The Race Begins: State Senate Candidates Start Knocking on Doors

The race for state Senate in the 38^th District representing Rockland County and part of Orange County has really begun.

Tuesday was the first day that candidates can collect signatures on political petitions required to get them on the ballot to replace state Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, who is not seeking re-election.

Monday night, Rockland and Orange Republicans voted to make Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef their candidate in the Nov. 2 election. Last week, Democrats in the two counties backed David Carlucci, the Clarkstown town clerk, to be their candidate.

Morahan, 79, is battling leukemia and has decided to serve out the remaining time on his term, but not seek re-election.

Leading up to Monday's GOP convention, also seeking the Republican nomination for Morahan's seat was County Legislator Ed Day, R-New City. After Vanderhoef won the nomination 221 to 114, Day said he would not challenge Vanderhoef in a primary.

Carlucci is still waiting to see whether any of the other contenders who offered themselves up as candidates at the Democratic convention will challenge him in a primary: Upper Nyack businessman Lou Tharp, Grant Valentine of Chestnut Ridge and Tuxedo town Supervisor Peter M. Dolan.

"Primaries aren't my issue," said Carlucci. "My issue is reforming the state government, bringing more jobs to Rockland and helping the economy and reforming the property tax system."

However, because of a tradition of primaries in the Democratic Party, he said he would not be surprised if he did face a primary. On Monday night in Nyack, Carlucci was also endorsed by the Rockland Progressive Democrats.

In the wake of Vanderhoef's convention victory, Carlucci said he is now looking forward to debating the issues facing Rockland in this state Senate race.

"Scott Vanderhoef is going to have show how he's different from the status quo in Albancy," said Carlucci, 29, a New City Democrat who won his third term as Clarkstown town clerk in November 2009. "We don't need someone who is going to represent the status quo. We need someone who is going to tear it apart."

Vanderhoef, 61, won his fifth consecutive four-year term as county executive in November 2009. He told Rockland Republicans Monday night that he based his decision to seek re-election, at the time, with the expectation that Morahan was going to seek re-election. Once Morahan made it official in May that he would not run again, Vanderhoef and Day announced they wanted to be his successor.

In his effort to convince Rockland Republicans to back him, Vanderhoef said Monday he may have the support of statewide GOP officials who want to keep Morahan's seat in Republican control, but that he is not tied the "dysfunctional" state government in Albany.

"I am not an Albany insider," Vanderhoef said. "As your county executive I fight Albany every day."