By Charles Loiacono    

Sidikman

             In a Democratic primary contest in the 13^th Assembly District, Charles Lavine, a Manhattan lawyer, narrowly defeated David Sidikman, an incumbent assemblyman.

            I don’t know Lavine. I know Sidikman. Sidikman is one of those low-key, likable persons who can be effective without incurring rancor. He served his constituents well and had every reason to believe that his yeoman service warranted reelection. He had the support of the Nassau County Coalition of Labor.

            The only thing I know about Lavine is that he agreed to be the county executive’s point man in a showcase primary aimed at showing the powers that be in Albany that if they did not do the county executive’s bidding, he would punish them by challenging incumbents.

            Sidikman was chosen because he was two-ways vulnerable. One, his district took in Glen Cove, the county executive’s home base. Two, Sidikman was not a fighter by nature. He was a nice guy, low-keyed and soft-spoken who represented his district without fanfare. Besides, it is much easier to defeat an incumbent in a primary where turnout is small than in a general election. Therefore, Sidikman became the target.

            I know that politics can be a dirty game, but this was dirty politics for an illusionary purpose. Fix Albany? Give me a break!

                Except for NEWSDAY, which serves as the county executive’s private publicist, no serious player believes that punishing Sidikman did anything but reveal a mean streak in the  county executive’s character and a puppet bent in Lavine’s character.

         If Lavine wins the general election, he will be a pariah in Albany. How in the world will he represent his constituents if the Democrats scorn him and the Republicans dismiss him?  

         Fix Albany indeed. Intimidate Albany would have been a more accurate slogan. The problem with choosing the road to intimidation by threatening the powerful and punishing the innocent is that men in power are not easily intimidated. They are more likely to return the punishment. And therein lies the problem.

            If Lavine is elected on November 2^nd, he will become a lamb in a wolves’ den. The result will be that the people of the 13^th Assembly District will be poorly represented.

            It cannot be that Democrats and Republicans alike will not do everything in their power to show the county executive that their response to such attempted intimidation is strong resistance.

            The large vote for Sidikman showed the disdain many Democrats had for punishing a good representative in order to make a political point. That vote was the first sound of backfire.

            What should the coalition do to show its disdain? Since we had already endorsed Sidikman for reelection and since he will be on the ballot as an Independent, it is altogether fitting that we stand firm and vote for him on the Independent line.

            His chances of winning on that line are not encouraging, but a strong showing will send a message. That is a message that should be sent.

            There are times when support transcends practicality. This is one of those times. David Sidikman should know that there are those of us that do not appreciate his having been victimized. A vote for an independent Sidikman will be a vote against political intimidation.