2019
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Polls Open: 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. A Blank Slate Media Special Section • November 1, 2019
24 ELECTION GUIDE 2019 • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 1, 2019
ENDORSEMENTS
TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD SUPERVISOR
Hoping for a more forceful Bosworth The Town of North Hempstead has much to boast about. Its finances are among the best in the state with an Aaa bond rating, it is rated among the best places to retire and relations with residents and elected officials are cordial. For this, Judi Bosworth deserves much credit. During her six years as town supervisor, North Hempstead has made real progress. But challenges remain. Several downtown business districts are struggling with vacant storefronts, particularly in Great Neck where a once-vibrant business community has fallen on hard times. Bosworth has begun to reach out to the business community with an initiative to take advantage of the town’s strong cultural offerings and an invitation for chambers of commerce to work on possible solutions. But it is here that Bosworth’s desire to get along with people may be too much of a good thing, preventing her from taking a more active role in bringing the many villages that make up a place like Great
Neck together to work on the common business corridor they share. It is fine to accept the authority of each government, but Bosworth should not allow the business community to founder in the process. From issues ranging from parking to zoning, she needs to be more forceful. Bosworth’s skills will be put to the rest with a controversial proposal by Macy’s and Brookfield properties to develop the department store’s Manhasset property with a hotel, apartments, new stores and restaurants and a redesigned property. We hope she and the Town Board will take more of a lead in these talks than they took on the issue of medical marijuana. Bosworth, like many in town officials, appears unwilling to press for a comprehensive plan for mixeduse zoning in business districts with retail on the ground floor and apartments above. This is seen by many as needed to revitalize downtown business districts battling online shopping, malls and strip malls. Mixed-use zoning also offers a solution to staunching the exodus
Judi Bosworth of millennials in a graying town and county. The town’s Project Independence offers needed services to help seniors stay in their homes. But the needs of millennials go unaddressed. Questions also surround Bosworth’s handling of the much-needed Clinton Martin G. Martin pool renovation project in New Hyde Park. The project significantly upgraded the pool. But the park renovation is now the subject of a lawsuit between the town and Wantagh-based Gramercy Group, which did the work. The town is
withholding $1.3 million for what it considers unfinished business, and the contractor is claiming an additional $1.5 million in unpaid debts. Town Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio said this month that no change orders for the project were brought before the Town Board, adding, “I’m not sure we ever voted on any of those cost overruns.” Bosworth said she is not certain what De Giorgio was talking about. “I understand that the overruns we were aware of went to the board,” she said. “She was never at any kind of meeting, and only saw the park during a ribbon-cutting, so I’m not sure what she’s talking about. According to what I know, this is not costing more than what we planned for.” She also points out that members of the park district have enjoyed a significantly upgraded facility the past two summers. Bosworth is opposed by David Redmond, a Mineola resident who works for the Nassau County Board of Elections, but has no other government experience at any level. Redmond, an experienced technical consultant with a back-
ground in electrical engineering, said he would bring a more handson approach to town projects and has a greater aptitude for new technologies that would make the town Building Department more efficient. The handling of the renovation project at Clinton G. Martin Park has been one of Redmond’s points of criticism throughout the campaign, and he said he would have handled it much differently. “If they had hired the right people and done their due diligence, this project would not be an issue,” he said. “I would have gotten constant updates from people who were working on this project. It’s a manageable project that should not have gotten to this point.” Bosworth appears to need an upgrade to her management team. She also should continue to find ways to speed up the town’s application process for building permits, both commercial and residential. But she is the clear choice in this election. Blank Slate Media endorses Bosworth.
TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD SUPERVISOR
Allow Gillen to continue reforming Hempstead In 2017, Gillen became the first Democrat elected Hempstead town supervisor in more than 100 years. The town’s Republican leadership, which regularly put partisan politics over good government, did not take this well. In his last days as town supervisor, Anthony Santino and his supporters on the town council handed out $4 million in raises to 197 employees, moved his top patronage hires to permanent positions in the Gillen administration and granted the town’s unions a no-layoff clause. Gillen sued to rescind the board’s actions, pulling no punches in the process. Named in the lawsuit was not only the Town Board but all of its members – including those who voted against the personnel changes and in two cases Republicans who had backed her against Santino. Ultimately, she won on the nolayoff clause and lost on the raises and promotions. Gillen said she then discovered a government marked by corruption and incompetence. The town’s finance were in such a mess, she said, that she asked state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office
to do a complete fiscal audit of the town. Gillen said the FBI is investigating the controversial contract with the Dover Gourmet Catering company at the town’s Malibu Beach along with other investigations that Gillen said she could not specify. The Nassau district attorney’s office is investigating the Dover contract as well as the town’s Building Department, Gillen said. Gillen said that the town has received subpoenas from the district attorney’s office for records at 200 N. Franklin St. And every town contract was in a folder in a filing cabinet and nothing was scanned, she said. Gillen has had some big successes. She received approvals for ethics reform proposal that cut down on nepotism and conflicts of interest, increased transparency highlighted by online posting of town contracts, a law to require bidding on all professional services contracts of more than $10,000, a broad reduction in town spending on political mailers masquerading as informational literature and massive increases in road repaving and repairs. She also had some failures.
Laura Gillen The Town Board recently tabled five money-saving measures, apparently based on an unwillingness to give Gillen an accomplishment to present to voters. One of the five was a contract to digitize the clerk’s office, create greater transparency and get rid of the 72 typewriters needed to run the office. Yes, 72 typewriters. In 2019. A second was a Siemens energy performance contract. The contract had gone through a bipartisan review process involving thousands of hours of work over the last year that cost the town tens of thousands of dollars and Siemens several hundred thousand dollars.
It was projected to provide the town $11.381 million in guaranteed electric savings that would have paid for five energy-related projects. Gillen says she is optimistic that Democrats will gain the majority on the Town Board in the upcoming elections and obvious reforms in town operations will no longer be impeded. Gillen is opposed by Republican Town Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin, who has held his post since 2001. Clavin said he runs an efficient office high on customer service and up-to-date technology – a management style he would bring to the town. He said he wants to cut spending, citing the elimination of takehome cars for nonunion employees. He said he gave up his take-home car two months ago – after having had it for 18 years – to demonstrate leadership by example. Clavin said that Gillen’s handling of the personnel issue at the beginning of her term created a rift with the town council that he could end, and he had the ability to work with people across the aisle. But while he was quick to point at what he said were Gillen’s short-
comings he was unwilling to point to any shortcomings among town council members or previous supervisors. He repeatedly criticized Gillen’s response to the personnel moves made by Santino and the town council members, but not the personnel moves themselves. Clavin also declined to discuss the money-saving proposals recently put forward by Gillen, whether he supported them or what he thought of the council’s decision to table votes on them. During the campaign, Clavin has joined Republican county legislators in partisan attacks on the countywide reassessment instituted by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat. This followed eight years in which no reassessment was done under then-County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican, and county values were thrown completed out of whack. This is a pattern with Clavin. He says he will change the Town of Hempstead. But actual results are on Gillen’s side. Blank Slate Media endorses Gillen.
Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 1, 2019 • ELECTION GUIDE 2019
On Tuesday, November 5, Re-Elect Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth to Keep Moving North Hempstead Forward BY RSED O D N E
Democrat Judi Bosworth will continue spearheading Project Independence, improving our recreational facilities and protecting our Town’s Aaa top bond rating.
Bosworth is a skilled leader “Under Bosworth’s watchful eye and steady-as-you-go approach, the town has maintained steady finances and a solid Aaa bond rating. And her quiet, unassuming demeanor is welcome in a county where political controversy often reigns. Bosworth... focuses on the needs of her constituents, working to find solutions on everything from transportation for seniors to medical care for veterans.” — Newsday, October 10, 2019 PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF JUDI BOSWORTH
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26 ELECTION GUIDE 2019 • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 1, 2019
ENDORSEMENTS
TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 2 Includes East Williston, Searingtown, Manhasset Hills, East Hills, Glenwood Landing, Sea Cliff, Herricks, Roslyn Harbor, Albertson and Roslyn Heights
Zuckerman right choice, but can do more Peter Zuckerman was first elected town councilman for District 2 in 2013, the same year Judi Bosworth was elected town supervisor in North Hempstead. So Zuckerman is justified in claiming at least a share of town’s current health, which includes a Aaa bond rating, its listing among the best places to retire and relations between residents and elected officials that are generally cordial. But as in Bosworth’s case we’d like to see more in his representation of District 2, which encompasses Albertson, East Hills, East Williston, Glenwood Landing, Greenvale, Herricks, Manhasset Hills, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Heights and Searingtown. Zuckerman, a Democrat, said he supports Bosworth’s plan to help revitalize the town’s downtown business districts by
creating a cultural master plan. That’s a good idea but not enough. The town, at a minimum, needs to consider zoning to permit mixed-used use developments that combine retail locations to allow business districts to better compete with malls and online shopping. Mixed-use developments, especially near public transit, also offer a solution to the exodus of millennials in a town where the population is graying. Zuckerman said each application for mixed-used developments should be looked at “on a case-by-case basis.” Developers have complained this is a deterrent that adds time and expense to each project. Zuckerman would not discuss the status of a long-delayed town park at Roslyn Country
Peter Zuckerman Club as well as cost overruns claimed by the contractor at the Clinton G. Martin Park project, citing litigation in both cases. Additionally, he did not comment on the proposed Macy’s Brookfield development in Manhasset, saying he was “looking forward” for the plans to be presented to the town council.
