fellow Long Islanders, we at the Long Island Press share this pain. As journalists, we are striving to do everything in our power to ease that burden, or at least make it less burden-some, most effectively by keeping you informed and sharing your stories.

The Long Island Press is not pub-lishing a print edition this week. Instead, we are focusing our resources online to bring you the most up-to-date, comprehensive and useful infor-mation regarding cleanup efforts, road and school openings, transportation issues, shelters and whatever else is pertinent in this time of need.

We ask you to go to our website www.LongIslandPress.com and our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/LongIslandPress and Tell Us What You Need To Know.

We will accommodate your requests as much as possible.

Know that we share your pain. Know that we’re listening, and we’re here to help. Know that we care.

—Christopher Twarowski,Editor-In-Chief

Contact UsPhone: 516-284-3300 Fax: 516-284-3310575 underhill blvd. suite 210, syosset, ny 11791news contact: [email protected]@LongIsLandPress.comtwitter.com/longislandpress copyright©2012. the Long Island Press is a trademark of morey publishing, inc. all rights reserved.

longislandpress.com

Hurricane Sandy has brought unprecedented devastation and hardship to Long Island and

the region. As fellow Long Islanders, we at the Long Island Press share this pain.

the scene outside checkers drive-in on sunrise highway in massapequa following

a visit from hurricane sandy.

5www.longislandpress.com | Long IsLand Press for november 1 - november 7, 2012n e w s c o l u m n f e at u r e s P r e s s P L a y c l a s s i f i e d c a r s

6 Long IsLand Press for november 1 - november 7, 2012 | www.longislandpress.com n e w s c o l u m n s f e at u r e s P r e s s P L a y c l a s s i f i e d c a r s

Barred at the Ballot Box

If there’s anyone approximating a symbol of what’s wrong with what are referred to as “restrictive” or “strict” photo ID laws, it’s Viviette Apple-white. At 93 years old, Applewhite is an African-American Pennsylvanian who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and has cast her ballot in almost every election since the 1950s.

Her purse was stolen years ago, and with it her Social Security card. What’s more, since she was adopted as a child, the name on her birth certifi-cate differed from that used on other official documents. Her adoption itself lacked any kind of record.

Under Pennsylvania’s voter ID law, which was passed in March 2012 and has since become a legal lightning rod in the battle over voting rights, Applewhite could not obtain the required identification to partici-pate at the polls.

Her case, and the case of others similarly affected by the law, was taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the Advancement Project, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the D.C.-based law firm Arnold & Porter. The lawsuit, which alleged the state’s voter ID law violated Penn-sylvania’s constitution by denying citizens the right to vote, was denied a

preliminary injunction and bounced on appeal from district court to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which sent the challenge back to the lower court for reconsideration.

On October 2, Common-wealth Court of Pennsylvania Judge Robert Simpson granted the pre-liminary injunction, allowing people like Applewhite to vote in the 2012 election without photo ID and without having to cast a provisional ballot—a measure that in the some states allows non-ID holders to vote, but which requires them to return to the polling place after the election to confirm their identity.

Barring any further litigation, Pennsylvania voters will be required to present photo IDs in future elections, but for now Applewhite and others in her situation will be free to vote as they always have. In fact, as the case was being appealed in August, Applewhite received an ID using her 20-year-old Medicare card, proof of address and a state document affirming her name and Social Security number (according to media reports, the process also

required her to take two buses to the licensing office).

That’s a lot of hassle to exercise a right Applewhite has enjoyed for 60 years, but she’s not alone. According to best estimates, strict voter ID laws could effectively disenfran-chise millions of voters if adopted nationwide.

According to figures from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, as many as 11 percent of adult U.S. citizens do not have any form of government-issued photo identification, accounting for more than 21 million people. Among that group, 18 percent of citizens 65 years of age or older don’t have government-issued photo ID (more than 6 million seniors), and, based on 2000 U.S. Census figures, more than 5.5 million African-American adults lack photo ID—a full 25 percent of eligible black voters. Meanwhile, U.S. citizens, regardless of ethnicity, age or gender, who make less than $35,000 “are more than twice as likely to lack current government-issued photo identification as those earning more than $35,000 a year,” the Brennan Center reported, adding that that means at least 15 percent of voting-age Americans in the low income bracket lack valid ID.

On top of that, the Brennan Center found in its survey that as many as 7 percent of voting-age citizens (more than 13 million adults) don’t have ready access to documents proving that they’re citizens, making the process of getting valid ID all the more complicated.

“These ID laws, and this notion that they don’t impose a cost on citizens is farcical,” said Spaulding, with Common Cause. “We know that in some states it costs money to get documents and get an ID. There are a number of voters who are in a catch-22; they’re 90 years old, they were born at home with a midwife and they don’t have a birth certificate. There’s the expense of getting those documents, there’s the expense—especially in rural areas—of making the trip to get the ID. This notion that these IDs are ‘free’ does not pass

astonishing. remarkaBle. sinister. Those are words that come up again and again when confronting the wave of voter identification laws that has swept through more than 30 Republican-dominated state legislatures in recent years. The measures sound innocuous enough: When a voter shows up to the polls on Election Day, he or she must present valid photo ID in order to cast a ballot.

The goal, proponents say, is to combat in-person voter fraud—claiming to be someone you’re not and entering a vote in their name. But study after study, including an exhaustive investigation by the Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, has found almost no evidence that in-person voter fraud occurs. Culling through 5,000 documents over 10 weeks, the News21 project—a national investigative reporting program funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—found only 10 cases of in-person voter fraud since 2000: about one case for every 15 million eligible voters.

What’s more, requiring state or federally issued ID at the polls has been repeatedly shown by independent analyses to impose a disproportionate burden on very specific demographics: the poor, the elderly, students and people of color.

“We’ve heard it time and time again; It really is a solution in search of a problem,” said Stephen Spaulding, Washington D.C.-based staff counsel for the nonprofit citizen’s lobby group Common Cause.

“We do have election administration problems in the country—with machines breaking down, assuring that votes are counted accurately—and we need to focus our attention there,” he said. “This threatens everyone’s right to a free and fair election.”

“these id laws, and this notion that they don’t impose a cost on citizens is farcical.” —stePhen sPauLdIng, common cause

7www.longislandpress.com | Long IsLand Press for november 1 - november 7, 2012n e w s c o l u m n s f e at u r e s P r e s s P L a y c l a s s i f i e d c a r s

the smell test.”But it’s on that notion that

voter ID laws have been ruled constitutional.

Indiana’s restrictive voter ID law, which is seen as the test case for similar laws nationwide, was upheld

by the United States Supreme Court in 2005 because it was not found to be burdensome to voters.

“Clearly that’s not the case,” Spaulding said.

SNEAK ATTACKIt doesn’t take much analysis to

figure out the upshot of proliferating voter ID requirements: fewer seniors, students, people of color and low-wage earners at the polls. And it doesn’t take much to see who would most benefit from a whiter, more middle age, affluent electorate.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the legislators carrying these bills are not Democrats,” said Lisa Graves, executive director of the nonprofit watchdog group Citizens for Media and Democracy (CMD).

