Craig Hershkowitz
Candidate: Craig Hershkowitz
Residence: Northport
Prior Elected Office: None, briefly ran for NY-01 in the primary
Office Sought: New York’s Second Senate District
Party Lines: Democratic Endorsements: None
Craig Hershkowitz is leveraging his first run for office against two-term incumbent Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James).
Craig Hershkowitz sat down with The Messenger for an interview for this candidate spotlight.
Q: What is your professional background and how does it equip you for the Senate?
A: I got my undergraduate degree from American University in D.C. and worked for Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Congressman Israel. I then went to law school at Quinnipiac and later worked for Suffolk D.A. Tom Spota (D). I started with the Department of Justice in the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug section and I led a financial investigation into the Colombian terrorist group, the AUC. I interviewed the leaders and was in charge of recovering all of those assets to compensate the victims of their atrocities. Then I led the Bernie Madoff Victim Remission Case which allocated $4.4 billion to the victims. After eight years in the government, I moved back to New York to work for J.P. Morgan-Chase, then to Standard Chartered Bank. I was appointed assistant counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) and I was in charge of the financial service portfolio. I oversaw the Department of Tax and Finance, the Department of Financial Services (DFS), and the NYS Insurance Fund. When COVID-19 hit, my job became crisis management. I helped implement telehealth and waived copays for the vaccines. We would work with DFS on those regulations and executive orders. After COVID, my job was providing tax relief to small businesses, reopening Broadway, and giving tax credits to families. I also worked on making Juneteenth a state holiday.
In the wake of the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, one staffer made a joke to me that she was never harassed, and I joked that she should have testified to clear his name. A couple of days later, I was told to put in my two weeks. I then became a criminal defense attorney and saw first-hand how the new bail reform laws work. I became an administrative law judge for the NYC Department of Finance, but had to resign the position to run for Congress and now Senate.
Q: What would you consider to be your best or proudest professional accomplishment?
A: Being the assistant counsel to the Governor. It was an incredibly rewarding job. We would get calls at three in the morning about a bill set to be signed tomorrow and we had to renegotiate it. This is not how we should be making laws. I definitely understand why people say it was a toxic work environment, but it doesn’t diminish the good work we did. What made me successful in that office is that I would listen to all the stakeholders and experts. We see a lot of ego up in Albany, but I was a consensus builder and a problem solver. We had a role in negotiating the executive budget.
Q: What is your top priority if elected?
A: The truth of the matter is, if I win this race, I am going to have a very difficult time getting re-elected. My plan is to bring funds into the district and improve my community with projects like the Asharoken sea wall and the sewer systems, which is a great project. Environmentalism is bipartisan here.
I spoke with County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) and he wants funding for electrification of the LIRR line to Port Jefferson. We also want to improve the MTA by putting Wi-Fi in the trains and making the trains faster and more efficient. Our schools are also getting short changed because of the decrease in enrollment. Long Island has the best public school system. I think Senator Mattera is more in tune to these issues and I think he’s a strong advocate for our schools. He even yelled and screamed at Kathy Hochul, which I don’t think is the best way to negotiate. I definitely appreciate Senator Mattera advocating for funding for our schools, but I would go about it more diplomatically.
I disagree with Senator Mattera on bail reform; I think there’s a lot of good in the law. I was there in the Governor’s office when we were negotiating bail reform and we knew then that the bill would turn people into Republicans. I vocalized that concern to the general counsel. Cuomo signed it into law because the Legislature had enough votes to override a veto. We recognized that people shouldn’t be stuck on Rikers Island for a low-level, non-violent offense. But what we have seen is repeat offenders. The change we made was the harm-on-harm piece. Judges now have judicial discretion to impose bail when there’s multiple harms, such as a serial shoplifter.
From my observation, 99% of people who are released on their own recognizance show up to court with no issues. The problems we see are mental health issues and there’s no place to put them and those are the people we see getting re-arrested. We have beds at Rikers, but not in mental health facilities.
There’s really no reason for judicial discretion for non-violent, low-level offenses, especially for someone with no prior criminal history. The Republicans have been very successful in running on bail reform with the fear tactics, but we also knew that Democrats would have been blamed for being soft on crime when we negotiated the 2019 budget. I think it had good intentions, but maybe the pendulum swung a little too far.
I was personally fine with the Babylon dismemberment suspects being released because they had ankle monitors and were home-confined.
If someone keeps shoplifting from CVS over and over again, that’s just bad. I think the judges should have that discretion.
Q: In your opinion, what is the “defining issue” of this election?
A: The economy; we don’t get our fair share of funds from Albany. People are concerned about inflation and cost of living.
The other big issue is the migrant crisis; the Democratic brand is not great in Suffolk County. I think a lot of people are blaming Democrats for being soft on the border, similarly to being soft on crime with bail reform, and there’s a lot of resentment. Even immigrants in the community are asking why the state is housing migrants and giving them gift cards while they work a nine-to-five. The focus is to make sure we get federal funding.
