Incumbent Skelos' record called in to question by Sava

Democrat George Sava, an attorney and former U.S. Army reservist, is making his first run for public office against Republican incumbent Dean Skelos, the Senate minority leader, who's held the District 9 seat for more than a quarter century.

To Sava, Skelos has helped create a massive tax burden that is crushing Nassau County families. He believes Skelos is too focused on preserving his position as the Senate's GOP leader, than the welfare of his district.

"Are we to believe that after 26 years of raising taxes, of basically pushing Nassau County over a cliff, that he has the answers?" Sava said.

Skelos rejected that portrait, saying he has a history of getting results. He vowed to support a tax cap if re-elected and suggested that more Democrats in Albany can only mean more hard times for residents.

"Democrat control in Albany has resulted in spiraling taxes, spiraling . . . spending, no private-sector job creation and has really disillusioned the people of this state," said Skelos, 62, of Rockville Centre.

District 9 is in southwestern Nassau and includes Valley Stream, Woodmere, Island Park and Oceanside, among other communities. As of April 1, there were 216,416 registered voters in the district, including 86,395 Democrats, 77,205 Republicans and 43,976 voters who did not specify a party.

The challenger

Sava, 41, graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1996, then worked for private law firms in New York City. As a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, he served in the Horn of Africa as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and was briefly senior legal adviser to the commanding general for the region.

In 2007 - the year after Sava began practicing law from Long Island - he moved to Woodmere with his wife. At the time, he was a Republican, but Sava said he became fed up with the GOP in the state, which didn't display belief in small government and low taxes. Sava said he's seen his home lose 30 percent of its market value and his property taxes rise 10 percent since moving to the Island.

He blames Skelos and the Republicans for failing to reform hundreds of taxing entities in Nassau County that operate with too much secrecy and waste cash drawn from the pockets of struggling residents. He pointed to Skelos' voting record, including support for $22.7 billion in MTA-related taxes and fees since 1981. Some of the Skelos votes that the Sava campaign includes in that tally were to extend existing levies.

"They refuse to fix the leak," Sava said of the GOP in Albany. "They just keep pouring water into the bucket, the water being our tax dollars."

Sava, who is also running on the Working Families line, promised greater transparency in government, to root out waste and to lower taxes. He also wants to rework the state funding formula for public schools, get rid of the MTA payroll tax - a levy Skelos voted against - and abolish the Wick's Law, which requires multiple contractors on public construction projects.

The incumbent

Skelos, who is also running on the Conservative, Independence and Tax Revolt party lines, said that his record has been misrepresented by Sava. Not only did he vote against the MTA payroll tax, Skelos said, but he also voted against the elimination of the STAR tax rebate check. Skelos said from 1994 until 2007, he voted for about $165 billion in tax cuts that he said helped create hundreds of thousands of jobs for New Yorkers.

Skelos, a graduate of the Fordham University School of Law, has a reputation for being tough on crime and has focused on cracking down on sex offenders. He authored New York State's version of Megan's Law, which allows the public to track sex offenders.

Skelos said he does have responsibilities as minority leader, but has still managed to routinely attend community meetings in the district and devotes considerable time to interacting with constituents. He called Sava's charge that he has abandoned the district a "cheap political shot. And my constituents know it's not true."

Skelos said that after the election, if he becomes majority leader, he will fight to enact a 2 to 2.5 percent cap on school property taxes and a similar limit on the general property tax. He would also seek to restore the STAR rebate and job creation initiatives in Albany that Democratic leaders have suspended or eliminated. 

The cash

Skelos enjoys a colossal cash advantage, as befits his stature in state politics. With a month to go before the election, Skelos had over $1.26 million in his campaign chest, state records indicate, compared to Sava's less than $9,800.