A lot has been said and a great deal has been written since the most recent election about the future of our county executive, Thomas S. Gulotta, of North Merrick.
The best way one can characterize the buzz is by saying it swings like a pendulum. Yes, Mr. Gulotta secured the staggering support of 67 percent of a sophisticated, knowledgeable and largely affluent electorate, and yes, his overwhelming victory in this county of 1.3 million did help to lift several other members of his parties to key victories in tight races.
But, the pundits say, that doesn't necessarily mean that Mr. Gulotta will find a place, a place it's pretty well known he'd like to have, on next year's statewide ticket headed by New York Governor George Pataki.
"What's that?" we've asked ourselves numerous times over the past few weeks. How can it be that so decisive a victor finds himself stymied at the moment of his greatest political triumph?
The first rationale, of course, is that Mr. Pataki, having thrown his current Lieutenant Governor, Betsy McCaughey Ross, off his ticket, needs to make amends to women voters by selecting a woman as running mate in 1998.
Mr. Gulotta, of course, is said to be focusing his sights on that slot, and has already said he wouldn't desire a run for New York State Comptroller, where he'd have to square off against the popular and respected Democrat H. Carl McCall.
This is seen as the major stumbling block to Gulotta's securing a position on the ticket, but one has to wonder why Pataki, who'd like to win as decisively as Gulotta did, wouldn't select a woman to run for comptroller, and ask Gulotta, who has proven equally as popular with women in Nassau as he has with men, to run as his lieutenant.
After all, while the names being mentioned to fill the "women's position" on the ticket are solid - they include State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro and State Supreme Court Justice Mary Donohue - neither of these women have the record of a proven and tireless campaigner that Tom Gulotta has.
Further, it's highly unlikely that either is sitting atop a war chest comparable to the more than $1 million Mr. Gulotta has left over from his county executive campaign.
The other much bandied about "problem for Tom," is his ethnicity - some political insiders believe that a ticket that also featured U.S. Senator Alphonse D'Amato might be too "Italian" for some voters.
Huh? Aren't we supposed to be beyond this kind of thing. Aren't we supposed to be looking not at color or race or creed _ or gender - and looking at what kind of proven track record of performance potential candidates have?
In many ways, all this Friday morning quarterbacking, all this prognostication before the big game is even played, is highly insulting to a wide range of people - the voters in general, for one, women (whose votes, apparently, can be bought with the inclusion of a token representative), and, obviously, Italian-Americans.
The bottom line is this, throughout this past campaign, speaking often for attribution and often not, Tom Gulotta's critics and advocates both regularly came to the same conclusion, however you might feel about the man, this county executive is not only good at his job, but carries out the duties of the office with a rare gift for the common touch.
At this point in New York State history, Tom Gulotta, who presides over the second most populous county in the state outside of New York City, is a proven winner who could not only significantly help Pataki, but would help curb the oft-noted perception that the current state administration has an Upstate bias.
Many excuses might be offered to keep the ambitious 53-year-old off next year's ballot - some might just want to keep him here, as he's done a very good job for us - but there comes a point when all things being equal, what's right is patently right.
That said, we believe Tom Gulotta deserves a chance - if he desires one - to be on next year's state ticket.