According to Graves, whose orga-nization has made voting rights a priority issue, this newest push to limit the franchise

traces its roots to the 1990s and the enactment of the National Voter Reg-istration Act, or “Motor Voter,” under President Bill Clinton. The measure did exactly what its name implies: made it easier for voters to register. African-Americans, particularly,

registered in high numbers, Graves said, prompting backlash among con-servative states.

“In response to that law Southern states started proposing changes to the laws to make it harder to register. Those bills went nowhere; they were perceived as racist…and sort of lan-guished for a number of years,” she said.

Then came the election of President George W. Bush, “and the right wing started pushing this theme of voter fraud,” Graves said. The Bush administration even tried to redirect the voting rights section of the civil rights division to push this idea of voter fraud, she added.

“U.S. attorneys were fired because they didn’t do enough to assert non-existent voter fraud,” Graves said.

Despite pressure from the new Bush administration, strict voter ID laws remained few and far between, with only Indiana and Georgia enacting restrictive ID measures in 2005. But, Graves said, “these things were bubbling.”

When Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, it was in large part due to huge voter turnout in cities and among students and Afri-can-Americans. Republicans, having lost the White House, also found

continued on page 8


their party losing ground in state leg-islatures. According to data compiled by News21, 62 voter ID bills have been introduced in 37 state legis-latures since 2009, with the bulk of the measures introduced or adopted in 2011 and 2012. According to the Brennan Center and News21, a handful of states have active, strict photo ID laws for voters and more than a dozen others are pending—either hung up in court, awaiting preclearance from the Department of Justice or too recently enacted to be in effect.

“It’s remarkable,” said Jennie Bowser, Denver-based senior fellow with the National Conference of State Legislatures. “I’ve tracked election legislation since late 2000 and every-thing that happened in Florida, and I’ve never seen so many states take up a single issue in the absence of a federal mandate.”

Graves, meanwhile, fingers the culprit.

“Suddenly the Indiana law was dusted off the shelf and put out there as a national model that every state should be pushing,” she said. “And ALEC is behind it.”

the Bill millALEC stands for the American

Legislative Exchange Council and,

according to some, it is nothing less than a shadow lawmaking body that draws its strength from an ocean of corporate money. If the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United can be said to have opened the flood gates to corporate cash in American politics, then ALEC is trying to turn on the flood.

“ALEC isn’t simply a think tank or a gathering of lawmakers, it is a corporate-funded operation that pushes a corporate message and a conservative message,” said Graves, of the Center for Media and Democracy, which in July 2011 made public 800 internal documents on its website, AlecExposed.org, proving ALEC’s cloaked hand in crafting “model leg-islation” meant for introduction in statehouses around the country.

“At its core it is a way to take some of these ideas that a think tank might fancy and operationalize them,” she said. “And I use ‘opera-tionalize’ very purposefully.”

A call to ALEC’s media relations representative for comment on this story went unanswered, but the orga-nization’s ideological bent is clear enough on its website: a “nonpartisan individual membership organization of state legislators which favors feder-alism and conservative public policy solutions.”

Registered with the Internal

Revenue Service as a 501c3 nonprofit, ALEC boasts around 2,000 member legislators—the vast majority being Republicans—who pay a nominal fee for membership, and upwards of 300 corporate and other private-sec-tor members who pony up between $7,000 and $25,000 for the privilege of getting together with sympathetic lawmakers at lavish retreats.

Broken up into task forces focused on various aspects of public policy—from education to law enforcement and the environ-ment—ALEC members, both from the public and private sectors, get together and write model bills which are then voted on and, if ratified, carried home by ALEC legislators for introduction in their respective states.

The strategy has been successful. ALEC brags on its website that each year about 1,000 pieces of ALEC-written or ALEC-inspired model leg-islation ends up getting introduced in the states, with an average 20 percent becoming law.

Despite this, and even though the organization has been active for nearly 40 years—it was established in 1973 by arch conservative Paul Weyrich, who also started the Heritage Foun-dation—ALEC has remained largely under the radar. Nonetheless, its impact on policy in the states reads like a greatest hits compilation of

the most controversial bills in recent history: from changes to U.S. gun laws like the Florida “stand your ground” legislation made infamous by the Trayvon Martin shooting (a measure that was crafted with help from the National Rifle Associa-tion, a prominent ALEC member), to state-based efforts at overturn-ing or circumventing the Affordable Care Act, to recent measures limiting teacher union powers and handing portions of student instruction over to for-profit education companies. Even Arizona’s hotly contested immi-gration law—SB1070—started life as a ALEC-approved “model” bill.

“There’s a whole set of bills that are advancing that corporate agenda to privatize prisons, privatize education, and by privatize I mean profitize,” said Graves.

profit is the name of the game

According to figures from ALEC’s own IRS filings from the past three years, made public by CMD, the organization raked in more than $21.6 million from cor-porations (with members including Exxon Mobil, Altria, GlaxoSmith-Kline and Pfizer), foundations like none other than the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and

continued from page 7


nonprofits including the NRA, Goldwater Institute and Family Research Council. In all, private-sec-tor contributions account for nearly 98 percent of ALEC’s funding, while the dues paid by member lawmakers, pegged at about $50, came to just more than $250,000, or about 1 percent of its haul during the same time period.

In exchange for these hefty—though tax deductible donations—ALEC’s private sector members get to ensure that individual pieces of ALEC legislation, by and large, serve a narrow band of very specific corporate interests: education measures benefit for-profit education firms and harm unions; health care measures benefit insurance companies and drug manu-facturers; tort reforms benefit corpo-rations in general by limiting their liability to consumers.

More “insidious,” as Graves put it, is ALEC’s drive against voting rights.

“It’s deeply cynical and quite sinister—an outlandish effort by ALEC and others to make it harder for Americans to vote,” she said. “At the end of the day, depending on which analysis you’re looking at…it’s possible that these measures remove maybe 1 percent from the pool of votes that would be part of the election. You still have an election,

but you’ve shaved off this percent-age; You have the appearance that you have an election.”

Analysis by News21 found that more than half of the 62 strict ID bills introduced in legislatures since 2009 were based on (or copied from) ALEC’s sample voter ID bill, which was ratified by the group’s member-ship that same year.

These measures serve no par-ticular business master, rather, they strike at the final weapon the public possesses to stem the tide of corpo-rate-crafted legislation: access to the ballot box.

“The essence of a democracy, and the essence of a representative democracy in the United States, is that we elect people to represent people,” Graves said. “The question is whether our representatives are going

to represent us, or if they’re going to represent the interests of global cor-porations and, in some cases with ALEC, foreign corporations.”

As for why big business would support limiting the franchise, the equation breaks down pretty simply: Corporations want to bring down barriers to doing business, and Republicans are more than happy to oblige. If Republicans don’t win elections, then corporations don’t see those barriers lifted. The solution: Eliminate the competition. If voting rights get in the way, well, like the notorious mob accountant Otto Berman once said, “It’s nothing personal, just business.”

“I think it is a little more class-oriented,” said Alexander Keyssar, professor of history and social policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and

a frequent speaker and writer on voting rights issues.

“The core interest in the sup-pression that’s going on is partisan, it’s not racial,” he said. “If African-Americans voted predominately Republican, or 50/50 Republican, I don’t think their neighborhoods would be targeted for suppressive efforts. I think that it’s a community that now votes 95 percent Democrat and if you want to knock out Democrat interests that’s a good place to start.”

