No endorsement in Nassau Legislative District 15
Find out the candidates Newsday's editorial board selected on your ballot: newsday.com/endorsements2025
The 15th District includes the eastern part of the Town of Hempstead including Wantagh, North Wantagh, Seaford and parts of Levittown.
This district has gone through quite some changes lately. Not only were the boundaries radically changed, there is no incumbent.
John R. Ferretti Jr. quit to be appointed supervisor of Hempstead Town. The open seat is being contested by Republican Kayla L. Knight, 27, and Democrat Stephen Richard Hellman, 70, both of Wantagh.
Knight, a lawyer, was endorsed by the New York League of Conservation Voters. Her social media profiles list her as a lifelong Wantagh resident and former scheduler for County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman. Her positions are anodyne: keeping taxes flat, supporting police and maintaining local zoning control.
Hellman, a lawyer, wants to advocate for social justice issues. He favors using nearly $100 million in opioid settlement money to build a treatment and rehabilitation center. He wants Nassau University Medical Center to be managed better, and to build affordable housing at the Nassau Hub. Knight did not meet with the editorial board. Hellman told Newsday he isn't actively campaigning.
Newsday Opinion makes no endorsement.
ENDORSEMENTS ARE DETERMINED solely by the Newsday editorial board, a team of opinion journalists focused on issues of public policy and governance. Newsday’s news division has no role in this process.
