Membrs efforts in political races pay off

By SHERRY HALBROOK
The long months of political campaigning have ended and, as the dust settles, PEF activists are feeling a strong sense of satisfaction.

“It was like New Year’s Eve. It was amazing,” said PEF Region 11 Coordinator Jemma Marie-Hanson, of the euphoria that spread through the neighborhoods of New York City November 4 when the news of Barack Obama’s election was announced.

“We were exhausted,” she said, “but we were very happy.”

Margaret Messer, PEF’s director of member mobilization, said at least 170 PEF activists, along with their family members and friends worked on the elections in 2008.

“I don’t have the numbers from some PEF regions yet, so the total will be higher than that, and many of the volunteers turned out over and over again,” Messer said.

Busloads of members from PEF Regions 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 on Long Island made forays into Pennsylvania to campaign for Obama in October.

In addition to filling the PEF buses, many of the union’s activists boarded vans and buses sent by other unions and the Obama campaign to stump for him in New Hampshire and Ohio, as well.

The presidential race may have been a big priority for every PEF region, but so were 235 congressional and state legislative races in which the union had endorsed candidates.

“We did very well, ” said PEF Vice President Joe Fox, who heads the union’s political action efforts. “We had a success rate of 97 percent.”

Close calls
Final election results are still hanging fire in a few races that are very close, such as the 29th Congressional District which sprawls over nine counties in southwestern New York state. PEF endorsed the challenger, Democrat Eric Massa, who appears to be the winner.

PEF Region 1 activists also helped push Republican Dale Volker to re-election in a close race in the state’s 59th Senate District in northwestern New York.

In State Senate District 11 in Queens, PEF’s endorsed candidate, incumbent Republican Frank Padavan, appears to have won a narrow victory with PEF’s help.

“We cannot be certain of the outcomes in those races and possibly also in the 24th CD until the results are certified,” said Brian Curran, PEF’s director of legislation and counsel. Incumbent Democrat Michael Arcuri was endorsed by PEF and appears to have won re-election in that 11-county district in central New York.

PEF’s favorite son
One of the most satisfying victories for PEF activists was the election of Democrat Paul Tonko in the 21st Congressional District which has been represented by the extremely popular Mike McNulty for decades.

“We’ve had a great congressman in Mike McNulty to represent Albany and a large part of the Capital District,” said PEF Region 8 Coordinator Tom Comanzo. “After Mike announced he was retiring, we were very excited when Paul Tonko decided to run. He was an engineer with the state Department of Transportation, then moved to the Department of Public Service until 1983, when Paul became the first PEF member elected to the state Legislature.

“Paul served in the Assembly for more than 24 years. Now, he is the first former PEF member to become a member of Congress. Our members got out early to campaign for him and stayed with him all the way to the finish line.”

Region 8 activists also volunteered enthusiastically for Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand in her bid for a second term in the 20th CD, campaigning door-to-door and phoning union households.

Her opponent, the former chair of the state Republican Party, spent millions of dollars on a TV advertising campaign that ran incessantly for many months. Nevertheless, the mother of two young children won decisively.

Hanson said her Region 11 volunteers had their hands full supporting several candidates, such as Padavan, in very tight races. Not every battle could be won. Republican incumbent Serphin Maltese of Queens went down to defeat in the 15th SD.

Another Republican state senator of many years, Caesar Trunzo, lost his battle for re-election in the 3rd SD, in Suffolk County and PEF Region 12.
PEF may need its friends

“I’m very proud of the skill, the passion and the determination our members brought to all of these races,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “Every year, they become more effective, and they don’t stop when they retire from state service. They get active in PEF Retirees and go right on fighting for the issues and the candidates. It’s no wonder we truly are getting stronger every day.

“We are going to need all of that strength, that unity and that skill to protect the jobs, the services, the pay and the benefits we have fought and sacrificed to achieve for decades. These are very challenging times and we know we have done our best to support state and national policymakers who will hear our issues and concerns. Those relationships may be tested soon.