Carlucci: It's Time For New Direction In State Senate

He doesn't have a campaign office or posters printed yet, but Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci is already well into the beginning stage of his new campaign to become the Democratic candidate for state Senate in November.

Carlucci, a 29-year-old New City resident, said Tuesday he is reaching out to residents of the 38^th Senate District – which includes Rockland County and a piece of Orange County – to convince them he is the right person to reform state government in Albany.

"I think this is the right time for me," said Carlucci as he was on his way to a meeting with supporters in Warwick in Orange County. "We need to fix the way the state Senate operates."

Carlucci is running for the seat of incumbent state Sen. Thomas Morahan, a popular New City Republican who was first elected in 1999. In April, Morahan returned to work in Albany after a 41-day hospital stay, where he received chemotherapy treatments and blood transfusions to fight leukemia.

Morahan, who turns 79 tomorrow, is a former Assemblyman and former Rockland County Legislature member. He has not announced his political plans for 2010, however, his political position was strengthened earlier this year with his appointment as chairman of the state Senate Mental Health Committee.

Carlucci and many other Rockland political figures – Democrats and Republicans – have been holding off public discussion of a Senate race out of respect for Morahan, who has many friends and supporters on both sides of the aisle. Carlucci said he decided to move forward with a Senate campaign because he is wants to raise awareness about problems with the Senate that affect Rockland taxpayers.

"I have a great deal of respect for Senator Morahan and his accomplishments," said Carlucci, who elected Town Clerk in 2004 and re-elected in 2009. "I am not running against Tom Morahan, I am running because I think there has to be a change in the way things are being run in Albany."

Carlucci said he has been encouraged by supporters over the past six months to consider running for Senate. He told a group of Democrats in Nyack last week that he would run, and he has been gathering a team of volunteers to help him with the campaign. On Tuesday evening, some of those volunteers were working a phone bank making calls in support of his campaign.

While Carlucci said he is not targeting Morahan's record as a lawmaker in his campaign, he said he is hoping to capitalize on widespread dissatisfaction with the state Senate and its inability to get a state budget completed on-time and to resolve key spending issues.

And, with a powerful and popular incumbent such as Morahan in office, Carlucci is not expecting to get much financial support from the state's Democratic Party.

"My campaign is very much as shoe leather campaign," said Carlucci, noting that he expects he won't be spending a lot of money but will be spending a lot of his own time meeting with voter groups throughout the district. "I think message can win out over money. And, I understand it can't be done overnight."

And what is Carlucci's message?

He said his campaign is focusing on three issues: Bi-partisan redistricting of Senate districts to improve voter-representation; campaign finance reform; and, state ethics reform.

"It shouldn't take the FBI to be the enforce of ethics in Albany," said Carlucci, making reference to former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno being sentenced last week to two years in federal prison. Bruno, 81, convicted in December, was one the state's biggest powerbrokers. He is the latest state politician to facing jail on federal corruption charges. "These are concerns that people in not just New City have, they are concerns people have throughout the district."

Carlucci said he thinks it's time the state Senate moves in a new direction, and that movement won't start until a new generation of political leaders is elected.

"The politicians in Albany are so obsessed with the next elections that they are not thinking about the next generation," said Carlucci. "I think if the voters elect someone like me, especially in the suburbs, it would really send a message."

Carlucci said he decided to run for the Senate – with a formal campaign announcement coming this week – because he believes he can better help the community by taking on issues such as taxes and state-mandated programs that increase local government costs. He also admits that he's an unconventional candidate – having been one of the youngest elected officials in the state when he became town clerk.

Carlucci contends he has used his role as town clerk to increase services to the public, while cutting costs.

"I'm not the typical candidate," said Carlucci. "But I have proven myself to be an innovative leader and I think the people appreciate that. If we can innovate in the Town Clerk's Office, then we can do it in Albany."