RSVP here.

November 4, 2012

The fight for control of the New York State Senate has grown unexpectedly competitive in the final moments of this year’s campaign, with Hurricane Sandy adding a large dose of uncertainty to the vote on Tuesday.

All 213 state legislative seats are up for grabs, and the outcome of the Senate races is critical to shaping the balance of power in Albany, where Democrats hold the governor’s office and the Assembly, but have had to compromise or abandon elements of their agenda because Republicans control the State Senate.

Republicans have long been favored to keep control of the Senate, but recent polls have shown Democratic candidates performing well in a number of critical contests.

The fallout from the storm has introduced another variable to the election, threatening to depress turnout in two downstate districts where Republicans had hoped to pick up Senate seats and fortify their majority.

“There’s no precedent; there’s no way to predict,” said Steven A. Greenberg, a pollster at Siena College. “I think that the final outcome for the Senate is very much an open question.”

Both parties believe it may not be possible to determine on election night which party has won control of the chamber. And the presence of a four-member breakaway faction within the Senate Democrats complicates matters further, raising the specter of a leadership dispute akin to the one that roiled Albany after the 2008 elections.

Republicans, who are outnumbered by Democrats in the state’s electorate, hold a 33-to-29 majority in the Senate, and through redistricting that favored their incumbents this year, they added a seat to the Senate.

In their campaigns, Republicans have stressed their economic bona fides, pointing to their work with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, to pass a cap on increases in local property taxes and improve the state’s job climate. They have also drawn attention to the relative tranquillity in the state capital since Republicans regained the majority in the Senate in the 2010 elections.

“I would hope that voters would look at the stability of the last two years and understand that we work better with Andrew Cuomo than the Democrats do,” said State Senator Thomas W. Libous, a Republican from Binghamton and the leader of his party’s campaign efforts.

Mr. Libous said the election was “harder for me to predict” because of the storm, but he added, “At the end of the day, even if it’s close, we’re still going to be in the majority.”

Democrats are counting on President Obama’s popularity in the state to help their candidates. They have tried to focus attention on areas where they say the Senate Republicans have blocked progress in Albany, including measures to protect women’s rights, raise the minimum wage, tighten gun laws and overhaul campaign-finance laws.

“All we’ve done, and we’ve done it successfully to this point, is peel the onion back and let the voters and the people of the state see what damage the Senate Republicans are doing on the issues they care about,” said State Senator Michael N. Gianaris, a Queens Democrat and the chief of his caucus’s campaign committee. “In the final days,” he said, “we’re seeing that our path to the majority is a lot wider than anyone gave us credit for.”

Both parties are focusing on a relatively small number of competitive races. In the Rochester area, Ted O’Brien, a Democrat, is favored to defeat Assemblyman Sean T. Hanna, a Republican, in a contest to succeed James S. Alesi, a Republican senator who is not seeking re-election. Republicans are hoping to win a new Senate seat in the Hudson Valley that they created through redistricting, although a Siena poll conducted last week showed the race, between Assemblyman George Amedore, a Republican, and Cecilia Tkaczyk, a Democrat, to be too close to predict.

Downstate, the only door-knocking in recent days has focused on distributing food and water, not trying to solicit votes. The New York City Board of Elections said on Sunday that it would relocate or combine more than 60 polling places because of the storm, most of them in Brooklyn and Queens.

The hurricane disrupted two of the most competitive races in the state: one in Westchester County, where Bob Cohen, a Republican, is battling Assemblyman George S. Latimer, a Democrat, to fill the seat represented by Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, a Democrat who is retiring; the other in Queens, where Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., a Democrat, is facing a tough challenge from a Republican city councilman, Eric A. Ulrich.

Some of the more conservative areas of the Queens Senate district — which gained much of the Rockaway Peninsula through redistricting — were hit particularly hard by the hurricane. That could hurt Mr. Ulrich’s chances on Tuesday if turnout in those areas is low.

Mr. Ulrich spent Sunday in Breezy Point, Queens, which was devastated by the storm and a raging fire that consumed scores of homes. Mr. Addabbo coordinated deliveries of food, pajamas and blankets from his district office in Howard Beach, which flooded during the storm and has now been turned into a 24-hour distribution point for donated goods.