Most important, though, is that suppressing voting rights doesn’t hurt the bottom line.

“You can be a customer who votes or a customer who doesn’t vote,” Keyssar said. “It doesn’t cost them [corporate interests] anything.”

continued on page 10

“there’s a whole set of Bills that are advancing that corporate agenda to privatize—and By that i mean profitize.”—LIsa graves, citizens for media and democracy


pushBackWith increasing media scrutiny

and public outrage, ALEC’s opera-tions—and specifically its voter ID push—may well hurt both its bottom line and the bottom lines of its corporate members.

In the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida earlier this year, nonprofit civil rights group Color of Change leveled criticism directly at ALEC for crafting the “stand your ground” law, and called on its members to urge corporations to drop their support for ALEC. To date, 41 corporate ALEC members have stopped funding the group, including big names like Walmart, Coca Cola, Kraft, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson and General Motors.

Following exposes by CMD, Common Cause, The Nation magazine and others highlighting ALEC’s involvement with voter ID laws, the organization shut down its voting and elections task force, “and I don’t think that happened by accident,” said Spaulding, of Common Cause. “That happened after a sustained spotlight was put on them.”

Losing corporate members and disbanding task forces is one thing, but ALEC may have an even bigger problem on its hands. Common

Cause in April filed a whistleblower complaint with the IRS alleging that ALEC’s lobbying activities make it ineligible for 501c3 status. Based on 4,000 pages of internal ALEC documents—some obtained through public records requests and others from inside sources—Common Cause maintains that, “the evidence shows ALEC has an agenda, that they track where their model bills are introduced, that they send out ‘issue alerts,’ which include updates that go to state legislators where ALEC bills or ALEC-related bills are being introduced, sometimes targeting committees or task force members and including talking points, press releases,” said Nick Surgey, Madison, Wisc.-based general counsel for Common Cause.

“It’s remarkable. Essentially ALEC says that they do not lobby. They are a 501c3, which means that they’re a charity, and as a charity they’re able to do some lobbying but it’s limited and you have to disclose it,” Surgey said. “We have 990s going back many years for ALEC and consistently they tell the IRS that nothing they do is lobbying. They put a zero or they don’t check the box that says, ‘Do you do any lobbying, yes or no?’…They’re clearly trying to influence legislation.”

If the IRS agrees, and ALEC is

found to be in breach of the rules, the organization would have to reincor-porate as a 501c4 and fully report its activities as lobbying. What’s more, Surgey said there’s the possibility that if ALEC is found to have improp-erly reported to the IRS, tax revenue lost when donations were recorded

as tax deductible may be recouped from individual donors—an action that Common Cause included in its complaint.

“It’s unlikely that the IRS would go after individual donors, but there’s nothing statutorily to say they cannot do that,” Surgey said. “They’d have to make a judgment that donors should have been aware.… Most of the responsibility is on ALEC, but we also believe the corporations should have been aware that ALEC was doing what they were doing, and that’s lobbying.… We believe that they have some liability.”

The whistleblower complaint is still working its way through the system, and Surgey said that these kinds of cases tend to take “quite awhile.” Still, he and others, like Graves at the Center for Media and Democracy, maintain that keeping pressure on ALEC is important for more reasons than just recouping tax revenue.

“It’s also about making sure that these really important, funda-mental debates happen in the open,” Surgey said. “We got into looking at ALEC out of a concern that corpora-tions have too powerful a role in our political system; They have a dispro-portionate power in the legislatures for a variety of reasons, and ALEC really seems to be the epitome of that.”

“the cor-porations should have Been aware that alec was doing what they were doing, and that’s loBBying.”

—nIck surgey, madison, wisc.-based general counsel for common cause


Long IsLand’sLargest seLectIon of

In-House PrePared FoodsFresh Prime Meats • Fresh Caught Seafood • Imported Cheese & Fine Delicacies

Hand Made Baked Breads • Farm Stand Quality Produce

For Starters, Choice of...Autumn Lasagna with sausage & butternut squash

Traditional Meat & Cheese LasagnaTurkey Consommé with pumpkin tortellini

Choice of Green Salad...Arugula & Radicchio

with goat cheese, toasted almonds & sliced dried apricotsGorgonzola & Walnut Salad with dried cranberries

Tossed Salad with carrots, cucumbers, peppers & tomatoes

The Main Course, Choice of...*18 lb. All-Natural Antibiotic Free Roasted Turkey

(carved on request, additional $10.00)10 lb. Boneless All-Natural Antibiotic Free Turkey Breast

with orange sauce*(An added option this year! You can select an oven-ready turkey to cook at home!

We will salt, wash, season and tray your bird and give you precise cooking instructions)

Choice of Stuffing…Corn Bread & Honey Crisp Apple Stuffing

Roasted Chestnut, Crispy Pancetta, Sage & Rustica Bread StuffingSausage & Wild Rice Stuffing w/toasted almonds & cranberries

“Feast Package” Serves 10-14 People $299,00+taxChoice of Two Trimmings…

Tender Green Beans Almondine Spinach & Artichoke Casserole

Stuffed Mushrooms with roasted vegetable stuffingCauliflower Oreganata

Amaretto Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash

Choice of Potato…Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Smashed Sweet Potatoesw/candied pecan & marshmallow streusel

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes with fresh rosemary

and One Quart of Each…Fresh Cognac Pecan Cranberry Sauce

-and- Fresh Turkey Gravy

For Dessert, Choice of one of our…Fresh Baked Pies

(pumpkin, apple, apple crumb or coconut custard)

All Packages and A La Carte Orders will be picked up/delivered cold onThanksgiving. Kosher Turkeys available on request for an added surcharge.

For the Main Course…*18 lb. All-Natural Antibiotic Free Roasted Turkey

(carved on request, additional $10.00)*(An added option this year! You can select an oven-ready turkey to cook at home!

We will salt, wash, season and tray your bird and give you precise cooking instructions)

Choice of Stuffing…Corn Bread & Honey Crisp Apple Stuffing

Roasted Chestnut, Crispy Pancetta,Sage & Rustica Bread StuffingSausage & Wild Rice Stuffing

with toasted almonds & cranberries

Choice of Potato…Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Smashed Sweet Potatoesw/candied pecan & marshmallow streusel

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes with fresh rosemary

and One Quart of Each…Fresh Cognac Pecan Cranberry Sauce

-and- Fresh Turkey Gravy

For Dessert, Choice of one of our…Fresh Baked Pies

(pumpkin, apple, apple crumb or coconut custard)

“Gobbler Package” Serves 10-12 People $189,00+tax

“Harvest Package” Serves 10-14 People $369,00+taxIncludes Everything from our Feast Package listed below, with the addition of a

Small Shrimp Cocktail Platter -or- Small Iavarone Antipasto Platter

(All Orders Must Be Placed by Sunday 11/18, 6:00 pm. Visit IBFoods.com for our Complete 2012 Catering Guide)

©

FOLLOW us: facebook.com/IavaroneBros

1-877-IBFOODs • IBFoods.comGift Baskets & specialty foods shipped anywhere. Gift cards availaBle online.

