Once again, Levy the leader is back

Heeeeeeee's baaaaaack. And, no, County Executive Steve Levy still isn't volunteering specifics about why he gave up an almost sure shot at re-election -- along with $4 million in campaign funds to the district attorney's office -- five weeks ago.

Levy's silence on the details of the matter ought to dog him through the end of his self-imposed, lame-duck term because residents deserve an explanation.

And saying he can't talk -- as he's said in one-on-one interviews with reporters -- doesn't pass muster.

The man on display during two news conferences Wednesday -- his first since March 24, when a deal with Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota was announced -- appeared to be the Steve Levy of old, micro-tending the nuts and bolts of local government.

In the morning, Levy went to Commack to announce Suffolk would build two compressed natural gas facilities. In the afternoon in Hauppauge, he announced the donation of more than 100 BlackBerry smart phones to groups dealing with domestic abuse.

This is the think big, act small Steve Levy whom contenders for his job will try to emulate.

Micromanaging the public's business, along with Levy's penchant for saying exactly what he thinks, fueled his rise to a candidate for governor.

But now that he's agreed not to seek a third term, Levy's coasting, with characteristic deliberateness, toward a finish.

He started out small, with word sent through a spokesman that he would try to save the fiscally strapped Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It's good to be good to animals.

Now, Levy's getting louder and bolder, while trying to stand tall on safe ground.

On Tuesday, he told a reporter he was negotiating with the Shinnecock Nation about putting a casino in Yaphank -- on land where an emboldened county legislature is killing Levy's own ambitious plan for a commercial and housing development.

That is quintessential Levy.

He knows there's likely to be trouble in Nassau, where County Executive Edward Mangano is said to be close to signing a memorandum of understanding with the tribe to build a casino in Uniondale near two universities.

In swoops Levy, who, associates say, chafed at the perception of being considered junior to former Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi.

Levy easily bested Mangano (and, some would say, Suozzi, who spent down Nassau's once-considerable reserves) when it came to managing a budget.

Why not try to best Mangano (and stick it in the Suffolk Legislature's eye) by offering the Shinnecock -- who are considering the possibility of opening more than one casino on Long Island -- a location closer to the reservation?

And it's no coincidence that Levy made his first public appearances on the same day that Democrat Steve Bellone announced his run for county executive.

Suffolk's been unusually quiet since Levy retreated to self-imposed exile. His return to the limelight -- although unsatisfying, because he won't talk about his decision not to run again -- does highlight one thing.

For better -- and for worse -- Levy's been an unusually strong and plain-spoken leader in Suffolk.

It's something Bellone and the field of Republicans looking to replace him ought to keep in mind.