Jimmy Dahroug Drops Out, Leaves Foley To Face Trunzo

The Edwards news is disheartening to say the least, but the local news also has me quite sad on this Friday afternoon. Jimmy Dahroug has decided to bow out of his primary race against Brian Foley, a race engineered by the Democratic establishment looking to place a candidate in a district that became vulnerable to Republicans and in particular, Senator Trunzo.

Trunzo is definitely someone that needs to be beaten and Dahroug or Foley would be a million times better than Joe Bruno's old compadre. We are two seats away from taking back the majority in the State Senate and now I will be fully on board to defeat Trunzo and support Foley, despite past grievances.

With a month to go, it is still odd that Jimmy would drop out in the face of Foley's petition challenge having been withdrawn. He had the signatures and he was good to go. He was the progressive candidate running against a party plant who just got his website up (to some degree anyway) this past weekend.

Sigh. There is more to this story without a doubt. Perhaps Jimmy was pressured by the DSCC, perhaps it was the fund-raising discrepancy or that maybe in Long Island being Town Supervisor makes you superior when running for State Senate. Whatever the reason, it may or may not come out in the next three months or a few weeks after November 4th once the political scene cools off after election day.

What is important now is that progressives, moderates and everyone in between get behind Brian Foley, so that we get that much closer to a Democratic majority.

The Case Against Brian Foley...Or For Jimmy Dahroug

Note: I've volunteered for Jimmy Dahroug's campaign

On the state level here in New York, there is one large, unifying goal that the Democratic Party has. That would be winning back the majority in the State Senate and resting the power out of Joe Bruno's hands. There are many ways of going at this since we are two seats away right now. One excellent pick-up opportunity is out on Long Island in District 3. Craig Johnson turned nearby District 7 blue last year in a special election and is looking to easily hold onto the seat.

Now we must focus on races like SD-7 and to help progressive candidates like Jimmy Dahroug. Jimmy has widespread recognition since he has already challenged incumbent Caesar Trunzo without much support in the past. Unfortunately the powers that be in the party would rather go with someone more established in line with the establishment who happens to be Brian Foley. Right now Foley is the Town Supervisor out in Brookhaven and he now wants to run for Senate. Foley got himself in with the local party and he is flush with cash even before running. Some love Foley's jump in while still "liking" Jimmy Dahroug because Foley looks more "electable." Forget that for a second though, what does Brookhaven think about all of this?

From The Times Beacon Record:

Political pressures are mounting. Rival factions have gained the upper hand. Town operations are running with the silky smoothness of pebbles in a blender. Things are tough these days for Brookhaven's head honcho, and so what does Supervisor Brian Foley do? Announce a run for higher office, of course.

Foley, punching bag of the right and hardly the left's favorite son, can espouse all he wants about the "exciting opportunity" of gunning for Caesar Trunzo's state Senate seat. He can rattle off his credentials like ingredients in a half-baked pie, cook up sound bites about his county and municipal experiences and how they've prepared him for the challenges of Albany.

Hogwash. This attempted exit (stage left, of course) from Brookhaven politics is both hollow and shallow, as graceless and inglorious as the supervisor's rocky tenure.

It's hard not to see Foley's announcement as an unmitigated, tail-tucking retreat, coming as it did less than a day after his Town Board rivals plundered his office and sucked away his authority the way mosquitoes suck blood. Yes, board meetings happen when they happen and yes, Suffolk Democrats plan their nominating conventions eons in advance, but the symbolism is undeniable: Foley took a spanking, and the next day announced his desire to get out of Dodge.

The rest of the editorial doesn't give Foley much breathing room. They see this as his opportunity to get out of Brookhaven and onto Albany. Foley may be able to raise money (from prior races that is) but what kind of Senator would Long Island be sending upstate to represent them. Sure, he'd be better than Trunzo, but we should aspire for better leaders than those getting out of Dodge.

Dahroug To Get Competition For Trunzo's Seat?

Jimmy Dahroug has been committed for some time now to oust Caesar Trunzo from New York's 3rd State Senate District. Taking back that Long Island seat from the Republicans gets us one of the two seats needed to kick Joe Bruno from his Majority Leader post so that we can start to set Albany straight once and for all. However that race might become a little more complicated if Brian Foley jumps in to challenge Dahroug in a Democratic primary.

From Newsday:

State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, escalating efforts to oust Republican Sen. Caesar Trunzo of Brentwood, showed up in Suffolk County last week to personally enlist Brookhaven Supervisor Brian Foley to run against the veteran 36-year lawmaker.

Smith met with Foley and Suffolk Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer Friday at party headquarters in Bohemia for more than hour after Senate Democrats did a pollthat party sources say showed Foley would make a strong contender against Trunzo.

"If Brian chooses to run he would be the strongest candidate Caesar Trunzo ever faced and Caesar would be hard-pressed to hold the seat against someone of Brian's caliber," said Doug Forand, strategist for Senate Democrats.

The article is an interesting one because it forgets to mention the candidate that is already in the race. This makes it appear that the Foley is the Democrats' best shot at taking the seat but Newsday seems to forget their endorsement of Dahroug from 2006. I know two years is a lifetime in politics, but if the are going to sculpt articles like the one above, at the very least they should mention that Jimmy is already running despite what the Democratic leadership in Albany is saying.