Politics & Government

Election 2010 Voter Guide

Patch gives a brief overview on all races in this mid-term election.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2 and Hampton Bays Patch has prepared an election voter guide to remind you of the candidates and what they stand for in this election. We've broken down the races to provide basic biographical information and party platforms on each candidate. 

Local Races:

United States Congress

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Timothy Bishop (D), Democrat, Independence, Working Families party lines

Congressman Timothy Bishop, 60, received his AB in History from Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts and his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Long Island University. Prior to his election to Congress in 2002, he was the provost of Southampton College and served the college for 29 years.

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Bishop is a proponent of easing fluke catch restrictions for Long Island fishermen to create parity with the restrictions in other states.  He has promoted legislation to protect Long Island's shorelines from erosion through the creation of beach erosion districts.  He voted in favor the new health care legislation and supports a repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Bishop has secured $130 million for the 1st Congressional District, $50 million of which was allotted for the improvement of local roads and bridges.

Bishop is pro-choice.  He is married with two children.

Bishop admits that this race is the toughest of his four re-election bids. However, he says it is due to a "reflection primarily of the times." Bishop labels Republican candidate Randy Altschuler an outsider and an outsourcer, pointing to his move to the district three years ago and his founding role in a company that provides jobs overseas. As a native of Southampton and former Provost of Southampton College, Bishop says his track record getting federal funds to the area and past experiences with voters will help him win a fifth term.

Randy Altschuler (R), Republican, Conservative party lines

Altschuler received his Bachelor's degree with Honors from Princeton University and his MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.  He then studied in Vienna, Austria as a Fulbright Scholar.  In 1999, Altschuler co-founded Office Tiger, a global provider of business support services. He was the company's chief executive officer. The company was sold in 2006.   In 2008, Altschuler co-founded CloudBlue, a waste management and computer recycling company.

Altschuler pledges to cut taxes and support small business by opposing any new taxes. He says he will push for more Homeland Security funding for the district. He is an advocate for tightening the borders and allotting more federal money for Customs and Border Patrol. 

Altschuler supports the repeal of the new health care law and the cuts to Medicare Advantage.  He supports charter schools and tax credits for students attending faith-based schools. He supports domestic drilling, nuclear power plants and other alternative energies. He opposes a gaming casino in the 1st Congressional District.

Altschuler is pro-life.  He lives in St. James with his wife and young son.

Altschuler, who won a three-way September primary to land on the November ballot, has linked Bishop to an unpopular Congress and Democratic Party both in his ads and in an interview with Patch. He has also criticized Bishop for the failure of Southampton College, where Bishop served as Provost until the college's decline. Altschuler is a self-made, multi-millionaire, who has spent $2 million of his own money on his campaign. He is pledging to voters that he can manage a budget without asking taxpayers for more money.

New York State Senate

Senator Kenneth P. LaValle (R), Republican, Conservative, Independent and School Tax Relief lines

Brooklyn native, Kenneth LaValle was educated at Adelphi College and S.U.N.Y. New Paltz, where he received a degree in Education. He studied Government and International Relations at New York University.  A practicing attorney, he received his law degree form Touro Law College. He was elected to the senate in 1976 and was Executive Director of the Senate Education Committee. 

LaValle has been an advocate for Stony Brook Hospital and Stony Brook University in both education and healthcare, establishing a burn unit and the hospital and securing millions of dollars for programs at the university.  He sponsored the Pine Barrens Preservation Act of 1993 and helped draft the STAR Program. He chairs the Senate Minority Conference and sits on the Higher Education, Aging, Education, Finance, Insurance, Judiciary and Rules committees. 

La Valle is married with children and lives in Port Jefferson.

Jennifer J. Maertz (D), Democrat line

A lifelong Long Island resident, Jennifer Maertz, graduated from St. John's University Law School and received her MBA from the New York Institute of Technology.  She has been a member of the Rocky Point Civic Association, North Shore Youth Council, Brookhaven Business and Community Alliance.
Maertz says that, if elected, she would advocate for the passage of ethics reforms, obtaining a fair share of state school aid for Long Island public schools, and fighting for a fair share for Long Island taxpayers. Candidate Maertz is a supporter of same sex marriage. She advocated state budget reform and property tax relief.  Maertz pledges to reverse a decade-long trend on Long Island of stagnant job growth and, more recently, significant job losses. 
Maertz says she supports a combination of fiscal reform, renewed state commitment to meeting its obligations to pay for vital infrastructure projects.

