Vet to Challenge Lavine for Assembly Seat

Glen Cove resident Robert Germino is challenging Democratic incumbent Charles Lavine, a longtime city resident and public official who has held the 13th Assembly District seat since 2004.

Germino, a Glen Cove High School and Hofstra University alumnus, officially accepted the GOP nomination on Wednesday. 

The 30-year-old, who served in Iraq as a Marine Corps officer, said he decided to make a bid for the Assembly to help bring change to the state Legislature, which is currently working amid partisan politics in Albany to adopt a lagging 2010-11 budget.  

"In the coming months, I plan on meeting as many voters in our district as I possibly can, and convince them to join me in my battle to shake up Albany," Germino said. "... Having served my country in Iraq, I now feel privileged to ask the voters of the 13th Assembly District for the honor of serving them in the New York State Assembly."  

The district encompasses Glen Cove, Syosset, Sea Cliff, Bayville and other areas.