Sound Shore

A few concerned voters at New Rochelle High School today said while they’re excited to vote, they hope it counts.

“I’ve been reading about problems with all these machines,” said Marcus Greene. “This is one of the first times that I’ve actually decided to pay attention to all the races going on and I really hope nothing goes wrong.”

Walking behind him was Dorothy McAllister who described the system as “flustering.”

“I’ve been voting in every single year for as long as I can remember,” she said. “I’ve never been so confused before. Why did they make this so complicated? If it aint broke, why fix it?”

We’ve been reporting on several instances of problems voters all over Westchester County have been having with the state’s new paper-ballot voting machines. The folks at Talk of the Sound have been documenting voting problems around New Rochelle.

It remains to be seen what kind of impact these reported voting problems will have on all the closely contested races. But expect several local campaigns to issue challenges/lawsuits over the next few days in response.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month may have ended on Sunday, but its worth highlighting a local business that came up with an interesting way to bring attention to the issue.

The family owned A&N Heating Oil in New Rochelle recently painted one of their trucks pink in honor of the month. The oil distribution company said a portion of proceeds from each gallon delivered by the truck will benefit the breast cancer wing at Sound Shore Medical Center.

Former Republican Gov. George Pataki will endorse state senator candidate Bob Cohen Tuesday in his bid to offseat longtime democratic incumbent Suzi Oppenheimer.

Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, is running for her 14th term against Republican Bob Cohen, a Scarsdale real estate executive. The 37th District covers parts of New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Rye, Harrison, White Plains, Scarsdale, Ossining, New Castle and North Castle.

Pataki will join Cohen in White Plains Tuesday during a press conference at 10 a.m. outside the Westchester County GOP headquarters. Following the conference, the two will take on a walking tour down Mamaroneck Avenue through downtown White Plains.

Last week, current gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo backed Oppenheimer.

In what’s probably one of her biggest endorsements to date, State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer picked up an endorsement today from state Attorney General and Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo.

“Senator Oppenheimer has established a stellar record of accomplishment as a true public servant,” Cuomo said in a statement. “…Because of her proven ability to build coalitions and get results, I need Suzi as a partner in making government more effective.”

Election season is in full swing and next week the League of Women Voters will hold candidate debates in New Rochelle and Mamaroneck next week. Expect fun sparks to fly.

On Oct. 20, New Rochelle will host a debate featuring City Council Candidates Jared Rice and Peter Parente. Four state Legislature Democrats — Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Assemblyman George Latimer, Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer and Sen. Jeff Klein — will also square off against their respective Republican challengers — Rene Atayan, Bill Reed, Bob Cohen and Frank Vernuccio Jr.

The New Rochelle debates will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in the City Council chamber of City Hall.

On Oct. 21, Lattimer and Oppenheimer will again square off with their respective challengers in Mamaroneck. That forum will also feature the Mamaroneck Board of Trustees race between Democrats John Hofstetter, Toni Ryan and Sid Albert versus Republicans Marianne Ybarra, Gregory Sullivan and Mary Polanco Vozza. Hofstetter, Ryan and Ybarra are the incumbents.

The Mamaroneck debates will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 in the Town of Mamaroneck courtroom.

Much has been made about Democratic state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer’s ads against her Republican opponent Bob Cohen this election season, alleging that the real estate executive from Scarsdale is a “slumlord” that runs sketchy New York City buildings riddled with violations and criminal activity.

Cohen filed a complaint with the independent group the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee, his campaign confirmed this afternoon. The independent group will evaluate the fairness of Oppenheimer’s ads during a hearing on Thursday evening.

Stay tuned as we will update you guys with the results of that hearing as we receive the information.

Temple Israel in New Rochelle is hosting a guest lecturer from Israel for a weekend of events Oct. 22-24.

Paul Libitz, a professor from Tel Aviv University, will be speaking at the temple on Friday on the topic “The Uniqueness of the Israel-United States Relationship” and on Saturday about “Israel’s Declaration of Independence as a Sacred Test.”

Libitz has been a lecturer for over 35 years on Middle Eastern affairs. For more information about the weekend events, call the temple at 914-235-1800.

A group of bellydancers in New Rochelle are putting on a benefit for Leslie Howard, one of their fellow dancers diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.

The benefit will feature a wide array of Indian dishes, raffles and of course, bellydancing. Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for students/seniors.

The event will take place 12-3 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Rangoli Indian Cuisine, located at 615 Main Street in New Rochelle. For more information, email BellyDancers4Charity@gmail.com

The New Rochelle School district granted tenure to five of its teachers during the Board of Education’s regular meeting this week. They are:

Jerri Ransom, a teaching assistant at Columbus Elementary School
Jacqueline Curry, a teacher at George M. Davis Jr. Elementary School
Tawanda Mann, a math teacher at Isaac E. Young Middle School
Kristen Alfano, a teaching assistant at Isaac E. Young Middle School
Denise Campbell, a teaching assistant at Trinity Elementary School

The race for the 37th State Senate district is getting nasty as incumbent Democratic Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer is getting ready to accuse her challenger, Scarsdale real estate executive Bob Cohen, of being a sketchy building landlord.

(UPDATE: Oppenheimer’s camp has launched the attack including this video and this site.)

The state Democratic Campaign Committee said today they’re getting ready to bring forward allegations the Manhattan properties Cohen has run over the years are rampant with building violations, extensive tenant complaints and criminal activity.

“The public record is clear, Bob Cohen is a slumlord whose made himself rich while jeopardizing the lives and safety of children’s and seniors,” said Austin Shafran, spokesman for the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. ”…I think if you look at Bob Cohen’s record as a slumlord, it clearly shows he is unfit for office. If Bob Cohen can’t keep drug dealers out of his houses, he can’t clean up Albany.”

The Journal News is investigating the merit of these claims and will be reaching out to Bob Cohen directly on Wednesday to discuss these attacks. In the meantime, Cohen has fired back with a video ad dismissing the allegations that he’s a slumlord.