Rory I. Lancman for State Senate District 7

What makes this Senate district a hotly contested race this year is the lack of an incumbent, since longtime fixture State Sen. Jack Martins is forgoing a reelection bid. That opening pits veteran Democrat Rory I. Lancman, 57, of Great Neck, against two-term Republican Assemb. Jacob Ryan Blumencranz, 30, of Oyster Bay.

Blumencranz was elected to the 15th Assembly District in 2022. He has been in the Assembly minority and secured tens of thousands of dollars in member items and helped push for the state's film tax credit. Other initiatives he drove, such as cracking down on deepfake videos, passed in the governor's budget bill.

Both candidates have strongly condemned antisemitism, an issue of deep local concern, and both vow to resist new state tax hikes.

Lancman, however, has had the bigger imprint in the 7th State Senate District through appointed and elected offices. He serves on the board of directors of Nassau University Medical Center and was vice chairman of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. He previously was special counsel for ratepayer protection for the state Public Service Commission and is a member of the Great Neck Library's board of trustees.

His experience, including past tenures in the Assembly and the New York City Council from Queens, has nurtured in him a deep feel for legislating and the mechanics of complex issues such as the proposed Propel energy transmission line and the Long Island Rail Road, which means he can lead on key local issues.

Lancman's skill and attention to detail would be important in building a suburban coalition of Democrats, especially on Long Island, in the eternal balancing of interests between New York City and the rest of the state. Vowing to "look under the hood" of state government, he emphasized collaborating on efficiencies to save money in an election when affordability is the buzzword. 

He says such an approach is the best alternative to raising taxes in a high-tax state. "We've now come to the point where we're looking to raise taxes on something called 'the wealthy,' in search of something that will vent our anger at 'the wealthy,' " he said. He called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pied-a-terre tax "a terrible idea" which he would not have supported. "We live in one of the highest property tax counties," he said, also citing Nassau's relatively high sales tax rate. "I'm categorically opposed to raising taxes," he said in distancing himself from the party's left flank. 

Blumencranz has grown and widened his knowledge since joining the Assembly's GOP caucus, putting thought into such proposals as adjusting upward the flat tax on properties that sell for $1 million or more, and setting up a system for parents to save money by prepaying their children's tuition for SUNY and CUNY colleges.

Both candidates show concern about how to handle future proposals for data centers, with Lancman saying the appropriate route would be for the PSC to work on promulgating clear regulations and restrictions for approving those facilities, based on public input, after the state's one-year moratorium expires.

Lancman shows a mix of interests and seasoning in politics that would strongly represent the concerns of the district.

Newsday Opinion endorses Lancman.