By Brian Zanzonico
Since he won a special election for then-Assemblyman Vincent Muscarella's seat in 1999, and then won the regular election for the same seat later that year, Alfano, a Republican, has been one of the area's most visible representatives in any office. He has built a reputation as a fighter for education who continually brings home grants, the latest to the Franklin Square School District for surveillance cameras and playground lighting.
Cooper, a Democrat, acknowledged Alfano's Mentors and Leaders program, in which students take field trips to Albany, visit the Capitol building and learn about policy from people like Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Gov. George Pataki -- one of the ways Alfano, the assistant minority leader, has proved his commitment to local schools.
"He has done a marvelous job in educating and demystifying government to young people," Cooper said.
His respect for Alfano, an attorney, notwithstanding, Cooper is hardly willing to concede defeat. Though this is his first foray into politics, he is no stranger to elected office. For six years, from 1999 until his retirement last January, Cooper was a Nassau County District Court judge, having become the first Elmont resident to win an election in decades. Before that, he spent nine years as an administrative judge in New York City.
"I had the opportunity [as a district court judge] to achieve a position where I can serve. I have an obligation to give back," Cooper said about his latest campaign. "I like to think [being a judge] enhances my qualifications to serve the community. I've got a plethora of knowledge of how government operates."
Alfano said that his knowledge of government comes from having co-prime-sponsored 140 bills, including what he considers his biggest accomplishment, Dillon's Law. Named for NYPD Detective Dillon Stewart of Elmont, who was killed in the line of duty late last year, the law stiffened penalties for injuring or killing a police officer as well as illegal gun trafficking. Under the law, which applies to correction officers and peace officers as well as police officers, manslaughter convictions carry sentences ranging from seven to 30 years and attempted murder convictions carry 20- to 40-year sentences. In addition, trafficking convictions are punishable by up to 25 years in prison. "It put teeth into the law of gun trafficking," Alfano said.
While he lists Dillon's Law as one of the Assembly's greatest accomplishments in public safety legislation last session, Alfano laments that a push for civil confinement for convicted pedophiles was shot down. Cooper, who owns a law firm in Mineola and still presides over arbitration hearings, is against civil confinement of sex offenders. He advocates coupling a sex crime sentence with civil commitment, ordering a sex offender to a psychiatric hospital or other mental health treatment.
When it comes to two of the community's biggest issues, taxes and illegal housing, Cooper said he would try to enhance the School Tax Relief (STAR) program and make changes to some currently illegal residences. He mentioned the disturbing trend of senior citizens on fixed incomes taking out equity against their homes to make ends meet, and said he is a proponent of retooling the STAR program's formula, which offers rebates on school taxes, to increase tax relief. To help younger people afford to live locally and to reduce the drain on school and community services, Cooper suggested taking a fresh look at housing codes.
"We talk about affordable housing," he said. "We can't change space, but we can reconfigure existing structures and legalize them. We could increase the budget without direct taxing, because there are more resources available."
Cooper said that his election to the Assembly would put the 21st District in a position of power, because he is a member of the majority party.
For his part, in addition to his duties as assistant minority leader, Alfano is a member of the Assembly's Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, Judiciary and Labor committees. He said that much of his success in getting bills passed is attributable to his relationship with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and that he has cemented his standing in the community by continuing to deliver, particularly when it comes to what even his opponent admits is his strongest attribute.
"If I have a legacy, it's in public education," Alfano said. "It's the great equalizer in a democracy."
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