Janison: Weitzman looking for comeback
Former Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman at a luncheon at the Milleridge Inn. Credit: Newsday, 2008 / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Democrat Howard Weitzman is set to announce Monday that he's seeking a rematch against Republican Nassau Comptroller George Maragos, who unseated him from the post in a razor-close 2009 race.
For Weitzman, a political comeback would cap his personal comeback from the rare blood disorder amyloidosis, which sharply curbed his activities last time. "My medical condition is great. My doctors are actually encouraging me to run," he said. "Unlike four years ago, I won't be limited in my campaigning."
Weitzman, 67, has prepared an email blast to announce his run, citing Nassau's fiscal straits. He said he expects no repeat of "the horrible Democratic turnout" in 2009 when Nassau Republicans also won the county executive's office and a legislative majority. Maragos, who sought a U.S. Senate nomination twice in two years, now seeks re-election.
A CPA and onetime mayor of Great Neck Estates, Weitzman served two terms as comptroller while Democrat Thomas Suozzi was county executive. Suozzi, also unseated in 2009, denies he'll seek a rematch against County Executive Edward Mangano, yet county Democrats have predicted for months he'll do so after public gestures to "persuade" him.
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