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Poll: Nassau voters soured on special districts

Sandra Peddie; Celeste Hadrick; James T. Madore in Albany; Sid Cassese on Long Island

August 25, 2008

SPECIAL DISTRICTS

Poll: More voters disapprove

Nassau voters' attitudes toward special districts - the tiny units of government that have come under political fire in the past year - have flipped dramatically, according to a new poll paid for by the Port Washington-based Hagedorn Foundation.

Last year, 44 percent of voters said they were satisfied with the system of special districts, which handle services such as water, fire and garbage pickup for specific areas. This year, the poll said, the pattern has reversed. Nearly half of voters, or 46 percent, said they were dissatisfied with special districts.

Perhaps more telling is that 64 percent of voters thought the level of waste in special districts was higher than it was in county or town governments. And 78 percent thought there were too many local governments in Nassau. The poll found increased support for consolidating local governments. Last year, voters were 53 percent in favor and 29 percent against. This year, that support has grown to 64 percent. That support is broad-based, the poll said, cutting across the electorate. For example, 64 percent of conservatives, 69 percent of moderates and 60 percent of liberals support the idea of consolidation. Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates, based in California, did the polling. - Sandra Peddie

FOR THE DEFENSE

Judge back in court

Joseph A. DeMaro was back in Nassau Supreme Court recently handling county commercial tax challenges. But instead of presiding over cases, he was arguing on Nassau's behalf.

Nassau County Attorney Lorna Goodman hired the former Republican Supreme Court justice as a $110,000-a-year deputy county attorney overseeing Nassau's defense of millions of dollars in tax challenge lawsuits.

DeMaro, 67, had been the main judge handling commercial tax challenges until he retired Dec. 31.

"I know he had a lot of in-depth knowledge in that area," Goodman said. "As it turns out, he's useful to us in every area."

Goodman, who works for Democratic County Executive Thomas Suozzi, said she knew DeMaro was a Republican. "We don't hire on that basis," she said. "We hired him on the basis of his knowledge, experience and skill." - Celeste Hadrick

THE PATERSON WATCH

Gov. David A. Paterson last week signed into law a bill giving veterans of the Cold War a tax break if they live in Nassau County.

The measure, sponsored by State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove), provides a property-tax exemption for those who served during the Cold War. Similar exemptions also have been given to veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

The bill signing was eclipsed by other legislation that Paterson signed into law, most notably $427 million in cuts to this year's budget. The reductions were the first in modern state history to an adopted budget that didn't also include a tax increase.

Paterson vowed to resume talks after Labor Day with Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) about reining in the yearly hikes in school taxes. The Senate and Assembly have adopted rival measures so far.

- James T. Madore in Albany

TODAY ON THE BLOG

More than a week after the manufacturer completed repairs on most of 240 new optical scanning voting machines, Nassau Democratic Elections Commissioner William Biamonte still is doubtful. "We had wanted to have the new machines fully ready for the 2008 primary and general elections," Biamonte said of the machines meant to make voting accessible to the physically challenged. "But not only is that not happening, it does not now appear that they will be certified ready by November 2009, when a federal court has mandated they be used." Last month, Nassau officials told the court that 80 percent of the delivered machines were unusable. In mid-July Canadian manufacturer Sequoia Voting Machines, "with the help of county staff ... fixed most of the machines," Biamonte said. He said 129 will be used in the Republican primary in the 3rd Congressional District. In November, one will be in each of Nassau's 400 polling sites. "This year the machines will just be ... marking the ballot and printing it," he added. - Sid Cassese on Long Island

NAKED AMBITION

Which was the most fevered lunge for self-promotion by a power player? Vote at newsday.com/spincycle.

1. State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith telling lobbyists - jokingly, he says - to contribute now because it will be more expensive to win favor when Democrats control the Senate.

2. State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos saying, "That's thuggery, and I think that's totally inappropriate."

3. Carey Campbell, head of a Virginia third-party movement, putting Michael Bloomberg on his state's ballot.

Last week's "winner" (results unscientific): Barack Obama, 65.5 percent, for agreeing to a roll-call vote with Hillary Rodham Clinton's name at the Democratic convention, citing her primary campaign as "a defining moment in our history."