אפשאצונג פון בלאק- וואוט פון אידישע אפסטעיט געגענטער

The bloc vote. Politicians decry it, but they seek it.

What is it? Voters in certain areas, most specifically New Square, Kaser and parts of Monsey, as well as Kiryas Joel in Orange County, cast their ballots almost universally for a single candidate. But there's more. Voter registration there is high. Those voters show up, often with more than 80 percent turnout even in non-presidential election years.

Is it illegal? No. Is it wrong? No. Is it frustrating? For candidates who don't end up with a community's backing, absolutely.

And the community leadership knows that. Sometimes, the "bloc vote" is split; for example, this election, Kaser votes were split between incumbent Republican District Attorney Michael Bongiorno and Democratic challenger Tom Zugibe, who also took the overwhelming number of New Square votes. It was enough to give Zugibe the win in the tight contest. While there may be a spreading of votes, there are always votes. That's what the "bloc" has over other special interests.

The Hasidic villages and pockets of Ramapo town may not advertise the pull of the bloc vote (it's been going on for more than 40 years) but they don't hide it, either. For some, it's a point of pride. "We won them the election, definitely," New Square Deputy Mayor Israel Spitzer told staff writer Steve Lieberman a day after this year's election in reference to Zugibe's and Republican Rockland County Sheriff James Kralik's victories.

Certainly the questions of propriety need to be addressed for these and all voters. Who tells whom how to vote? Are all the voters registered in the area living in the area?

The biggest question critics raise is, "What are the politicians promising in return?"

The politicians who show up in the small villages say that they are merely listening to constituent concerns, the same as they do when they tour senior centers, neighborhood diners and union halls. Leaders in those communities point out that voters in their group back the candidates they believe best understand their needs. They say there is no quid pro quo.

Yet critics point to implications of more. In August 2000, then-first lady and Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton made a campaign visit to New Square's grand rabbi. In the November election, Clinton took 1,400 of New Square votes, compared to 12 for Republican Rick Lazio. New Square became the only Hasidic community to vote for her. In late December of that year, the grand rabbi and several village officials met with President Bill Clinton, with Hillary Clinton present, for 45 minutes at the White House. The rabbi asked Clinton for clemency on behalf of four men convicted of stealing millions of dollars from government programs. Bill Clinton later commuted the sentences, over the objections of federal prosecutors. A federal probe was launched, but no wrongdoing was found.

Other questionable activities - like a 2005 advertisement that promised the first 2,000 voters in a Monsey precinct free ice cream machines during a primary election - were also probed but not prosecuted.

The residents of New Square and Kaser aren't less deserving of attention by politicians, but are they worthy of more?

The lesson here is the power of the vote. The residents of the Hasidic communities use it. Everyone can learn from that

http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/OPINION/711090339/1151.