Q: The Siena College regularly tracks New Yorkers’ views of the direction of the state. Since Democrats formed a trifecta in 2019, the approval ratings have seen a net decrease. What’s your pitch to voters to add you to a majority with which they’re already unhappy?
A: I will be in the majority and I would be able to bring more money into the district. Democrats have a seat at the table; Republicans don’t. There’s no reason for Democrats to include Republicans in the process. It’s important to elect suburban Democrats to represent Long Island. I think Senator Mattera absolutely is trying to get as much money as he can for the district, but you have more say in the majority conference.
I oppose extremism on both ends of the spectrum. There was extreme legislation I pushed back on when I was at the governor’s office. For instance, the Legislature wanted to force insurance companies to pay out interruption insurance to small businesses who were closed during COVID. Every single company had a pandemic exclusion.They never collected the premiums and it would have bankrupted the insurance companies. But other bills were rushed and experts weren’t consulted.
I think for Senator Mattera, it’s a part-time job for him, and I’m committed to making it a full-time job. I feel like the people in Huntington have no idea that he’s there. His office is in Smithtown. I’m not saying he’s doing bad at constituent services, I’m saying I would be full-time doing constituent services.
Q: What is your favorite, quote, motto, or work ethic?
A: “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t worry about who takes the credit.” – Harry Truman. I ran for Congress because of the divisiveness. I think a divided government could be very good, so long as parties are working together in good faith. I think we probably get the best legislation and laws out of that.
Q: How do you like to connect with your community?
A: I love all of our restaurants; my go-to is Venus in Northport. We have a whole bunch of great Italian restaurants too. As a hobby, I collect presidential memorabilia, including authentic documents written by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I also collect Venetian glass and I love traveling the world.
My family has been a great support system for me. I definitely could not be running and doing something I’m passionate about.
The Messenger thanks Craig Hershkowitz for his time for this interview.
Senator Mario Mattera
Candidate: Senator Mario Mattera
Residence: St. James
First Elected: 2020
Prior Elected Office: None
Office Sought: New York’s Second Senate District
Party Lines: Republican, Conservative
Committees: Ranking Member on Energy and Communications; Ranking Member on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions; Transportation; Labor; Civil Service and Pensions
Endorsements: Entire police coalition, all buildings and trades unions, NYSUT, CSEA, AME, 1049 Utility Workers, NYS Realtors
Mario Mattera succeeded former Senate Majority and Minority John Flanagan (R-Northport) in 2020. He was re-elected in 2022 and is now vying for a third term.
Senator Mattera sat down with The Messenger for an interview for this candidate spotlight.
Q: What is your professional back-ground and how does it equip you for the Senate?
A: My background is in construction and infrastructure and I have forty-three years with the Local 200 Plumbers union. I was also a union representative for twenty-three years. Before running for Senate, I sat on the Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) Board for seven years. I was also on the Suffolk County Licensing Board for Plumbing and Fire Protection. Both positions I resigned upon being elected to the Senate. I was also on the advisory board for St. Catherine’s and Catholic Health, the advisory board for new construction in Smithtown, and I was on the St. James Civic Association Board. The latter three are volunteer positions. I was approached to run for office in 2020 and my wife encouraged me to run for Senate after I got the call. Many elected officials on both sides of the aisle said I was the right person for the job.
Q: What are some of your accomplish-ments for SD-02 and New York overall?
A: I, along with Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) helped secure $20 million for Smithtown sewers and $20 million for Kings Park sewers that were set to expire when COVID-19 hit. We made sure that that money moved forward for our sewers. I also helped the Town of Smithtown, who led the process, for a $10 million DRI grant for Huntington and the $10 million for Smithtown.
My bill to combat squatting was intended to mimic what Florida has. It would require apparent residents to show proof of home ownership and if someone is living in your house illegally, the police would be able to remove them from your house. Democrats put something in the budget to quiet down the issue, but the bill does nothing. Why would the Governor sign a bill that does nothing? Squatters are doing whatever they can to find empty homes, from looking at real estate ads, to viewing obituaries. We had a case where a Shake Shack receipt from a food delivery service presented by a squatter. Right now, squatting cases are civil suits. Good luck getting them out.
I’ve been very vocal with the Governor about emergency relief for victims of Hurricane Ernesto. We’re looking for FEMA money for these poor folks, but right now, if a family of four makes over $235,000 per year, they get denied. We’re working on getting people $55,000, but the FEMA money has dried up because of the migrant crisis. North Carolina is having the same problem.
My bill that was passed concerned Project Labor Agreements (PLA) with SUNY Campuses, which require all construction jobs to be locally-sourced, not for out-of-state people.
I’ve also pursued feasibility studies for renewable energy sources, such as green hydrogen, thermal energy, and modular nuclear units. Carbon capture is the most important one. Anything that has a smokestack, we can utilize that flow to create more energy. It’s the most efficient and cost-effective way to handle renewable energy, because anything with a gas or oil burner, we can use carbon capture.