1538 Union Turnpike, Lake Success Center • New Hyde Park7929 Jericho Turnpike (& South Woods Rd.), Woodbury Village Center • Woodbury

1166 Wantagh Avenue, Cherrywood Shopping Center • Wantagh6900 Grand Avenue, (Corner of 69th Street) • Maspeth

Sales Start 11/1/12, Sales End 11/7/12 • Not Responsible for Any Typographical Errors.

Spend Less Time Cooking... and More Time with the Family!This Week’s Specials!

$399

Usda prime

BOTTOMROUNDROAST

LB.$999

GenUine american

LOINLAMB

CHOPS

LB.$399

Grain fedoven-ready

STUFFEDPORK CHOPS

“assorted varieties”

LB.$599

iavarone Bros. own

BLACK FOREST-OR- VIRGINIA

HAM

LB.

$499

oUr famoUs

MEATBALLSMARINARA“assorted varieties”

LB.$899

oUr own Zesty

POPCORNSHRIMP

LB. 98¢

sweet & JUicy

BARTLETTPEARS

$198

fresh triple-washed

BABY SPINACH

7 OZ. PKG.

$1599

fresh florida

LARGESTONE CRAB

CLAWS

LB.$899

oUr fresh made

NEW YORKCHEESECAKE

“made with realphiladelphia cream cheese”

7”$299

oUr own fresh made

HUMMUS DIP

“assorted varieties”

12 OZ.$499

iavarone Bros. ownoriGinal recipe

PASTASAUCE

“marinara, vodka & tomato”

24 OZ.

$499

imported

FINLANDIASWISS

LB.

98¢

peeled

BABYCARROTS

1 LB. BAG

$249

oUr ownvilla di pasta

FRESH PASTA“all cUts”

16 OZ. PKG.

LB.


u.s. senatesen. kirsten e. gillibrand (d,wfp,i) www.gillibrand.senate.govGillibrand, 45, was an upstate Representative living in

Brunswick who replaced Sen. Hillary Clinton in 2009 when she became Secretary of State. She’s a champion of transparency in government, and fought to obtain health insurance rights for Ground Zero’s First Responders and community survivors, repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and protect women’s reproductive rights.

wendy Long (r,c) www.wendylongfornewyork.comLong, 52, an attorney in Manhattan, left private practice and formed the

Judicial Confirmation Network (now the Judicial Crisis Network), which calls for the confirmation of federal judges “with a record of judicial restraint and respect for the Constitution.” She was once a law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas. She believes in protecting life from conception, without exception.

colia clark (g) www.coliaclark.orgClark, 72, who lives in New York City, believes that having free education from

kindergarten to graduate school should be a constitutional right. She calls for a single payer health care system, would ban the use of drones in the war on terror, legalize marijuana and re-invest in the nation’s infrastructure.

chris edes (lbt) www.vote-for-chris.netEdes, 33, a civil liberties activist from Rochester, is the former state chair of the

Libertarian Party of New York and now sits on the board of directors of the Genesee Valley Civil Liberties Union. He’d abolish the Transportation Security Administration, audit the Federal Reserve and reverse the “continual assault on our civil liberties.”

John mangelli (csp) www.johnmangelliforsenate.comMangelli, 46, an attorney in Bayville, believes that the federal government has

encroached upon state rights. He wants to stand up for “the silent majority” and wouldn’t take a vote in the Senate without hearing from his constituents first. He says he would truly represent the middle class because he’s not rich like the incumbent and her Republican challenger.

house oF rePresentatIves 1st dIstrIct

rep. timothy h. Bishop (d,wfp-southampton) www.timbishop.house.govBishop, 62, has spent the last decade representing the East

End. The former Southampton College provost has concentrated his efforts on the economy, veterans’ affairs and the environment. He is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources

and Environment and also serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

randy altschuler (r,c,i) randy2012.comAltschuler, 41, a millionaire entrepreneur living in Smithtown, is making his

second run for Bishop’s seat. Currently, he’s executive chairman of CloudBlue, a company he co-founded in Georgia that provides recycling services for electronic equipment around the world. He touts his plans for job creation and tax cuts for businesses. He’d repeal Obamacare.

2nd dIstrIctrep. Peter t. king (r,c,i,trp-seaford) www.peteking.house.govKing, 68, is serving his tenth term in Congress. As

chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, the Seaford Republican has been outspoken on national security issues and is a fierce advocate of the war against terrorism. King is also a strong supporter of the defense budget and veterans’ benefits.

vivianne c. Falcone (d,wfp) www.falconeforcon-gress.comFalcone, 55, a former adjunct professor at SUNY

Farmingdale and a Bellport school teacher, says she’s fighting to “bring middle class” values to Congress. The

West Islip resident also supports women’s rights to make their own decisions on health care and would push for more spending on infrastructure projects to rebuild America’s roads and bridges.

3rd dIstrIctrep. steve Israel (d,wfp,i) www.israel.house.govIsrael, 54, a former Huntington Town councilman, has been

in Congress since 2001 and now serves as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The Dix Hills Congressman champions his advocacy for veterans and middle class families. He recently pushed for funding to combat declining water quality for the Long Island Sound.

stephen a. Labate (r,c,trp) www.labateforcongress.comLabate, 44, a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, is

making a second run for Israel’s seat. The North Babylon Republican wants to shrink the size of government and has said that he will try to repeal Obamacare if elected. He’s been endorsed by Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

anthony tolda (cst) www.tolda2012.comTolda, 30, who’s making his second run against Israel, is a financial consultant who

wants to fix the economy, restore civil

The 2012 election is days away and the race for the White House is the closest it can be.

Here on Long Island, the question is: Considering the ongoing struggle to recover from Hurricane Sandy, who will come to the polls in a state that President Barack Obama is expected to carry easily? Democrats are counting on having his name at the top of their ticket as an added attrac-tion to pull their supporters into the voting booths. If their voters show up as they did in 2008—a huge if—then they could swing many down-ballot races their way.

One result could be the Republicans losing the State Senate since their present

majority is razor thin. That’s why the hot-test state race on the Island is to fill Sen. Owen Johnson’s open seat in the 4th Senate District. The veteran Republican lawmaker retired after 40 years and the district has been redrawn. The charges flying between the Democrat, Legis. Rick Montano, and the Republican, Assemb. Phil Boyle, are fast and furious.

Equally incendiary is the Congres-sional race on the East End between the in-cumbent Democrat, Rep. Tim Bishop, and his Republican challenger, Randy Altschuler. Bishop has drawn the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (whose image has shown up on a surprising number of LI Republi-

cans’ websites this fall), whereas Altschuler drew House Speaker John Boehner to stand beside him. Few expect the Republicans to lose the House but their hold might slip—and it’s conceivable this contest could prove decisive. Millions of dollars have already poured into this campaign, which is a repeat of the race between these two men that was decided by 593 votes in 2010.

Another question this time around is whether the so-called “war on women”—in which women’s reproductive rights are being challenged by social conservatives—will fac-tor in. Certainly, it’s one issue that separates Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the incumbent Democrat, from her conservative Republi-

can challenger, Wendy Long. In general, the ravages of the Reces-

sion continue to weigh most heavily on the voters, whether in Washington or in Albany, and whoever wins this election will have a hard job ahead putting people back to work and rebuilding our ravaged region.

More than a century ago, after travel-ing through America, Alexis de Tocqueville was inspired to write: “Democracy, which shuts the past against the poet, opens the future before him.”

