The two candidates debate

GOP State Senator Marty Golden and his Democratic opponent, Andrew Gounardes, faced off in a debate before the Dyker Heights Civic Association last night. It was an aggressive clash with both candidates facing off in front of a packed crowd that cheered, clapped, booed and even hissed.

For his part, Mr. Gounardes most directly engaged Mr. Golden on women's issues, including a declaration that the incumbent's position on equal pay legislation is "shameful" and one rebuttal on post-rape abortion services consisting solely of "Marty, you voted against that bill three times up in Albany."

While Mr. Golden, a former police officer, spoke most passionately on public safety issues.

"Illegal guns are the guns killing our children on our street!" he exclaimed after Mr. Gounardes accused him of being in the pocket of the gun lobby. "There were 2,600 people killed in 1991; 2,245 in 1992. This year it'll be under 500...And guess what? It's still not good enough. The only way to make it better is by going after the bad guys that got the guns and putting them in jail!"

Watch the debate below, courtesy of Bensonhurst Bean:

(Photo: Getty)

Brooklyn State Senator Marty Golden may be a conservative Republican, but he can still rack up influential union endorsements as he campaigns for reelection against Democrat Andrew Gounardes. To wit, the 200,000 member union SEIU 1199 announced their endorsement of Mr. Golden this morning.

"He has written and passed many important pieces of legislation that have improved and protected the health and well-being of all New Yorkers," Kevin Finnegan, 1199's political director, said in a statement. "The members of New York’s largest health care workers union, 1199 SEIU, appreciate his efforts. We intend to work hard to see the Senator re-elected, so he can continue his outstanding work in Albany."

Of course, the union isn't a complete stranger to supporting Republicans. For example, 1199 notably cut a deal with former Governor George Pataki and is credited with being instrumental in the GOP pol's reelection efforts.

However, the 1199 announcement is the latest of several union endorsements for Mr. Golden, most notably the highly-organized Hotel Trades Council. In recent days and weeks, the incumbent has also rolled out a smaller stream of trades groups, uniformed labor and smaller chapters of larger organization, clearly an effort to show his strength among blue-collar voters.

For his part, Mr. Gounardes secured a number of Democratic labor staples for his campaign so far, and managed to mount an aggressive effort to stop the large AFL-CIO from going Mr. Golden's way.

The Senate Democrats have repeatedly said defeating Mr. Golden is one of their statewide priorities in November's general election. However, thanks to a favorable district, a fundraising advantage and union support like 1199's, victory will be no easy task for Mr. Gounardes.

Marty Golden (Photo: Facebook)

"In June, Beverly Neufeld, President of the New York Women's Aenda and Director of the Equal Pay Coalition, called legislation that I co-sponsored, '...a welcome accomplishment for Equal Pay advocates and women across New York'" GOP State Senator Marty Golden wrote in a recent campaign mailing. "The Women's Workforce Bill is now law and is the first piece of State legislation that acknowledges and addresses the gender wage gap. It will not be the last."

However, in a press release provided by his campaign, Mr. Golden's Democratic opponent Andrew Gounardes pointed out that Mr. Golden was not among the co-sponsors of the bill, which passed the State Senate unanimously. The statement connected the slight to the senator's vote against the New York Fair Pay Act in 2011, and, of course, the now-infamous government mailer promoting a "feminine presence" class.

"Sadly, this is nothing new for Golden," Mr. Gounardes said. "He's been saying one thing and doing another for a long time. The only difference now is that he isn't saying it in a closed room or to his inner circle. This letter went to voters all across the district and they know how to fact-check."

Asked about the mailing, Mr. Golden's campaign said it was a simple error, and not exactly a big deal.

"The Senator strongly supported and voted for the bill," they told Politicker in a statement. "He was under the impression that he had, in fact, signed on as a co-sponsor. If given the opportunity again, he would do so. The statement in the letter was in error, but does not diminish the fact that the Senator did strongly advocate for its passage and voted for it."

The Brooklyn lawmaker is a top focus of the Senate Democrats' campaign operations, although it remains to be seen whether Mr. Gounardes can muster up enough support against the relatively popular incumbent.

(Photo: Getty)

On the heels of Senator Marty Golden's upset loss of the AFL-CIO endorsement yesterday, the Republican state senator is out with a prominent labor endorsement of his own: Teamsters Joint Council 16.

“Senator Golden has proven that he will fight for working families,” the union's president, George Miranda, said in a statement. “In these tough times, we need leaders we can count on to fight for every job and opportunity possible. That's why Teamsters Joint Council 16 is pleased to endorse State Senator Marty Golden for re-election. He is effective, forthright and diligent.”

While the Joint Council 16 umbrella group isn't the most influential union in city politics, their 120,000 members are a nice feather in Mr. Golden's cap, especially as he has already been endorsed by the Hotel Trades Council, one of the most powerful unions thanks to their well-trained troops.

