Joy Jankunas

BACKGROUND

• Jankunas, 47, of Garden City, is a registered Democrat and is running on the Democratic party line in the general election. She grew up in Elmont. This is her first bid for public office.
• Jankunas has worked as an attorney for more than two decades. She began her career working as a white-collar criminal defense lawyer for a Manhattan-based firm, but has spent the past 17 years as a matrimonial and family law attorney. She is a partner at the firm Meister Seelig & Schuster.
• Jankunas received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Duke University, where she also minored in English and psychology. She has a law degree from Georgetown University.

ISSUES

• Jankunas said she wants to prioritize “reviewing and fixing” Nassau County’s property tax assessments. She said the county’s tax rolls have been frozen for years, which she argues creates an “inherently unfair” dynamic that skews the tax burden and requires property owners to actively challenge their bills. 
• Jankunas wants to scrutinize Nassau County’s expenditure on outside counsel. She said the county’s spending on contracted attorneys has increased “exponentially” in recent years. She said she wants to ensure that the spending is appropriate and that the county’s in-house legal team is sufficiently staffed.
• Jankunas said another top issue for her is pushing for votes on all proposed legislation. She contends that the Republican-controlled legislature is not allowing Democratic-proposed bills to be considered. She said “to not even allow legislation to be heard — that is a dereliction of duty.”