We Endorse ... Our Town's picks for the Sept. 14 primary election

Read our picks for attorney general, State Senate and Congress.

14th Congressional District: Carolyn Maloney East Side and Queens voters have the rare opportunity this Sept. 14 to vote in a Democratic primary for their Congressional representative. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, elected to the House in 1992, is facing a challenge from Reshma Saujani, a former hedge fund attorney and first-time candidate. Despite the bitter tone of the campaigns, new ideas have been debated and issues and concerns of the district"s voters were heard and discussed. In the Democratic primary, we believe Maloney should continue serving in the House for another term. In Congress, she has been an able legislator, authoring important bills that actually have become law. In a body of 435 members, this makes her legislative achievements additionally impressive. Her bills have stopped the worst practices against consumers from credit card companies and provided funding to process DNA evidence from backlogged rape kits. Maloney is also a player in crafting major legislation, having a seat on the committee that hashed out the details of the final Wall Street reform bill. As a senior member of the House, she managed to get the federal government to fund the construction of the Second Avenue Subway, a crucial infrastructure project for the East Side in particular and for the city as a whole. Her constituent service has been an important part of preserving the East Side"s quality of life. Despite her long tenure in Washington, D.C., she still helped preserve a post office on the Upper East Side that was in danger of closing. In her own respect, Saujani is a highly qualified candidate whose campaign for Congress was sorely needed. She introduced new ideas and a new direction for the district. Saujani"s background in finance would make her an able and creative legislator. But these reasons are insufficient for dumping Maloney this year. We hope that Saujani continues to be a presence in New York City politics and runs for office in the future. But voters should reward Maloney with another term in Congress. State Assembly's 73rd District: Jonathan Bing It"s no secret that Albany"s broken, that the lunatics are running the asylum and that there is a rumbling undercurrent of anti-incumbency fervor that threatens to sweep not just the state house but the entire country. Even within the fractured walls of the system, however, there are some legislators who are able to navigate the treacherous waters of partisan politics and party infighting to move their district forward. That"s why we support Jonathan Bing in his re-election bid for State Assembly 73rd District. In the last legislative session, Bing authored 10 bills, including the â??No Fault divorce bill that finally caught New York up with the other 49 states and allows couples to split without assigning blame for why their marriage didn"t work. The Assemblyman did that by having 20 Republicans co-sponsor the bill with him, theorizing that they would be less likely to vote against a bill that had their name on it. That legwork and ability to reach across the aisle helped him pass other legislation this session as well, such as a measure that gives higher education and cultural institutions more flexibility on how they spend endowments. It has particular resonance on the East Side, with Museum Mile, and will give art organizations more room to shift money so that they can save jobs during these troubled economic times. Bing was also the author of an affordable housing bill, which makes sure that developers receiving federal money build housing for the disabled, as they are required under law. Again, the Assemblyman worked with the other side to thread his way through the tortured terrain of Albany and get things done. As the East Side Assemblyman, he also introduced legislation in this session to implement bus lane cameras, along Select Bus Service Systems on First and Second avenues, to catch people illegally traveling in the bus-only lanes. In 2008, he introduced a grant that would have assisted small businesses suffering from Second Avenue Subway construction. The measure passed but was later vetoed by the governor. Bing"s challenger, Gregg Lundahl, a 20-year veteran of the New York public school system, speaks passionately and in-depth about his education plans if elected: to decrease class size, provide more local funding and to ensure that schools have dedicated space for art and physical education, but he comes up short with his ideas for other areas such as transportation, helping small businesses and affordable housing. The voters" justifiable anger at the ineptitude showed by current state lawmakers doesn"t mean that you also throw out the baby with the bath water. Jonathan Bing has proved that he is an effective legislator, who listens to his district and is able to work with both sides to do the business of New York. He is an example of what Albany could be, if there were more lawmakers like him at the state level. That"s why we give him our endorsement for the 73rd District. New York Attorney General: Eric Schneiderman New York has recently had top-notch attorneys general in Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo. The next attorney general must be able to match their stature, their skill in taking on complex issues of national importance, and their ability to extract reform. The next attorney general must also be adept at addressing Albany corruption and protecting consumers. Of the five candidates seeking to be the state"s top cop, we endorse Eric Schneiderman, a state Senator from the Upper West Side. As Albany disappointed New Yorkers for decades, Schneiderman has been a prime example of a smart, effective, reform-minded