opinion

Senate District 37 vote takes place in Westchester, but impacts statewide power

Two Senate and nine Assembly seats are being filled all around the state during the April 24 special electio, but only one has statewide impact: Senate District 37. The election has the potential to tip the New York State Senate leadership Democratic after years of Republican rule, or to give the GOP an actual majority.

Deep-pocketed political special interests have focused on the race, producing all those nasty television commercials and flyers that have flooded mailboxes throughout the 37th. District residents have a lot to wade through, including plenty of exaggerated and outdated slams against each candidate.

Sure, district voters have to consider what's at stake statewide, but they also have to consider kind of local representation they want in the Senate (after all, the seat sat empty during the crucial budget season, but more on that later). Most importantly, they need to get to the polls and vote.

The ballot

Those who live in the 37th Senate District are being asked to choose between Democrat Shelley Mayer, currently a member of the state Assembly, and Republican Julie Killian, who ran for the Senate seat last election against then-incumbent George Latimer and is a former Rye City Council member.

REWIND: See our SD 37 candidate conversation

HOT CONTEST: Killian, Mayer supporters clash at news conference

MONEY POURS IN: Millions spent in SD 37 special election

They are vying to fill a seat left open after Latimer became Westchester's county executive. Democrat Latimer won the Senate seat three times, with his first race in 2012 a squeaker.

The district has a 2:1 Democrat-to-Republican enrollment, which mirrors the state's general voter registration ratio. But the district's Democratic leanings aren't so certain — the 37th contains some traditionally GOP territory like eastern Yonkers, and Republican Bob Cohen lost by a hair in 2010, against then-incumbent Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, and in 2012 against Latimer.

The candidates were picked by party committees. Because a special election affords no primary, the April 24 election is the first time voters get to directly weigh in.

New York State Senate District 37 wiggles around the east side of Westchester, encompassing some if its most tony towns, reaching up and over to horsey Bedford, down along the Sound and then over through Yonkers. It is, in many ways, a microcosm of downstate suburban diversity.

MAP: State Senate District 37

The stakes

If Mayer wins, it's likely that control of the 63-seat Senate will be determined by maverick Sen. Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, a registered Democrat who has caucused with Republicans. Felder hasn't said whether he would return to the Democratic fold. If Killian wins, the GOP likely keeps its narrow majority.

A key Democratic gain in the Senate could add pressure on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to solidify party unity. Just look at how the governor has amplified his progressive pledges since Cynthia Nixon's from-the-left primary challenge. Case in point: Cuomo's decision to step up a reconciliation of Senate Democrats and the Independent Democratic Conference, which was expected to take place after the April 24 special election. The governor said the Senate GOP 's lousy work on the state budget motivated him to act sooner.

Taking away the IDC's power-sharing role waters down the Republicans' strength. Whether a Mayer victory fully tilts the Senate, though, is less certain, with Felder playing coy about his future plans. This, though, is clear: The more power Democrats are perceived to hold, the more Cuomo acts like one.

Specifically, Cuomo blames the GOP Senate leadership for scraping worthwhile policies out of the "Big Ugly" budget deal, including: Early voting, ethics reform, the Child Victims Act, the Reproductive Health Act, and an end to cash bail for non-violent criminal charges.

It's worth noting that a Republican-led Senate could tank those bills during the regular session, too, by simply burying them in a committee so they never come to the floor for a vote. (Consider that a Siena poll released April 17 showed nearly three-quarters of New Yorkers support the Child Victims Act, which would expand the period someone could sue in child molestation cases and would allow a one-year open window for such lawsuits. Who wants to be on the record voting against that?)

Where they stand

Senate District 37 residents should vote for the candidate they believe best represents them. So where do the candidates stand? Let's start with the issues that didn't get done during the budget negotiations. (District residents didn't have a voice in the Senate during budget season, because Cuomo failed to call for a special election in time to have someone seated before the March 31 budget deadline.)

Mayer supports high-profile measures such as early voting, ethics reform, the Child Victims Act, the Reproductive Health Act, and an end to cash bail for non-violent criminal charges. Killian has said early voting is not a priority for voters. She favors term limits, but is uninterested in measures like closure of the LLC loophole or a curb on legislators' outside income.

Killian says she supports the Child Victims Act, with a one-year lookback for lawsuits, but acknowledges Republican Senate leaders find the bill problematic. She is against the Reproductive Health Act; and has said she's hesitant about bail reform.

Killian supports charter schools and says the state has plenty of resources in its $168 billion budget to support all kinds of education. She says that Westchester does not get its fair share of state education aid and that she would fight to change state funding formulas.

Mayer says that state money is limited, and traditional public schools should take precedence. She frequently points to increased funding she has won for Yonkers schools, where growing graduation rates outpace other Big 5 city districts.

Both support New York's property tax levy cap for local governments.

Killian says she supports "common sense" gun reform; she wore "Moms Demand Action" rubber bracelets during lohud's April 10 community conversation at The College of New Rochelle. She says she would push Senate Republicans to give ground on guns. Mayer strongly supports gun reform; she points out that during her Assembly tenure, she sponsored gun restriction legislation.

Much has been made by opposing campaigns of perceived foibles by the other:

Mayer has been slammed for actions back in 2009 and 2010 while she was chief counsel for Senate Democrats; two women said her inadequate actions allowed their sexual harassment to go unaddressed. Mayer has said she followed protocol by bringing the complaints to the appropriate office. She has vowed to improve the reporting process for victims.

Killian took heat when it was revealed a campaign donor and fundraiser host had made obnoxious comments about Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors who have become leaders in the anti-gun violence movement. Killian subsequently condemned the comments and returned money raised by the donor.

While this legislative special election is the most watched of the 11 on the ballot statewide, all issues are local for residents who live in areas of Armonk, Bedford, Bronxville, Eastchester, Harrison, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Port Chester, Rye, Rye Brook, Tuckahoe, White Plains and Yonkers.

The special election fills the 37th seat for the remainder of the term. But there could be a rematch soon: The seat is back on the Nov. 6 ballot, along with all other state legislative seats.

If you live in the 37th, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 24; don't forget to vote.

This editorial was co-written by engagement editors Nancy Cutler and Gary Stern.