By: Nick Buglione
While the 14-year incumbent is standing on his experience and legislative record in Albany, Ferzola is charging that Hannon has simply become another part of the old boys- network responsible for the state Legislature-s dysfunction. Something has to be done with what-s going on up there, Ferzola, 44, said. It-s the old boys- network and nothing is getting done, and everybody-s too comfortable.
The way the state Legislature conducts business in Albany has come under heavy fire in recent years -- from its failure to pass a budget on time to the way it has systematically reduced the roles of rank-and-file members and the public in the legislative process.
A report released in August by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University-s School of Law called the New York state Legislature the most dysfunctional in the nation. Ferzola, and other challengers for Senate and Assembly seats, have used the report as a rallying cry for change. We need some people up there with a little bit of ambition, he said. I think that change is good. Fresh ideas, fresh people.
A Garden City resident with three young children, Ferzola has been an attorney for 20 years. For the past decade he has practiced in high-profile attorney Dominic Barbara-s firm, concentrating on criminal and matrimonial law. This is the second time Ferzola has sought elective office. He ran against Denis Dillon for district attorney in 2001 and lost.
If elected to the Senate, Ferzola said he would focus on increasing funding to schools. Schools aren-t getting their fair share, he said. There obviously needs to be an overhaul on how the money is allocated and used.
With the recent revelation of financial improprieties in the Roslyn and William Floyd school districts, Ferzola also said that eliminating corruption in schools would be a top priority. It-s pretty obvious to me that improprieties are running rampant, he said. We need some legislation that makes these very serious crimes. Not something that if you pay it back, you can move on.
Ferzola also attacked Hannon, alleging that the senator is out of touch with the views of his constituents. I-ve gone through his voting record and taken a look at some of the things he-s voted for and against, he said. He too is a very stringent, conservative, old-boy politician. The world has changed.
Ferzola went on to say that Hannon is inaccessible and is seldom seen in the 6th District. But Hannon said that-s simply not true. All you need to do is look in the pages of your own paper to see how active he is, said Hannon, 58.
Married, with twin girls in Garden City High School, Hannon first took office in January 1990. In the ensuing years he has built an impressive legislative record, particularly in the area of health care. Hannon is currently chairman of the state Senate Health Committee, and in the 2003-04 legislative session he headed the Medicaid Reform Task Force. After six months of public hearings, he proposed a comprehensive overhaul of Medicaid, addressing a number of issues. Two of the more pressing ones were the double-digit increases in prescription drug costs and the government-s inability to continue to finance long-term care for the growing population of elderly people, Hannon said.
We-ve really focused on the Medicaid part of the health care system, he said. It came about because people were not happy with the system itself and the fiscal imposition on the counties.
Hannon also pushed for the passage of the Assisted Living Reform Act, which established a uniform definition of assisted living and required all assisted-living facilities to be licensed.
Pointing to his record, the senator disagreed with his opponent-s implication that he has become a complacent incumbent. You have pages of what I-ve actually done in the last two years, he said. I have a committee that deals with 40 percent of the state budget in the area of health. It-s an enormous challenge we face every year: Continued changes in the needs and the way the system is set up in health care. I have a substantial role. I carry out that role.
Recognizing the need to streamline the budget process in Albany, Hannon said he has backed the reform plan that, among other things, calls for the previous budget to kick in should the new one not be in place by April 1.
If re-elected, he says, he promises to continue to focus on health care reform and encouraging economic growth in the district. I have the ability to keep handling new situations with creative ideas and intensity, he said.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
