The 18th Assembly District has long been Democratic territory, with Democrat Earlene Hooper serving as the state assemblywoman since 1988. However, Max Rodriguez, a Republican who lives in Hempstead, believes that he can break the Democratic monopoly and unseat the incumbent on Election Day.
The election affects many communities, since the district encompasses Hempstead, Roosevelt, Lakeview and portions of Baldwin, Freeport Village, West Hempstead, East Meadow, Merrick and Uniondale.
Subhead: A little history
Rodriguez, a native of Cuba, immigrated to the U.S. with his family at age 12. After moving to Nassau County in 1961, he graduated from South Side High School in Rockville Centre and later from Adelphi University, where he earned a degree in business management and communications.
In 1994, Rodriguez became the first Hispanic village trustee on Long Island when he was appointed to the post in Hempstead. He was then elected, and served until 1999. Rodriguez says his experience as a trustee has given him the confidence to operate at the legislative level. "It gives me the opportunity to know how government works," he said. "I am able to work on different concerns in different areas."
Hooper, who declined an interview with the Herald, appears confident that her Assembly experience will be the deciding factor in her favor. Hooper won her seat in the Assembly in the spring of 1988, in a special election. Her re-election that November made her the only member of a minority from Long Island serving in the Legislature.
Hooper, a social worker by profession, has worked as an administrator in the New York state Department of Social Services' Division of Children and Family Services. Like her opponent, she was educated locally, earning her master's degree in social work from Adelphi, and later receiving a doctor of humane letters degree from Five Towns College. She is an adjunct professor at Adelphi's Graduate School of Social Work.
Subhead: In the public eye
Rodriguez charges that Hooper has lost touch with her constituents. "She's absent," he said. "She's not visible." Rodriguez said he would do a better job of meeting the needs of those constituents, because he would be visible in the communities he represents, and not just in Albany. "You have to make sure your people know you are there," he said. "You want to be close to people on a one-on-one basis."
Subhead: War on gangs instead of gang warfare
Rodriguez is running on a platform that emphasizes making communities safer, and said he would achieve this through tougher legislation as well as stricter enforcement of existing laws. He advocates a zero-tolerance approach to sex offenders, whether the victims are women or children, through longer sentences. "You want to make sure the offenders get the message they cannot mess with women or a child," he said.
Rodriguez's campaign brochure, which details his plan for safer communities, includes Megan's Law reform. However, when asked about what reforms he planned to make, Rodriguez was unable to provide specifics. "I have to look into it," he said.
But the Republican challenger was emphatic when he said that the gang problem is the biggest challenge facing the communities of the 18th District. "A few years ago, gangs used to recruit kids from the senior high school, then it was the middle school, and now it's the elementary school," Rodriguez said. "This is a problem that affects everyone, and everyone needs to work together to confront the problem, and create some programs for the kids."
He advocates the formation of a joint task force that would include the Assembly member, school-district officials and local civic groups to coordinate anti-gang programs. Such an alliance would supervise programs that would educate children and create alternative activities designed to keep kids out of gangs' reach. "We have to provide programs -- not that there aren't some in place -- but there is a big improvement that needs to be done and prioritized to keep the kids off the streets, keep them busy, and keep them out of trouble," Rodriguez said.
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