Editorial

‘All politics is local’

Posted

As the summer draws to a close and families return from beaches, mountain retreats or grand tours of Europe, voters are beginning to pay attention to the a primary election that political junkies across the state and even across the nation have been watching for weeks — the contest between state Sen. Jeff Klein and former Councilman Oliver Koppell for Mr. Klein’s seat.

Until now, all of the focus has been on Mr. Klein’s renegade status within the Democratic Party. Mr. Koppell first joined the race, he says, because his opponent’s Independent Democratic Coalition (IDC) has kept the Republicans in control of the Senate.

For a time, it appeared that powerful Democrats — including Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill DeBlasio — might give their backing to Mr. Koppell. But then the governor sat down with Mr. Klein and hammered out a deal allowing the IDC to keep its independence as long as he caucused with the Democrats — on the assumption that the Republicans won’t be able to take a majority of seats on their own.

That agreement hasn’t sat well with Mr. Koppell or his supporters and he has not withdrawn from the race.

Some local voters are downright angry about that, others are cheering the challenger on, but many still adhere to the dictum that “all politics is local” and the candidates’ stance on local issues — which have, so far, gotten short shrift in the campaign — will determine which box they check on primary day.

What are those local issues? As always, development is front and center. Neighbors of the proposed Montefiore Medical Center on Riverdale Avenue are paying close attention to the promises of the candidates about that pivotal project. On the one hand, Mr.Klein’s landlord and largest contributor is Joe Simone, Montefiore’s developer, but,the senator and his Assembly colleague Jeff Dinowitz pushed through tough legislation tying the hospital’s hands and he has vowed “to put the community first.”

Mr. Koppell has promised to oppose the project.

Oliver Koppell, Jeff Klein, debate
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