Dawidziak: Levy didn't tick off taxpayers

Michael Dawidziak is a political consultant and pollster.

When Steve Levy first ran for Suffolk County executive in 2003, he was famously quoted as saying, "I would pay to do this job." In the end, these words proved prophetic. He did indeed pay to do the job, in many different ways.

I am a former campaign adviser of Levy's, and my wife is employed by Suffolk County as its director of real estate. We know well the price he paid in the time devoted to the job. Levy is famous for burning the midnight oil, and the lights on the 12th floor of the H. Lee Dennison Building could be seen on many a late night.

Levy also paid the price in terms of reputation. He came into office with a spotless record as a recognized champion for reform and ethics in government. Now, due to an ongoing investigation, particulars about his decision not to run for re-election and the forfeiture of his campaign funds have yet to be released, raising questions that have yet to be answered.

As a rule, after eight years in office, most executives will have made many decisions that leave them a wide circle of enemies. Just ask Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. Levy collected a wider circle than most. His long-running battles with the public unions, special interests and other elected officials are legendary. Political enemies make sure that a once-spotless reputation doesn't stay that way: The more enemies you have, the more mud flies in your direction.

On election night on News 12 Long Island this year, as returns came in for Levy's replacement, one of my colleagues opined on the county executive's penchant for ticking people off. My rejoinder was, "Yes, everybody except the taxpayers," but the observation was still valid.

Here, one of Levy's greatest strengths was also one of his biggest weaknesses. His supreme confidence in the rightness of his positions often led to what opponents interpreted as a "my way or the highway" kind of attitude. Might he have gotten more accomplished if he had been more of a consensus builder? Perhaps. But if he didn't posses that unswerving passion for what he felt was right, he probably would never have gotten as far as he did. He always felt the only people who needed to be on his side were the people -- and he had the consistently high poll numbers to show for it.

Levy's legacy might very well be a lasting effect on the attitude toward taxation and efficiency in government. He changed the terms of the debate on these issues in Suffolk.

He became county executive at a boom time: Unemployment was nonexistent, house prices were heading to record highs and sales tax revenue was streaming into government coffers. His mantra of lower taxes and smaller and more efficient government was not a popular message among local elected officials -- yet.

Eight years later, Levy's message has become the norm among candidates. Incoming County Executive Steve Bellone's successful campaign message of "doing more with less" was a tribute to the effect that Levy's policies have had across the board in Suffolk.

Levy did deliver on his fiscal promises, going eight years without a general-fund tax increase and cutting spending three times in his operating budgets. But he should also be remembered for the money he did spend. His administration's commitment to environmental protection made the county the leader in the country in open space preservation. With more than $600 million spent on preservation and over 1,000 properties acquired, this is truly a legacy that will benefit generations to come.

Levy did pay to do the job -- but it was a price he paid willingly. The people of Suffolk County got their money's worth.