By Brian Zanzonico
According to unofficial results, Democrat Craig Johnson carried Elmont, capturing more than 60 percent of the vote. The voting in Franklin Square, however, was a different story entirely. Republican Maureen O'Connell trounced Johnson with more than 67 percent of the vote.
Johnson won the seat left vacant by Republican Michael Balboni in the 7th District - which comprises the Town of North Hempstead, Franklin Square and Elmont - with 53 percent of the vote. But combining Elmont and Franklin Square's unofficial vote totals makes for a different outcome: O'Connell received 11 more votes than Johnson, 2,395 to 2,384.
"Franklin Square is a Republican area," said a Republican party member who declined to be identified. "In Elmont, [O'Connell] lost by close to 800 votes. But in Elmont North, which is Republican, she won by 8 votes."
In a district that has historically elected Republicans, registered Democrats finally capitalized on their sizable numerical advantage - some 6,200 - over registered Republicans. Richard Guardino, dean of Hofstra University's Center for Suburban Studies, which focuses on Long Island history, said that several factors figure into winning a special election. "When you have an incumbent, there's a built-in base - they know what [the candidate] stands for, know what [the candidate's] about," Guardino said. "In a special election, [voters] rely more on what the media and campaigns say about it."
Voter turnout in Elmont was just over 17.5 percent, compared with just over 19 percent in Franklin Square, according to unofficial numbers - well below the 25 percent turnout districtwide. The number of voters who took part Feb. 6 pleasantly surprised Guardino, who said that voter turnout for a presidential election is about 50 percent. "Twenty-five percent voter turnout in a six-week campaign - that's huge," he said.
The money spent by the campaigns was also huge. Johnson and O'Connell combined to spend close to $4 million after then Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer crossed party lines to tap Balboni to be the state's homeland security czar on Dec. 26. The total is believed to be among the most ever spent on a campaign for a New York legislative seat. "You're talking about $96 a vote," said the Republican party member.
In addition to near-record spending, the election was also about star power. Both candidates were aided locally by major presidential hopefuls, as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani stumped for O'Connell in Franklin Square and at the Floral Park train station in the days leading up to the election, and Sen. Hillary Clinton dropped by Elmont American Legion Post No. 1033 with Johnson on Feb. 5.
The election was also not without controversy. The day before the vote, at County Attorney Lorna Goodman's request, state Supreme Court Justice Antonio Blandveen ordered that a letter Goodman wrote warning election inspectors not to ask for identification from voters - unless they were casting ballots for the first time - be given to inspectors. The Johnson campaign asked the Justice Department to assign representatives to polling places to protect against any civil rights violations, but were denied. Voters exiting polls in Franklin Square and Elmont said they were not asked to show identification.
It came as little surprise that Elmont favored Johnson. Voters backed four of five Democratic candidates in last November's election, the lone exception being popular Assemblyman Tom Alfano. For Alfano, who defeated Judge Alfred Cooper in the 21st Assembly District with about 55 percent of the vote, it was only the second time since he took office in 1996 that he carried Elmont.
Alfano, who served with O'Connell in the state Assembly in the late 1990s, said the day after the election that he would welcome Johnson to Albany. "I look forward to working with Craig Johnson," he said. "On issues such as health care and education, we have a lot in common, and I look forward to seeing him at the capital this week."
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