The Scarsdale Inquirer / The Rivertowns Enterprise by Colleen Michele Jones, June 18, 2010
Longtime Dobbs Ferry School Board member and professional nurse Anna Sterne is challenging Westchester County Legislator Tom Abinanti for the Democratic nomination to the state Assembly in the Sept. 14 primary. Abinanti and Sterne are seeking the 92nd District seat long held by Richard Brodsky as Brodsky runs for state attorney general.
At a mini-convention of local Democrats from Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant held June 3 at Greenburgh Town Hall, Abinati, who has long yearned for the state office, received about 80 percent of the 140 delegates votes to Sterne’s 20 percent.
But Sterne, who announced her candidacy earlier this month, said that she was not discouraged by the results, which “weren’t bad for a newcomer”.
Sterne realizes that she faces an uphill battle competing against the 63-year old Abinanti — a Greenburgh attorney who has held the county legislator post in the 12th district which includes the Rivertowns, for almost 20 years — and has the political name recognition and experience that she lacks.
But Sterne, 54, paints herself as a pragmatic problem-solver with hands-on experience in the areas of education and health care who can bring a fresh perspective to Albany, where incumbents struggle to pass a deficit-burdened budget while fighting allegations of political dysfunction.
Sterne, who served for eight years on the school board — including a stint as President in 2006 to 2008 — is the Dobbs Ferry dinstrict’s legislative representative and has lobbied at the state level for many years.
“I will bring new ideas to Albany because the old ones are obviously not working very well,” Sterne said.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Abinanti responded, ” I’m also an outsider — I’m just an experienced outsider of Albany.”
He added, “I commend her work in the community, but while she was balancing a $38 million budget, I was balancing one that’s $1.5 billion.”
Sterne, who recently set up her election headquarters in a Tarrytown office and hired a campaign manager, said she comtemplated entering the state Assembly race in mid-May when she heard of Brodsky’s plans.
“i Just feel like going there for a day or two once or twice a year isn’t enough.”, Sterne said, “I feel like if I can talk to more people, I can help inform discussions and decisions. By pointing out my real-world experience, I think I’m the right person to be there [Albany] at the right time.”
Sterne grew up in a public housing project in Manhattan, the daughter of two union organizers. She said, “Living a life of service to others was engrained.”
She and her husband, Paul, moved from Park Slope, Brooklyn, to Dobbs Ferry in 1992. They have four children: Rachel, 26; Erica, 24; Katie, 20; and Ben, 14.
Sterne earned a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University’s School of Nursing and a master’s in public administration from New York University.
She worked previously in the orthopedic unit of Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and in physical rehabilatation at the Rush Institute of NYU Medical Center before becoming a visiting nurse. Sterne is currently is the supervisory nurse for Unlimited Care, a home health care agency in White Plains.
After becoming involved in the PTSA, Sterne was first elected to the Dobbs Ferry School Board in 2000. For more than a year, she has also been an active member of the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association’s executive board, helping to lobby coalitions focused on providing quality education to the greatest number of students across the state while reducing the number of unfunded mandates.
“I feel like at the rate we’re going something is going to go really, really wrong [in state education],” said Sterne, who believes strongly that the public system needs to be streamlined, particularly in the oversight measures it requres of individual districts.
She said her background on the school board has also offered her insight into the mindset of taspayers who are “feeling really overburdened” and property tax relief is another issues she feels passionate about.
Debra Kaplan, Dobbs Ferry’s school superintendent, said she has known Sterne professionally and personally for almost 10 years and in that time has come to admire her as a passionate public servant” and a “change agent”.
“Anna is committed to improving our schools and has worked tirelessly to make sure that all students have access to the highest qualifty education possi ble,” Kaplan said earlier this week. “As president of the board of education, she played an active role in the legislative process. She is one of the most ethical and straightforward people I knowand is not afraid to tackle the difficult issues while incorporating everyone’s viewpoints into the final solution.”
With her experience in health care, Sterne is also a strong advocate of re-regulation of the industry as a way to reduce premium increases, by reducing the frequency of expensive emergency room visits and nursing home costs and instead focusing on preventive well-care measures and in-home care.
In addition, environmental issues are close to Sterne’s heart and shew proposes that the Indian Point nuclear facilty in northern Westchester be more closely regulated.
Abinanti says he stands behind his record of public service, particularly in taking on speical interests that lobby aginast the issues he feels are most important to the voters. He is running on a platform of governmental reform, lowered property taxes, more jobs, increased state aid to schools, and environmental protection, including closing Indian Point.
Abinanti has been busy collecting petition signatures and endorsements form regional political leaders, including Dobbs Ferry Democratic Committee chairman Randy Klipstein.
As a political newcomer, Sterne is also focusing on getting her message out to local voters and said so far she has gotten a very positive reception. Sterne has already garnered support from former county legislator Lois Bronz and her husband, Chuck, a member of the Greenburgh School Board; Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, president of the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion; and Bob Bernstein, the Edgemont resident who led the alwsuit that took issue with the way the Town of Greenburgh’s taxes are divided.
Sterne introduced herself to leaders in the community at the June Edgemont Community Council meeting.
On the Republican side, Tom bock, an Elmsford volunteer firefighter and computer system analyst who is aligned with the burgeoning Tea Party movement, recently captured the GOP nomination in the state Assembly race.
Bock, a resident of the unincorporated Greenburgh, ran unsuccessfully in 2009 for the Westchester County Legislator seat in the 8th District representing parts of Greenburgh, White Plains, Elmsford, Sleepy Hollow and Mount Pleasant. (Look for a separate story on Bock in an upcoming issue.)
www.annasterne2010.com/2010/07/sterne-makes-bid-for-state-assembly/
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