Primary Election Results Mixed;
Some Incumbents are Defeated.

By Henry J. Stern
September 15, 2004

The primary elections yesterday, meager though they were in number, resulted in the defeat of more sitting legislators at one time than in any election in recent years. The results may be taken as a sign of disapproval by the voters of the domination of the State Senate and Assembly by their two powerful leaders, Senator Joseph Bruno and Speaker Sheldon Silver. Although the great majority of legislators are still in bondage, Tuesday's upsets could be seen as an omen of voter dissent. They could also be seen as an isolated spasm, with the losses attributed to ethnicity, rejection of overreaching, or individual popularity. The results do show that, no matter how rigged the district lines may be, the voters cannot be taken for granted.

Nassau: Assemblyman Unseated on Albany Gridlock Issue

From a statewide point of view, the most important race was on the north shore of Long Island, where Assemblyman David Sidikman was unseated by Charles Lavine, who was the candidate of Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. The main issue in the primary was Albany gridlock. Although Sidikman was a backbencher with little influence, he was targeted as the symbol of the domination of the Assembly by Speaker Silver. For his pains, Suozzi was denied election as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

To defeat a sitting legislator who is not corrupt or incompetent is a remarkable political achievement. Hopefully, the Albany mandarins will take notice of what happened in Glen Cove, and in Bronx-Westchester, where the candidate of the Senate leadership lost two primaries in one day. (He won one, but that was for a much smaller party.)

Bronx: Assemblyman Loses Two out of Three Senate Nominations he Sought

The Bronx primary in which incumbent Democrat Stephen Kaufman was defeated in both the Democratic and Republican primaries was a political novelty. Kaufman was not helped in either race by the fact that he was also seeking the nomination of the other party. Although the late Chief Justice Earl Warren won both the Democratic and Republican primaries when he was elected governor of California, I know Steve Kaufman (and I like him), but he is no Earl Warren.

Kaufman is still on the ballot as the candidate of the Independence and Conservative Parties. If he makes a race out of it, he will be the moderate of the field, with Democrat Jeff Klein on the left and Republican John Fleming on the right. How Kaufman fares will depend on how much money he can raise and who will help him.

The deus ex machina of Kaufman's Republican candidacy was Senate Leader Bruno. If elected, Kaufman would presumably sit as part of the Republican majority, as did Senator Guy Velella, who was the incumbent until he pleaded guilty to a felony and went to prison. The election showed the pull of extremes in party primaries. The further-left candidate won the Democratic primary; the further-right candidate won the Republican primary. On one hand, this is a sign of increasing polarization. On the other hand, Kaufman's candidacy in both primaries was reasonably perceived as excessive, and somewhat hypocritical. Neither fish nor fowl, he became toast. Nonetheless, Kaufman won the contested Conservative Party primary, and he was not challenged for the Independence Party nomination, so at this point he has two lines on the ballot.

The results:

• Democratic primary: Klein - Bronx 4231, Westchester 2774, total 7005; Kaufman - Bronx 3634, Westchester 731, total 4365; Egidio Sementilli (the former senator, Velella, is Italian-American) - Bronx 610, Westchester 181, total 791.
• Republican primary: Fleming - Bronx 858, Westchester 1733, total 2591; Kaufman - Bronx 1178, Westchester 731, total 1909.
• Conservative primary: Kaufman - Bronx 298, Westchester 70, total 368; Fleming - Bronx 146, Westchester 149, total 295.

Brooklyn: Major Owens Defeats Two Daughters of Public Officials

In Brooklyn, Congressman Major Owens, a former librarian who was first elected in 1982, repelled the assault by two city councilmembers who would not wait until his promised retirement from Congress in 2006, when he turns 70. Yvette Clarke and Tracy Boyland suspected that, after winning the nomination, Owens would pull a switcheroo by anointing his son, Christopher, as the Democratic candidate, which would give his son the advantage of two years' experience in Washington before he had to face his rivals. The Boyland clan had done that in 2002, when Boyland, Sr. was reelected to the Assembly, but then resigned so that the county committee he controlled could select Boyland, Jr. (Tracy's brother) as the Democratic candidate to succeed his father, who in turn had succeeded his own brother.