legislator. He has crafted legislation that promotes equal justice under the law and ended discriminatory practices. He led the fight to end the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws, which disproportionately targeted blacks and Latinos. He introduced the Fraud, Enforcement and Recovery Act, which closed loopholes in the state"s False Claim Act. Although Gov. David Paterson vetoed Schneiderman"s ethics reform bill for being too weak, the legislation would have brought much-needed change to Albany. The fact that his legislation was introduced and passed by a nearly unanimous vote is a major accomplishment. Each candidate is talking about cleaning up Albany. But Schneiderman actually did it when given the opportunity. Against the wishes of his chamber"s leadership, Schneiderman convened a bipartisan panel to expel his colleague and fellow Democrat Hiram Monserrate after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend. These accomplishments occurred after the Democrats took the Senate majority in 2009. He has spent the rest of his 12 years in the State Senate fighting Republican senators that blocked his progressive reform-minded legislation. We are concerned that Schneiderman lacks an investigatory background, but we are confident he will hire an accomplished staff that can follow his vision for the attorney general"s office, which separates him from his competitors. Schneiderman"s core philosophy of equal justice will ensure that the interests of all New Yorkers are heard. He has a broad agenda that protects consumers, prevents the pollution of the environment and fights discrimination. The other candidates in the race are well-qualified and have strong ideas for the office. Sean Coffey has an exemplary legal background as a federal prosecutor and lead lawyer in the WorldCom fraud case, in which he won more than $6 billion for burned investors. Coffey fashions himself as an outsider, but can speak on the issues passionately and eloquently with the knowledge of a seasoned elected official. If spending time in Albany is a disqualifier for voters, Coffey is a welcome alternative. Eric Dinallo, former deputy to Spitzer in the attorney general"s office, has an accomplished government background. He also was head of the state"s Insurance Department. He knows the job and how to wield it for powerful results. But we feel Dinallo"s vision's that the attorney general should focus on kitchen table issues's is too limited. We extend that feeling to Richard Brodsky, an Assembly member representing parts of Westchester. As attorney general, he said he would focus on unfair or hidden fees New Yorkers pay for energy. But his temperament makes him ill-suited for the attorney general"s office, evidenced by his stance on the Islamic cultural center in downtown Manhattan. He unnecessarily waded into the debate and, despite saying he would defend the center as attorney general, proposed a â??compromise in which the center moves for the sake of appeasing its detractors. Kathleen Rice, the district attorney for Nassau County, Long Island, has been a superb local prosecutor. She has tackled a drunk driving scourge, sexual predators and fought Medicaid fraud. But many of these's save for Medicaid fraud's are quality-of-life issues. She is under-qualified to be the state"s highest law enforcement official. We support Eric Schneiderman for attorney general in the Sept. 14. Democratic primary. Republican Primary, 14th Congressional District:ˆ Dino LaVerghetta The rising tide of enthusiasm among the Republican Party about the midterm elections has even cast ripples into the Upper East Side, where three Republicans are vying to go head-to-head with Carolyn Maloney for the 14th Congressional District. It"s a quixotic quest to be sure: the UES is a Democratic stronghold, but the candidates" enthusiasm and conviction makes for a refreshing antidote to the backseat driving of those who want change, but are unwilling to take steps to make it happen. Of the three candidates running, only one has both the eagerness and ideas to tackle the many pressing issues that are facing the 14th District. That person is Dino LaVerghetta. Mr. LaVerghetta, the son of an Italian immigrant, was raised by his mother in Mahopac. As an attorney at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, he worked in Europe for two years on the largest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation in U.S. history, and has also devoted his time to pro bono matters, such as successfully representing a Guinean refugee in his quest for political asylum and advocating for reforms that would prevent the conviction of innocent people. And while we disagree heartily with many of his positions, such as eliminating the death tax and repealing the health care bill that was recently passed, we applaud him for others such as fighting to reform the earmarking process so that all spending is subject to public debate. On social issues as well, Mr. LaVerghetta gets it right. He"s a staunch defender of a woman"s right to choose, helping to end the military"s â??Don"t Ask, Don"t Tell policy and a believer in marriage equality. His opponents have their pluses as well. Ryan Brumberg, 28, speaks with eloquence and sincerity about our country. He needs more seasoning, however, and further real-world lessons before entering public office. Roger Blank has the maturity and gravitas for the position but, when pressed on what he would do, he responds high on platitudes and low on substance. His experience as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx makes him particularly appealing, but we feel he needs to flesh out his platform and come up with a strategy to tackle the 14th District"s problems. For ideas, maturity and enthusiasm there is only candidate in the Republican Primary race: Dino LaVerghetta.