Assembly candidates divided on third track project

A Democratic small businessman from East Norwich faces a Republican attorney from Glen Head in Tuesday's special election to fill the Assembly seat left vacant when Rob Walker became chief deputy county executive last month.

Republican Michael Montesano, 55, and Democrat Matt Meng, 58, have run for public office before, and both campaign against high property taxes, big government and wasteful spending.

Each declines to speak critically of the other, and the only place they openly differ is on the proposed third track for the Long Island Rail Road between Queens Village and Hicksville, a major transit hub that is at the political heart of the 15th Assembly District.

Meng, who is active in environmental causes and groups, enthusiastically supports the third track and other efforts to improve mass transit.

Montesano would not take a position, but said the LIRR and its parent Metropolitan Transportation Agency are poorly run. "The way the MTA is currently operating, I would not trust them to anything further in development until they get their act together," Montesano said.

The two men are running in a district with 35,158 registered Republicans and 27,109 enrolled Democrats. There are also 20,805 voters who do not state a party preference, and Meng he said thinks those voters might be enough to swing the election in his favor.

A map of the district makes clear how the lines have been drawn over the years to accommodate incumbent politicians and to meet the technical requirements of balancing populations among districts.

It runs from Oyster Bay - but never actually touches the waterfront - down to Wheatley Road in Old Westbury, where it narrows before continuing south into Salisbury and part of East Meadow, and then veers east through another narrow corridor into the Hicksville area.

Meng is president of East Norwich Civic Association, owns the Little Garage in Huntington, and ran unsuccessfully for Oyster Bay Town Board last year, and has run for the state Senate and town clerk.

"I've served my community for the past 20 years for not a penny," Meng said. "I'm going to face hard decisions honestly and openly and fairly. I will not be a 'yes person' for anyone's agenda."

Montesano, a former New York City police officer, is a graduate of City University Law School at Queens College and has a law practice in Glen Cove. He ran unsuccessfully for the county legislature last year.

He served on the North Shore School Board and belongs to several professional fraternal groups, including the Columbian Lawyers Association of Nassau County.

"With my life experience and educational background, I could go up to Albany with a practical view of how to solve problems," Montesano said. He said that making government more efficient would result in enormous saving when applied across state agencies, like the MTA.

Although he said he generally favored cutting administrative costs in school districts, Montesano did call for one, small spending initiative: a stipend or "minimal" property tax break for people who serve on local school boards. "I think it would attract more qualified people to volunteer their time," he said.

The winner of the special election will have to run again in the fall for a full, two-year term.

Michael Montesano

HOME Glen Head
AGE 55
OCCUPATION Attorney
PARTY Republican; also running on the Conservative and Independence Party lines.
BACKGROUND Former New York City police officer. Law degree from City University Law School at Queens College. Former board member North Shore School District. Acting village justice in Roslyn Harbor.
FUNDRAISING Total of $28,576, according to campaign finance reports.

Matt Meng

HOME: East Norwich
AGE: 58
OCCUPATION: Small business owner
PARTY: Democrat
BACKGROUND: President of the East Norwich Civic Assocation. Member Long Island Drinking Water Coalition, Friends of the Bay and the Long Island Environmental Voters Forum. Member of the county’s Community Emergency Response Team.
FUNDRAISING: Total of $10,202, according to campaign filings.