The stealth election

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Nineteen days remain until we go to the polls to choose a governor, a congressman, a state senator and an assemblyman, not to mention voting on a constitutional amendment.

If you were unaware that election day is creeping up on us, you’re not alone.

Just a few short weeks ago, we were being bombarded by robocalls from political leaders big and small and our mailboxes were flooded with literature urging us to get to the polls to choose a Democratic contender for state Senate in the most important primary battle the community, nay, the state, had ever seen.

Now, even the candidates are laying low. Why should the incumbents waste their time when they can see that they have commanding leads in the polls over unrecognizable opponents or no opponents at all?

Ask any of your friends the name of the Republican candidate for state Senate in the 34th District. Hint: his picture is on the front page of this week’s Press.

Does Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz have an opponent on Tuesday, Nov. 4? Yes, he does, a Conservative named Alan Reed. Not so much as a photo of him or a position paper on any issue comes up on a cursory web search.

Rep. Eliot Engel is running unopposed for another term in Congress, but Rep. Charles Rangel has a Green Party challenger. Guess his name.

The demise of the Republican Party in the borough and the city as a whole has deprived us of the opportunity to debate a host of important issues and obscured a bunch of others. And it is surprising. 

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani was a lightning rod for complaint by the end of his term, but he proved that a standardbearer for his party could, indeed, get elected. 

Without a significant challenger, where will the discussion of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s disbanding of the Moreland Commission come from? 

Who is on the stump demanding campaign finance reform? 

Will we hear any candidates talk about a hike in the minimum wage? The Women’s Equality Act? How the new Tappan Zee Bridge will be paid for? Whether fracking is a scourge or a godsend? How giant new casinos will revive the state’s economy (or drive it into a ditch)?

Unless you’re so deeply invested in the political process that you’ve joined a club, like the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democrats or paid close attention to last week’s Press, you probably haven’t heard anything about the constitutional amendment aimed at bringing fairness and transparency to the state’s redistricting process.

In the long run, that could be the single most important thing on the ballot.

This election may be running on the Q.T., but you can still raise your voice. Don’t be silent on Nov. 4. Vote.

election, Rudy Giuliani, Andrew Cuomo, minimum wage, campaign finance, Moreland Commission, Tappan Zee Bridge, Women's Equality Act, Ben Franklin Club

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