Speranza hopes to cop 26th AD

Baysider Rob Speranza is a retired New York City police officer and political neophyte, who hopes to unseat incumbent attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza next month, to represent the 26th District in the State Assembly.
He joined the Housing Police in 1991, working in the Rockaways. Later he transferred to the NYPD and worked in Harlem and Queens and was on security details for Borough Presidents Claire Shulman and Helen Marshall.
Speranza said he suffered an injury in 2000 that eventually forced him to retire. He now lives on a 50 percent police officer’s pension.
Carrozza, is now a six-term Assemblymember who has a private law practice in Bayside, Chairs the Committee on Election Law and sits on the Aging, Banks, Governmental Employees and Insurance Committees. Her legal practice has a strong emphasis on elder law.
She is a law graduate of Hofstra University, where she served on the Law Review. She is active in the State and Queens County Bar Associations’ committees devoted to Trusts and Estates, along with the Elderly and Disabled. She is a frequent lecturer on topics of interest to the elderly.
Both agree that when the Legislature convenes in January, it faces the daunting task of closing a $6.4 billion budget shortfall.
“I’m afraid it’s going to be much larger than that,” Carrozza opined. “The task is to come up with mechanisms to close that gap without unduly impacting New York’s public education, senior center and health care funding,” she said.
On budget issues, Speranza declared, “It’s important to cut spending but first we have to cut fraud, waste and abuse.”
“When I was a housing cop in the Rockaways, I saw a lot of social services fraud first-hand and how some people who needed services didn’t get them,” he recalled.
Carrozza confirmed the need for policing expenditures, saying, “We have to look to the Comptroller’s Office. Our Medicaid program is probably the best in the U.S. yet it still has a lot of waste, fraud and abuse.”
She thinks that, “agencies have to be more aggressive in seeking civil penalties for cheating government programs - that would have a positive effect.”
Speranza agrees, but believes that beyond that, more transparency is needed in government. “I want to pressure [Assembly Speaker Sheldon] Silver to bring issues to the floor so the people get a say,” he insisted.
“I know I’d be in the minority in the Assembly, but one thing I learned as a cop is that if you keep the pressure on, you get results eventually,” Speranza said confidently. “The wheel that squeaks gets oiled,” he remarked.
He wants to let more daylight into how the state uses the money it has. “I want an independent audit of the Lottery system to see where the money is going - for example, $6 million went to Columbia Teachers College and I don’t think that’s what people would have voted for,” he declared.
Carrozza admits, “The amount of money needed from taxpayers is startling compared to last year. We need belt tightening and a means to increase revenue.”
“At this time, I think all options have to be on the table, including reinstating a temporary individual income tax surcharge on people making over $1 million a year,” she said.
She cautioned, however that “We don’t want to hurt small business which creates eight out of ten new jobs. The important thing to remember is ‘Do no harm.’ I’m proud that I’ve rejected any stand-alone tax increases during my 12 years in office.”
The state’s pension and benefit liabilities pose a threat to the state’s fiscal health, Carrozza concedes. “It’s a horrific precedent to review a contract mid-term, but we have to look at everything,” he said, insisting it would be a last resort.
On long-term health care, Carrozza said, “People have to be secure during a protracted difficult period. We must hold private insurers accountable to pay long-term health insurance claims. They manage more people than Medicaid.”
Speranza, who lives not far from his parents and their relatives, views their experiences as a microcosm of the widespread problem. “Besides,” he said, “I understand senior issues very well - I’m living on a fixed income.”
Carrozza contends that her extensive legislative record and experience position her to best represent the district.
Speranza cites her for missing votes and insists, “I’ll be out there going door-to-door, civic association to civic association, asking what people want. I’ve pounded a beat before.”