Last night I went to the Maertz-Fleming debate held at the Rocky Point VFW Hall by the League of Women Voters. Maertz and Fleming are running in the Democratic primary. Each of them hopes to be running against Ken Lavalle in November.
I went with an open mind but came out certain that my vote would go to Jennifer Maertz. When asked what makes each of them the better candidate to run against Senator LaValle, Fleming’s pat answer was “I can raise more money.” Where Maertz gave several budget reform initiatives she would support at the state level, Fleming repeatedly told us how much money she has raised so far in comparison to how much Maertz has raised. Fleming also told us about a New York City PAC that supports her, but what also came out was that this group approached Maertz first and Maertz declined because she refused to promise allegiance to their cause. On many issues the two agree: They both support getting rid of the MTA tax, they both want to encourage businesses to LI, and they both support the public finance bill. So, Ms. Fleming, who should we vote for: You because you’ve been able to raise more money or Maertz, who gave specific issues on how to solve some of the problems in our district and has shown that she will not be beholding to any special-interest group. I think the answer is clear.
Yes, it does take money to win an election, but it takes more than that to serve. It takes a commitment to the district that person will represent. So, let’s put Jennifer Maertz on the Democratic ticket and then give her the money she needs to win the general election.
Maertz came very close to beating LaValle two years ago when she stepped up only two months before the election to fill Calcaterra’s place when she was disqualified. Even with very little time and support she gave him a run for HIS MONEY. Please don’t tell me it’s all about the money. The voters are smarter than that!
Vote for Jennifer Maertz on the Democratic primary on Sept. 13.
