Cuomo and Suozzi would make great Lebanese politicians. Export them
Cuomo endorses Suozzi bid to unseat Mangano
Photo credit: Jeremy Bales | Gov. Andrew Cuomo endorses Nassau
County executive candidate Tom Suozzi during a Democratic rally at the
Albertson VFW Hall. (Oct. 25, 2013)
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At a rally with more than 200 Suozzi supporters in Albertson, Cuomo formally backed the former two-term county executive, who is seeking his old job back.
Cuomo's nine-minute speech focused on his administration's legislative achievements and why he says it is important for Long Islanders to elect Democrats. He described Suozzi as "Nassau's next county executive" at the end of his remarks as he recited the list of candidates he was endorsing.
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The governor elaborated on the endorsement in interviews with reporters afterward. He described Suozzi as "a personal friend" he has known for 20 years. "I have supported him in the past and worked with him in many different capacities," Cuomo said. "He is tremendously talented."
Cuomo said voters should support Suozzi because he has a "Democratic platform . . . Our agendas are aligned."
Cuomo's endorsement ends months of speculation about whether he would back Suozzi. The governor has made several public appearances with Mangano recently.
Stories have circulated for years that he was not close with Suozzi. But, Cuomo, who won Nassau County in the 2010 governor's race with 60 percent of the vote, said Saturday rumors about friction with Suozzi were false.
Cuomo declined to criticize Mangano, with whom he worked closely on the county's recovery from superstorm Sandy. "I work very hard to have good relations on both sides of the aisle," he said. "You can't play politics when it comes to running the government."
Accepting the endorsement, Suozzi hailed Cuomo as "one of the greatest leaders in the country" and said, "We share the same ideas, ideals and desire to serve the people." Suozzi was mentored early in his career by Cuomo's father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Mangano spokesman Brian Nevin questioned the significance of the endorsement.
"With Andrew Cuomo endorsing every Democrat candidate in the state, it is clearly based on party line rather than accomplishments," Nevin said.
Mangano on Saturday debuted a new television ad with a video clip of Cuomo praising the Republican at a Lynbrook event shortly after signing the state's new property tax cap bill in 2011.
The clip shows Cuomo saying Mangano "believes in making government work for the people. He believes in putting politics aside for the good of this county."
Suozzi, however, said Mangano has "undermined" the property tax cap by failing to fix the assessment system, causing school taxes to skyrocket.
Mangano on Saturday morning also joined 350 residents at the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island's third annual walk and fundraiser at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow.
Mangano said money raised from the event would help the organization "reach out to elementary school students to teach them about epilepsy."
HI-
Stop scratching on holidays
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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