Voter's Guide 2010: The Candidates

Cuomo, Paladino. Schumer, Townshend. Gillibrand, DioGuadari. Bishop, Altschuler. LaValle, Maertz. Alessi, Losquadro.

These are the names you've been hearing on dozens of media outlets and reading on hundreds of for-and-against political signs throughout Riverhead. Here is a final summary of the major party candidates for 2010 Election Day on Nov. 2.

New York State Governor:

D  – Andrew Cuomo  – As New York Attorney General, Cuomo investigated the state pension fund, the student loan industry and Wall Street corruption. As governor, Cuomo says he will consolidate state government and focus on revitalizing New York by bringing in new jobs. Republican opponent Carl Paladino and others blame Cuomo's expansion of mortgage loans when he was secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Clinton for fueling the housing crisis.

R  – Carl Paladino  – Paladino defeated Rick Lazio and pushed out Suffolk County's own Steve Levy for the Republican nomination. The focus of Paladino's campaign is overhaul in Albany. He says he plans to declare a fiscal state of emergency and will cut the state budget by 10 to 20 percent by freezing compensation of state employees, among other budget trimming measures. Paladino, a lawyer and businessman from Buffalo, has faced controversy during the campaign, accused of sending explicit e-mails and making offensive statements towards the homosexual community.

U.S. Senate:

D - Sen. Charles Schumer - Schumer, New York's senior senator, was elected in 1998. Prior to being elected Senator, Schumer spent nearly 20 years in the House of Representatives. His voting record includes support for measures that discourage offshoring of American jobs, the creation of the Small Business Lending Fund Program, and the health care public option (which he drafted).

R - Jay Townsend - Townsend is a businessman who formed The Townsend Group, an advertising agency based in Orange County, in 1993. He has lashed out against what he has called "the Obama spending spree" and has been an outspoken critic of the recent health care plan supported by Schumer. If elected, Townsend has said he plans to vote to repeal it.

U.S. Senate:

D - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand - Gillibrand says job creation and economic development are her highest priorities. She voted in February to support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and supported measures that provide tax cuts for middle class families. She also believes in increased access to healthcare, controlling medical costs, and she supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the so-called public healthcare option.

R - Joseph DioGuardi - DioGuardi believes government spending is out of control and is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility and budget reform. He also supports increased access to healthcare and controlling medical costs, but does not believe it should be legislated. Instead he believes that it should be accomplished within the private sector.

Attorney General:

D - Eric T. Schneiderman - Eric T. Schneiderman received his Bachelor's degree from Amherst College, where he majored in English and Asian studies.  His law degree is from Harvard Law School.  He served as Deputy Sheriff in Berkshire County, Massachusetts and from there went on serve as an anti-crime, anti drug advocate as an attorney and in the New York State Senate, getting elected in 1998.

R - Dan Donovan - A Staten Island District Attorney, Dan Donovan received his Bachelor's degree from St. John's University, where he majored in Criminal Justice. He received his law degree from Fordham University Law School.  He was a prosecutor for eight years in Manhattan and served as a Staten Island Borough President in 2002.

State Comptroller:

D - Thomas DiNapoli - Nassau County resident Thomas DiNapoli became state comptroller in 2007.  In 1972 when he was elected to the Mineola Board of Education.  He was only 18 years old.  He then served in the New York State Assembly for 20 years. He has also been an adjunct professor and a manager in the telecommunications industry.

DiNapoli earned his Bachelor's degree from Hofstra University with a major in History.  He received his Master's degree Management and Urban Policy from The New School University.

R - Harry Wilson - Harry Wilson, a native on Johnstown, New York, has been comptroller for Goldman Sachs, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Blackstone Group, and Silver Point Capital.

Wilson was the only Republican to serve on the President's Auto Task Force, where he advised both President's Bush and Obama on how to proceed with the overhaul of General Motors.  He was opposed the corporate bailout of car company Chrysler. 

Wilson is married with four children and lives in Westchester.

U.S. Congress, New York State's First District:

D – Rep. Tim Bishop (Southampton) – Bishop has admitted this year's race is the toughest of his four re-election bids, though he believes it's due to a "reflection primarily of the times" more so than anything he has or has not done. Bishop has labeled Republican candidate Randy Altschuler as an outsider and an outsourcer, pointing to his relatively new move to the district three years ago and founding role in Office Tiger, a company that provides jobs overseas. As a native of Southampton and former Provost of Southampton College, Bishop is hoping his track record getting federal funds to the area and past experiences with voters help win him a fifth term.

R – Randy Altschuler (St. James) - Randy Altschuler took many of the same punches Bishop is throwing now to win a 3-way September primary and land on the November ballot. While he says people respond better to a positive message, Altschuler has linked Bishop to an unpopular Congress and Democratic party both in his ads and in an interview with Patch. Altschuler is a self-made multi-millionaire who has spent $2 million of his own money on the campaign, and is marketing himself as someone who can manage a budget without asking taxpayers for more money.

New York State Senate:

R — Ken LaValle (Port Jefferson) — LaValle has been the state's senator since 1976. Over the years he has been a strong advocate for land preservation, STAR rebates — programs he said he wants to see continue if re-elected. He said he also wants to see caps on government spending and real property taxes and more representation for the state outside of New York City in the senate. LaValle often ran for re-election unopposed and says he his is again running on his successful record, but his opponent this year, attorney Jennifer Maertz, says that it's time for new leadership in the senate.

D — Jennifer Maertz (Rocky Point) — Maertz, who was born the same year LaValle was first elected to senate, is an attorney and co-chairperson of the Brookhaven Town Democrats. If she defeats LaValle, she would be the first female from Suffolk County to be elected to the state senate. Much of her campaign is based on an anti-incumbent sentiment, telling Patch in a recent interview that she believes LaValle is "highly beatable," pointing to the fact that in 2008, many chose not to vote at all rather than vote for the incumbent senator. Maertz is critical of the STAR rebate program, claiming that a $400 rebate check is not the financial remedy for middle class families who pay thousands of dollars a year in taxes.

New York State Assembly, First District:

D — Marc Alessi (Shoreham) — Alessi is an attorney who worked for the Civil Service Employees Association and the State Comptroller before taking office in 2005. In the assembly, he serves on committees set up to improve labor, energy, agriculture, and aging issues. Alessi passed bills to help wineries hold special events and to extend the North Fork Wine Trail. Recently, Alessi has made headlines by starting a website devoted to helicopter noise reduction, where residents can directly e-mail the Federal Aviation Administration with concerns over passing helicopters. If re-elected, Alessi says he plans to introduce legislation to help control deer population and to continue to reform healthcare.

R — Dan Losquadro — Losquadro is the minority leader of the Suffolk County Legislature and was first elected to office in 2003. Before that, he worked as a property claims investigator for State Farm Insurance. He helped pass bills to establish the county's first drinking water distribution standards and currently sits on the board of directors of the county's Soil and Water District. Losquadro is an advocate of more stringent financial disclosure laws and changing the state pension system, which creates a burden on taxpayers. He said he wants to see a coalition created in the assembly to take power away from New York City.