“Steve Levy gives up the ghost” Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, August 1, 2010
Steve Levy is lucky he has such high self-esteem.
Otherwise, he’d be feeling pretty bummed this weekend. Nothing is turning out like the Suffolk County executive planned.
State Republican leaders were certain to pick him as their inside candidate for governor. Only they didn’t.
Then, he was sure he’d get their prized party ballot line in an easy vote at the state convention. Uh, not quite. The Long Island Democrat-turned-Republican was squeezed between old-line favorite Rick Lazio and Buffalo rich guy Carl Paladino.
It was down to Levy’s final play. He could gather 15,000 signatures and run in November as an independent. Why not?
Well, on Friday, the tough-to-discourage county exec announced he was giving up that ghost and endorsing his closest-to-home nemesis, Lazio.
So what’s waiting now on the horizon for the non-candidate of 2010?
Having abandoned the Democrats and not quite charmed the Republicans, it’s hard to see exactly what larger stage he can work his magic on anytime soon.
He put his lingering state ambitions in fundamental local terms.
“We on Long Island were hurt badly when the clout previously held with a majority block of Republican senators was eviscerated due to the change in leadership within the Senate,” he said. “Our need for taxpayer relief was severely hampered. That is why I will be working to maintain the need for checks and balances on the state level by promoting many of the candidates who will give Suffolk County a greater voice in state government.”
Translation: I’ll figure it out later. Please don’t forget me by then.
STEVE’S PLAN B
1. Open a pie house in Huntington
2. Revive Riverhead
3. Launch a fishing-boat charter at Shinnecock
4. Build a super-lighthouse in Montauk
5. Find a nice spot for an Indian casino – somewhere, anywhere
ASKED AND UNANSWERED:
You know that 12-year-old who cell-phoned police about her DWI-mom? Safety-conscious pre-teen or pint-sized tattletale?…Charles Wang and Scott Rechler: Can this marriage be saved? If not, who gets the Lighthouse?…Could couples therapy do anything for Republican Pete King and his LI Democratic congressional colleagues?…In this summer of Gulf oil, doesn’t Noyack Bay’s Red Tide seem extra ominous?…Won’t Amy Fisher need a snappy slogan for her new porn-production company? Can you top “A past is a terrible thing to waste”?…Just when you finally learned the new name – NYCB Theatre at Westbury – did you remember that “theatre” is spelled “r-e”?…Now that mandatory water-use restrictions are coming off, what’s your next excuse for not getting outside and watering the lawn?…Now that so many media outlets are declaring Montauk chic, can Montauk please go back to just being Montauk again?…Was it the off-peak tickets – or the three-pound Pomeranian — that delayed westbound commuters for 20 minutes on the 6:21 a.m. out of Speonk? Conductors are blaming the uncaged dog…If Nassau County health officials have already found infected mosquitoes at 30 – count ’em, 30 – sites, why is the West Nile spraying only beginning now?… Quogue mother-of-three Nancy Genovese may have had a very good reason to carry an AR-15 military-assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammo in her car across from the Air National Guard base in Westhampton, and it was – what, exactly?….Still have doubts who old-guard Republicans want as their candidate for governor? Does this seal it? Rick Lazio’s new campaign manager is former executive director of the state Republican Committee. And Carl Paladino’s talking about some obscure third-party line.
ELLIS’ LONG ISLANDERS OF THE WEEK
TRANSIT RIDERS
The LIRR’s facing major cutbacks. Long Island Bus is truly on the critical list. The budgets for both public-transit agencies are being whacked just as the economy may actually be reviving and their services are needed most. But day in and day out, a couple of hundred thousand Long Islanders keep riding the buses and trains: Keeping cars off the highways. Saving energy. Doing their crucial part to pay for a system that this whole island of ours is truly dependent on. And hardly anyone ever says thanks. So thanks.
E-mail ellis@henican.com. Follow him at twitter.com/henican
I guess that a strong voice works wonders, Levy. I’m not talking about your voice, I’m talking about all those that asked you politely to let them have an Event Center and Race Track on Long Island. All car crazy people stood next on our side and you failed. You want to stay in office then work with us and not against us because the vote is more powerful then money. Ask your helpers why you were never given the messages and why we where told you are too busy and not interested in our cause. An Event Center means jobs and revenue.