“I have never had so many grown men cry on my shoulder,” Mr. Addabbo said. “Some of them have no homes. They need to rebuild. They’re not thinking of voting. And I, personally, haven’t either.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/nyregion/new-york-state-senate-races-tighter-after-storm.html

South Queens is well-served by two lawmakers who will be going head to head on Election Day: Democratic state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. and Republican City Councilman Eric Ulrich. Like many in the community, we want them both to remain in office.

There’s only one way to do that: Vote for Addabbo.

If the senator wins, Ulrich does not lose his council seat, because he’s not up for re-election until next year.

Which means that if Addabbo wins, the citizens win.

Maintaining the status quo is not the only reason to re-elect the senator, however.

Both candidates say job creation is a top priority. But it’s Addabbo who’s held half a dozen job fairs for the community since being elected, drawing hundreds of companies to Atlas Park, Aqueduct and Resorts World to meet with thousands of people seeking employment. That’s solid constituent service.

As a state senator, Addabbo also had a hand in getting Resorts World built in the first place. Now the casino at Aqueduct employs about 1,700 people — 60 percent, or about 1,000 of them — from Queens. Ulrich has been criticizing Resorts World for falling short of its pledge to take 70 percent of its employees from the borough, but it agreed to do that when it was expecting to have only 900 people on the payroll. Sixty percent of 1,700 is a lot more than 70 percent of 900.
Resorts World has also contributed about $658 million in much-needed education funding to the state, and another $500,000 to 37 community organizations. It’s been a boon to South Queens and all of New York, and Addabbo deserves some of the credit for that.

That may be part of the reason Addabbo was recently endorsed by Gov. Cuomo,who’s very selective about his endorsements, even for fellow Democrats. In announcing his support, the governor called Addabbo “a man of courage” who has cast “tough votes.” The senator from the 15th District has backed the governor on a number of issues including the state budget and ethics reform. He’s also been a strong supporter of education funding.

Ulrich, as we said, has been a fine councilman. He’s only 27 and potentially has several decades of public service ahead of him. He’s been successful in areas such as cleaning up graffiti, living up to his promises.

But we don’t agree with Ulrich on every issue. He would, for example, cut state business taxes by 20 percent, but the benefit of that is questionable, and he hasn’t offered a way to replace the lost revenue, when Albany really needs it. He’s also more inclined to support hydrofracking, the dangerous natural gas extraction method, than Addabbo, who utterly opposes it because of its potential to harm the city’s water supply. And Addabbo is a stronger supporter of gun control.

Backers of both candidates, many from outside the district, have been flooding residents’ mailboxes with fliers, most of them attacking the other guy. State Republicans, for example, have been beating up Addabbo for backing temporary city tax increases after Sept. 11, 2001. No one likes tax hikes, but they were necessary and were later repealed. Ironically, the GOP is partially paying for these mailers with funds donated by Mayor Bloomberg — who proposed those very tax hikes.

We’ve got two fine officials in this race. Keep both in office —by voting Addabbo for Senate on Nov. 6.

http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/endorsement-vote-addabbo-in-the-th-senate-district/article_21e2a58f-4372-5189-a12a-a9e900de57bd.html

November 1, 2012

On Election Day, some voters in the Rockaways were supposed to cast their votes at a devastated branch of the Queens Public Library. The Board of Elections is now trying to assess the damage.

“Across the city, we have our staff visiting the different poll sites, making sure they will be able to be open for our voters on Tuesday,” said J.C. Polanco, the commissioner of the New York City Board of Elections. “Obviously, some of these poll sites will not be able to be used. Sometimes, we’re gonna have to combine some of those.”

Officials at the Board of Elections say there are more than 100 polling places located in Zone A areas, such as at PS 146 in Howard Beach. Their first floor was under water, and they are still without power.

Nowhere could it have more of an impact than in State Sen. Joe Addabbo’s race for re-election.

“This district is devastated,” Addabbo said. “As far south as you go from Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Rockaway, certainly Breezy, it’s devastation.”

Addabbo represents those areas, which are among the hardest hit by Sandy. He also has a tough competitor in City Councilman Eric Ulrich. It’s a race in which every vote will count, and it’s unclear if the constituents will be able to vote.

“That picture will probably become more clear in the next couple of days,” Addabbo said. “That’s where certainly, the Board of Elections will have to take into account our electricity, the amenities and the sites themselves, which are probably sitting in water.”

