Olena Nicks for Nassau Legislative District 5

The 5th District includes Westbury and parts of Uniondale, Hempstead, West Hempstead and Franklin Square.

Democrat Olena Nicks has deep ties with her Uniondale community as a Uniondale High School graduate, former president of the Uniondale Public Library and a captain in the Uniondale Fire Department.

Nicks, 33, won a special election to represent Uniondale's District 2 earlier this year. However, under Nassau's new legislative map, Nicks now resides in District 5, so she is running for the open seat.

Nicks quickly became a strong voice in the legislature. She acknowledges there is no easy fix to the county's assessment system, so she hosts workshops in person and on YouTube to teach constituents how to grieve their taxes themselves to combat the inequity in the interim.

She also works closely with her local police precincts on disaster preparedness workshops and a National Night Out event. Her priority is to open communication and visibility with officers to make sure constituents know resources and protection are available.

At the Nassau Hub, she plans to advocate for a convention center, hotel space and workforce housing and work with other levels of government to make that vision a reality.

Despite Democratic districts being excluded from Community Revitalization Program funding due to partisan politics in the legislature, she succeeded in getting a first responder memorial grant past committee and approved, and $400,000 for the refurbishment of African American Museum of Nassau County through capital plan funding. She continues to advocate for the other CRP funding her district needs for the library and high school.

Republican Moshe E. Hill, 39, of West Hempstead, did not meet with the editorial board.

Newsday Opinion endorses Nicks.