Adam Haber, a former independent commodities trader turned restaurateur from East Hills, has announced his candidacy for the 7th state Senate district seat currently held by Republican Jack Martins.
Last year Haber challenged Tom Suozzi in a Democratic primary for Nassau County executive. He waged a credible campaign but was defeated by a candidate with much better name recognition.
In making his announcement Haber made the kind of statement that we hear often from candidates who have never held public office: “Jack is a nice guy, but he’s a career politician.”
It’s something that we are more used to hearing from the new wave of Republicans who have contempt for government.
What’s wrong with being a “career politician?”
If the person in question has been an elected official for a period of time, the question to ask is whether or not that person has been a worthy public servant.
Without trying we could give a list of politicians from both sides of the aisle who spent their lives fighting for their constituents on the state and federal level.
It seems odd that a candidate would want to emphasize the fact that he or she has no experience in public service, even if that person, like Haber, has been successful in the business world.
Imagine a plumber whose advertisement said: “Call me, I’ve never done this before.
Haber went on to say that he couldn’t think of one thing [Martins] has done for the district or Long Island that supports jobs or brought down taxes.”
That’s a legitimate issue to raise but the “career politician” stuff is nonsense.
