Politics on the Hudson

Milt Hoffman reports:

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee honored its first chairperson as it completed its 20th year of operation. During election campaigns in 2010, the Committee made ethics findings in 11 cases. The number of hearings has ranged to as many as 26 in one year.

Some two dozen committee and former committee members helped celebrate the retirement of Ruth Hinerfeld of Larchmont at a party at the home of Evelyn Stock of Scarsdale, the present chairperson who joined the Committee in its second year. Those attended included another original member, Bruce Jennings, now Hastings-on-Hudson trustee, and Guy Parisi, attorney in Rye who was the first Republican ex-officio non-voting member and who again filled that position in 2010.

The Committee was created by the League of Women Voters of Westchester in 1991 in response to a challenge made in an editorial published by Gannett Westchester Rockland Newspapers, predecessor to The Journal News. That editorial called for the establishment of an independent organization to hear and decide accusations of false, unfair or misleading campaign tactics. The first committee had five members, one alternate and non-voting representation from the political parties.

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Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino has named a new commissioner of Social Services, county officials announced Thursday. Kevin M. McGuire, former executive director of the Maryland Department of Human Resources Family Investment Administration, was selected after a nationwide search. He will begin next week. “Kevin McGuire is a professional with a successful history of managing the many complexities of a large social services organization,”?Astorino said. “He knows how to deliver crucial safety net programs to residents, navigate constantly changing state and federal regulations and ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely.” Social Services is the largest county department with a budget of about $575 million for 2011. The social services commissioner is paid a salary of about $155,000 plus benefits.

— Via reporter Candice Ferrette

Local officials from the 89th Assembly District will host a public-swearing in ceremony for Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli, R- Goldens Bridge, at noon Saturday at the South Salem Fire House in Lewisboro. The address is 1190 Route 35.

A swearing-in ceremony for Thomas J. Abinanti, a Democrat who won the 92nd Assembly District seat, is set for Sunday, Jan. 9 at
2 p.m. at Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh.

Update: (We just received this in)   Assemblyman-Elect Steve Katz will hold three ceremonies to mark his assumption of the 99th district seat. They are all Saturday, Jan. 1. The first is at noon at the Putnam County Courthouse, 40 Gleneida Ave., Carmel. The second is at 1:30 p.m. at Yorktown Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave., Yorktown Heights. And the third is at 3:30 p.m. at Pawling Town Hall, 160 Charles Colman Blvd., Pawling.

Meanwhile, New Rochelle will swear in two elected officials on Saturday: Susan I. Kettner, newly-elected City Court Judge, and Jared R. Rice, newly-elected City Councilman in the 3rd Council District. That ceremony is set for 1 p.m. at New Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Avenue.

Just a reminder that Siena College pollster Steve Greenberg will be  joining Gannett Albany Bureau Chief Joseph Spector today at 12:30 p.m. on Live  Stream to discuss the election results.

The Live Stream  channel is http://www.livestream.com/gannettnewyork

We’ve downed our pizza here at LoHud.com Election Central, and we’re itching for the results to start rolling in — you probably are too. We’ll be posting updates to these blogs throughout the evening, but for a complete report, join us on our home page for the latest headlines and a live, interactive chat with reports from the field, hosted by our interactivity editor, Ed Forbes.

You can also check out our election page for updated headlines, previous stories, candidate bios and more. Browse a photo gallery of images from the day. And follow our reports of glitches at various polling sites around the three-county area and beyond.

Jonathan Alter, Newsweek Columnist and NBC Commentator, will tackle the topic: “What Hope for the Obama Administration? After the Mid-Term Election” on Nov. 8 in Briarcliff Manor. Here’s the announcement:

“Like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton in their first terms, President Obama may lose party control of Congress in next week’s election. Polls indicate that the Senate is up for grabs, too. What do the results of the mid-term elections mean for the Obama Administration’s next two years? What do they tell us about the mood of the country? Is the Tea Party movement the new face of the Republican Party? Must Americans expect two years of legislative gridlock in Washington? Jonathan Alter, celebrated Newsweek columnist and NBC news analyst, is well positioned to provide post-election answers. His most recent book, The Promise: President Obama, Year One, has been widely hailed as an insider’s authoritative report on the Obama Administration. His 2006 book, The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, was a national bestseller. Alter’s lecture at St. Theresa’s will be his first speaking engagement since the mid-term election. Copies of The Promise will be available for purchase and signing by the author.” He will be introduced by Kenneth L. Woodward, a contributing editor at Newsweek

The details: St. Theresa’s Church; 1394 Pleasantville Road Briarcliff Manor; Monday, Nov. 8; 7:30 pm.; free admission.