But officials at the board insist they will be prepared.

“As far as changing the election date, that’s up to the state legislature and the governor,” Polanco said. “It’s really not up to us at the Board of Elections. We will, however be ready to execute whatever they decide and on Tuesday, working with the State OEM and the Mayor’s office and OEM, we are going to assure that Tuesday’s gonna be a successful day for us at the board.”

Back in Queens, neither Addabbo nor Ulrich is in campaign mode.

Addabbo is surveying the damage. His campaign office is soaked, and the water line is still visible on the wall.

The cleanup is the first order of business, with the election a distant item on the list.

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/171654/with-election-approaching–board-of-elections-prepares-in-sandy-s-aftermath

October 30, 2012

Eric Ulrich, a 27-year-old city councilman from Queens, has been dubbed a rising star by the New York State Republican Party. And his bid for State Senate has been strongly backed in the hope that a victory would do more than just add a player to the slim Republican majority in Albany; it might perhaps act as a steppingstone to a future higher office.

But before the dreamed-of coronation is complete, Mr. Ulrich must oust Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., the incumbent state senator for this patch of southwestern Queens. Mr. Addabbo, who hails from a politically known family, is a Democrat, like two-thirds of the area’s registered voters, even after Republican-led redistricting added conservative pockets this fall to shift the district demographics in Mr. Ulrich’s direction.

The race is one of the tightest and most expensive in the state, ratcheted up by an influx of outside dollars and mailers from groups eager to swing the district. And it is punctuated by an attempt from each side to woo the other’s base, resulting in positions that are markedly out of step with the mainstream of either man’s party — but at points, rather similar to each other.

Mr. Ulrich assumed his Council seat — which Mr. Addabbo previously held for six years — in 2009. One of just four Republicans serving in the 51-member body, he was quickly elevated to minority whip. He has also promoted his hardscrabble roots and his faith: the son of a teenage mother, he is a Roman Catholic who originally studied to be a priest.

Mr. Addabbo, 48, is a lawyer whose father, Joseph P. Addabbo, was a United States representative from Queens for 25 years.

Mr. Ulrich, who coordinated New York’s delegates to the Republican National Convention for Mitt Romney, has spent $929,000 and Mr. Addabbo has spent $310,000, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections.

As the race has tightened — a recent Siena College poll put Mr. Addabbo at 45 percent and Mr. Ulrich at 43 percent — both parties have rallied behind their candidates. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo endorsed Mr. Addabbo, and Senator Charles E. Schumer recently stumped with him.

The state Republican Party has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars behind Mr. Ulrich, provoking even some Republicans to criticize the party for trying to buy the race. Mr. Ulrich defended the support from people who “believe in maintaining the Republican majority in the State Senate,” he said. “If those are their motivations, I’m glad to have it.”

The closeness of the race has also attracted record amounts of outside support, some of which has turned ugly.

Huge numbers of campaign fliers are shoved in mailboxes and under doors from Howard Beach to Ozone Park almost daily, often sent on behalf of either candidate without their knowledge or consent. One, from a Virginia-based political action committee called Common Sense Common Solutions, shows Mr. Addabbo as a marionette controlled by the businessman George Soros. Carmella Cerar, an Ulrich supporter at a local debate in October, said she had seen one flier with Mr. Ulrich’s head Photoshopped onto a figure in a Nazi-like uniform. That flier came from a competitor in the Republican primary. Both Mr. Ulrich and Mr. Addabbo have denounced such fliers.

Though Democrats outnumber Republicans in this district roughly three to one, they are of a very different stripe than the typical New York City version, having sent a Republican state senator, Serphin R. Maltese, to Albany for 10 successive terms until he was defeated by Mr. Addabbo in 2008. To win, each must have broad appeal, striking a chord with both Democrats and Republicans, which after the redistricting now includes conservative pockets of religious Jews.

That mandate has led each candidate to take stances sometimes at odds with his party. Though Mr. Addabbo helped legalize same-sex marriage, he distanced himself from that vote in an interview, saying it might have been different had he represented this newly drawn district. “They didn’t have my ear at that time,” he said.

And Mr. Ulrich touts the fact that he co-sponsored a bill for paid sick leave. “I’ve distinguished myself as someone who has not been afraid to disagree with my party,” he said.

