By Brian Zanzonico
Longtime incumbents including U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy; State Sens. Dean Skelos, Michael Balboni and Kemp Hannon; and State Assemblyman Tom Alfano were all convincingly returned to office.
As expected, increasingly Democratic Elmont voted along party lines - in four of the five races. The one exception came in the contest between Alfano and Democrat Judge Alfred Cooper in the 21st Assembly District. According to Alfano's chief of staff, Scott Cushing, Elmont residents favored the assemblyman by more than 830 votes, 4,674 to 3,838. The only other time Alfano has carried Elmont since he took office in 1996 was in the 2002 election, Cushing said.
"Tom's credo is, 'When you have a problem, I have a problem,'" Cushing said. "He makes it personal, and has developed many personal relationships. He doesn't look at people as Democrats and Republicans, but as people."
Cooper could not be reached for comment.
"They know I fight for them in Albany," Alfano said. "I've developed so many personal relationships. They know I'm their champion."
Sandra Smith, a registered Democrat who is active in the Elmont School District, said it isn't as simple as that. She explained that Alfano's commitment to education not only had parents crossing over to vote Republican, but brought people who otherwise might not vote in a non-presidential election to the polls. "The parents are really into their education, and back someone who is as supportive of the schools as Tom is," Smith said. "It didn't make a difference to them that he is Republican."
Smith cited Alfano's Mentors and Leaders Program, in which the assemblyman takes students from the Franklin Square, Elmont and Sewanhaka school districts to the state capitol and discusses the state budget and how he takes his constituents' concerns about crime, taxes, roads and more to his colleagues. Students have toured the governor's War Room and the Senate chamber, and have been briefed on current issues on the floor by Speaker Sheldon Silver and Gov. George Pataki. Parents have accompanied students on these trips, which, Smith said, have enabled them to see Alfano's work firsthand.
Aubrey Phillips, a member of the Elmont School District board and leader of the South Elmont Democrats, which includes residents whose children attend Alden Terrace, Gotham Avenue and Dutch Broadway schools, agreed. "Elmont South wants to ensure the next generation is better educated than the generation of parents here today," Phillips said.
But Phillips added that Alfano's crossover appeal is rooted not only in his support of education. He said Alfano has a genuine interest in "sustaining the community," and pointed to the assemblyman's push to have Elmont designated one of Nassau County's first Empire Zones, which promote economic development through a series of tax breaks for businesses.
"I am fully aware of how this Elmont South end operates, and it's simple," Phillips said. "People here really look for the person that does the work. Over the last seven years I've known [Alfano], every time he says he's going to do something, he does it. He's unusual as a politician in that he's a man of his word."
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