With restoring foundation aid for our school, I got “vocal with Governor Hochul.” I kindly approached her at Kings Park High School when she was here in January to inform her of how much this would have hurt our schools. Our districts ended up doing very well, but without that fight, the loss of funds would have hurt them badly. Elected officials from both sides thanked me for being vocal.
I also urged the ten town supervisors to opt out of the cannabis rollout; Smithtown and Huntington did. The state’s rollout has been a huge disaster and only incentivizes former drug dealers to sell from illegal vape shops. Officers don’t have the devices and probable cause to make arrests in cases of high driving.
Q: What is your top priority if re-elected?
A: Sewers. I would love to see Proposition 2 pass, which would allow Suffolk County to move off of septic in some areas and move into the Twenty-First Century. Suffolk is only 25% sewered. I’ve worked very closely with Smithtown to obtain the sewer main in St. James for Lake Avenue’s DRI in the form of $3.9 million. That will go to Sewer District 28 and we’ll be getting $15 million to connect the lines to the County Sewer Plant. We also have $110 million to expand Sewer District 6 in Kings Park to run it up to Main Street in Smithtown, so our businesses don’t have to pump sewage out every two weeks. We need to keep our young, middle-aged, and senior residents here. They love the downtown village atmosphere just like in Farmingdale, Babylon, or Patchogue. Those are larger than what we would want to do in Smithtown, but we need some more retail and restaurants to make a one-stop shop to eat, sleep, and play. I’m also pushing for electrification for the north shore LIRR line from Huntington to Port Jefferson to get rid of the smelly diesel trains.
I’m also fighting the mandates for all electric buildings six stories and under by 2025 and ban on all natural gas and fossil fuels by 2030. I’ve been fighting that with LIBI, developers, the Propane Association of New York. It’s against federal law and the Constitution of the U.S. New York plaintiffs had their first sit down with the lawsuit. I’m praying the judges find that federal law supersedes state law.
Q: In your opinion, what is the “defining issue” of this election?
A: Bail reform needs to be repealed. We need to start from the beginning, have the PBA, the District Attorneys, and judges to give them discretion. We need to come up with the right bail reform. You could sell drugs near schools, cashless bail. You could throw body parts out of a window, cashless bail. The cannabis black market is running rampant because of cashless bail.
The migrant crisis has been a total disaster. My constituents are very nervous about it. There has been no vetting process, no plan, and we have no idea who’s coming in. Our police can’t do their jobs, crime is up in the city, and there’s prostitution all over. Democrats put the cart before the horse. We have more than 250,000 unemployment claims; our residents could use these jobs, but we’re not doing anything to get our citizens civil services or state jobs. We’re giving them to migrants. The Governor and Mayor Adams (D) need to rescind sanctuary state and city policies before allowing anyone else in. We lost a congressional seat because of the outmigration in New York. The illegal migrants are the replacement so we don’t lose another seat. The most vibrant city in the world is being ruined because of bad politics. It’s not the migrants’ fault because they were invited. They have $400/night hotel rooms, $1000/month debit cards, three square meals a day, cell phones, and transportation. Meanwhile, we have Veterans who are homeless, and massive food insecurities. Close to $5 billion has gone to the migrant crisis in the last two years. This situation is eroding the construction industry, the backbone of the economy. Illegal migrants will go into construction off the books. Workers compensation funds won’t be paid into because they’re working in an underground market.
Inflation and taxes are the reasons our children can’t afford to stay here. Electric school buses are an unfunded mandate. It’ll come from the backs of the taxpayers. People can’t afford their taxes as it is. It costs $400,000 per bus to go all-electric. Kings Park alone has 68 buses. Who will pay for it? Lithium batteries. Meanwhile, our schools are antiquated, they need upgrades, especially HVAC systems. We care about our children and teachers and having free school lunches. No child should go to school hungry, and it’s getting worse because parents can’t afford food.
Q: What’s your pitch to voters to return you to the Assembly as a member of the minority?
A: Minority members can be effective in bringing back funding just as majority members can be. I brought back $150,000 for carbon monoxide devices for the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, $300,000 sewers this year for Lake Ave in St. James, and $600,000 last year. I was part of the feasibility study for the Asharoken sea wall for relocating and elevating the road away from the Sound.
One-party rule does not work. The GOP needs the Senate back. We need a better balance because it’s a monopoly right now. The cart-before-the-horse policies being put forward are eroding our state.
Q: What is your favorite, quote, motto, or work ethic?
A: Work hard and be a good listener and you will get results. I always say this to my kids. I’ve been that way my whole life.
Q: How do you like to connect with your community?
A: I’ve been in Smithtown for sixty years, married to Terry for thirty. I have two daughters, Jessica, 26, and Jayme, 21. Without family you have nothing. I am very blessed to be the Senator for the Second District with such an amazing community, who have been very vocal with me and giving me their opinions at a grocery store, or their home, or the street fairs. This election will be the most important election of our lifetime. I’m praying that everyone is educated on who they’re voting for.
When I do have time for myself, I love old muscle cars. It’s my passion and therapy. I have a great group of people who are into old cars; it’s a great pastime.
The Messenger thanks Senator Mattera for his time for this interview
