I have long understood that politics involves a certain amount of gamesmanship and spin. Candidates attempt to frame their opponents the way the wish voters to see them, but by using facts, not falsehoods, selectively and arranging them into a narrative that is more favorable to themselves and less so to their opponents.
That is normal and to be expected in election campaigns. As conservative columnist Bret Stephens has written: “In a democracy, a certain amount of division is natural.”
But in a healthy democracy, division and disagreement must be based upon a foundation of basic truth and decency. What has decidedly not been normal or natural in recent local election cycles is the degree of maliciously misleading propaganda, vilification, and outright lying that have permeated some campaigns, and no more so than in the current cycle.
Kim Keiserman and Gina Sillitti have been superb community leaders and public servants throughout their careers.
They’ve fought long and valiantly for education funding, environmental concerns, reproductive freedom, law enforcement, common sense gun safety, keeping taxes as low as possible while maintaining and enhancing essential services, helping to solve the housing crisis, and ridding us of the lying and corrupt George Santos.
Especially they’ve done so with honesty, respect for all their constituents, and by being present in, and working for, our communities each and every week. (Contrast that with Keiserman’s opponent Jack Martins’ statements that he considers his NYS Senate position to be a “part-time job”, that he makes his living as a practicing lawyer, and that there’s no conflict of interest between the two.)
But Jack Martins and Sillitti’s opponent Daniel Norber have disqualified themselves for elective office with campaign material that is nothing short of abhorrent.
Martins vilified Keiserman on his Facebook page by associating her with an event promoting state legislation to provide free school lunches for needy children, all because it was attended by state Assembly Member Jessica Gonzales-Rojas, who had every right to be there as a co-sponsor of the bill, but whom he maliciously and without evidence labeled a “blatant antisemite.”
The facts are: 1) Keiserman never even attended the event and 2) Ms. Gonzalez-Rojas is on record as deploring the loss of life on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides.
Those are hardly the words of a “blatant anti-Semite.” More importantly, officials who have differences on one issue coming together to find common ground on another in order to achieve something positive is something to be applauded, not condemned.
We no longer have enough of that in our civic life today and if we don’t get it back, we will be lost as a society.
Martins put out a mailer accusing Keiserman of being a “tax hiker”, when that is impossible because she has yet to hold an office where she could have voted on any taxes whatsoever.
He has another mailer with the nonsensical insinuation that she’s supported by Chinese Communists.
Facts: Linda Sun gave a paltry $250 in contributions to Keiserman’s campaign before Sun was investigated for her possible connection to the Chinese Communist Party. Keiserman returned the money immediately when it was revealed Sun was under investigation.
Still another Martins mailer says she supported a “massive 5.6% School Budget Increase”, blatantly ignoring that the budget (Port Washington’s, where Keiserman lives) was approved by the electorate of the school district by more than 70%. He has also falsely called Keiserman a supporter of, and the recipient of endorsements by, “police defunders”.
For his part, Daniel Norber has echoed the same “Chinese Communists” nonsense in his mailers about Sillitti.
On his Facebook page, he has a video brazenly claiming that Sillitti voted for “the cannabis shop opening up here in New Hyde Park”, when in fact the Village of New Hyde Park, Town of North Hempstead, and the Town of Hempstead have all passed laws outlawing cannabis shops within their boundaries. And regardless of those laws, none of this falls within the purview of an Assemblywoman. Norber’s claim betrays his ignorance of the very job he’s applying for.
Like Martins, Norber put out mailers attempting to tie Sillitti to high crime (in particular cashless bail), police defunders, and high taxes. Facts: 1) Sillitti wasn’t even in office when the bail reform law was passed and has pushed for important fixes to bail reform; 2) she has been endorsed by Nassau County’s biggest police unions because she has delivered over $2 million for local police departments and passed laws cracking down on squatters, retail theft, hate crimes, and illegal cannabis shops; 3) she has brought tax cuts to middle class families, delivered property tax rebates, and delivered nearly $100 million in public school aid to the 16th District, a 20% increase in previous years funding, which eases pressure on property taxes.
Finally, after agreeing more than a month ago to debate Sillitti for the League of Women Voters (LWV) on Oct. 22, Norber recently cancelled his appearance after Sillitti, with utmost politesse and civility, unequivocally demolished him at their debate held by the Lakeville Estates Civic Association (beginning at 1:10:15 in the linked video). And now Martins has followed suit by suddenly cancelling his appearance with Keiserman the day before same event, giving no reason to his opponent, the League, or his public. LWV is the gold standard for candidate debates and barring illness, last minute cancellations for this event is yet another disqualification.
Campaigns like Martins’ and Norber’s are beyond the pale, demeaning to our community, and serve only to sow division and hatred, rather than bringing people together as Keiserman and Sillitti have long dedicated themselves to doing. Our country is already exhausted, divided, and stuck in paralysis as a result of the same tactics. But we on Long Island can be better than that.
Character, integrity, decency, and respect for the public one serves matter and Keiserman and Sillitti have them in spades. The kind of leadership they have provided is within our grasp for the future. It is time to turn the page to a new chapter of honesty, decency, and respect. I hope you will all join me in categorically rejecting ugly, below-the-belt campaigning and restoring fulltime civility and competence to our local polity by voting for Kim Keiserman for NYS Senate District 7 and Gina Sillitti for NYS Assembly District 16.
Robert Yamins
Great Neck