BY CELESTE KATZ
The major brawl between the GOP's Greg Ball and Democrat Mike Kaplowitz in SD-40 doesn't seem to be cooling down at all, and 32BJ SEIU is stepping in on Kaplowitz's side with a mass mailing to voters in the Hudson Valley district.
"As part of 32BJ’s $100K independent expenditure, 22,000 voters in the Hudson Valley will receive three mailers in support of Mike Kaplowitz bid for the open seat this week. The mail highlights Ball’s votes against bills that would protect workers and keep money in the pockets of working families," a union spox said, noting that 32BJ supported Diane Savino and Jose Serrano in 2006, Craig Johnson in the 2007 special election and weighed in heavily for Brian Foley and others in 2008.
Example:
32BJ Kaplowitz IE 2
Meanwhile, as I've blogged here before, Kaplowitz has accused Ball of having a problem with women, based on reports that he groped a waitress and had a mutual order of protection with an ex-girlfriend. Ball put out an ad featuring Lauren Pistone, who identified herself as Ball's ex, which led to Kaplowitz retaliating with an ad saying Pistone was not the ex who asked for the order of protection against Ball. Pistone, in turn, said she was aggrieved by the Kaplowitz spot and was speaking to her lawyer.
Now, Ball is bringing up the issue himself in a new ad in which he goes after "career politician" Kaplowitz for "attacking" his former girlfriend.
It's quite possible that this SD-40 race is getting even uglier and more personal than, say, the governor's race. I'm sure the voters of the district are thrilled.
The major brawl between the GOP's Greg Ball and Democrat Mike Kaplowitz in SD-40 doesn't seem to be cooling down at all, and 32BJ SEIU is stepping in on Kaplowitz's side with a mass mailing to voters in the Hudson Valley district.