A labor source suggested the Teamsters endorsement might be due to Mr. Golden's strong support for the reclassification of truck drivers, a top legislative priority for the union.

Mr. Golden is facing off against Democratic attorney Andrew Gounardes in November. In addition to the AFL-CIO, Mr. Gounardes has been endorsed by SEIU 32BJ and smaller trade unions.

Mr. Golden's district gave President Barack Obama 48% of the vote in 2008, but changed some in redistricting. With incumbency and a sizable war chest, Mr. Golden stands as the favorite, but Democrats argue he hasn't been seriously challenged in years and is more vulnerable than he appears.

Andrew Gounardes (Photo: Facebook)

State Senator Marty Golden unveiled new legislation this morning that would target those stashing "community guns" for others to use while avoiding carrying a gun for police to find traveling between locations. The move quickly earned the praise of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but Democrats are arguing that it is merely an attempt to shift the discussion away from a key issue that they have been steadily hammering him on for some time. Just two days ago, Senator Mike Gianaris, the head of the Senate Democrats' campaign efforts, called Mr. Golden out on his lack of support for microstamping legislation while on Inside City Hall.

"Faced with mounting criticism over his poor record on actual gun safety, Golden is trying to deflect attention from his record and steal some headlines to create the illusion that he is tough on crime," the press release declared, pointing to Mr. Gianaris' recent package of gun control legislation as a more proactive solution.

"Golden claims he wants to keep guns off the streets but his bill is all about guns already on the streets," Mr. Gounardes said in the statement. "The problem is that the NRA and the gun lobby do not care about keeping guns off the streets. Sadly, Golden's bill reflects that mindset."

"I'm ready to pass common sense bills," he said without weighing in further on Mr. Golden's proposed bill. "I want New York to be number one when it comes to gun control. Unfortunately, my opponent seems more intent on pleasing upstate Republican leadership and the gun lobby."

While gun control might not be popular in a lot of Republican-held Upstate districts where hunting can be ingrained in the culture, Democrats are clearly hoping that they can sink GOP in districts like Mr. Golden's Brooklyn one with the topic, elevated by a recent wave of violence and Governor Andrew Cuomo's indication that he's vaguely amenable to doing something in the next session, but only specifying his support for microstamping legislation.

For their part, the Senate Republicans have argued that they are open to additional measures to control illegal guns, but have also pointed out that relative to most states, New York is already fairly strong on the issue.

“We agree with the Governor that more can be done to combat criminals who use illegal guns, which account for the overwhelming majority of gun crimes in New York,” Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif responded the last time Mr. Gounardes attacked Mr. Golden on guns.

Update: Mr. Golden's campaign manager fires back on the issue in a statement of his own:

"The only illusion here is the belief that Andrew Gounardes is qualified to be a New York State Senator. To insinuate that Marty Golden doesn't care about the safety of his constituents is not only laughable, it's insulting. Senator Golden was severely injured in the line of duty serving as a New York City Police officer. Crime and Safety issues have been the cornerstone of his legislative career and that's why he has been endorsed by numerous police and law enforcement organizations. Andrew has not. Bottom line, no one in this race knows more about the safety of New Yorkers than Senator Golden as he's the only person in this race who has put his life on the line for his community."

(Photo: Facebook)

GOP State Senator Marty Golden has never struggled with fundraising, and facing his first serious challenger in years, continued to do so in his semiannual filing that just went online earlier this afternoon. Taking in $270,000 in contributions, Mr. Golden now has over $455,000 on hand as he aims to thwart Democrat Andrew Gounardes on Election Day.

“Senator Golden has given a lifetime of service to our community, through serving as a member of the NYPD, to leading the charge of small businesses, to serving in both the New York City Council and New York State Senate,”Jeffrey Kraus, Mr. Golden's campaign manager, said in a statement posted a couple days ago on the senator's website. “We are honored by the outpouring of support from seniors, moms, dads, and middle class families that have taken whatever they could and donated to our campaign.”

The total doesn't represent a mammoth increase over the war chest he had six months ago, however, as he also had a heavy burn rate of over $200,000 spent. Nevertheless, he still possesses a strong cash on hand advantage over Mr. Gounardes, who has just $150,000 while posting his own decent fundraising number of just under $200,000.

As a side note, Mr. Golden has been sharply criticized for spending campaign dollars lavishly at the Bay Ridge Manor, a catering hall owned and ran by his family, but the establishment received less money from his war chest this time around: only about $9,000 compared to $39,000 in his July 2011 filing.

Andrew Gounardes (Photo: Facebook)

"I demand that Senator Golden apologize immediately – if only on behalf of my mother and sister,” Democratic State Senate candidate Andrew Gounardes declared in a press release earlier today.