As far as we know, no poets are run-ning for office this year, but there’s one thing that everyone can agree is on the bal-lot: the future.


Admissions open housesundAy, nov. 11, 2012 • 9:30 Am-1:30 pm

Mount Saint Mary College

Learn about our:• Career-oriented degree programs• Modern residence halls• Financial aid and scholarships• Individualized attention• Division III athletics

Come see all the Mount has to offer! Enjoy campus tours and information sessions

330 powell avenue, newburgh, ny, 12550www.msmc.edu

Open HOuse registratiOn

www.msmc.edu/visit

or 1-888-YES-MSMC


liberties as outlined in the Bill of Rights and return our currency to the gold standard. He’d abolish the income tax for individuals and corporations and audit the Federal Reserve.

michael mcdermott (lbt) www.mcdermott2012.comMcDermott, 59, is a Huntington Station resident and real estate broker. He

believes the two major parties have paralyzed Washington, D.C. with their partisan gridlock, and the American people have consequently been ill-served. He would cut foreign aid and spend the money on domestic infrastructure.

4th dIstrIctrep. carolyn mccarthy (d,wfp,i-mineola) www.carolynmccarthy.house.govMcCarthy, 68, has been a member of Congress since

1996, earning a reputation as a fierce advocate for gun safety. She has called for a ban on assault weapons and enacted legislation regarding stricter background checks for gun purchasers. She serves on the Financial Services Committee and helped pass the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

Francis x. Becker, Jr. (r, trp) www.beckerforcongress.comBecker, 59, a long-serving Nassau County legislator from

Lynbrook, is making his second run for Congress and is hoping that the redrawn district pushes him over the top this time. A staunch fiscal conservative, he says he wants to bring common sense to Washington, support House Republican “pro-growth” policies and restore the American Dream.

Frank scaturro (c) www.frankscaturro.comScaturro, 40, an attorney from New Hyde Park, won a write-in campaign to secure

his spot on the November ballot. He believes in reducing the size of the federal government, repealing Obamacare and cutting corporate tax rates. He’s the president of the Grant Monument Association, a nonprofit group he founded.

5th dIstrIctrep. gregory w. meeks (d-bayside) www.meeks.house.govMeeks, 59, who lives in Far Rockaway, Queens, blames

House Republicans for squelching economic growth and choosing “politics over progress.” His redrawn district includes parts of Nassau. He’s co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Russian Trade and Economic Relations. He supports President Obama’s call for reducing taxes on the middle class.

allan w. Jennings, Jr. (r) www.vote-ny.org/intro.aspx?state= ny&id=nyjennings allanwjrJennings, 45, a former New

York City Councilman living in South Ozone Park, ran against Meeks in the Democratic primary and lost, but won

in the Republican primary because he was unopposed. He says he is willing to “work with anybody who’s going to help this district.”

catherine wark (lbt) www.catherinewarkforcon-gress2012.comWark, 58, an artist who lives in Kew Gardens, Queens, is

committed to family and community preservation as well as the Libertarian Party’s goal of limited government, sound money, free markets, individual rights and no nation building or policing the world. She believes that “all three branches of government have overstepped their constitutional limitations.”

state senate1st dIstrIct (suF)

kenneth Lavalle (r,c,i, str-port Jefferson) www.nysenate.gov/senator/kenneth-p-lavalleLaValle, now 73, first entered

the Senate in 1976 representing the Island’s easternmost district, and became chairman of the Senate Committee on Higher Education three years later. He takes credit for getting state money to help Stony Brook University break ground on its new computer science building and establish a burn unit at Stony Brook University Medical School. He authored the historic Pine Barrens Preservation Act of 1993.

Bridget Fleming (d, wfp) www.flemingforsenate.comFleming, currently a Southampton Town councilwoman and a former

assistant district attorney in Manhattan, wants to focus on jobs, the economy, clean energy issues, the environment and taxes. A Noyack resident, she takes credit for creating the teen-run Flanders Farmers Market and bringing the Youth Build program to Southampton. She’s critical of the Long Island Power Authority’s recent contract extension giving National Grid another 15 years running the inefficient Port Jefferson power plant.

2nd dIstrIct (suF)John Flanagan (r,c,i-smithtown) www.nysenate.gov/senator/john-j-flanagan Flanagan, now 51, served 16 years in the State Assembly

before being elected to the State Senate in 2002. As chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Education, he focuses on the fair distribution of state aid to schools and claims credit for adding $250 million more in support of districts with the highest needs, whether upstate or downstate. He took the lead in banning the sale of salvia divinorum, synthetic marijuana and “bath salts,” as well as legislation to help cut down on illegally prescribed painkillers.

errol toulon Jr. (d)After recently joining Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s administration as an assistant deputy county

executive, Toulon has suspended his Senate campaign, although his name will appear on the ballot.


3rd dIstrIct (suF)Lee Zeldin (r,c,i-shirley) www.nysenate.gov/senator/lee-m-zeldinZeldin, now 32, is running for his second term. An

Iraq War veteran and former federal prosecutor, Zeldin practices law in Smithtown. He claims credit for repealing the MTA Payroll Tax and the Saltwater Fishing License Fee. A Shirley resident, Zeldin chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and Consumer Protection Committee, and serves on the veterans, military affairs and Homeland Security Committees, among others.

Frank genco (d) 631-277-1644Genco, 59, a former Islip School Board member who was also executive assistant

to the Islip Town supervisor, is making his first run for the Senate. Now living in East Islip and working at the Suffolk Board of Elections, Genco calls himself a true supporter of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s policies. A sport boater in the Great South Bay, he supports regulation of recreational boating and environmental protection and has a keen interest in women’s health issues.

4th dIstrIct (suF)ricardo montano (d,wfp) www.montanoforsenate.comMontano, 62, has represented the 9th Legislative District in Suffolk since 2003. At

the Suffolk Legislature he is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and vice chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee. The son of an Assemblyman, Montano was born in the Bronx, moved to Long Island when he was a teenager and graduated from Brentwood High School. He later was a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and became executive director of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission in 1981. He says he can better represent the changing demographics of this Senate district than his opponent.

Philip Boyle (r,c,i) www.boyleforsenate.comBoyle, 51, has represented the 8th Assembly District for 14 years. A staunch fiscal

conservative, he says he’s been focused on reducing government spending and lowering school property taxes. An active volunteer firefighter and practicing attorney, he says he’ll uphold the Senate Majority’s Republican agenda. In the Assembly, he is the ranking member on the committee on ways and means and serves on the codes, aging, banks, judiciary, libraries and education technology committees.

5th dIstrIct (nas/suF)carl marcellino (r,c,i,trp-syosset) www.nysenate.gov/senator/carl-l-marcellinoMarcellino, 69, has represented the 5th Senate

District since 1995. A self-proclaimed environmentalist, he’s authored more than 100 environmental laws. He chairs the Committee on Investigations and

Government Operations and serves on the rules, finance, banks, consumer protection, cultural affairs, education, environmental conservation and labor committees. A former science teacher in New York City, he was first elected to public service as the Oyster

Bay town cLerkdavid B. wright (d) 516-674-0954Wright, 50, who currently works at the Nassau County Board of Elections, is a former

high school guidance counselor and college advisor at LIU Post. He wants to focus on the environment and promote the interests of Long Island’s institutions of higher education. On the fiscal front, he supports Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax cap. A proponent of clean energy, such as wind and solar, he is opposed to hydrofracking for natural gas in New York State.