Zuckerman said the longcriticized town Building Department had made significant process in recent years with the addition of more examiners and an applicant advocate and efforts to make things more efficient and more user-friendly. At the same, he said, he realized it’s not a “perfect situation” and more needed to be done. Zuckerman is opposed by Ragini Srivastava, a Republican from Manhasset Hills, and Cassandra Lems, a Green Party candidate from New Hyde Park. Neither has held elective office. Srivastava offered some worthy suggestions in her League of Women voters questionnaire to help revitalize and promote downtown revitalization. They included a proposal to create a downtown development organization focused on promot-
ing the downtowns as well as supporting amenities that make downtowns more walkable such as narrowing lanes of traffic. She wrongly said the most significant issue in the campaign was financial mismanagement. But correctly faulted the town for at least some of the blame for Clinton Martin Park construction projects. Lems said that based on anecdotal evidence she agreed that the Building Department took too long to approve applications and more needed to be done. She cited “cronyism” in local government, specifically members of the Board of Elections being named by those currently in office, as one of her major issues but it is not one under the purview of the town council. Blank Slate Media endorses Zuckerman.
TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD COUNCILMEMBER DISTRICT 2 Includes Bellerose Terrace, Floral Park, Garden City, Garden City South, the incorporated area of New Hyde Park, Salisbury, South Floral Park, Stewart Manor, and portions of Bellerose, East Meadow, Elmont, Franklin Square, Hempstead, Uniondale and W. Hempstead
Add Tweedy to reform team in Hempstead Tom Tweedy would be an excellent choice for town council even if he wasn’t running in the Town of Hempstead. But with more than 100 years of control Hempstead Republicans have come to operate the town more like a private organization whose first priority is to protect patronage jobs for them and their families than serve the public good. Laura Gillen, who became the first Democrat elected town supervisor in more than 100 years, recently proposed five money-savings measures that the Republican town council members tabled, providing a further demonstration of the cost to taxpayers of the GOP’s focus. One of the five was a contract to digitize the clerk’s of-
fice, create greater transparency and get rid of the 72 typewriters needed to run the office. Typewriters. In 2019. And the measure was tabled. Tweedy, a former Republican mayor and trustee of Floral Park, backed Gillen in her run for supervisor and though still a registered Republican is running as a Democrat against what he calls the corruption, nepotism and patronage problems in the town. His aim, he said, is to create a fiscally responsible local government. He said he was particularly interested in developing a plan to fix the town’s roads and infrastructure – a job that he said his construction background made him particularly well suited to perform.
Tom Tweedy Tweedy, who initially opposed the LIRR’s third track project, said that his criticizing the project, negotiating for benefits such as a grade crossing eliminations and working with other mayors on the LIRR Main Line made for a better project. He said he supports the Bel-
VOTE TUESDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Polls Open 6 a.m. -9 p.m.
