Topic category: Elections - Politics, Polling, etc.
NOT to Be Trusted: George Maragos Political Ads
This is America. Maragos can spent his fortune as he likes, even on a futile vanity run, but
New Yorkers should not be fooled about the nature of his candidacy now.
Wealthy retired businessman, certified public accountant and first term Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos wants to be a United States Senator because he personifies the American dream and he's decided to give up his business for public office.
Maragos (www.maragos4ny.com/):
"My wife of 37 years, Angela and I have been New Yorkers since 1978. New York is where we realized our American dream. New York is where we raised and educated our three children – and now where our children are raising their children.
"It would be my privilege to serve as your next U.S. Senator."
It certainly would be, but Maragos is but one of many who personifies the American dream and New York needs the best possible new United States Senator.
These are dire times, and New York needs a Senator who is a constitutional scholar and principled conservative like Wendy Long; a person who knows what a Senator is supposed to do and will do it, like Long; and a person who can be trusted to be candid, like Long.
You haven't been candid with the people of New York, Mr. Maragos.
administer the county payroll and employee health benefits functions
Maragos is still doggedly running for the Republican United States Senate nomination (in a basically self--financed campaign, he reported no contributions from others during the first quarter of 2012) for the opportunity to contest both the incumbent, Democrat/Working Families Party candidate, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and the Conservative Party candidate, his fellow Republican, Long.
Maragos has inflated his resume in his television and radio commercials, by claiming to have "consistently delivered balanced budgets with no tax increases."
Who are you trying to fool, Mr. Maragos?
The Nassau County comptroller is basically Nassau County's chief accountant and "monitor[s] Nassau's budget and financial operations."
NO comptroller delivers balanced or unbalanced budgets or sets tax policy!
The Nassau County Executive and the Nassau County Legislature either deliver balanced budgets or not, and raise, lower or keep taxes the same.
The real story of the Nassau County budget is set forth st www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/OMB/index.html, as follows:
MISSION
The mission of the Office of Management and Budget is to ensure that the County's budget is in balance and that it allocates its resources in a manner that is consistent with the County's priorities and with the goals and objectives of County departments.
OMB accomplishes its mission through the strict adherence to established and generally accepted financial policies and best practices. It also is dedicated to:
Developing an operating budget, capital budget and multi-year financial plan that are based on realistic assumptions
Monitoring spending and revenue collection on a monthly basis and regularly processing fiscal transactions on behalf of County departments
Working with departments to ensure that multi-year financial plan initiatives are being implemented successfully and on schedule
Linking performance to fiscal decision-making
Regularly updating the fiscal oversight community and the public on the County's fiscal condition
GOALS
Develop an Operating Budget, Capital Budget and Multi-Year Financial Plan that are balanced, based on realistic assumptions and approved by the County Legislature and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority
Work with departments to ensure that spending and revenue generation are meeting targets, and that multi-year plan initiatives are being implemented
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is divided into three separate components. Central OMB is responsible for developing the annual budget and multi-year financial plan, monitoring expenditures and revenues, and providing fiscal support to County departments. It also serves as the primary liaison to the fiscal oversight community and the public. Vertical Administration consists of support staff, which is responsible for managing the operations of the Administration's six verticals. It also undertakes special projects designed to improve the County's financial infrastructure. Fiscal Analysis includes County Stat, which is responsible for monitoring departmental performance and improving operations, and a team of staff dedicated to providing additional fiscal support to County departments on an as-needed basis.
Maragos is a monitor with delusions of grandeur and no respect for the intelligence of voters.
That's not what we need.
Further, Maragos's claim of consistency is misleading.
Maragos was elected in 2009, and took office in January 2010.
It's May 2012.There have only been a couple of budgets since Maragos took office, that Nassau Interim Finance Authority is monitoring Nassau County as well as Maragos and things are still bad. The front page of the May 12, 2012 issue of Newsday highlights the problem this way: "MORE HEAT ON NASSAU $126M HOLE Budget watchgog warns of deficit on labor costs." See http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/report-nassau-faces-126m-payroll-deficit-1.3713622.
Also, at his campaign website, Maragos states: "As Nassau County Comptroller, I have proven that I can win elections...."
Maragos hasn't proven that he can win electionS.
Maragos won just ONE election (with Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano heading the ticket) and the next election for Nassau County Comptroller is a year and a half away.
Maragos vied with Long and Congressman Bob Turner at both the Republican and Conservative Party Conventions earlier this year.
Long was the big winner at each convention, but her much older(male) Republican rivals plod on to the delight of Team Gillibrand.
Long got more than 47% of the vote at the Republican convention, while Maragos and Turner split the rest about equally.
At the Conservative convention, Long won 91% of the vote, while Maragos and Turner split 9%, and then Long's nomination was made unanimous.
This is America. Maragos can spent his fortune as he likes, even on a futile vanity run, but New Yorkers should not be fooled about his record or the nature of his candidacy.
Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.
Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.
The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.
Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.
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