Daniel Ross is undaunted by the knowledge that several prominent Democrats who were approached to run against Republican incumbent Jack Martins for the 7th State Assembly District seat ran the other way.
Despite the fact that he is not a high profile party regular with political experience, Ross thinks he can successfully challenge Martins.
“I don’t run away from a challenge. There is no doubt in my mind that this race is 110 percent winnable for someone who’s free of money and not beholden to special interests, someone who’s an impartial, out of the box thinker,” Ross said. “I’m giving a strong commitment of myself and know that I’m the right person for the job.”
The only prior campaign the 27-year-old Ross has run was an unsuccessful attempt to win election as a commissioner in the Manhasset-Lakeville Water and Fire District last year. He is a captain in Manhasset-Lakeville Fire District and has served as a volunteer for the past 10 years.
Ross’ lack of political experience and money to fuel his race are the obvious differences between Ross and the incumbent he seeks to unseat.
Ross told Blank Slate Media he was projecting a war chest of $75,000 to $125,000 for his campaign, But as of Oct. 5, Ross had only filed a record of a $10,000 loan to himself as the sole contribution to his campaign.
In response to questions about his campaign funding, he said he had received $125,000 from several business and individuals just after Oct. 1 and said his own “confusion” was the reason that money was not included in his filing as of Oct. 5. But he also noted that only contributions received by Oct. 1 were required to be reported as of Oct. 5.
Meanwhile, Martins has reported more than $500,000 in contributions to his re-election campaign to date.
Ross downplays the financial gap between the two campaigns.
“The good thing is he’s well financed and so am I,” he said.
Ross said sees himself as a more independent candidate in the campaign and suggests that Martins has implicit obligations to those contributing to his campaign.
“You can’t help but, as an incumbent, listen to those people who are giving you money,” Ross said. “My feeling is that any dollars accepted should be accepted without clouding your judgment.
Ross said he’s gaining strength in the campaign “by really grabbing onto issues that concern the residents and aren’t being fulfilled.”
While not citing any specific instances, Ross said Martins has been slow to respond to some issues.
He also expressed opinions on several issues shared by Martins.
Ross said he’s opposed to hydrofracking, a method of extracting fossil fuels that Martins has already said he’s against. Ross said he supports the move to implement more mandate reform. And he supports the state tax cap, as does Martins, although Ross suggests there should be an easier way for municipalities and school districts to override the state-mandate cap other than the so-called “super-majority” now required of village trustees or school district voters.
Ross said the issues he will focus on are amending the minimum wage and creating more jobs.
“I’m in favor of having a minimum wage that is applicable to our current rates of inflation so people in that income bracket can maintain the quality of life,” he said.
Ross said his business and service experience would translate well in the Legislature.
After graduating from Hofstra with a business degree, Ross said he spent three years working for Deutsche Bank in New York and London from 2006 to 2009, handling investment portfolios of $50 million and up for private individuals and private companies.
“I know what it’s like to work with a system and be confronted with a barrier and a goal,” he said. His Deutsche Bank unit, he said, made sure there were no financial shortfalls in their results.
As a member of the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department, Ross said, he has to evaluate the fire department pension system to make sure that it’s well funded. And he said his current position as general manager of Gran Prix Subaru in Hicksville, brings a background in business brings another set of credentials to bear, and an awareness of the acute financial stress people are dealing with these days.
“I deal with the public. I speak with hundreds if not thousands of people each month. I’m not sitting in a remote corner out of touch,” Ross said.
Ross said that while both he and Martins share a strong concern for fiscal responsibility, he currently runs a business that can’t run deficits.
Ross said that in running he is reaching out to civic leaders in villages throughout the 7th State Senate district, including police and fire department officials and chambers of commerce leaders.
The 7th State Senate district includes New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Mineola, the Willistons, Albertson, Westbury and the villages of the Great Neck peninsula.
On the local level, Ross said, he’s opposed to government consolidation – something that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has supported in the past.
“Consolidation is a tricky road to go down because it’s one of those things that people want their cake and eat it too,” Ross said.
He said it’s appropriate to accomplish “economics of scale” through shared services between municipalities and school districts.
“The idea of looking at economies of scale certainly makes sense. But it raises the issue of what people would be getting and what they would be giving up,” Ross said.
On what he see as one hot topic among voters, Ross said he’s opposed to the idea of putting a casino at Belmont Racetrack.
“I think there is better way to use that green space,” he said, adding that residents in nearby Floral Park want to maintain a quieter atmosphere at the racetrack.
Ross said a better alternative would be to create something along the lines of Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers with athletic fields, restaurants and small shops along with a business park. He said he thinks property incentives could draw businesses there.
He said the sort of jobs a Belmont Racetrack casino would generate are not the sort of jobs the community needs.
“The jobs the casino would bring are not high quality in term of wages,” Ross said. “We need high paying jobs for those people who put their time in to get a quality education.”
On the issue of rising energy costs, he said he thinks a system could be implemented with the Long Island Power Authority facilitating a platform where energy could be provided by alternate utility companies.
“Long Island is one of the few places where we have a single provider of electricity,” Ross said.
When asked about the close relationship between Martins and Democratic state Assemblywoman Michele Schimel, Ross said his campaign has been working “side by side” with the Schimel campaign. And while she has not endorsed his candidacy, Ross said he was confident she would do so – but said he hasn’t asked her about it yet.
But Ross emphasizes his independence as a candidate and said he‘s not counting on riding the coattails of President Barack Obama to victory either .
“I’m not relying on a president to get myself elected. I’m relying on myself,” he said.
