Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin The theme was “Public Safety and Community Service,” so speaking via speakerphone from Albany where the legislature was still in session, Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin declared that the three honored guests at last Thursday evening’s annual dinner–dance of the William Jefferson Clinton Democratic Club of Flushing define the best in community commitment.

McLaughlin continued: “They know that whether it’s helping a youngster get a god start in life, or assisting someone in need of emergency medical care, getting involved makes the difference.”

City Councilmember John Liu (D–Flushing) then presented the honorees with their awards thanking each one for playing a part in improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

The honorees were: Flushing Democratic Party Leader Mary Ann Dorsa, Patrick Bahnken, president of Local 2507, Uniformed Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics and Carl Belgiorno, president and executive director of the Electchester Athletic Association.

The featured speaker at the affair, held at the Reception House in Flushing, was Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who’s seeking his party’s nomination to run for state attorney general.

Cuomo, the former federal Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton Presidential Administration, commended the Clinton club members for their efforts to help make democracy work. “Our basic values as a society are protected and preserved because people like you care and show it by your participation in the political process,” he declared.

—John Toscano