Kaminsky, Hirsh square off at candidates forum

What was expected to be a showdown between Democrats and Republicans seeking election to the State Senate and Assembly instead turned into an opportunity for two Green Party candidates to take center stage at last week’s candidates’ forum at the Long Beach Public Library.

Republican Chris McGrath, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Democrat Todd Kaminsky in April’s special election for the 9th Senate District seat, did not attend the Oct. 26 forum, organized by the Long Beach chapter of the League of Women Voters. Republican candidate Melissa Miller, an Atlantic Beach resident who is running against City Council Vice President Anthony Eramo, a Democrat, in the 20th Assembly District race, also did not attend.

Kaminsky, 38, a former federal prosecutor and state assemblyman, filled a seat that was vacated by former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos after he was convicted of corruption last year, and is running on a campaign of ethics reform.

“First of all, I show up and take questions from the people I represent,” Kaminsky said when asked why he thought he was a better candidate than his opponents to represent the district. “One of the main differences is our approach to ethics. For me, it’s why I came to Albany. My opponent does not think the system is broken — he thinks there are a few bad apples. And the greatest example of that is outside income.”

But Green Party candidate Laurence Hirsh, an accountant from Woodmere who received only a small percentage of the votes in April, reminded Kaminsky more than once that McGrath was not his only opponent in the race.

“New Yorkers deserve a drastic change in the business-as-usual politics of this state,” said Hirsh, who also pledged to fight corruption in Albany. “The Green Party is not beholden to lobbyists and special interests, as are the two corporate political parties, Democrats and Republicans.”

Kaminsky touted his record in both the Assembly and Senate, saying that he opposed numerous attempts to increase taxes and voted to strip politicians convicted of crimes of their pensions. But he added that recent ethics reforms measures that passed the State Legislature were weak, and he has pledged to close the LLC loophole, ban outside income and empower local district attorneys to fight corruption by making lying to local law enforcement a crime, as it is on the federal level.

Kaminsky said he had secured more than $20 million in additional state education aid for schools this year, and voted to eliminate the gap elimination adjustment.

“There is so much more left to do,” he added. “Whether it’s making sure it’s affordable to live here and your taxes are continually kept in check so you’re not forced to move out of this island … whether it’s making sure that the reign of Common Core is ended in our classroom [or] whether it’s making sure that we tackle some of the bigger issues to ensure that corruption is something we don’t have to see in headlines over and over again.”

Hirsh said he had a “comprehensive ethics transformation” plan that includes publicly financed campaigns, the elimination of cross-endorsements in primaries and general elections, the banning of outside incomes for legislators and other measures.

“We need clear and delineated, uncorrupted ballot lines,” he said. “We need 100 percent public campaign financing, closing that LLC contribution loophole, establishing term limits for elected officials and set[ting] time limits for legislative leadership roles …”

Both candidates were asked about plans by South Nassau Communities Hospital to build a $40 million emergency department at the former Long Beach Medical Center campus — which closed after Hurricane Sandy — and to use the bulk of $154 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to expand its Oceanside campus.

Hirsh questioned the use of the funds, and said he supported a lawsuit filed against FEMA by the Beach to Bay Central Council of Civic Associations, which has been advocating for the rebuilding of a local hospital and claims that the federal funds were meant to restore medical services in Long Beach.

“The barrier island community has significant medical needs that require consideration,” Hirsh said.

Kaminsky, who was elected to the Assembly in 2014, said he has pushed South Nassau and the state Department of Health for more robust medical services.

“We’ve been fighting to restore full medical services here,” he said. “That being said, we have to look at the reality of where we are. South Nassau is going forward with this proposal. But that doesn’t mean that the funding increments have to be the way South Nassau lays them out. They have to provide robust medical services down here ...”