NY Primary Election 2020: Laura Ahearn Eyes LaValle's Seat

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — Voters on Long Island will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots for state and federal offices in New York's primary election.

That includes the 1st Senate District, where a slate of Democrats are hoping to join the race against Republican candidate, current New York State Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo, for the seat held by retiring New York State Senator Kenneth LaValle for 44 years.

Democrats Laura Ahearn, Tommy John Schiavoni, Skyler Johnson, Valerie Cartright, and Nora Higgins are facing off in Tuesday's Democratic primary.

The election is slated for Tuesday, June 23. Under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's order, all registered voters in the state must receive a mail-in ballot application to apply for a postage-paid absentee ballot amid the coronavirus. All ballots postmarked by June 23 will be counted.

District: The 1st New York State Senate district covers the five East End towns and the eastern portion of Brookhaven Town.

Patch has reached out to all the candidates in the primary election. Here are their responses:

Laura A. Ahearn, Esq., LMSW

Age as of Election Day (Nov. 3)

56

Town of residence

Port Jefferson

Position Sought

State Senate

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Married. Two adult children.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Bachelors degree in business administration from Dowling College; Masters degree in social work from Stony Brook School of Social Welfare; Juris Doctorate from Touro Law School.

Occupation

Attorney, private practice and Executive Director, Crime Victims Center/Parents for Megan's Law for 25 years.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

NA

Campaign website

AhearnforStateSenate.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am not a politician looking for a job or a promotion. I am an experienced social worker, attorney, and victim and community advocate who has for nearly 25 years protected our most vulnerable and delivered for Suffolk County. I would like your support so that I can use my 25 years of advocacy experience, my legislative skills and my legal skills to fight for our fair share in Albany and for what is important to us and our communities in Senate District 1.

The single most pressing issue facing our nation/state/community is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The most pressing single issue facing our nation/state/community is that our communities have become polarized — that elected officials on a state and federal level are unable to work together to do what government is supposed to do, to help the people and protect our most vulnerable. We are in a fiscal crisis and we must work together to ensure New York receives its fair share from the federal government and that SD1 receives its fair share from Albany. The state government must invigorate our economy through investments in infrastructure to create jobs and give tax incentives to small businesses to help them recover from the pandemic. In addition, we must work with the federal government to fund climate change damage and prevention initiatives, affordable transmit based housing and revitalization porgrams that help keep our children, our workers, and our seniors on Long Island. We must work together with our towns, state and federal government to bring SD1 its fair share.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am the only candidate who has a near 25 year documented history of successfully delivering for Suffolk County. As a New York State-licensed social worker, I have an intimate working knowledge of human and social service needs and as a NYS licensed attorney, who fights for sex crimes victims, I have the skills to affect changes in policy and law to benefit our residents. And as the founder and executive director of the Crime Victims Center/Parents for Megan's Law I have over two decades of experience as a fierce advocate for the community and for affecting changes in local, county, state, and federal law to give our most vulnerable a voice.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency?

Senator LaValle is retiring.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Senate District 1 needs an experienced leader like me who can help us heal, rebuild our economy, and re-unite us. The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for taking nearly 2,000 lives in Suffolk County and has placed our county and state in a fiscal crisis. Even before COVID we were losing our fair share in Albany and now we have to fight even harder. First and foremost, we must act responsibly to preserve life by getting medical professionals, law enforcement, and workers the tests and supply of protective equipment they need, extend unemployment benefits for those that need, ensure quality healthcare access for all, get Suffolk’s small businesses the help they need so we all come back from this nightmare pandemic stronger. Second, we must protect and preserve our environment, our ground water, our estuaries and address climate change damage and prevention. I am committed to promoting an economy that works for all of us and keeping us safe. I will prioritize spending on education to ensure students, teachers and parents are able to thrive in the new academic environment, and ensure equity in education, health care and criminal justice. I am also committed to holding the line on taxes, creating affordable workforce housing, tax relief for seniors, fair wages, protecting workers by ensuring safe work environments, combatting gang violence, and fighting for victim and community rights.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am an attorney, a social worker, a mom, and the executive director of the Crime Victims Center. For nearly 25 years, I have fought to keep us safe and have provided vital services to the community including to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, hate crime, gang violence victims and veterans, the elderly, and disabled victims of all crime.

Over 20 years ago I founded the CVC from a room in my home and built it to become an agency employing nearly 30 full-time staff who provide help and services to victims and our most vulnerable. I have a track record of developing and implementing problem solving community-based programs aimed at targeting specific issues and, working with stakeholders, we have seen remarkable results including reducing sex offender recidivism, reducing domestic violence arrests, helping facilitate the return of over $6 million to crime victims, and educating nearly 200,000 children and adults.

When Albany attorneys told me I could not pass certain laws to give our most vulnerable a voice, I went to law school at night for five years while working full time to learn how to pass those laws. I graduated top of my class and received the Martin Schwartz Award for Excellence in Civil Rights for my work in the community. I now have nearly 25 years of experience drafting and helping pass legislation on a local (town), county, state, and federal level. Working with stakeholders in the county I also developed and implement the problem solving court training series in the legal systems subcommittee of the Family Violence Task Force to provide law enforcement and other stakeholders with knowledge to steer folks into problem-solving courts, like the drug court where they can get the treatment they need.

I’m a fierce advocate, a leader, and I am dedicated. My 25 year track record is evidence that I have delivered for Suffolk and would be honored to fight for you and for our fair share in Albany.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

The best way to predict your future is to create it.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I believe that healthcare is a human right and everyone should be able to access quality healthcare. I believe that healthcare must be addressed on a federal level and I support Obamacare with a public option.