At a debate held in a school gymnasium in Howard Beach, Queens, in October, the tone was civil. The candidates expressed views atypically held in common by members of different parties. Both said that the stop-and-frisk policing tactic was a useful tool that helped officers fight crime. And both said they had reservations about the so-called Dream Act, which gives legal status to certain undocumented young people. The audience, mostly older residents, cheered at both points.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/nyregion/money-flows-into-queens-to-bolster-eric-ulrich.html

The corrupting culture of New York’s Legislature makes it tempting to want to throw out the incumbents. But there are lawmakers who deserve to return to Albany, especially those who have voted courageously on controversial issues in the face of pressure from political leaders or lobbyists. Here are our endorsements in five important State Senate races. In three cases, we are recommending candidates who took heroic stands to approve same-sex marriage and were then savaged by ultraconservatives.

STATE SENATE DISTRICT 15 (parts of Queens) State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr., a Democrat, also voted for marriage equality in 2011, and he is now in a close race with New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich, a Republican who is opposed to abortion choice and same-sex marriage. Mr. Addabbo is a cautious legislator who supports women’s rights and works diligently for his constituents. He is by far the better candidate in this race.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/opinion/the-timess-choices-for-new-york-state-senate.html?_r=0

October 25, 2012

Negative campaign tactics are nothing new in politics, but two Queens candidates running in a tight race for state Senate are actively trying to separate themselves from a heap of harsh political mailers.

Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) and his challenger in Senate District 15, City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), both criticized third party organizations for sending negative mailers aimed at influencing voters in the upcoming Senate elections.

“Unfortunately, as a matter of law, we have no control over independent expenditures being conducted by third party groups,” said Jessica Proud, Ulrich’s spokeswoman. “Councilman Ulrich and his family have been victims of untruthful and egregious negative mail since the primary and we wholeheartedly condemn this type of campaigning from any group.”

The accusatory fliers do not mention which candidates it supports, but instead lash out against either Democrats or Republicans with relentless allegations, including one blasting Ulrich for waging a “war on women” by opposing the right to choose and equal pay.

Ulrich denies any such anti-woman agenda.

“From Day 1, Eric has chosen to run a campaign based on ideas and to highlight the distinctions between Mr. Addabbo’s record of raising taxes and Councilman Ulrich’s vision of creating jobs for the middle class,” said Proud.

Mailers critical of Addabbo accuse the incumbent senator of providing member item money to a parrot adoption nonprofit, while gearing up to raise taxes on middle-class families. One group sending the anti-Addabbo fliers is Common Sense Principles, a Virginia-based group that bases its viewpoints on the writings of political activist Thomas Paine, but misspells his name on its website.

A spokeswoman for Addabbo said negative mailers illustrate the need for the state Board of Elections to develop rules for disclosure of outside spending in state elections. Currently, the board only requires disclosure in cases of advertisements that explicitly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate.

“The fact that outside groups as far away as Virginia are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on mailers to distort Sen. Addabbo’s record and scare Queens voters is unacceptable and a clear example of why we need to change our campaign finance laws in the state of New York,” said Jennifer Galvin, Addabbo’s communications director. “It is unacceptable that these groups are legally allowed to block democracy with their money and lies.”

A BOE representative reiterated that some groups are not required to register with the board.

“If they are engaged in issue advocacy they are not required to register under New York law,” said the spokesperson. “If they are engaged in express advocacy, meaning the mailing says, “Vote for…” then they are required to register.”

The groups sending these campaign fliers do not endorse a particular candidate and how they are being funded is unknown.

The candidates for Senate District 15 are not the only ones tired of negative campaign mailers, with voters in Glendale seeking an end to overflowing mailboxes.

“What really bugs me about all of it is the lack of specificity — these outside groups are hijacking the race with the broader messages they care about,” said Toby Sheppard Bloch, a Glendale resident. “Many of the criticisms aren’t particularly relevant to the person they are aimed at and the childish photoshopping games make me feel like this is an election for class clown, not New York Senate. Seems to me the quality of political discourse is sufficiently lacking — these baseless attacks serve to further denigrate the process.”

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/43/negativeads_fh_2012_10_25_q.html

October 24, 2012

On October 18, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, the senior senator from New York, visited Forest Hills to make an important endorsement in the upcoming election for state senate.

