Politics on the Hudson

Former Republican Gov. George Pataki will endorse state senator candidate Bob Cohen Tuesday in his bid to offseat longtime democratic incumbent Suzi Oppenheimer.

Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, is running for her 14th term against Republican Bob Cohen, a Scarsdale real estate executive. The 37th District covers parts of New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Rye, Harrison, White Plains, Scarsdale, Ossining, New Castle and North Castle.

Pataki will join Cohen in White Plains Tuesday during a press conference at 10 a.m. outside the Westchester County GOP headquarters. Following the conference, the two will take on a walking tour down Mamaroneck Avenue through downtown White Plains.

Last week, current gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo backed Oppenheimer.

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…)

Iona College wants your opinion. The college, long known for its presence in Westchester County, opened a new polling center focusing on local races.

With the recent launch of its new polling capability in four hotly contested Westchester races, Iona College is filling a gap in assessing the opinions and concerns of area voters, according to Brian Nickerson, dean of Arts and Science.

“The mid-term election, which has the potential to change the balance of political power in Albany and Washington, D.C., is a very exciting time for Iona to begin its academic-based polling service,” said Nickerson. “Such races and regional focus are often overlooked by other polling services, so we are pleased to address what we believe is an unacceptable gap for an area with such political and economic influence.”

With this effort, Iona joins other colleges and universities — notably Marist, Siena and Quinnipiac— in the region that guage public sentiment on key issues and races.

But for now, the center is addressing local races. The college’s polling center last week conducted its first Decision 2010 poll for RNN-TV and the Westchester County Association’s Call to Action Campaign for the 35^th Senate District race between incumbent Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Republican challenger Liam McLaughlin.

The poll results showed the race could be tight and that there is a large undecided voter block and strong anti-incumbent sentiment.

“Based on the ‘buzz’ resulting from this Iona poll, we expect these polls to become a more important part of the public dialogue as we enter the final weeks of campaigning,” Nickerson said.

Voters in the 35^th Senate District were polled by Iona on Sept. 21 and again on Sept. 26 before the WCA’s Sept. 28 debate that was carried live over RNN-TV. Iona College made over 10,000 calls to registered voter phone numbers and completed as many as 735 surveys.

They expect to do the same with other hotly contest races including in the New York State Senate (District 40) between Greg Ball and Mike Kaplowitz; Suzi Oppenheimer and Bob Cohen (Distirct 37) and U.S. Congressional District 19 with Rep. John Hall and challenger Nan Hayworth.

Nickerson said the college also plans to extend its poll for the governor and U.S. Senate races.

New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and GunFreeKids.org, are both expected to endorse democratic senators Suzi Oppenheimer and Andrea Stewart-Cousins in their re-election campaigns today.

Oppenheimer is running against Larchmont Republican mayor Liz Feld in the state’s 37th district and Stewart Cousins is running against Yonkers Republican councilman John Murtagh in the 35th district.

The anti-gun groups issued a joint statement about the two democratic candidates saying “For almost a decade, the leadership in the State Senate has blocked passage of common sense gun legislation. The success of these two re-election campaigns are a critical component to ensuring the Senate acts to pass important bills in the near future, including, micro-stamping and improved regulations on gun dealers.”

UPDATE: On an unrelated note, Liz Feld’s campaign today announced they have picked up the endorsement of Joseph Delfino, the Republican mayor of White Plains. Delfino is expected to give the endorsement at White Plains City Hall at noon on Thursday.

State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, held a press conference today praising a cancer mapping bill she originated that became law last month.

On Sept. 26, Gov. David Paterson signed the bill which requires the state departments of Health and Environmental Conservation to identify population clusters where cancer is prevalent and to keep a data base of the info for future study.

State assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, sponsored the bill on his side.

In her election race against Larchmont mayor Liz Feld, Oppenheimer today also announced the endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton. The state’s other U.S. Senator, Chuck Schumer, endorsed Oppenheimer earlier this month.

UPDATE: Oppenheimer today also announced the endorsement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

WCLA — Choice Matters, a pro-choice advocacy organization, today endorsed state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, in her relection bid for the 37th Senate District.

“She is 100 percent pro-choice 100 percent of the time,” Choice Matters President Catherine Lederer-Plaskett said in a statement released today. “Westchester women can trust Suzi to protect their right to choose.”

Lederer-Plaskett went on to say that Oppenheimer has advocated for women on issues in the work force, domestic violence, teen pregnancy prevention, sex education and other matters.

Oppenheimer is running against Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld, a Republican.

Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, released a statement in response to the state GOP’s mailer attacking her husband for using a handicapped parking pass when he doesn’t need it.

“The voters of Westchester are not fooled by Liz Feld’s negative campaign,” Oppenheimer spokesman Austin Shafran said. “The recent Sienna poll showed that voters are clearly rejecting Feld’s inaccurate, negative attack advertisements and mailings. Suzi’s strong standing of record and service has not been undercut by the expensive media campaign being waged by the Republicans.”

Feld is the Republican challenger against Oppenheimer in a strongly Democratic district. The poll Shafran is referring to was released earlier this month and has Oppenheimer ahead 61-24 percent.

The state GOP has sent a mailer to residents in the 37th district about the husband of Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, using a parking pass he doesn’t need.

The mailer calls Martin Oppenheimer out for using the parking pass, when Sen. Oppenheimer, in a recent letter to constituents, said don’t “park in a spot reserved for the disabled when you aren’t eligible to use it — not even for a minute.”

Larchmont mayor Liz Feld is the Republican challenger to Oppenheimer this season. Democrats need to gain two seats in order to capture control of the state senate and the GOP has responded by pumping over $291,000 into Feld’s campaign.
You can take a look at the mailer by clicking here.

Both campaigns today announced recent endorsements they’ve racked up. Feld’s team has picked up the backing of the state Police Benevolent Association and Oppenheimer has picked up a nod from Sen. Chuck Schumer and a $9,500 grant from the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee, a group that funds democratic female candidates.

Larchmont mayor Liz Feld, the Republican hoping to offseat state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, this season, has picked up an endorsement from the National Federation of Independent Business.

The NFIB describes itself as the nation’s largest small business association. Mike Elmendorf, New York’s NFIB director, said in a release the group is backing Feld because “her support for broad-based tax relief, a real property tax cap and limits on the growth of state spending and debt will help turn New York into a better place to start and run a business.”

If you haven’t already, check out Feld and Oppenheimer go at it in front the Journal News editorial board here. The last 4-5 minutes of the interview are filled with some entertaining exchanges.

Want to watch a 25-minute political campaign ad? Of course you do!

Liz Feld’s campaign filmed her stump through the 37th senate district talking to residents about local issues, primarily property taxes. The video is set to air on local public access channels and you can watch the video in its entirety here.

You can also watch Feld and incumbent Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, square off during their interview with the Journal News editorial board here.