Tea Party activists gaining popularity among elected

Shunned last year, Tea Party activists are popular now among the elected. Fiscal conservatives, including members of the Nassau County Civic Association, the Rockville Centre Tea Party Patriots, the Conser-vative Society for Action, and the Town of Hempstead Civic Council, lunched with the Nassau legislature's minority leader, Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove). They see Republican Nassau Executive Edward Mangano next. A meeting is being set with Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Mas-sapequa). And Democratic Suffolk Executive Steve Levy speaks at Nassau Civic's next meeting. Paul Kosow-ski, of Nassau Civic, acknowledged times changed since he waited six hours at the legislature last year to denounce a proposed home-heating tax but couldn't get recognized by then-Presiding Officer Yatauro. "It's because of the recent election. People are seeing what happened," Kosowski said. - Celeste Hadrick