Residents deserve leaders, women as deacons, young cops could teach others, public health crisis

Residents deserve principled leaders

Among the first requirements for any executive are a basic grasp of his entity’s finances and a plan for prioritizing finite resources [“Nassau legal contracts win OKs after the fact,” News, June 4].

Therefore, it is difficult to comprehend how Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman could respond, “I  don’t know enough about it” when asked why lawyers’ contracts with the county, with some fees as high as $1,200 per hour, have been allowed to proceed without the contracts first being approved by the county legislature as county regulations and principles of good governance require.

Together with his quixotic idea of a militia of deputized gun owners under his control, along with his lawsuit opposing the state’s efforts to improve voter turnout with more races in even-year elections, Blakeman’s actions appear tailored to personal political gain rather than public good.

They put the county’s financial stability, public safety, and civic health at risk, and distract from solving real problems such as affordable housing, environmental issues, supporting small businesses, and the financially strapped Nassau University Medical Center.

Blakeman’s fiscal imprudence and skewed priorities represent a leadership style that is wasteful and hazardous and raise serious questions about the motives behind such high-stakes decisions.

Nassau County taxpayers deserve effective public service, not political theatrics.

 — Robert Yamins, Great Neck

So, before seeking final approval from the county legislature’s Rules Committee, the county attorney’s office authorized more than two dozen contracts for outside legal work. Bruce Blakeman responded, “I don’t know enough about it”? Really? How much is “enough”?

What has Blakeman been doing in the executive office these past six months that has prevented him from not knowing “enough” about the lack of approvals for legal work contracts?

 — Davida Kiernan, Syosset

Women as deacons is worth addressing

In an interview with Norah O’Donnell on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Pope Francis indicated that he is not open to women as ordained deacons [“Puzzled by pope’s ‘no’ on women deacons,” News, June 4]. I was surprised by this comment since our Roman Catholic Church is in the middle of a three-year global synod and consultation process that he initiated.

Reports from every continent called for an urgent rethinking of women’s leadership. Women as ordained deacons is one possibility that is frequently raised.

There is still no doctrinal statement against women as ordained deacons.

 — Mary Healy, Point Lookout

I’ve yet to hear the pope or a priest verbalize one valid reason why women shouldn’t be permitted to become deacons. They don’t explain themselves very well. And they don’t discriminate against the money that women place into the collection plate.

 — Mary Koyl, Point Lookout

Young cops could teach a key lesson

Kudos to the two young NYPD officers who neutralized an armed, aggressive individual without using excessive force [“Charges in shooting of two NYPD cops from LI,” News, June 5].

Unlike the suspects in many stories wherein police officers felt threatened and their suspects ended up maimed or dead from numerous police bullets, the alleged perpetrator actually had a gun and shot these two young officers.

Instead of loading his body with bullets, these officers stopped their alleged attacker with a shot to the ankle and brought a potentially deadly situation under control. The suspect will not be deprived of due process in a courtroom, where, if found guilty, he will be punished appropriately.

If young officers on the job no more than five years can deploy their service weapons to do their jobs successfully without seriously injuring or killing people who pose threats, experienced cops should be able to do this, too.

Perhaps this case should be reviewed by the higher-ups, not to find fault with these officers but to learn from them.

— Ken Gillespie, Freeport

Next public health crisis is here — opioids

The editorial “Learn lessons from COVID” [Opinion, June  5] states that “we’re still not prepared for the next public health crisis.” I have news for the editorial board — it’s already here. It’s the opioid crisis, this country’s No. 1 public health crisis. It’s one of the worst public health crises in decades. As a parent advocate who lost a child to a fentanyl overdose, I say there is no time for complacency.

 — Carole Trottere, Old Field