mont project that has brought the Islanders back to Long Island because it will result in more permanent jobs. Tweedy is opposed by Thomas E. Muscarella, a Republican from Garden City, who was appointed after thenCouncilman Edward Ambrosino resigned due to pleading guilty on corruption charges in early April. Thomas E. Muscarella is not to be confused with brother Vincent Muscarella, a longtime county legislator who is running for re-election. Or brother Joseph Muscarella, an Oyster Bay town councilman. Or brother Ignatius L. Muscarella, a Nassau County District Court judge. Tweedy called Muscarella a “poster boy of nepotism.” He
makes a good point. Muscarella makes clear he supports the Republican majority on the Town Board, saying he backed the GOP majority’s budget proposals. He also said the 2nd Councilmanic District is “under assault” by two projects. He said the third track is having a major adverse qualityof-life impact on the communities of the 2nd District and the Belmont project has the potential to “devastate” our neighborhoods. He said he is an advocate for sustainable development but not what Gov. Andrew Cuomo is doing with both projects. Blank Slate Media endorses Tweedy. Endorsements Continued on Page 47
Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 1, 2019 • ELECTION GUIDE 2019
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ENDORSEMENTS
NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 11 Includes Glen Cove, Flower Hill, Manorhaven, Port Washington, Baxtor Estates, Roslyn, Roslyn Harbor, Sands Point, Sea Cliff
DeRiggi-Whitton serves District 11 well Delia DeRiggi-Whitton has been a strong advocate for both her district and Nassau County during her six terms serving District 11 of the county Legislature, which comprises Port Washington, parts of Manhasset and Roslyn, the City of Glen Cove and a small portion of the Town of Oyster Bay. The Glen Cove resident was a leader in the Democratic effort to reform the county procurement process, including the push to create an inspector general to oversee county contracts. She also introduced a law setting a maximum spending limit for county contracts. County contracts previously only disclosed a minimum spending amount. She said she has also stopped the passage of contracts that were signed by the Mangano administration and pressed for a new requirement
that contracts require a second signature. DeRiggi-Whitton has also been a strong advocate for policies to protect Long Island’s single-source aquifer as a member of the Long Island Coalition for Aquifer Protection, reduce the county’s reliance on fossil fuels and increase the use of renewable energy sources in Nassau County. She has also done a good job in obtaining county money to revitalize the Village of Manorhaven’s main street, Manorhaven Boulevard. The road will see handicap-accessible sidewalks, new paving and enhance the area’s nautical charm among other efforts. She has also demonstrated an independent streak as well as a willingness to work with Republicans. We have been disappointed by her call to delay the county
Delia DeRiggi-Whitton reassessment of all property in Nassau County because of concerns about its accuracy – a position disputed by assessment experts. In fact, based on anecdotal evidence in her district, she expresses less confidence in the reassessment than Richard Nicoello, the presiding officer of the Republican-controlled county Legislature who has waged a
partisan campaign against the reassessment. Nicolello said he believes the new system instituted under Curran is better than the previous one under which Nassau incurred $50 million a year in successful assessment challenges. DeRiggi-Whitton said she believes the results of the new system will be worse. We agree with her that the Town of North Hempstead should work with Macy’s and Brookfield Properties on a redevelopment plan they have proposed for the Macy’s site in Manhasset. DeRiggi-Whitton is opposed by James Greenberg, a lawyer living in Glen Cove with an inspiring life story of being rescued by his parents from an orphanage in Bogota, Colombia, and being raised in Roslyn Harbor. Greenberg said he would
give up his law practice to work full time as a county legislator. Among his priorities, he said, would be holding down taxes and keeping millennials in Nassau. He said he sees downtown revitalization as crucial to keeping millennials in the county, and said that “smarter development” of affordable rental apartments is necessary. Greenberg said he would like to see rentals and condominiums near the water, taking advantage of Long Island’s assets, including the Long Island Rail Road. Blay Tarnoff, a Libertarian who lives in Port Washington, is also challenging DeRiggiWhitton. He offered no specifics other than to call for less government and lower taxes. Blank Slate Media endorse DeRiggi-Whitton.
NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 16 Includes Woodbury, Syosset, Plainview, Jericho, Old Bethpage, Hicksville, Old Westbury and Roslyn Heights
Drucker succeeds in carrying on tradition Arnold Drucker had large shoes to fill when he succeeded county Legislator Judy Jacobs in 2016. And has had a good measure of success in that effort in representing District 16, which includes parts of Roslyn Heights, Old Westbury and the Town of Oyster Bay. Drucker, a Democrat from Plainview, has succeeded in sponsoring common-sense legislation that has won approval in a Republican-controlled Legislature. This includes bills to require cameras on school buses, to raise the age for vaping to 21 and prohibiting flavored tobacco, and to require mandatory sexual harassment training
for Nassau County department heads. He has also ben an advocate for efforts to build affordable housing to help millennials to stay or move back to Nassau County as well as keep seniors here when they can no longer manage a house. This support includes mixed-used developments with retail stores on the ground floor and apartments above in downtown business districts as well as urban-oriented housing near public transit. He has also supported the countywide reassessment undertaken by County Executive Laura Curran to put an end to the millions of dollars in tax grievance refunds and return
Arnold Drucker fairness to the property tax system. Drucker said he supports the five-year phase-in of increases to property taxes to prevent or reduce any hardships caused by the new system. He also ad-
vocates for the state to aid the nearly 50 percent of property owners who have been effectively overpaying their taxes – a request not likely to have much support outside Nassau County. He has also shown his independence by supporting the sale of recreational marijuana in Nassau if approved by the state Legislature. Curran voted to opt Nassau out of the sale of recreational marijuana before Gov. Cuomo withdrew his proposal. Drucker said Curran’s decision was in response to scare tactics used by Republicans. He said the health and safety concerns were very overstated and were greatly outweighed by the revenue the marijuana business would gen-
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erate both statewide and in Nassau. Drucker is opposed by Jennifer Garber, a Republican who lives in Plainview and practices law in Williston Park. Garber said she hopes to bring greater transparency in government and criticized Drucker for not being accessible. Drucker disputed the charge, saying he held many Town Halls and Community Forms on a wide range of issues including two attended by Nassau County Assessor David Moog – whose attendance record at assessment meetings has been frequently criticized by county Republicans. Blank Slate Media endorses Drucker.
48 ELECTION GUIDE 2019 • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 1, 2019
ENDORSEMENTS
NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 18 Includes North Woodbury, North Syosset, Laurel Hollow, Oyster Bay Cove, Oyster Bay, Cove Neck, Centre Island, Bayville, Mill Neck, Lattingtown, Locust Valley, Matinecock, the Brookvilles, Muttontown, East Norwich, Greenvale, East Hills and Glen Head
Lafazan brings fresh perspective to county He is 25, his campaign manager is 20 and the volunteers on his campaign for county Legislature District 18 are as young as 6 years old. Joshua Lafazan certainly does not fit the usual profile for a county legislator as he seeks re-election for a district that includes East Hills, Greenvale, Glen Head, Woodbury, the Brookvilles and Syosset. And that does not include the fact that he is living in the basement of his mother’s home in Syosset. But Lafazan, a Democrat, also stands out for the amount of legislation he sponsored that was signed into law in his first term. This includes “Timothy’s Law,” which will establish a 24-
hour, toll-free substance abuse hotline where the public can reach substance abuse counselors. A second bill established an app providing residents with resources regarding substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery. He also sponsored the “Dignity For Our Heroes” package, signed into law in April, which marked veterans as a protected status under the county’s Human Rights Law, in addition to creating the Nassau Commission on Ending Veteran Homelessness, which guides projects meant to reduce the number of veterans who are housing insecure in the region. Lafazan also gets an A for
Joshua Lafazan transparency, providing a written justification for every vote he has taken, live-streaming his news conferences, holding regular coffees with constituents and alerting them of key votes taking place or major issues in the
community And he offers a needed voice for millennials who have been leaving Nassau County in the face of high taxes, high living expenses and limited housing options. Lafazan, who was elected to the Syosset Board of Education at age 19, calls for pressing school boards to reduce spending by partnering with other districts on purchases and other ways the county government can save money. At the same time, Lafazan backs a significant expansion of zoning for mixed-used developments that provide retail stores on the ground floor and three or four floors of apartments above in downtown business districts.
This is seen by some as a way to increase the number of shoppers in downtowns and provide affordable housing to millennials and others. Lafazan is opposed by Timothy Jenks, a Republican living in Glen Head. Jenks’ answer to the high taxes in Nassau County is to support an assessment bill of rights backed by Nassau County Republicans aimed at scoring political points as well as legislation making the county assessor an elected position. Both bills were recently vetoed by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. Blank Slate Media endorses Lafazan.
NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 10 Includes Great Neck, Herricks, North Hills, North New Hyde Park, Searingtown/Albertson Manhasset, Garden City Park and Roslyn
Birnbaum a clear choice for District 10 Ellen Birnbaum, a Democrat from Great Neck, has established herself as a diligent county legislator and effective advocate for child and senior safety in her three terms representing District 10, which covers Manhasset, Manhasset Hills, North Hills, Searington, Herricks and the nine villages of Great Neck. This includes conducting traffic studies to keep pedestrians and drivers safe. She said in November she will review the results of a traffic study she worked on that has examined roads from Kings Point to
Manhasset and present them to the public. Birnbaum said she supported the countywide reassessment undertaken by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran as necessary after eight years in which no assessment was done and values varied wildly. She also called “ridiculous” the so-called assessment bill of rights approved by Republican legislators but vetoed by Curran, particularly the requirement that the assessor live in the county. Birnbaum touted legislation backed by Democrats establish-
Ellen Birnbaum ing an office of inspector general to review county contractors. She said the county needs to
look to the future to find ways for young people to live in Nassau – something she said it does not do. She is keeping an open mind on a proposal by Macy’s to build a mixed-use development at its location in Manhasset but said the town needs to take a cautious approach in what gets approved. “I think that people are looking for open space to build and increase the tax base, so I’m not totally against it,” she said. “But it would need to be in an area that could sustain development like that, and that corner
with more traffic could be even more of a nightmare.” Birnbaum is opposed by Helene Sherman, a Republican from Great Neck who worked as a Nassau County assistant district attorney but has little experience in governance. Sherman calls for a reduction in the “bloated infrastructure in the Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County” and having any projects costing more than $400,000 put to a public vote “even it means a special election.” Blank Slate Media endorses Birnbaum.
Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. — John F. Kennedy
Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 1, 2019 • ELECTION GUIDE 2019
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ENDORSEMENTS
NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 8 Includes Franklin Square, West Hempstead and portions of Elmont, Floral Park and Stuart Manor
Experience makes Muscarella right choice Vincent T. Muscarella was elected to the first session of the Nassau County Legislature on Nov. 5, 1995, and has been serving ever since. Prior to being elected, the West Hempstead Republican served for four years as state Assemblyman representing the 22nd Assembly District. He is also an active member of many community organizations. Muscarella is opposed in his bid for re-election in District 8 by Barbara Hafner, a former teacher and president of the West Hempstead Education Association who pledges better communication with constituents but has no government experience. Hafner said she supported County Executive Laura Curran’s “Taxpayer Protection Plan,” which would bring an incremental five-year phasein of property tax values of
homes in Nassau County. She also favors downtown revitalization efforts in her district. On paper, Muscarella offers District 8 voters more than a significant edge over his opponent in a district that encompasses Franklin Square, Floral Park, Bellerose, Bellerose Terrace, West Hempstead and portions of Elmont, New Hyde Park and Stewart Manor. But district voters might want to consider that Muscarella is part of a highly partisan Republican response to the countywide reassessment undertaken by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. This has included an attempt to hold a referendum on making the county assessor position an elected position aimed at Curran’s pick of David Moog, Nassau’s first certified assessor in more than eight years, followed by
Vincent T. Muscarella repeated attempts to pass an ill-advised “Assessment Bill of Rights” that among other things would require the county assessor to live in Nassau County. Moog lives in Queens. But this followed eight years under Republican County Executive Edward Mangano when the county did not have a certified assessor and county assessments stayed frozen.
Muscarella and other Republican legislators said nothing. During this time, the Mangano administration’s practice of granting thousands of reductions to homeowners who grieved their taxes shifted $2.2 billion in taxes from generally more affluent property owners who successfully appealed their property taxes over seven years to generally less affluent owners who did not, according to a Newsday report. At the end of the day, about 50 percent of property owners were overpaying and half were underpaying. Voters may also want to consider that the 2019 election will determine which party is in the majority after the 2020 census when county Legislature districts are redrawn. In 2010, Republicans held a 10-9 edge in the county Legislature and an equal ad-
vantage in districts with a majority of registered Republicans – even though registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans. The Republican legislators then used the census to gerrymander legislative districts to give the GOP a 12-9 edge. This effectively ensured that the Republicans would control the Legislature for the next decade. This is nothing short of undemocratic. But the GOP, which now holds an 11-8 advantage thanks to Joshua Lafazan’s victory two years ago, could do the same in 2021. Even as the Democrats have increased their edge in registered party members. Still, on the individual merits, Blank Slate Media endorses Muscarella.
Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government of— Franklin D. Roosevelt ficials, but the voters of this country.
50 ELECTION GUIDE 2019 • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 1, 2019
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