Candidate Maertz says that she is committed to 21st Century thinking that will leverage Suffolk County's deep intellectual capital to create good, long-term and environmentally sound jobs.  She is married and lives in Rocky Point. 

New York State Assembly

Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I), Democrat, Independent and Working Families Lines

Fred Thiele, 47, is a resident of Sag Harbor.  He received his Bachelor's degree summa cum laude in Political Science and History from Southampton College and his law degree from Albany Law School.  He served as Southampton Town Attorney from 1982 to 1987, helping the town implement stricter zoning and environmental laws.  He was Suffolk County's 16th District Legislator in 1987 and served as Chairman of the Public Works and Transportation, Energy and Environment Committees. He was Southampton Town Supervisor from 1991 until 1995 when he was elected the New York State Assembly.

As a New York State Legislator, Thiele sponsored the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Fund Act, which mandated a 2 percent real estate transfer tax for preservation purposes in the five East End towns.  He secured $30 million in state funds for Peconic Bay and South Shore Estuary improvement projects. He pushed for the reconstruction of local roadways, including Route 24 from Hampton Bays to Riverhead.  He is in favor of creating a Peconic County, which would separate the five East End Town from the rest of Suffolk County government.

Thiele advocates public financing of state campaigns and as assemblyman is a member of the Ways and Means, Education, Environmental Conservation and Election Law Committees. 

He voted in favor of same sex marriage.

Richard A. Blumenthal (R), Republican and Conservative Lines

Westhampton Beach resident and Long Island native Richard Blumenthal, 58, grew up in Amityville. He is a graduate of S.U.N.Y. Old Westbury and C.W. Post, where he earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Politics and Economics.  He recently retired from his position as a guidance counselor in the Connetquot School District after 27 years. 

Blumenthal is an advocate of cutting taxes and believes New York State should bring back the non-regents diploma, insisting that it would lessen the need for special education and reduce the property tax rate by millions of dollars.

Since special education costs tens of thousands of dollars more than general education, he said, students should be allowed to receive general education degrees with no college prep work.  This way they are more likely to graduate.  According to Blumenthal, the requirements in place now raise property taxes and prevent some students from graduating.

Unlike Assemblyman Thiele, Blumenthal does not support the idea of a Peconic County.  He is a proponent of tort reform and wants to create a New York State constitutional amendment that would challenge the new health care law by prohibiting New Yorkers from being forced to participate.

Blumenthal  says he believes that immigration laws should be more strongly enforced. He is pro-life and wants New York to ban partial birth abortion. Blumenthal is against same sex marriage. He is married with two children.

State-wide Races:

Governor

Andrew Cuomo (D), Democrat, Independence, Working Family party lines

Coming from a political family, Andrew Cuomo is the son of former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo.  An attorney, the younger Cuomo received his Bachelor's degree from Fordham University and his law degree from Albany Law School. He served on the transfer committee for his father immediately following the elder Cuomo's election to the governorship. He served as an advisor to his father during his tenure as governor.  He also worked on the transition committee for President-elect Bill Clinton and served as Clinton's HUD Secretary.  The younger Cuomo then joined the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

As New York State Attorney General, he was successful in getting the E.P.A. to enforce pollution laws. He also expanded the Civic Rights Bureau and investigated the state pension fund, the student loan industry and Wall Street corruption.  As governor, Cuomo says he will consolidate state government and focus on revitalizing New York by bringing in new jobs.  Republican opponent Carl Paladino and others blame Cuomo's expansion of mortgage loans when he was secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Clinton for fueling the housing crisis.

Carl Paladino (R), Republican, Conservative, Taxpayers party lines

Born in Buffalo, New York, Carl Paladino is an attorney who received his law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law.  He earned his Bachelor's degree from St. Bonaventure University. 

The proprietor of a real estate development company, Paladino is a self-made millionaire with company net assets worth over half a billion dollars. 

