City swept up in elections

“For the younger students, we'll probably have more of a patriotic assembly with some songs and presidential trivia,” said Michelle Bergman, the K-through-8 school's associate principal.
These activities are part of a school program called “The Long Road to the White House,” which aims to educate students about the election process. Teachers received an informational packet on how to integrate the topic into the curriculum. In math classes, for example, students worked out problems based on the presidents who appear on U.S. currency. “We've been trying to highlight, from first through eighth grades, the importance of the candidates and the issues,” Bergman said.
The program is one of a number of goings-on around Long Beach focusing on the elections. They include mock school elections online, get-togethers to watch Election Night returns, voter registration campaigns and a visit by Gov. David Paterson.
At East School this week, a fifth-grade social studies class is holding a mock election. “We’re taking the results and applying the principles of the Electoral College,” said Principal Ronnie Reimel.
On Monday at West School, students will vote in school-made voting booths. Lindell School Principal Karen Sauter noted that her students are also in campaign mode, and will hold elections on Monday. At Lido School, the younger students will face their own pressing issues -— math vs. science, pizza vs. tacos, potato chips vs. pretzels — to learn how voters decide on political candidates.
Meanwhile, middle school and high school students are taking the election to the Internet, casting their votes for president online, said Sean Hurley, director of social studies K to 12. Each class will represent a state, offering a lesson in how the Electoral College works. Students will also rate the importance of the issues, from the economy to education, in making their decision. And seniors enrolled in government classes will analyze the data to detect voting trends.
In the weeks leading up to the election, the Martin Luther King Center hosted gatherings of the politically minded for the telecasts of the Democratic National Convention and the presidential debates. ““We would just get together informally and discuss some of the topics that were said during the debates,” said the center’s director, Myrnissa Stone. Acting MLK board Chairman James Hodge encouraged others in the community to watch the convention speakers.
At an MLK event on Labor Day, voter registration tables were set up and many people signed up. “Whoever we came in contact with was registered,” Stone said.
When Michael Zapson, the former Nassau County legislator, was named chairman of the Long Beach Democratic Committee this spring, he called on supporters to hit the streets to register hundreds more voters. Since then, some 40 Democratic volunteers have gone door to door, focusing on young people who may be casting their first votes. While the broader goal was to raise awareness of the importance of voting in the presidential election, the committee, of course, preferred to register citizens as Democrats.
“Right now we're just trying to get out the vote ...,” Zapson said on Monday. “We've been sending out literature reminding people not just to vote for [Barack] Obama, but from Obama to [Assemblyman Harvey] Weisenberg.”
After attending a rally with thousands of Obama supporters at Eisenhower Park on Oct. 15, Zapson and local Democrats held a debate-watching party at Billy's Beach Cafe on West Park Avenue. On election night the committee plans to watch the results come in at Corbin & Reynolds restaurant.
Long Beach Republican Committee Chairman Jim Moriarty said that Republicans also conducted door-to-door voter registration throughout the year. They have since been knocking on doors campaigning for their party's candidates. “We were just out this past weekend for Senator [Dean] Skelos and for all our other Republican candidates,” Moriarty said. “We're going to be activating our phone banks as we get closer to Election Day, pulling out people we've identified as supporters.”
Moriarty planned to attend a county Republican rally in Levittown on Thursday, alongside Skelos, U.S. Rep. Peter King and various Republican committee people. “And we're going to keep pushing until Election Day,” he said.
Republicans have traditionally had higher registration numbers than Democrats in Long Beach, but in last year's elections, Democrats had a particularly disappointing turnout, which some attributed to the city's changing demographics and political problems in Nassau County. This year, while there are no City Council elections, Long Beach residents will vote for candidates running for the state Assembly and Senate and others in congressional races.
Larry Elovich, an attorney and a former Democratic leader in the city, said that Long Beach Democrats have consistently supported Republicans Skelos and King. “Senator Skelos has carried Long Beach in the last five elections,” Elovich explained. “And Congressman King has carried Long Beach in three of the last five elections, and the two he lost, he lost by very narrow margins. So Democrats in Long Beach vote for them after they've voted Democratic for the top of the ticket, the judges and Assemblyman Weisenberg.”
Elovich, the chairman of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, predicted that Obama would win overwhelmingly in Long Beach. “In general elections, the Democrats do very, very well,” he said.
On Sunday, the chamber will host its annual reception and dinner at the Sands at Atlantic Beach, where state politicos from both parties will speak to an anticipated crowd of 850. Among them will be Paterson, the chamber's Man of the Year, as well as Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, King, Skelos, Weisenberg, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, former Senator Al D'Amato and county District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who will receive the chamber's Ed Buscemi Award for public service.
The chamber has held the event the Sunday before Election Day for the past 27 years. “It's been an attractive, recognized stop for all the political figures, knowing that we'll draw a crowd anywhere between 750 and 1,000,” Elovich said.
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