6th dIstrIct (nas)kemp hannon (r,c,i, trp-garden city) www.kemphannon.comHannon, 66, has spent 13 terms in the State Senate and a

dozen years prior to that in the Assembly. A long-serving chairman of the Senate’s health committee, he’s claimed credit for drafting legislation regarding drug-insurance programs for the elderly as well as an assisted living program, plus helping enact Child Health Plus and extending insurance coverage for autism, prostate and breast cancer screenings.

ryan cronin (d,wfp) www.cronin4ny.comCronin, 31, is a Garden City lawyer making his first run for public office. He

supports raising the minimum wage, protecting women’s reproductive rights and tightening gun-control laws. He’s also an advocate for campaign-finance reform. He’s been endorsed by his local teachers’ union, supermarket workers and retail workers. He says the state Senate is overdue for much-needed reform.

7th dIstrIct (nas)sen. Jack martins(r,c,i,trp-mineola) www.martinsforsenate.comMartins, 45, is the former mayor of the Village of

Mineola. In the Senate, he opposed the MTA Payroll Tax, sponsored the School Bus Mandate Relief Act and co-sponsored measures to require insurance companies to cover screening, diagnosis and treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. He chairs the Senate Standing Committee on Local Government.

daniel s. ross (d,wfp) www.votedanross.com Ross, 27, is making his first bid for state office. Last year he ran unsuccessfully

for commissioner in the Manhasset-Lakeville Water and Fire District, where he’s a captain and a volunteer. Ross, a Manhasset resident with business experience working for Deutsche Bank in New York and London, is currently the general manager of Gran Prix Subaru in continued on page 15

On Election Day, Tuesday, November 6Vote For

Judge Colin F. O’DonnellNassau County District Court

Experienced * Fair * Independent

Designated “Well Qualified” by theNassau County Bar Association

Endorsed by Law Enforcement

Vote Row B - RepublicanRow C - Conservative

Row E - Independence Party

www.JudgeColinODonnell2012.comPaid for by Committee to Elect Judge Colin F. O’Donnell

87668

5872

27

20 year Nassau County Prosecutor Chief – Sex Crimes and Domestic

Violence Bureau Deputy Chief – Major Offense/

Homicide Bureau Principal Law Clerk to Supreme

Court Justice Deputy Comptroller for Audits and

Special Projects Equal Employment Opportunity and

Freedom of Information Officer Molloy College – Adjunct Professor

Criminal Justice Department Admitted to Practice Law –

New York State United States Supreme Court US District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

CSEA Region One, covering Nassau and

Suffolk Counties Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW

Nassau County Police Benevolent Association

Nassau County Detectives Association

Nassau County Superior Officers Association

New York State FOP Grand Council of

Emerald Societies

COBANCNassau County Fire Marshals

Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association

Coalition of Suffolk Police Unions including:

Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association

Suffolk County Detective Investigators Suffolk County Superior

Officers AssociationSuffolk County

Police Conference Suffolk County

Detective Association

FOR JOY WATSONSUPREME COURT

VOTENOV. 6

ENDORSED BY:


Hicksville. He supports the minimum wage and opposes hydrofracking near the state’s watershed.

8th dIstrIct (nas)charles Fuschillo, Jr. (r,c,i,trp-merrick) www.nysenate.gov/senator/charles-j-fuschillo-jrFuschillo, 52, is running for

his eighth term in the Senate, where he says he’s led the fight against drunk driving in the state, such as sponsoring “Leandra’s Law,” which makes it a felony to drive drunk with a child in the car. He’s also taken credit for helping to create the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park at Farmingdale State College as a home for biotech startups. He chairs the Senate’s transportation committee.

carol a. gordon (d) www.carolagordonforsenate.comGordon, 59, is making her third try to unseat the incumbent. A Massapequa

resident and collector of African American artifacts, she’s been a mental health clinic manager and patient advocate at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. “Empowerment, education, information and activism” is her credo. She’s pro-choice and a populist.

9th dIstrIct (nas)dean skelos (r,c, i,trp-rockville centre) www.nysenate.gov/senator/dean-g-skelosSkelos, 64, is the Senate

majority leader, and as such is one of the most powerful politicians in New York. Now running for his 15th term, Skelos, a lifelong Rockville Centre resident, touts his work with the governor to pass the property tax cap. He sponsored Megan’s Law in New York, which pertains to the registry of convicted sex offenders, and helped to pass the Long Island Workforce Housing Act, which is intended to make homeownership more affordable. ‘

thomas Feffer (d)feffer has formally suspended his campaign.

assemBLy1st dIstrIct (suF)

Fred thiele, Jr. (d,wfp,i-sag harbor) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/fred-w-thiele-JrThiele, 59, a former

Southampton Town supervisor, has represented this district since 1995, and he’s been an avid advocate of open space acquisition and farmland preservation. unopposed

2nd dIstrIct (suF)nicholas deegan (d) www.southoldtowndems.comDeegan, 63, a native of Ireland, has been living in Southold for more than two

decades and working in carpentry for a Suffolk County company. He is a Mattituck park district commissioner, a proponent of recreational opportunities and an advocate of smart land usage to benefit the whole community. He supports raising the minimum.

daniel Losquadro (r,c,i-shoreham) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/dan-losquadroLosquadro, 40, is running

for his second term. Among his major issues, he says, is reducing the burden of unfunded state mandates on Long Island’s school districts. He’s a former Suffolk County legislator and senior property claims estimator for an insurance company.

3rd dIstrIct (suF)edward J. hennessey (d) [email protected], 50, an attorney in Shirley, is a former Brookhaven

Town councilman and Suffolk assistant district attorney. He wants the state to do more to help the South Shore fight pollution of its bays from the lack of sewers and road runoff. Besides fostering economic development, another issue he cites is improving traffic safety on Rt. 112 and CR 46. He has the Long Island Federation of Labor endorsement.

dean murray (r,c,i-east patchogue) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/dean-murrayMurray, 48, who runs an ad

agency based on LI, says he’s committed to reforming state government, cutting state spending and creating jobs. He recently sponsored a bill to let Patchogue use its surplus funds for its infrastructure projects. He serves on the banks, education, economic development, tourism and transportation committees.

4th dIstrIct (suF)steven englebright (d,wfp,i) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/steve-englebrightEnglebright, 66, has earned a

reputation as a staunch environmentalist on LI. Trained as a biologist and geologist, he’s advocated for a state ban on baby bottles made with bisphenol-A (BPA), opposes hydrofracking, and supports clean energy. As chair of the parks committee, he helped Suffolk preserve open space and protect the Pine Barrens. He now chairs the governmental operations committee.

deborah J. mckee (r,c) www.mckee4assembly.comMcKee, 57, who lives in Mt. Sinai, has co-owned a graphic art business and now works as

a 911 dispatcher for the Suffolk Police. She says she’s committed to lowering taxes, creating jobs, cutting government spending and correcting the Assembly’s ethical lapses. She’s been endorsed by the Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees.

