By William Lewis
On May 17, U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) held what was called a “small business forum” to discuss the new health care insurance law. Ackerman has not had a town meeting in the recent past as some other congressional elected leaders have. This apparently was his rendition of a town hall meeting.
It was a rather unusual gathering from the standpoint that only members of the town of North Hempstead small business community were invited. The forum was scheduled for Monday morning at 10 a.m. and was to last for one hour.
One other interesting aspect was that on the flier announcing the event were the words, “Business card required for admission.” I have attended many political functions over the years and I have never seen such a requirement.
In the 38th state Assembly District in western Queens, which contains parts of Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale and Ridgewood, a Democratic primary is being directed against incumbent Assemblyman Michael Miller (D-Woodhaven). The insurgent candidate is Nick Comaianni. He has been endorsed by the Southwest Queens Democratic Club. Comaianni has announced his candidacy and is setting up a campaign headquarters in Glendale.
He is president of the local Community Education Council. In addition, he also holds the position of chairman of the Education Committee of Community Board 9. He served in the U.S. Navy. Comaianni believes the main issues of the campaign are the economy, senior citizen and veteran needs and education. He indicated there should be more tax breaks for seniors and that education is the last place to cut funding. He wants to see more jobs available for returning veterans. As a small businessman himself, Comaianni said, “Many New York small businesses are losing jobs to out-of-state companies.”
Regarding the future campaign, Comaianni has numerous volunteers ready to assist with the race.
Last year, Miller was elected in a special election to replace former Assemblyman Tony Seminerio. In last year’s 38th District special election, there was no primary. The political party leaders chose their candidates. Miller will probably have the support of the Conservative and Independence parties unless he should face primaries within those parties as well. If Miller should lose the Democratic primary to Comaianni and continue to run an active campaign as the Conservative and Independence candidates, the Democratic Party vote could be split, thereby improving the chances of the Republican candidate, Donna Caltabiano.
At the Rego Hills Republican Club, during its May meeting it had guest speakers from the Nassau-Queens County 9-12 Project, a Tea Party affiliate. The speakers included Rosetta Malvese, director of the affiliate and a co-founder; Lise Dunn, a member of the affiliate board of directors; and Steven Morris, an assistant director. They spoke about the threat to our country and Constitution from the excesses of big government. They are working to get better candidates for public office and encourage Americans to get more involved in the political process.
