By Dee Richard
The days are dwindling down to a precious few — 20 to be exact. Then we will all know what the outcome will be. Right now it’s a tough race to call. Will it be state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo or unknown maverick Carl Paladino? The race is heating up and both sides are now taking pot shots at each other. That is to be expected, as most campaigns wait till the last two weeks to get down and dirty when it’s too late for either side to due damage control.
There is a debate scheduled for Oct. 18 at Hofstra University, which will be broadcast live statewide for 90 minutes. The event will be sponsored by Channel 12 News, Newsday and the university. It will be held in the university’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex and is scheduled for 7 p.m. NY1 will also air the debate but at a different time. Check your local listings.
Pundits are all hoping this debate will serve to educate voters and help them be better able to make an informed choice since everyone believes this is an important race, one that will have many ramifications for years to come, so choose wisely. The question then becomes do you want more of the same or to take a chance on a new system of government?
In any event, the time for term limits has come for every office, not just some. If term limits can successfully work for some, why not for all? All of this dysfunction and gridlock would probably not have existed if there were term limits. We need an end to dynasties. Each candidate should be judged on his or her merit and not on family connections.
If you are enamored by the political life, accept term limits on your first elected political office. When that time is up, run for a different political office which will make you a better and more qualified candidate than one who only knows the requisites for one particular office.
Why would everyone want to listen to the same political rhetoric for 20 years no matter how fond they are of that particular politician? There are exceptions, of course, but these highly qualified men and women would serve their constituents well in other capacities. It is imperative now to make the right choices in these troublesome times. Good luck to all the voters who are your choices. Let’s hope you make the right ones.
On Monday evening, the Queens Library Foundation held its 10th-annual gala at the beautiful Waters Edge Restaurant in Long Island City. This year’s honorees were Eileen A. Auld and Mary Ann Mattone.
Two of the foundation’s favorite programs are the Queens Library’s College Prep Program and College Fair, where young people obtain information and guidance about higher education opportunities, and the Children’s Library Discovery Center, which is scheduled to open in 2011. It is an interactive learning center at the Central Library in Jamaica where children discover the wonders of science, math, engineering, technology and the arts. It was a well-attended dinner. I hope it raised a lot of money.
Wednesday was a double-header. The first half was the Queens County Brandeis Association Installation dinner at the Hillcrest Jewish Center. The honorable Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of the state of New York, did the honors of swearing in all the new officers of the association. It seems as though every available judge and attorney who belongs to the association was present, including Queens DA Richard Brown and Queens County Bar Association President Chanwoo Lee. The president of the Brandeis Association is Larry Litwack.
The second event was a fund-raiser at Roma View in Howard Beach for Anthony Como, who is running for state Sen. Joseph Addabbo’s Senate seat. The place was packed. Among the notables were former Sen. Serf Maltese and his wife Connie and brother Vinny; Councilmen Peter Koo, Dan Halloran and Eric Ulrich; Tom and Enke Long; Bart Haggerty; Robert J. Hanophy; and many others.
Thursday was another double-header. State Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn’s Democratic Club had as its guest speaker for its monthly meeting U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner. Married life must agree with him as he looked relaxed and sounded good.
The other half of the evening was the Jefferson Democratic Club’s monthly meeting. Those folks were all busy discussing ways and means of getting their candidates of choice elected. This is a busy time for all clubs since they are the backbone of most campaigns.
That’s it for this week.
I look forward to your voice mails at 718-767-6484, faxes at 718-746-0066 and e-mails at deerrichard@aol.com.
Till next week, Dee.