5th dIstrIct (suF)victor e. salamone (d,wfp,i)he has formally suspended his campaign.

alfred c. graf (r,c,i-holbrook) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/al-grafGraf, 54, running for his second term, served in the

Navy before becoming a New York City


police officer. He then retired and earned an education degree and law degree, specializing in helping victims of domestic violence. He’s a member of the Senate’s aging, codes, education, governmental employees and judiciary committees.

6th dIstrIct (suF)Philip ramos (d,wfp,i) www.philramos.comRamos, 56, a former Suffolk County Police detective who lives in Brentwood, chairs the

Assembly’s veterans affairs committee. He’s fought for more jobs in his district and sought to restore cuts to subsidized child care for working parents. He wants the state to help crack down on illegal guns so they don’t fall into the hands of gangs.

manuel troche (r,c) www.electmannytroche.com; [email protected], 50, a Brentwood volunteer fireman, is senior

production manager at Safeguard/Bradley Marketing Group, an Islip Republican committeeman and a member of the Brentwood Parade Committee. He vows to help businesses grow, bring common sense to government, and make the community safer.

7th dIstrIct (suF)christopher d. Bodkin (d) [email protected], 65, former Islip Town councilman who switched

parties a few years ago, wants to bring his knowledge of community concerns to Albany. A West Sayville homeowner and licensed Merchant Marine captain, Bodkin promises to preserve the quality of life by controlling taxes and promoting economic development.

andrew garbarino (r,c,i,msp) www.facebook.com/pages/garbarino-for-assembly-2012 /308911375873938;

631-836-4163Garbarino, 28, an attorney in his family’s Sayville law firm, wants to revitalize Long Island’s downtown areas to “keep Long Islanders on Long Island.” He also wants to push for unfunded state mandate relief and government ethics reform. He’s been endorsed by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees.

8th dIstrIct (suF)Jesse a. safer (d) 631-258-6915 or www.smithtowndems.com Safer, 58, a Smithtown resident, is making his first run for

political office. Currently a senior trial attorney for GEICO, he’s served for two years as a New York State property tax hearing officer handling property tax grievances and has also taught attorneys in continuing legal education programs. He wants to focus on the economy.

michael J. Fitzpatrick (r,c, i-smithtown) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/michael-J-fitzpatrickFitzpatrick, 55, is running for

his sixth term. He’s a fiscal conservative

who works as an investment associate for a financial services firm in Port Jefferson. A St. James resident, he spent 15 years on the Smithtown Town Council before joining the Assembly. He serves as the ranking minority member on the Assembly Housing Committee.

9th dIstrIct (nas/suF)Jay cherlin (d) [email protected], 60, an innovative health-care administrator who resides in Massapequa,

is an adjunct professor teaching health services administration at Berkeley College and vice president of the Long Island Coalition for a National Health Plan. He supports the New York Health Bill, now in committee, which would cover every state resident, from infants to the elderly.

Joseph saladino (r,c,i,trp) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Joseph-s-saladinoSaladino, 51, is running for his fifth full term in office

after winning a special election in 2004. He boasts a record of reducing taxes and making the striped bass the official state fish. The former broadcast journalist also created a task force committed to protecting youth from heroin addiction and prescription drug abuse.

10th dIstrIct (suF)Joseph dujmik (d) www.joe4ny.comDujmik, 33, a lawyer who lives in Huntington Station, has worked as an assistant

county attorney in Suffolk, where he specialized in prosecuting dead-beat parents for child support. He’s a proponent of smart growth, helping to spur small business with tax incentives, increasing environmental protection, and securing relief from unfunded state mandates.

chad Lupinacci (r,c,wfp,i) www.facebook.com/pages/chad-lupinacci-for-nys-assembly /394741273925312

Lupinacci, 33, a lifelong resident of South Huntington, is a full-time professor at Farmingdale State College and an adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s College and Hofstra University, where he got his law degree and his MBA. He is endorsed by the Suffolk County Correction Officers Association.

11th dIstrIct (suF)robert k. sweeney (d,wfp,i) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/robert-k-sweeneySweeney, 63, a former Lindenhurst Village Clerk, has

served in the Assembly since 1988. He’s championed health care legislation, genetic testing standards, clean energy research, stricter boating safety requirements and increased funding for the Environmental Protection Fund. He chairs the Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee.

rashad cureton (r) www.facebook.com/babylongop or 631-226-4500; [email protected], 21, an Amityville

resident, is a recent graduate from Stony


Brook University with a degree in political science. He played varsity lacrosse for the Seawolves. Last year he switched to the Republican Party and is currently working at a law firm in Islandia. This is his first run for political office.

12th dIstrIct (suF)andrew P. raia (r,c,i) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/andrew-p-raiaRaia, 44, an East Northport resident, is running for his sixth

term. He is the ranking minority member of the Assembly’s committees on aging and banks. unopposed

13th dIstrIct (nas)charles d. Lavine (d,wfp,i) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/charles-d-lavineLavine, 65, an attorney living in Glen Cove, has fought against

gun trafficking, campaign finance reform and ethics legislation. As chairman of the Assembly’s administration regulations review commission, Lavine focuses on improving small business practices and streamlining government oversight. He’s also sought to improve veterans’ services. He sponsored the original marriage equality bill.

Louis Imbroto (r,c) www.imbroto.comImbroto, 28, a Plainview resident, is the policy and government affairs manager at

the Long Island Contractors’ Association, where he has fought to maintain Long Island’s roads and bridges. As a founding member of the Action Long Island Young Adult Alliance, he hopes to promote responsible development and to maintain the suburban quality of life.

Jeffery Peress (g) www.peressforassembly.infoPeress, 40, a Glen Cove resident, is a volunteer for the North Shore Sheltering

program and a volunteer for the Glen Cove Fire Department. He’d legalize marijuana and raise the minimum wage. He strongly opposes hydrofracking and supports the use of hemp, hydroelectric, solar, geothermal and wind power for the environment.

14th dIstrIct (nas)John e. Brooks (d,wfp) www.electjohnbrooks.comBrooks, 62, a U.S Army veteran and insurance industry expert, was the first director of risk

management for Nassau County. He wants to fix the dysfunction in Albany by imposing term limits, state spending caps and making the state budget more transparent. He’d redo the state funding formula for school aid.

david g. mcdonough (r,c,i,trp) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/david-g-mcdonoughMcDonough, 75, a Merrick

resident, is running for his seventh term. Chairman of the Assembly Minority Task Force on Public Safety, he handles issues relating to homeland security, emergency services, police and law enforcement and

the courts. He’s the past president of the Nassau County Council of Chambers of Commerce and active in the Kiwanis Club.

15th dIstrIct (nas)mario Ferone (d) www.facebook.com/marioforassemblyFerone, 19, is a junior at Stony Brook University, studying

economics and political government. Active in the student government, he’s worked on county and town elections. He wants to help families, elderly and young people struggling to stay on Long Island. He’d raise the minimum wage and increase low-interest loans to small businesses.

michael a. montesano (r,c,i,trp) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/michael-montesanoMontesano, 58, a former New

York Police Department detective, lives in Glen Head, where he practices law. First elected in a special election in March 2010, he is a member of the Assembly’s committees on codes, corporations, judiciary, labor, and oversight and investigation. He wants to focus on state-mandate relief.

