Health Care Groups Fire EarlySalvo In ’06 Attorney General Race

I returned home from work last week to find the first campaign literature of the season slipped under the front door of my apartment. It was an oversized, one-sided, four-color palmcard declaring, “THANK YOU ASSEMBLYMAN GIANARIS!”
Hmm, ‘Thank you for what,’ I immediately asked myself?
The picture was of a nurse leaning over to hold the hand of a senior citizen in an obvious hospital setting.
Aha! A health care pitch.
The piece was sponsored by 1199/SEIU and the Greater New York Hospital Association (at least, their logos appeared at the bottom).
So I called the Gianaris camp to find out if it was canvassers from their office or 1199 who slipped these pieces under doors and into mailslots in Astoria.
The Assemblyman himself called back with the answer.
“That was them,” Gianaris said. “They were happy with the way the budget went and they took it upon themselves to do that. I’ve been very strong on their issues and they appreciate that.”
Yes they do. In fact, New Yorkers for Gianaris received $5000 from 1199/SEIU PAC in March 2004.
So does this early show of appreciation officially kick off the ’06 campaign season?
“I think it’s too early for that kind of stuff,” he said. “People are figuring out who they want to vote for for mayor, much less for next year’s races.”
Gianaris said the bulk of his time now was being spent fundraising and getting his name and face around the state.
You have to give it to him. Gianaris leads the fundraising race with $1.8 million taken in already. Andrew Cuomo is over a million and Mark Green trails behind with about $700,000, according to the New York State Elections site.
Gianaris has also made a concerted effort to reach out to Greek enclaves outside of New York to raise money — from Houston to Sacramento. And while he has been hitting the phones longer than the other two candidates, he said he knew that it would be a necessary endeavor for him in this race.
“I made a calculation early on that some other names (Cuomo, Mark Green) might be more familiar to voters. So I knew I’d have to make sure I had the resources I needed to compete and get out our message about what I’ve done.”
And what of his fellow Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin’s endorsement of Cuomo?
“Everyone’s going to make their own decisions,” he said. “I’m confident I will have the vast support of Queens officials when the time is right.”
The race started with a health care flyer under my door in May 2005. It will end with the swearing-in of a replacement for wanna-be governor Eliot Spitzer as the state’s ultimate legal enforcer 20 months from now in January 2007.
politics@queenscourier.com