Via reporter Rich Liebson: A recently formed veterans groups is endorsing candidates it says will serve the men and women who served their country.

“We have a lot of politicians who give lip service to helping veterans,” said Pete Fiumefreddo, an Army Veteran and chairman of the Westchester County Veterans Political Action Oranization. “They hand out a lot of plaques and citations to veterans groups, but we really don’t see them working on veterans issues. We are endorsing candidates who we believe will best serve the interests of veterans.”

The group is co-chaired by Army veteran Ronald Tocci, a former state assemblyman who also served as New York’s commissioner of veterans affairs. Organizers say the group, which formed earlier this year, is focusing on efforts to create a “Veterans Village,” assisted living facility at the Montrose VA site in Cortlandt and to support candidates it believes will fight for veterans causes.

The group endorsed the following candidates in Tuesday’s elections:
• Republican Robert J. Castelli, an Army Vietnam veteran, seeking re-election in the 89th state assembly district.
• Marine Corps veteran Peter Parente, a Republican who served in Desert Storm, seeking election to the New Rochelle City Council representing District Three.
• Marine Corps veteran James Maisano, a Republican, one of seven candidates seeking election as state Supreme Court Justice for the ninth judicial district.
• Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, seeking re-election in the 35th senatorial district.
• Democrat Jeffrey Klein, seeking re-election in the 34th senatorial district.
• Democrat John Hall, seeking re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 19th Congressional District.

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee has sided with state Senate candidate Bob Cohen in a challenge to an advertisement by state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck. According to the committee, Cohen, the GOP candidate, complained that “a television commercial for Sen. Oppenheimer portrayed him as a slumlord in New York City and was ‘intentionally misleading and factually inaccurate.’ It charged he violated safety regulations and left children sick with lead poisoning.”

Here’s their finding, from a hearing last night:
“The Committee agreed with Mr.Cohen that scenes and events were fabricated, and it dismissed the Oppenheimer side’s contention that it was fair political discourse. A mother and child who appear in the commercial with facial expressions to convey a negative message about Mr. Cohen’s building were not his tenants and a sign was altered to imply that one of his buildings was condemned or closed for safety reasons by a ‘Department of Health and Safety’ when no such agency existed. Also, as a picture is shown of a boy standing in front of an unfinished wall, a voice states: ‘…and left children sick with lead poisoning.’ The wall is not on Mr. Cohen’s property and the boy is not one of his residents.
The Fair Campaign Committee’s Guidance to Candidates states that candidates should not use campaign advertisements that depict fictional or hypothetical events.”

The committee works to “promote a climate in which candidates conduct honest and fair campaigns.” It does not have any power of law, or the ability to compel Oppenheimer to pull the advertisements.

After the jump, the responses from state Democrats and the Cohen camp: (more…)

The annual political breakfast sponsored by Brotherhood of Temple Israel/Men of Reform Judaism will take place this Sunday, Sept. 19th at 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel of New Rochelle, 1000 Pinebrook Blvd.

Candidates for both the New York State Assembly and Senate are expected be there to debate the issues and field questions. Among those expected to attend are: Amy Paulin and Rene Atayan competing in Assembly District 88; George Latimer and Bill Reed in Assembly District 91 and Suzi Oppenheimer and Bob Cohen from Senate District 37.

The breakfast is free but requires reservations, which can be made by calling the Temple office at 914-235-1800.

The Journal News has been collecting information about the May 18 school board races and school budget votes at our election central page, which you can find at http://lohud.com/schoolelections. Go there for archived stories as well as information provided by the candidates, our endorsements, reader letters, videos, and more.

In addition to our guide, the League of Women Voters has their own site up and running for Westchester County’s elections, providing polling place and candidate information based on an address and zip code. Find it at http://www.smartvoter.org