Legis. Richard Nicolello elected as Nassau presiding officer

Majority GOP Nassau lawmakers selected Legis. Richard Nicolello as presiding officer Friday as all 19 members of the County Legislature — including two new Democrats and two freshman Republicans — were sworn into office.

Nicolello, 57, of New Hyde Park, said he would work to tackle the region’s opioid crisis, hold the line on property taxes and fix a “broken assessment system that has created a massive shift in the tax burden.”

Nicolello, who had served as deputy presiding officer since 2012, also vowed to end a control period imposed by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a state oversight board.

“NIFA has served its purpose and it’s now time for Nassau to move on,” Nicolello said during a speech at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City.

Nicolello, who was elected to his 12th term in Nassau’s 9th Legislative District in November, was selected as presiding officer in a vote along party lines during a legislative meeting in Mineola. Republicans hold an 11-8 advantage over Democrats in the legislature.

State Sen. Elaine Phillips (R-Flower Hill), who swore in Nicolello, said he “epitomizes what leadership really is.”

Legis. Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport), who was reappointed to a fourth term as minority leader, said Nassau “is currently in a fiscal mess” and that both parties must cooperate to balance the county’s budget.

The Legislature also inducted four new members.

The Republicans include Thomas McKevitt, a former state assemblyman from East Meadow who won the seat previously held by former Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves, who did not seek re-election.

Also sworn in was John Ferretti Jr., a former chief deputy county clerk and the great nephew of Nassau GOP chairman Joseph Mondello. Ferretti, of Levittown, replaces Dennis Dunne, who was appointed to the Hempstead Town Board.

The new Democrats are Debra Mulé of Freeport, who won the seat vacated by new County Executive Laura Curran, and Joshua Lafazan, who at age 23 is the youngest-ever member of the legislature. Lafazan, of Woodbury, defeated two-term GOP incumbent Donald MacKenzie.

During the legislative meeting, lawmakers unanimously adopted a rule change prohibiting lawmakers from sending publicly funded mailers within 45 days of a general election or 30 days of a special election or primary. Exceptions would be made for nonpolitical events, such as a mammography van coming to the member’s district.

All legislators but one — Democrat Carrié Solages of Elmont — were appointed to legislative committees.

Democrats last year stripped Solages of his committee assignments and expelled him from their caucus after he was charged with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child for an incident involving the mother of his 3-year-old son.

Solages has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court Jan. 11.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.