State Sen. Marty Golden is shoring up his re-election chances in the home stretch by bringing big money to his district, a New York political insider says — even though the watchdog claims the 10-year incumbent already has a lock on tomorrow’s election.
Quick on the heels of being accused by his opponent of not bringing home the bacon to Bay Ridge youngsters, Golden (R–Bay Ridge) announced that he’s brought more than $400,000 in taxpayer funding to eight Southern Brooklyn schools — as well as a $1.6 million plan to improve the waterfront views in Shore Road Park — a move longtime political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said is a calculated move to increase his odds of winning a sixth term.
“It’s a smart political move,” said Sheinkopf, an adviser to politicians in New York for over 30 years, noting that Golden is the fifth most senior official in the Senate and part of the Republican majority. “He wants to show his power, because power, and its use, tends to determine elections.”
Yet Sheinkopf doesn’t think that Andrew Gounardes, Golden’s Democratic challenger, shouldn’t take heart from such a desperate move — and predicted that Golden will rout the Community Board 10 member and Eagle Scout on election day.
“Marty Golden’s going to be re-elected and the Republicans are going to hold onto the Senate,” Sheinkopf said, noting that Gounardes’s campaign has raised just $257,443 — $100,000 less than Golden managed to raise in a one-night fundraiser at Gargiulo’s Restaurant in Coney Island back on Oct. 17. “Golden just wants to take no chances and show what he’s capable of doing.”
Golden spokesman John Quaglione claimed that the funding announcements’ proximity to election day is purely coincidental, and that the Senator has been working on securing the money — which will go toward computers, laptop carts, and an auditorium air conditioning system —for months.
Reach reporter Will Bredderman at (718) 260–4507 or e-mail him at wbredderman@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/WillBredderman
