Some post-election quarterbacking

Some have the Super Bowl. Me? I have Election Day.

I’ve been involved in local politics here on Long Island for more than 50 years and have participated in some pretty heated races. However, some of this year’s contests were among the most mean-spirited — on both sides of the aisle — that I’ve ever witnessed.

There were more than 150 contests on Long Island. The candidates, both Republicans and Democrats, who voluntarily entered public service, were slandered in ways that would make anyone hesitant to ever think about running for office.

For me, someone who takes great pride in public service, that is truly disturbing.

Let’s start in Nassau County. In the 5th Legislative District, a young family man, Republican Chris Browne, ran a second hard-fought campaign to unseat the incumbent, Joseph Scannell. Trouble started when the Democratic Party paid for a letter to be sent by two Wantagh residents to voters, urging them to vote against Browne, claiming that as a member of the Town of Hempstead’s Board of Zoning Appeals, he voted to permit a strip club.

In a desperate attempt to shift the subject away from the issues people care about — spending and taxes — Scannell and his party resorted to a nasty smear campaign.

The fact that Browne wasn’t present on the day of the vote and that the board never approved a “strip club,” but rather a cabaret club explicitly prohibiting nudity, was totally ignored. In addition, he voted to deny the cabaret license on the day of the rehearing of the application. It was a calculated and cruel lie that caused Chris and his family a lot of pain. I believe it cost him the election, and Scannell should have known better.

In the 4th Legislative District, incumbent Denise Ford, an independent voice who votes with both Republicans and Democrats, had run unopposed in the past two elections. This year the Democratic Party ran first-time candidate Darlene Tangney. Tangney came out with guns blazing, and charged that Ford had voted to raise taxes and close police precincts. Both charges were unsubstantiated.