Senate candidates sling mud

Kaminsky, McGrath ramp up campaign rhetoric ahead of April 19 election

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Democratic State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky blasted Republican State Senate candidate Chris McGrath last week for saying in a recent interview with the Herald that former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos — who was convicted of corruption charges in December — “did a very good job” during his time in office. Kaminsky also said that McGrath is not committed to ethics reforms.

Kaminsky, a former federal prosecutor, also criticized his opponent for not attending several candidates forums, including one in Long Beach on April 7, and at a press conference on Monday he claimed that McGrath received $1.2 million from pro-Common Core special-interest groups to help fund his campaign.

A spokesman for McGrath shot back, calling Kaminsky a hypocrite and claiming that the freshman assemblyman skipped a number of votes in Albany to focus on his campaign, did not file his financial disclosure reports with the state Board of Elections on time and voted against a measure to strip elected officials convicted of felonies of their pensions, claims that Kaminsky has denied.

“Chris McGrath is speaking with voters every day, hearing their concerns and answering their questions,” said McGrath campaign spokesman Marcus Povinelli.

Kaminsky, who lives in Long Beach, is running against McGrath in the special election for the 9th Senate District seat that Skelos vacated. The race, considered the most important in the state because it could tip the balance of power in the Senate, has turned ugly in recent weeks, with both campaigns unleashing a barrage of attack ads that the candidates claim are untrue.

One mailer, distributed by the New York State Democratic Committee, featured a series of photos of Skelos morphing into McGrath, and read, “Meet Chris McGrath: the scary sequel to Dean Skelos.” Democrats have claimed that McGrath was the lead attorney for the Inwood-North Lawrence Republican Club and for Jesse Mistero, a Skelos friend and former campaign manager, according to the Daily News.

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