Mr. Gounardes was referring to Mr. Golden's now infamous "Feminine Presence" seminar that drew national attention last week due to its rather antiquated rhetoric in its prescriptions for female constituents (i.e. “Walk up and down a stair elegantly”). And although it was ultimately canceled, Mr. Gounardes is clearly not interested in letting the issue go away.

To further entice reporters, his press release, like his last one criticizing Mr. Golden over the move, even used a healthy dose of Leave It to Beaver pop culture hooks to describe the situation in an ongoing fashion.

"Ward Cleaver knew when to apologize to June. Heck, even Archie Bunker knew when to admit he was wrong to Edith!" the statement declared. "Likewise, it’s time for Senator Marty Golden to admit he was wrong, so Brooklyn attorney and State Senate candidate Andrew Gounardes is calling him out on the carpet."

Mr. Gounardes is also fundraising off the event, sending an email to his supporters this morning requesting a $50 contribution.

"Out of touch. Living in the past. Oblivious," the email begins. One can imagine how the rest continues.

He's not even the only Democrat pushing the issue. Yesterday, John Mancuso, a candidate for the State Assembly, called on his Republican opponent to denounce the event.

Whether it can pick up additional traction in the mainstream media, however, is still unclear.

(Photo: Wikimedia)

Earlier today, City & State reported on GOP State Senator Marty Golden's somewhat antiquated-sounding seminar where female constituents can learn such subjects as, "The art of feminine presence. Sit, stand and walk like a model. Walk up and down a stair elegantly……and much more."

And while Mr. Golden ultimately removed some of those phrases from his website, that didn't stop his Democratic rival, attorney Andrew Gounardes, from pouncing.

"Tragically, this is Golden's idea of the 21st Century woman," Mr. Gounardes' campaign manager Chris McCreight declared in a statement this morning. "This just goes to show that Marty Golden just doesn't get it – either that or he lives in a cave and thinks Leave It to Beaver is a new reality show."

Mr. McCreight also claimed others in the community have described the seminar as "discriminatory and offensive," and "downright degrading to women," while both he and quotes from the candidate himself connected the issue to the New York State Fair Pay Act, which they felt Mr. Golden should be backing.

For his part, Mr. Golden's office defended the event and a spokesman told City & State, “In these economic times, when so many people are out of work, and graduating with advanced degrees to set themselves apart in the workplace, events such as these are also important.”

Andrew Gounardes (Photo: Facebook)

Andrew Gounardes is taking his fundraising pitch to the LGBT community as he seeks to unseat Republican State Senator Marty Golden. At a reception tomorrow evening, Mr. Gounardes will notably be joined by four openly LGBT elected officials: State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, Councilman Daniel Dromm, and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer.

The event, also attended by Manhattan Borough President -- and 2013 mayoral candidate -- Scott Stringer, is even directly billed on Facebook as an "LGBT reception" and is jointly hosted with Brooklyn's main LGBT club, Lambda Independent Democrats, so there's little question as to the fundraising angle involved.

Mr. Golden is known as one of Albany's more passionate opponents of gay marriage and even partnered with outspoken State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. to introduce legislation last year to roll back recognition of gay marriages performed in other states, a move that, although largely symbolic, upset some of New York's famously deep-pocketed LGBT constituencies.

Mr. Gounardes, a supporter of gay marriage, will need every dollar he can get as he competes in an uphill battle against the incumbent, who's capable of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars himself.

Senator Golden's Proposed New District

The Democratic challenger for Brooklyn State Senator Marty Golden, Andrew Gounardes, wrote him a letter yesterday on redistricting, taking particular issue with a recent New York Post story suggesting Republicans in the State Senate were attempting to hold Governor Andrew Cuomo's agenda hostage over the redistricting issue.

"[I]t is so unfortunate that you and your Republican colleagues in the Senate have chosen to break the New York Uprising pledge that you signed just 18 months ago," Mr. Gounardes wrote, attaching a copy of the pledge with the letter. "In that pledge, you swore to support an independent and non-partisan redistricting plan based on the 2010 Census. I was raised to believe that a person’s word is as good as their bond. With broken promises like this, why should voters take you at your word in the future?"

"I call on you to disavow the legislative threats of your colleagues and to recommit yourself to the pledge that you so recently signed," he concluded.

Reached for a response, Mr. Golden's campaign defended the redistricting process and expressed support for its outcome.

"Senator Golden was not involved in the creation of these districts, but is pleased that the proposed 22nd Senate District contains about 95 percent of his current district, while picking up some new neighborhoods," they wrote in a statement. Mr. Golden had previously expressed his happiness with how redistricting affected his Brooklyn district as well.

(The Politicker described his proposed district as looking like a "Lego Bat")

"If Mr. Gounardes has specific problems with the proposed 22nd District, he should speak at one of the four remaining public hearings. The task force, and the voters, will be interested in knowing what are his concerns with a district he seeks to represent."