Congressman Owens not only promised not to do that, but he offered to put the other Brooklyn families on his committee on vacancies to prevent such an eventuality. Since no agreement was reached, the matter had to go before the voters. It did, and the incumbent defeated three rivals with a plurality, but not a majority of the vote. Councilmembers Yvette Clarke and Tracy Boyland and Citizen Gabriel Pearse had their tryout races for 2006. The struggle over the succession will resume in two years, by which time other candidates, including the younger Owens (who BTW graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1977) may enter the fray. In an adjoining Brooklyn district, Assemblyman Darryl Towns is waiting for the retirement of his father, Congressman Edolphus Towns, so that he can compete to retain the family seat.

The results:

• Owens 13,669 (44.1%), Clarke 9083 (29.2%), Boyland 6989 (22.5%), Pearse 1313 (4.2%).

Queens: Incumbent Grodenchik Ousted by First Asian Assemblyman

Barry Grodenchik, a first-termer who defeated two Asian-American candidates to win his seat in 2002, was opposed by only one this year, and consequently was unhorsed. Although there was a second candidate with a Jewish name (Ben Singer, who ran a distant third), it was Jimmy Meng, defeated in 2002, who won a majority of the vote this time. Meng is also the candidate of the Independence and Conservative Parties. Grodenchik had been endorsed by Newsday and Citizens Union for his commitment to reform, but now he will not have the opportunity to keep or break his word.

The results:

• Meng 2758; Grodenchik 2240; Singer 414.

Queens: Sabini Re-elected by 3-2 margin

Capable State Senator John Sabini, who served in the City Council for ten years before term limits forced him out in 2001, was elected to a vacant Senate seat the next year. He easily survived a challenge by Luis Rosero, who ran with the endorsement of Councilmember Hiram Monserrate. In the 2001 primary, Rosero had opposed Monserrate, who reasoned that by giving Sabini's seat to Rosero, he would get the young man off his back. The ploy failed. This result indicates that ethnicity is not the only determining factor in elections, since the polyglot district has far more Latinos than Italian-Americans.

The results:

• Sabini 5591; Rosero 3960.

Staten Island: Stranieri Loses After a Quarter-Century

For years, Republicans have been trying to get rid of their assemblyman, Robert Stranieri, who has served 24 years in Albany. This year, two factions opposed him: Congressman Vito Fossella's group, and those loyal to Borough President James Molinaro and former Borough President Guy Molinari.

The winner was Vincent Ignizio, who had been an aide to two councilmembers (Fiala and Lanza). He was supported by the Fossellas, but his victory was due in great part to his own hard work and good nature. As a minority member of the Assembly, Vincent will be near the bottom of the Albany totem pole. If he serves his district and becomes better known, he will be an attractive candidate for higher office.

The results:

• Ignizio 1672; Stranieri 1269; Mario Bruno, Jr. 1035.

Bronx: County Leader's Daughter Defeats Former County Leader's Son

Naomi Rivera, daughter of County Leader and Assemblyman Jose Rivera, and sister of City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, easily won the Democratic primary for the seat Jeff Klein gave up to run for the Senate. The runner-up was Anthony Friedman, son of the former County Leader, Assemblyman and Supreme Court Justice George Friedman. The times, they are a-changin'.

The results:

• Rivera 2439 (45.5%); Anthony Friedman 1489 (27.7%); Joseph Thompson 1384 (25.8%).

NOTE: Since Jerry Skurnik has e-mailed us when we make an error, we thought it would be wiser to call him first to check the facts for this article on elections. He is in no way responsible, however, for any of the opinions we express.

L'shana tova.