Lanza, Titone are a study in contrasts
As the race heats up, voters are faced with 2 candidates that
differ in more ways than just party affiliation
Sunday, October 01, 2006
By ROB HART
The state Senate race is heading into the home stretch with two
individuals still on the track, and voters are faced with candidates
that differ in more ways than just party affiliation.
City Councilman Andrew Lanza, 42, lives in Great Kills with his wife
and three kids. He's a red-meat Republican in his second term in the
City Council.
He relates well to the people in his district, and when they talk
about their problems, he offers up his own anecdotes, showing he can
relate. He knows how to control a room and displays plenty of nostalgia
for growing up on Staten Island.
Lanza doesn't shy away from rocking the boat, and while critics call
his style arrogant, he calls it passion for his constituents and wears
it as a badge of honor.
Then there's attorney Matthew Titone, 45, who is gay and lives in
West Brighton with his partner. A liberal Democrat, he's done pro bono
work for Staten Island organizations and people may recognize his name
from his father, the late Judge Vito Titone.
But other than that, he's a political novice, aiming high on his
first run. He starts off as quiet, but not shy. Put him in front of a
microphone, and he grabs the audience. He's charismatic and has an easy
time making people laugh. Despite the fact that he's new to the
political game, he knows the policies he discusses.
This is supposed to be the year the Democrats make a big showing at
the polls. But this is Staten Island, where Republicans can usually
breathe easy. There are countless factors that play into the race for
both candidates, but for everything that goes one way, something else
gets knocked out of whack.
LANZA
PLUS: Lanza (R-South Shore) won overwhelming majorities of the vote
in his two bids for the City Council seat.
MINUS: He won the Republican Senate primary against attorney Robert
Helbock, a top aide to Marchi (R-Staten Island), by only six points. And
compared to the City Council: Different seat, different district,
different candidate and different dynamic.
PLUS: Helbock, who could have run on the Conservative line, balked
and dropped out. That carves out Borough President James Molinaro, a
Conservative who backed Helbock and a staunch enemy of Lanza.
MINUS: Molinaro has the option to put up a Conservative candidate, or
in a left-field fit on anti-Lanza sentiment, could back Titone, either
publicly or privately.
PLUS: Lanza has a legislative record. Among his successes, he points
to procuring parks, fighting overdevelopment and pushing for a fourth
police precinct.
MINUS: His attendance record is another issue. He missed 72 of 153
Council committee meetings in 2005. He said it was due to participation
in an ethics investigation and the ensuing backlog of constituent
duties.
PLUS: Lanza is a professional politician. He talks with fervor and
when the interest of his district is at stake, he has a reputation for
being confrontational.
MINUS: He has a reputation for being confrontational. Critics blame
him for inciting a near-riot during a public hearing on NASCAR.
PLUS: Lanza has the entire Republican establishment, from Albany on
down, standing behind him, and there isn't a shrinking violet among
them. They're not stingy with the campaign cash, either.
MINUS: This could be a bad year for the GOP. The blue wave led by
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's quest for governor and U.S. Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for re-election could keep Republicans at
home on election day.
PLUS: Lanza can save money on the campaign mailings used to bash
Helbock for cuddling up to NASCAR.
MINUS: If he plans on keeping up the attacks, it might be hard to
find a topic as hot as the track, considering Titone is against it.
PLUS: The Republican leadership of the Senate want to keep their
majority. A truck full of money is probably headed down the New York
Thruway.
MINUS: Political wonks are saying that, after years of Republican
control on the federal and state levels, the pendulum could be swinging
the other way.
TITONE
PLUS: The Spitzer/Clinton dynamic could be enough to carry Titone to
Albany, and he's pulling a wide spectrum of Dems into his corner.
MINUS: While it can be said Republicans might sit on their hands come
Nov. 7, Democrats might do the same if they think the margins are wide
enough and their guys don't need the votes.
PLUS: Titone has name recognition. His father was a popular judge who
ran two failed bids against Marchi.
MINUS: Voters might have an easier time picking Lanza out of a
line-up. Besides Titone's family name and community involvement, he
hasn't had as much face time.
PLUS: Given Albany's reputation as dysfunctional, voters could warm
to a novice.
MINUS: Incumbents, on any level, almost always have the advantage.
PLUS: When meeting with voters, Titone is passionate, personable and
has a sharp wit.
MINUS: He doesn't have a record to run on. And how does wit stack up
against Lanza's bursting campaign war chest, an area where Titone hasn't
kept pace?
PLUS: He's gay. Voters may respect the fact that he's willing to put
that into the public sector. It would be risky for anyone to publicly
attack him for his sexual orientation.
MINUS: Titone is still going to contend with some homophobic
backlash. Remember the infamous and anonymous "lesbian letter" sent out
last year to besmirch state Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn),
who isn't even a lesbian?
PLUS: With the Senate GOP holding on to a tenuous 35-27 majority,
Dems might push hard to wrangle another seat.
MINUS: Titone is getting support, but with guys like Mayor Michael
Bloomberg pushing for Lanza, he needs someone of that caliber to give
him a more public boost.
PLUS: He got to watch from the sidelines as Helbock and Lanza stayed
in the public eye while bruising each other with campaign mailings.
MINUS: With a white-hot spotlight swinging his way, he'll be facing a
new kind of heat and will have to rethink his strategy. After losing his
best weapon, the potential split vote with Helbock on the Conservative
line, it might be time to consider pushing harder.
Rob Hart covers state government for the Advance. He may be reached
at rhart@siadvance.com.
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