Schumer, standing next to Senator Joe Addabbo Jr. and surrounded by a host of prominent elected officials from Queens, including Assemblymember David Weprin, state Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder, state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblymember Michael Simanowitz and Democratic District Leader Frank P. Gulluscio, gave his endorsement and blessings to Addabbo for a third term representing New York’s 15th Senatorial District.

Schumer called Addabbo, “An experienced leader, who has provided a strong voice for the working people and families of Queens.” He also called Addabbo a hard worker looking out for seniors, schools, the environment and a strong advocate for the middle class.

Gianaris, who has served with Addabbo in the senate said, “He stands for the middle class, schools, public safety, the environment and essential services.”

Addabbo was clearly moved by the show of support from Schumer and his colleagues, who joined them for the announcement. “I am truly honored to have Senator Schumer’s support, as he exemplifies the democratic ideals I believe in so much.”

The expanded New York state 15th Senatorial District now includes; Forest Hills Gardens, Glendale, Hamilton Beach, Howard Beach, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, parts of Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, the Rockaways and South Ozone Park.

Don’t forget to vote on Election Day, November 6. In addition to the local senatorial election voters will be able to also vote for U. S. senator from New York and president of the United States.

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2012-10-24/Front_Page/Schumer_Endorses_Addabbo_For_NYS_Senate.html

October 24, 2012

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) got the backing of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in his bid for re-election last Thursday, winning an important endorsement as the hotly contested race for the 15th Senate District enters its final weeks.

“I am proud to support Joe Addabbo,” Schumer said at the news conference outside Queens Community House, at 108-25 62nd Drive in Forest Hills. “He springs from the earth of this district.”

Schumer portrayed Addabbo as a legislator who fights for working people and families and is unswayed by outside interests. He also applauded Addabbo’s record in the Senate on issues such as education and crime, saying Addabbo has fought for tougher gun restriction laws and secured millions in funding for education.

Many other Democratic senators and City Council members also attended the press conference to show their support for Addabbo, underscoring the importance to the party of holding onto the seat in the Senate, where Republicans hold the majority by the slim margin of 33-29.

Among the politicians were Sens. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) and state Assemblymen Michael Simanowitz (D-Electchester) and Phillip Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park).

Gianaris took on Addabbo’s opponent, Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who is neck-and-neck with the senator in the polls, listing a number of issues he said should make voters wary of Ulrich.

They included gun control, which Ulrich is against strengthening; hydraulic fracturing, which Ulrich supports with caveats; and the minimum wage, which Ulrich has said he is in favor of raising but which Gianaris said would have a tougher time coming up for a vote in the Senate with an additional Republican seat.

“In all these issues he stands against this community where Joe Addabbo stands with it,” Gianaris said.

Schumer responded to a question about an Oct. 8 Siena College poll showing Ulrich only two points behind Addabbo by saying the councilman’s performance was due to his larger campaign coffers.

“We have one candidate who is grassroots and one candidate who has a lot of money and puts on a lot of misleading ads and everything else,” he said.

Addabbo said he is planning on keeping the race positive and wants the spotlight directed on maintaining essential services for people during difficult economic times.

“The focus of my campaign has always been about people,” he said.

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/43/schumerendorsesaddabbo_se_2012_10_25_q.html

October 23, 2012

One of the most political active unions in New York is backing Democratic Sen. Joe Addabbo in his closely watched Queens Senate race against Republic Eric Ulrich.

1199 SEIU United Helathcare Workers announced this morning it was backing Addabbo, a few weeks after he netted the all-important backing Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the Columbus Day parade in New York City.

“We are proud to endorse Senator Addabbo for re-election. He provides a much needed voice in Albany for the working people, making sure they receive the benefits, rights, and services they need and deserve,” said 199 SEIU. “From ensuring a safer and healthier workplace to protect workers from injuries on the job to fighting to increase the minimum wage, Senator Addabbo is always working on our behalf.”

The union cited his support for raising the state’s minimum wage, co-sponsoring the Healthy Workplace Act and opposing the repeal Wage Theft Prevention Act.

The backing of labor helps in any close race, especially one in which Ulrich has received the steady financial backing of the Senate GOP, eager to expand its majority with even more New York City-based seats.

http://capitaltonightny.ynn.com/2012/10/1199-seiu-backs-addabbo/