If elected, Paladino has pledged to cut taxes by 10 percent for New Yorkers, and cut spending by 20 percent in his first year as governor.  He says that cutting taxes creates jobs and would implement a tax holiday for New Yorkers. He advocates a minimum one-year residency requirement for those living in New York to be able to collect welfare, Medicaid and other state benefits. He also proposes eight–year term limits for state legislators.

Paladino defeated Rick Lazio and pushed out Suffolk County's own Steve Levy for the Republican nomination.

Attorney General

Eric T. Schneiderman (D), Democrat, Working Families party lines

Eric T. Schneiderman received his Bachelor's degree from Amherst College, where he majored in English and Asian studies.  His law degree is from Harvard Law School.  He served as Deputy Sheriff in Berkshire County, Massachusetts and from there went on serve as an anti-crime, anti drug advocate as an attorney and in the New York State Senate, getting elected in 1998.

Dan Donovan (R), Republican, Conservative party lines

A Staten Island District Attorney, Dan Donovan received his Bachelor's degree from St. John's University, where he majored in Criminal Justice. He received his law degree from Fordham University Law School.  He was a prosecutor for eight years in Manhattan and served as a Staten Island Borough President in 2002.

State Comptroller

Thomas DiNapoli (D),Democrat, Working Families party lines

Nassau County resident, Thomas DiNapoli became state comptroller in 2007.  In 1972 when he was elected to the Mineola Board of Education.  He was only 18 years old.  He then served in the New York State Assembly for 20 years. He has also been an adjunct professor and a manager in the telecommunications industry.

DiNapoli earned his Bachelor's degree from Hofstra University with a major in History.  He received his Master's degree Management and Urban Policy from The New School University.

Harry Wilson (R), Republican, Independence, Conservative party lines

Harry Wilson, a native on Johnstown, New York, has been comptroller for Goldman Sachs, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Blackstone Group, and Silver Point Capital.

Wilson was the only Republican to serve on the President's Auto Task Force, where he advised both President's Bush and Obama on how to proceed with the overhaul of General Motors.  He was opposed the corporate bailout of car company Chrysler. 

Wilson is married with four children and lives in Westchester.

 U.S. Senate

Charles Schumer (D), Democrat, Independence, Working Families party lines

Brooklyn Native Charles Schumer received both his Bachelor's degree and law degree from Harvard University. The senior senator was elected in 1998. Prior to his time in the senate, Schumer was elected to the New York Assembly at 23 years of age. He was then elected to Congress in 1980 at the age of 29. He serves as vice chair of the Democratic Conference and chair the Senate Rules Committee.  He also sits on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committees.  He chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee.

Schumer's voting record includes support for measures that discourage off-shoring of American jobs, the creation of the Small Business Lending Fund Program, and the health care public option, which he drafted.

Jay Townsend (R), Republican, Conservative party lines

Jay Townsend received his Mater's degree from Cornell University and received his Bachelor's from Purdue University. He served as a legislative aid to a U.S. senator at the age of 23.  With a background in market research, he served as a partner in a market research company. He is married with two children.

Townsend says he believes spending and taxing are out of control and has lashed out against what he has calls "the Obama spending spree." He has been an outspoken critic of the recent health care plan supported by Schumer and, if elected, plans to vote to repeal it.

Kristin Gillibrand (D), Democrat, Independence, Working Families party lines

Kristin Gillibrand received her Bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Dartmouth College and her law degree from UCLA School of Law.  She then went on the serve as a law clerk on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and was elected to U.S. Senate in 2009. She is married with two children.

Gillibrand says job creation and economic development are her highest priorities. She voted in February to support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and supported measures that provide tax cuts for middle class families. She also believes in increased access to healthcare, controlling medical costs, and she supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the so-called public healthcare option.

Joseph DioGuardi (R), Republican, Conservative, Taxpayers party lines

Westchester resident and CPA, Joseph DioGuardi was elected to Congress in 1985 and served one term. A strong supporter of veterans issues and smaller government, he returned to Washington as a keynote speaker and advocate. He is married with two children.

DioGuardi, says government spending is out of control and is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility and budget reform. He also supports increased access to healthcare and controlling medical costs, but says he does not believe it should be legislated. Instead he says that it should be accomplished within the private sector.


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