By Cliff Weathers
Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci will run for the 38th District New York State Senate currently held by incumbent Republican Thomas Morahan, representing Rockland County and the Orange County towns of Warwick and Tuxedo.
Carlucci joins Grant Valentine, a Ramapo resident, senior New York State Parole Board officer, and a former Republican, who announced his candidacy last month. No other candidate has emerged, but Tuxedo Town Supervisor Peter Dolan has also indicated some interest in running for the Senate post.
Morahan has not indicated whether he will run for another term. Sources say Republican Rockland County Legislator Ed Day is considering his own run for the Senate District. Morahan has recently dealt with health concerns, but he’s been notably active at his job since returning.
Carlucci and Valentine have indicated that a primary might not be necessary. Valentine said he was optimistic that an informal vetting process by party members before a primary would disclose a front runner. Both Carlucci and Valentine indicated that they would support whoever would be the eventual nominee.
Both candidates said that they believe that Albany was broken. Valentine indicated that he’s seen problems at many different levels in his nearly three decades as a civil servant. Carlucci said that the State Senate had particular problems. He further indicated that he would support legislation for fair, non-partisan redistricting and many other reform measures to help fix what he feels is a broken State Senate.
Morahan, should he decide to run again, remains an entrenched incumbent and Carlucci further indicated that he would be running more against the abysmal record of the State Senate body.
This story originally appeared on rock-prog.org, the Rockland Progressive Democrat blog.
I am absolutely thrilled that David Carlucci has entered this race and I endorsed him last night. Anyone who has ever worked (or campaigned) with David knows that he is a tireless, innovative, and highly principled public servant.
He was barely (maybe even less than) 25 when he won his first upset victory as Town Clerk in Clarkstown against an entrenched, long-serving incumbent. Since then his record, his dedication, and his responsiveness have more than earned him his subsequent re-elections.
David is also a true-blue Democrat. Unlike other Rockland Democrats, David has consistenly refused to accept the Conservative Party line in Clarkstown even though that line sometimes holds the balance of power in contested elections there.
I am proud to call myself a colleague of David’s and even prouder to call myself a friend. I hope you will join me in supporting David Carlucci for New York State Senate. The man’s a mensch, he’ll make a great Senator, and we all know that we need a functional New York State Legislature now more than ever.