City Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. got some high-powered Democratic help in his challenge to State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, the longtime Republican incumbent. Over the weekend, voters in the Senate district in Queens received automated calls recorded by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton on behalf of Mr. Addabbo.
Mr. Maltese represents a district in Queens, and his re-election campaign has been one of the most hotly contested in the city.
The two separate calls began just a day after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg campaigned in the district for Mr. Maltese.
“Joe Addabbo has been a tireless advocate for Queens families and will be a strong voice in Albany,” Mrs. Clinton says in one automated campaign call.
“Please join me, Bill Clinton, in supporting a good Democrat and a true man of the people,” the former president says. “Vote Democrat Joe Addabbo for State Senate.”
The presence in the campaign of such high-profile politicians makes clear how high the stakes are for the two candidates and their parties. The Democrats, who are eager to regain control of the Senate, have focused on Mr. Addabbo’s seat as one theyare working hard to capture.
The 15th Senate District, where registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by a ratio of about 3 to 2, stretches from Howard Beach through Middle Village to Maspeth. It has been a moderate- to conservative-leaning area of Queens.
Mr. Maltese, a 20-year incumbent, has maintained that his party’s presidential candidate, John McCain, is popular enough to provide coattails to assist him and other Republican candidates further down the ballot.
The activity in the Queens State Senate district was just part of a flurry of last-minute campaign activities over the weekend in high-profile races from Queens to Staten Island.
In fact, Robert A. Straniere, the Republican candidate in the Congressional race on Staten Island, issued a series of press releases over the weekend accusing his Democratic rival, City Councilman Michael E. McMahon, of seeking to distance himself from presidential candidate Barack Obama.
“McMahon has a fake-ballot on his new campaign mail advertisement which dropped this weekend with all the Democrats running in the district listed,” the Straniere campaign charged. “Well, all but one. The omitted is the party’s nominee, Senator Barack Obama.”
Mr. Straniere’s campaign added: “We know why McMahon wants to hide from Obama: because he’s a tax-and-spend-and-tax-some-more liberal, while voters in Brooklyn and Staten Island are fiscally conservative, responsible folks. While McMahon can run and hide all he wants from Obama, he can’t hide from his own tax-and-spend past.”
Erin Monju, a spokeswoman for the McMahon campaign, responded to Mr. Straniere’s criticism in a statement this morning.
“While Mike McMahon proudly reiterated his support for Senator Obama and his plan to give tax cuts to 95 percent of families in the 13th Congressional District at a rally this weekend, Bob Straniere was standing side by side with divisive radio talk host Bob Grant who was fired for his racist commentary. If your supporters define you, that speaks volumes.”
