By MIKE CAPUTO
Roy Simon, a professor of ethics at Hofstra University's law school, introduced himself to residents at a joint meeting of the Five Towns, Rockville Centre and Lynbrook/East Rockaway Democratic Clubs.
Simon, who appeared before Skelos's recent promotion in the state Senate, cited what he expects to be a party shift in Albany as one reason to vote for him in November. Funding for member items in the Senate is based on party affiliation, and majority members receive more funds than those in the minority. According to records presented by Simon, Skelos received $3.74 million in member item funds for such things as Little Leagues and an anti-crime unit in Lynbrook.
If the Democrats were to gain a majority in the Senate, Skelos's member item funds would be expected to drop closer to what the most senior Democrats receive now -- about $800,000, Simon said. In contrast, Simon said, if he were elected, he could receive about $2 million as a junior Democrat if the party becomes the majority.
"Whether [Skelos] wins or he loses, the Republicans are not going to bring home the kind of money they used to," Simon said of a possible shift in party majority. "The Democrats are going to start bringing home the big money."
Republicans have controlled the state Senate almost without interruption since 1939. Simon pointed out that in 1965, there was a brief period when the Democrats had a majority, but it did not last. "We are going to take over the Senate," he said.
Simon is a native of Chicago who moved to Long Island in 1992 with his wife, who's from Patchogue, and began teaching ethics at Hofstra Law School. Simon, who now lives in West Hempstead, graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts and NYU Law School. He was a litigator for several years until he became a professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
Simon emphasized that he is not a politician, that elections are for the people, and that they should not be viewed as a game. "Sometimes we tend to treat politics like a sports, the red team versus the blue team, us versus them, the good guys against the bad guys," he said. "It isn't really about sports, and it's not about politicians; it's about people. It's about how people live their lives."
The Democratic challenger admitted that running against Skelos would be no easy task. In 2006, in many areas of the 9th Senatorial District, Skelos overwhelmingly defeated Democratic challenger Odelia Goldberg. In some towns he captured 75 percent of the vote or more.
But Simon noted that for the first time in recent memory, registered Democratic voters slightly outnumber Republicans in the district.
"There has been a strong trend toward new Democratic administrations," he said.
Simon expressed his desire to find ways to lower property taxes while also maintaining and improving the quality of public education. He said the recent report "Local Government in the 21st Century," released by a state commission on efficiency in local government, provides important guidelines for reducing taxes on Long Island.
"If we want to lower taxes, we must consolidate some of the services in government," Simon said. "We can't have all these special districts doing things that are duplicative that other districts are doing."
He said he would not run a negative campaign and criticize the way Skelos spends his budget for member items, stressing that it is important to look ahead rather than focus on what Skelos has done during his 24 years in office.
"To return him to office because of the past, I think, is not the right way to go about it," Simon said. "I think we really have to look to the future -- we really have to look at long-term thinking."
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
