Is the State GOP Wising Up?

Maybe, just maybe, the New York State Republican Party has come to its senses and realizes it should support candidates who can actually win. While this epiphany has not translated into the selection of a viable choice to face Senator Schumer this November, at least on a local level, the GOP powers that be in Albany may at last be wising up. Two years ago, Al Curtis ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in the 23rd District against Senator Seymour Lachman, but managed to get 49% of the vote with little funding and minimal state party support. Mr. Lachman has announced that he will not run for re-election and Mr. Curtis has been tapped by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno to run again for the soon-vacant seat. His opponent will be Diane Savino, political director for Local 371 of the Social Services Employees Union. This time around, Mr. Curtis will also likely have the support of the borough president, James Molinaro, whose Conservative Party supported Mr. Lachman in 2002. With the state GOP committing total support for his candidacy, prospects are good for what could turn out to be an historic victory. Maybe this time even a Bloomberg fund-raiser for Al Curtis is a possibility. When Al Curtis ran for the same seat in 2002, I followed his campaign and honestly believed he was a shoo-in. But I was under the mistaken impression that the state party was providing full support and funding for his candidacy. That race was somewhat eclipsed by the fact that the Staten Island GOP had an African-American as its candidate. Much public ado was made at the time that should Mr. Curtis win, he would be the first black from either party to be elected on Staten Island. I sat down with Mr. Curtis at Jerry's 637 Cafe on Bay Street for a breakfast chat, and he stressed the importance of reaching out to a community that has been severely shortchanged by its voting habits. One of the reasons, Mr. Curtis explained, that Republican John Marchi gets endorsements from both parties is that the longest-ranking legislator in the country brings home the bacon for his constituents. The state Senate has a Republican majority. This means that if the discretionary fund was, say, $150 billion, the GOP would get to disburse $140 billion, leaving the minority only $10 billion. "That means that Democrats can do little more than issue proclamations and citations," Mr. Curtis said. Yet the North Shore of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn including Borough Park, Sunset Park, and Coney Island are traditionally heavily Democrat and historically have voted that party line. Consequently, the Democratic senators can never get any bills passed that would benefit these communities. With his party's support and the promise of fund-raising assistance, Mr. Curtis hopes to be the senator who will deliver major legislation that will bring improvements to these neglected communities. If and when he's elected, he will put forth legislation to create desperately needed teen centers. Every summer, we run into the same problem of kids hanging around the street corners with little or nothing to do. These centers will have summer work programs to provide training to teenagers, preparing them for fulltime work. Mr. Curtis proposes tax incentives to businesses that provide employment opportunities to the youth at these centers. Another issue he addressed is the problem Staten Islanders face with overdevelopment. Every square inch of land is being bulldozed to build new housing. It is a serious problem that, Mr. Curtis said, needs to be curbed and regulated. My research has found that unscrupulous developers have been selling their homes to unqualified buyers, usually minorities, at high interest rates. Consequently, their inadequate incomes make the high monthly mortgage payments difficult to maintain and there is a high foreclosure rate for these new homes. Many residents have voiced the fear that abandoned homes will create new slums. Mayor Giuliani endorsed Mr. Curtis in 2002, calling him "a man who possesses a combination of vision, management skills, leadership and commitment to the people of New York City." Besides serving under Mr. Giuliani as commissioner of the city's Department of Youth, Mr. Curtis was also the CEO of the United Nations Development Corporation. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the City University of New York and is a former chairman of the Staten Island chapter of the Naacp. Al Curtis and his wife, Aurelia, have three children: Al Jr., 20, Tiffany, 15, and Gillian, 11. Mrs. Curtis was recently named the new principal of Curtis H.S. There has never been a female, much less an African-American, principal in the history of the school. Again, I mentioned the historic possibility of his win but Al Curtis doesn't want to be known primarily as the black candidate. He plans to represent the interests of the entire community. We would be wise, therefore, to judge Mr. Curtis, as Dr. King said, not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character. CORRECTION-DATE: May 25, 2004 CORRECTION: Thirty-five percent of the vote is how much Al Curtis received in his unsuccessful bid for state Senate two years ago.An Alicia Colon column in yesterday's editions of The New York Sun misstated the percentage.