16th dIstrIct (nas)michelle schimel (d,wfp,i) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/michelle-schimelSchimel, 55, is running for her fourth term. A board

member of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, she is the sponsor of a bill to help law enforcement officials trace spent cartridges at crime scenes by requiring microstamping of semiautomatic weapons. She’s a member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.

richard stiek (r,c) www.stiek.netSteik, 39, a U.S. Army veteran born in Texas who went to West Point, is an attorney now living

in Port Washington. Supporting veterans is high on his list. He liked Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax cap but wants to further reduce government spending. He’d like to focus on unfunded state mandate relief.

17th dIstrIct (nas)kevin c. Brady (d,wfp) www.bradyforworkingfamilies.comBrady, 25, who lives in Levittown, recently got his

Master’s degree in urban affairs from Queens College after graduating from Stony Brook University with a BA in political science. He’s co-founder of Save Levittown Planned Residence District, which fought to preserve the community’s character. He wants to raise the minimum wage.

thomas mckevitt (r,c,i,trp)McKevitt, 41, is running for his fifth term. An attorney with a law degree from Hofstra, he’s been deputy town attorney for

Town of Hempstead. He wants to focus on unfunded state mandate relief. He’s the ranking minority member on the Assembly’s committees on the judiciary and mental health.

hofstra.edu

prideandpurpose

At Hofstra, you’re at the center of everything. So you can learn more. Think more. Be more.

Each year, hundreds of students transfer to Hofstra,and now, transferring to Hofstra is simpler than ever.Our transfer students are given greater fl exibility in

fulfi lling general education requirements withcoursework from a prior institution. At a Transfer Day

students can apply and receive an admission decisionand credit evaluation, meet with an academicadvisor and register for the fall 2012 semester.

If you’re ready to do more with your education, Hofstra University is ready for you.

Find out more @ hofstra.edu/transferdays

Ad BeMore_TransferSummer_LIPress.indd 1 4/20/12 11:48 AM

Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government

National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency

NCUA

lovebethpage.com800-628-7070

Bethpage Student Checking offers:• NOmonthlymaintenanceortransactionsfees• NOforeignATMfees*

• NOminimumbalancerequirements• FREEdebitcardwithNOmonthlyusagefees• FREEchecks• FREEonline,mobile

andtelephonebankingwithbillpay

* Owner of ATM may charge a fee.

FREEStudentChecking!

Bethpage is proudto sponsor the LIPress High School

Journalism Program.

You’ll love banking here.

Federal Credit Union

Available startingat age 15!


18th dIstrIct (nas)earlene hooper (d,i-hempstead) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/earlene-hooperHooper, 64, a social worker

by training, has been an administrator in the state Department of Social Services, Division of Children and Family Services and is a member of the executive board of the Public Employees Federation. She lives in Hempstead. As the deputy Assembly speaker, she is the highest ranking woman in the state legislature.

elton mccabe (r,c) www.facebook.com/#!/elton.mccabe?fref=ts or 516-564-5329McCabe, 46, is a civic leader

who lives in Uniondale, a Hempstead Town engineering inspector and a Persian Gulf War veteran. He wants to focus on keeping property taxes low, schools funded properly, attain afterschool funding and provide unfunded state mandate relief. He’d like to use homeland security grants to help the county’s first responders.

19th dIstrIct (nas)gary B. Port (d) www.garyportforassembly.comPort, 50, a West Hempstead resident, is the founder and past president of the West

Hempstead Chamber of Commerce. A lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and an attorney in private practice, he specializes in defending service members, their dependants and retirees. He wants to focus on job growth for the county. He also supports term limits.

edward ra (r,c,i,trp) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/edward-p-raRa, 30, a Franklin Square resident, is running for his

second term, having been redistricted from the 21st. An attorney, he has been the deputy town attorney for the Town of Hempstead and a legal aide in the state Attorney General’s office. He is a member of the Assembly’s committees on codes, education, health, labor, racing and wagering.

20th dIstrIct (nas)harvey weisenberg (d,wfp,i) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/harvey-weisenbergWeisenberg, 78, the assistant

speaker pro tempore in the Assembly, has been a teacher, an administrator and a former police officer in Long Beach, where he lives. He’s still an ocean lifeguard. Some of his key issues are maintaining the quality of education and public health. He’s a strong advocate for people with disabilities.

david sussman (r,c,trp) www.sussman2012.comSussman, 62, is a physician in Brooklyn who lives in Lawrence, where he’s been

a member of the Lawrence Board of Education for 17 years. He says he views the Assembly as a part-time job. He wants to improve public education as well as create jobs and produce tax relief.

21st dIstrIct (nas)Jeffrey s. Friedman (d,wfp) www.friedmanforassembly.comFriedman, 43, is a Rockville Centre resident, a self-

described “PTA dad” and “fiscally conscious moderate.” A non-practicing attorney, he wants schools to receive more money from the state not through raising property taxes, which he believes already places too high a burden on the middle class, but by obtaining mandate relief.

Brian F. curran (r,c,i,trp-lynbrook) www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/brian-curranCurran, 44, an attorney who

lives in Lynbrook, was the assistant village prosecutor of Lynbrook, a former Nassau County deputy attorney and a former Lynbrook mayor. He’s a member of the Assembly’s committees on aging, banks, ethics, labor and veterans’ affairs. He helped sponsor a bill to tighten regulations on body-piercing and tattooing.

22nd dIstrIct (nas)michaelle solages (d,wfp) www.michaellesolages.comSolages, 27, an Elmont resident and Hofstra University graduate, is

a community activist, a freelance photojournalist, a paralegal and the supervisor of access services at Hofstra’s Axinn Library. A member of Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153, she’s been endorsed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the AFL-CIO and the Nassau County Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.

sean wright (r,c,i,trp) [email protected]; www.facebook.com/messages/seanwrightlawWright, 43, a North Valley

Stream resident, is a deputy attorney for the Town of Hempstead and a deputy village prosecutor for Valley Stream. He wants to ensure that schools on Long Island aren’t shortchanged. This is his first race for public office.

nassau LegIsLature12th L.d.

Joanne maglione (d)Maglione, 42, a Republican attorney living in Massapequa Park, was picked by the Nassau Democrats. She has

served as the Deputy County Attorney in Nassau. She says she is running to keep the tax burden low and pledges to be an independent voice in the legislature.

michael venditto (r) www.facebook.com/vendittofornassauVenditto, 31, a Republican attorney who lives in

Massapequa, was picked by the Nassau Republicans to hold the seat, which has been in Republican hands since the legislature’s inception in 1996. The Hempstead Town Board’s legal counsel, whose father is Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, says he wants to hold the line on property taxes.


http://gallettair.com

http://poolsandspalongisland.com

http://arrowexterminating.com

http://nari-ny.org


http://econotherm.com

http://chrisnic.com

http://gbconstruction.com

http://bathfitternewyork.com

http://kingquality.com


http://vulcanwaterproofing.com/

http://groutshield.com

http://dasorestoration.com


Looking for better heating oil prices?Look no further.

Call today to find out about our special offers!

877.358.2060Additional terms and conditions apply. Suffolk Lic. Nos. 3134-P, 2901. ©2011 Lyons. Z_11025

Convenient automatic delivery > Service plan option available > Over 70 years

http://galleryconstruction.net

http://www.hubbardsandandgravel.com/

http://www.bestwaybasements.com/

volume 10, voter's guide

Documents