Politics on the Hudson

Liz Feld’s campaign is challenging her state Senate opponent, Suzi Oppenheimer, for apparently abusing a handicap parking pass.

In a release issued this morning Feld spokesman William O’Reilly cited a New York Post story that reported Oppenheimer’s husband was again wrongfully using the parking pass, despite not needing it.

O’Reilly said it raised questions about how and why Oppenheimer’s husband acquired such a handicap parking pass.

“This is disappointing behavior from an elected official who is supposed to know better—especially after her husband was caught illegally parking in a handicap parking spot in July 2003,” said O’Reilly.

O’Reilly said the matter was an insult to people with “legitimate disabilities who need those parking spots.”

Source

Last year, Larchmont mayor Liz Feld and the village board voted to place Richard Heine as a paid chief to oversee its fire department. The decision didn’t sit well with many of the department’s volunteer firefighters and 19 of them quit as a result.

Now, some of those former firefighters have launched a Web site opposing Feld’s state senate run. The group says Feld was “wreckless” with the paid chief decision and did so against the village’s interest.

(To be fair, it should be noted that the village has won two lawsuits over its decision to hire a paid chief).

Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld today received an endorsement from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.In an announcement, Bloomberg said Feld “is a hands-on mayor who delivers for her constituents.”He also said Feld is a “proven leader who puts aside politics to get results” and is “exactly the kind of independent voice we need in Albany to make real change.”

A fair campaign group said that Republicans state Senate candidate Liz Feld misled the public with a postcard that appeared to be from Democratic state Senator Suzi Oppenheimer but was not.

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee yesterday ruled that the Republican State Committee Feld misrepresented and misled the “average voter” by sending a “Greetings From Alaska” postcard that appeared to be from Oppenheimer.

“The Committee found that the fact that the message purported to be from Mrs. Oppenheimer, but was not, was misleading to the average voter,” the decision read. “While the postcard was prepared, paid for and mailed by the Republican State Committee, the candidate is responsible for literature prepared in her name.”

The faux card, mailed in August, showed Oppenheimer relaxing in a chair with a scribble apologizing for missing the vote on a property tax cap proposal, a measure she does not support. It said Oppenheimer was “sightseeing in Alaska.”

Oppenheimer is running against Feld, the Larchmont mayor, for the 37th District. The district includes parts of the Sound Shore as well as Harrison, Scarsdale, White Plains, Ossining, Briarcliff Manor, New Castle and North Castle. Oppenheimer is serving her 11th term.

The committee found no fault in Oppenheimer’s complaint that the postcard did not clearly identify its source. It did, however, rule against Oppenheimer for notiying the press of her intention to file complaints prior to the hearing. That’s a violation of the group’s procedure, the committee found.

Liz Feld has released a TV ad criticizing state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, for being in Alaska last month instead of voting on the state’s property tax relief plan.

“When we really needed her, Suzi wasn’t there,” the ad titled “Vacation” said.

Expect this to be a recurring issue during this senate race.

State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer will hold a reception tomorrow night at her campaign headquarters at 931 E. Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck, an office she will share with the Barack Obama’s Westchester presidential campaign effort. The event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. and is open to the public. Oppenheimer, a Democrat, faces Larchmont mayor Liz Feld, a Republican, in the November general election.

More information is available from Senator Oppenheimer’s campaign website, www.Suzi2008.com or by calling the campaign office at 914 621-8774.

Liz Feld, the Republican running for the 37th Senatorial District, will address the Scarsdale Republican Town Committee 8 p.m. Sept. 17.   The Larchmont mayor supports a 4 percent property tax cap and will be discussing its importance and effect on Scarsdale. She’s also discuss state issues. The meeting will be held at the Scarsdale Village Hall in the third floor meeting room.

Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld, a Republican running against state Senator Suzi Oppenheimer for the 37th district, recently was endorsed by the New York League of Conservation Voters.

In an announcement, Feld touted her achievements in the village, among them passing a “no idling” law, enforcing a ban on leaf blowers and promoting bicycle use by installing more racks in the village.

She also said she’s overseen the plantings of trees and the rehabilitation of local parks.

State Senate candidate and Yonkers City Council member John Murtagh is holding what he’s calling a “telephone town hall meeting” tonight as he strives to build his name recognition in his GOP challenge to Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers.

What does that mean? Murtagh’s campaign will be robo-calling 9,000 registered voters tonight in Mount Pleasant. The call recipients will hear a recorded invitation from Murtagh asking if they want to stay on the line to chat with the candidate and other voters about issues facing the state, including any action taken today in an Albany special legislative session.

Carl Scaringe, an aide to Murtagh, says callers will also have the option of pressing a key on their phone to opt out of the call and any future calls like it. He says the call is just one of a series the candidate expects to place to voters in Yonkers, Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant as the campaign ramps up. Mount Pleasant is first, he said, because “we haven’t really made our presence known there yet.”

While the tactic was new to me, Bill O’Reilly, who is handling press for Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld’s GOP campaign for the District 37 state Senate seat,  said she has done two such calls in White Plains and New Rochelle with “several thousand” participants.

Here’s the latest mailer from state Senate candidiate Liz Feld, the Larchmont mayor who’s running as the GOP candidate against Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck. It’s paid for by the state Republican Committee.