Town of Oyster Bay politics are aways good for a story
Democratic candidates for office in the Nov. 8 election met on Sunday, Oct. 16, for breakfast at Buckram Stables in Locust Valley. They then took the LIRR at the Locust Valley station on their Whistle Stop Tour of the Oyster Festival. The annual waterfront festival is a great way for candidates of all parties to meet and greet the voters.
“We’ve always used signs, just not handed out leaflets,” said Dave Gugerty, Town of Oyster Bay Democratic leader, a resident of Bayville.
He said it is an issue in getting out the election information since the elected officials can take advantage of government mailings giving credit to them for their actions in town. It keeps them before the public. The challengers have a more difficult time, including that the Town of Oyster Bay has an ordinance against giving out literature in public parks.
Many of the people taking part in the Whistle Stop tour were running for the position of Judge. Mr. Gugerty said, “There are eight candidates running for Supreme Court. There are 10 judicial seats up for election and there are 20 candidates. The average person is more impacted by those judges – when they have to go to court for something – rather than their impact by other elected officials,” he suggested.
Judgeships are lucrative jobs. When they retire, judges continue to get their full pay. But there is a down side, in that some judges are harassed by felons they have sent to jail. It is a job that is not without risks.
His wife Helene Gugerty, Principal Law Clerk to State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey S. Brown, is seeking to be elected to the bench herself and will be on the ballot this Nov. 8. Mrs. Gugerty, a 20-year resident of Bayville, and her husband have two teenage daughters. She currently serves on the Bayville Library Board.
South Shore Not Welcoming
While the candidates were welcomed to the Oyster Festival on the North Shore, Town Board Candidate Terrance Kelly did not have as good a response when he tried to rent a table on Sunday, Sept. 25, as the Sons of Italy-Columbus Lodge #2143 held their Feast and Festival along Broadway in the town of North Massapequa. Mr. Kelly said, “The festival looked like the Republican convention.”
As reported by Massapequa Observer (an Anton newspaper) Editor Joe Scotchie in the Oct. 14 issue:
Political Action at Street Fair
On Sunday, Sept. 25, the Sons of Italy-Columbus Lodge #2143 held another successful Feast and Festival in North Massapequa.
East Norwich resident Terry Kelly, who is running for a seat on the Oyster Bay Town Council, has told Anton Community Newspapers that he arranged to have a table at the festival. All the required applications and fees were completed and paid, he added, but a day before the event, he received a call from the president of the Lodge, saying that he could no longer set up his table and that his fee would be returned. The explanation from the lodge president, Kelly said, was that they did not want to politicize the event.
Kelly said he attended the fair with his family and that posters promoting the re-election of Town Supervisor John Venditto or other Republican candidates were present among “almost every single vendor along the route.” Kelly said that incumbent TOB Clerk Steve Labriola had a “carnival barker repeatedly calling out his name to the crowd.”
However, Kelly was also able to get his message across at the fair. He said that he handed out information about the campaign that he felt was “important,” namely on tax increase and TOB debt. “I got great feedback and the people wanted to know more,” he said.
Attempts by The Massapequan Observer to contact the president of Lodge #2143 proved unsuccessful, added Editor Scotchie.
Politics 101
Mr. Kelly is new to electioneering and has been learning a great deal during the experience. He took the place of Mike Capobianco who is running for Town Supervisor on the Democratic line and couldn’t make a Meet the Candidates night at the Massapequa Congregation Beth-El on Oct. 27. Mr. Kelly said, “I asked in the Q&A if someone would ask Supervisor Venditto why as a member of the Tax Revolt Party the Republicans were still raising taxes. Mr. Kelly said no one asked the question of Mr. Venditto.
He said the Tax Revolt Party was created in in Nassau County in 2009 by Republican incumbents. Their platform is to reduce out of control spending and taxes, which doesn’t keep them from raising taxes.
Mr. Kelly said of the election process in the Town of Oyster Bay, “Its troubling. It’s not a fair fight. I’m a big believer that there should be a two-party system. Here, even if you are a Republican, you are either inside or outside the party. If you went to the Republican Party and said you wanted to run, you won’t. They have their own candidates lined up.”
As for Massapequa, the candidates running for office are all local sons, as well as members of the Order of Sons of Italy in America. That includes Massapequa resident Steven Labriola who is a member of the Order of Sons of Italy in America; Massapequa resident Joseph Muscarella who is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Order of Sons of Italy in America; and Massapequa resident John Venditto who is also a member of the Columbus Lodge #2143, Order Sons of Italy in America.
Terry Kelly said, Keith, the president of Order Sons of Italy in America said his check for $50 would be refunded. The check is still in the mail as of Oct. 31.
