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There's a pivotal election coming this fall, and it doesn't have anything to do with senators named Obama and McCain.
Instead of a national stage, this one plays out in a little corner of Queens, and the candidates squabble over water rates, property taxes, and remediating local school sites.
But the outcome of the state Senate race between Republican incumbent Frank Padavan and Democrat Jim Gennaro will have a huge impact on New York City's future That's because Republicans hold a slender two-vote lead in the state Senate, and Democrats, who have been gunning for years to take over the chamber, say this is their year, and are promising to end Albany's stranglehold on the city.
"Take out your wallet and look in it," said Gennaro, currently a city councilman from Fresh Meadows "After the Senate changes, you'll have more money in it."
The city pays out more than $11 billion in taxes than it gets back, Gennaro said. With the state Assembly and the governor's office controlled by Democrats, a Democratic majority in the Senate would mean that more New York senators would conference with the party in power, and would look to shower their districts with the type of funds that now go upstate.
"The local little league will no longer have to scrape by," said Evan Stavisky, a Democratic consultant. "The nature of politics is that the party in the majority has a better chance to secure things for their district. Democratic districts will benefit, and all but one or two districts in the Senate will be Democratic."
And it's not just the local little league that stands to benefit. Analysts say that funds could pour into the city, helping the MTA to increase service, schools to cut down class size, and nonprofits and senior centers to restore services cut recently in the budget.
Republicans, naturally, say that if the Democrats controlled all the branches of state government, chaos and bedlam would necessarily follow, and predict current voting patterns won't continue
"Taxes, taxes, taxes, that would be the first thing that would go up in this great state," said Marty Golden, a Republican state senator representing Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge. "The Democrats seem to be against any kind of economic development. They have handcuffed police officers in the state instead of criminals. The people of the city and state recognize the need for a two-party system."
Democrats are certain, though, that after years of inching closer to taking the majority, this is finally their time.
They hope Obama will bring many new voters to the polls, and look at many of the incumbent Republicans as representing another era in party politics.
"You've got a blue state in a blue election with a lot of excellent candidates running," said Alan Chartock, professor of political science at SUNY-New Paltz. "The Republicans who are in there now, people have been voting for them for a long time but many of them are ancient. The legislature may not have term limits, but God certainly does."
It's not just funding that could change if the Senate flipped. A tenant-friendly bill that would have preserved more affordable housing in the city died last year in the Senate.
Gay-rights activists may look to move on marriage equality legislation. The harsh Rockefeller-era drug laws could be repealed. The minimum wage could increase dramatically.
Democratic activists can barely contain themselves about the prospects of taking over, many pointing out that because of current trends in the state, once the Senate turns blue,, it will remain that way for a generation and be the final death knell for the Republican party in New York.
But some are more cautionary. Americans in general seem to prefer divided government, and one-party governments have a tendency to overreach and fall into squabbling.
"There won't be checks and balances, so there will be a lot of pressure on us to do what's right," said City Councilman Joe Addabbo, who is trying to unseat 10-term Republican incumbent Serphin Maltese in a district that includes Maspeth and Ozone Park. "And if we don't, the residents of New York will have their say again in two years."
6 years ago
