From Sue in Brookhaven: 

The attacks from Ron Lauder on Democratic State Senators from Long Island are unconscionable as well as false. They also raise an important strategy question.

These attacks especially infuriate me: at the same time that Lauder has been all over the media during the High Holy Days decrying anti-semitism and hate, he is running attack ads against Monica Martinez (my senator). She herself (as well as her community) has been the victim of so much anti-immigrant anti-Hispanic hate. It seems incomprehensible. 

Even before she became a state senator, Monica was working hard with community leaders and law enforcement in her hometown of Brentwood to end the scourge of MS13 and start anti-gang programs in schools. As a senator she’s secured $500,000 for anti-gang efforts. MS13 has been largely closed down because of these joint initiatives.

Sen. Jim Gaughran is one of the loveliest and most thoughtful progressive senators we have in Albany. To add insult to injury as far as the nasty charges in these ads, Monica and Jim tried to act as peacemakers between the bail-reform advocates and law enforcement. And this is the thanks they get!

Lauder’s attacks do raise an important question. With the Supreme Court going conservative, we absolutely MUST win the NY Senate again and continue to build a progressive firewall. Having a super-majority in the NY State Senate just became critical. 

The campaign kitties of state senators, even in these swing districts, is pitiful (at the end of July, Monica had around $65,000 in hers) so even small donations can give them a big boost. If people can’t donate but can volunteer for a couple of phonebanks or share candidiate information on Facebook, that would also be great. 

Monica Martinez (Suffolk)   https://monicaforsenate.com/
Jim Gaughran (Nassau) https://gaughran2020.com/
Andrew Gounardes (Brooklyn) https://www.andrewgounardes.com/
Kevin Thomas (Nassau) https://senatorthomas.com/

Thanks so much. Best, Sue