Opinion

After the state rescued Nassau County 15 years ago, the very wealthy but highly taxed suburb seemed at a turning point. Now the county is again going down the wrong path. The members of the next legislature will bear much of the responsibility for steering Nassau back to the right course.
The county budget is in constant deficit, and is projected to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Neither County Executive Edward Mangano nor the current Republican majority and Democratic minority seem to have the ability to devise workable plans to fix it.
The county owes more than $3.5 billion. The state control board charged with overseeing its finances is threatening once again to seize the reins.
Nassau is mired in an opaque contracting process that has led to excessive patronage spending and reckless decision-making. The timid legislature must exercise its oversight authority, especially by holding hearings that reveal information and lead to better choices. New leadership and members bringing ideas and energy are needed. 
Nassau County must find revenue to cover its mounting bills. Yet even after convincing Albany to give it permission to establish a video lottery casino, the county can't find a place to put it. And it needs to fund an ocean outfall pipe to stop the decades-long pollution of the western bays by its Bay Park sewage plant. 
Please invest the time to know the candidates and their positions. Weary voters know there must be a better path. Choose legislators who can find it.

Editorials

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Difficult choices face next Nassau legislature

Editorial: Difficult choices face next Nassau leg

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Democrat Kevan M. Abrahams, the minority leader of the legislature since 2011, is seeking his seventh term. Given the deeply partisan ways the legislature is run, where Democrats generally can't get legislation to the floor or even call public hearings, he's done all that could be asked of him. Abrahams, 41, of Freeport, fights for his district and residents.
Republican James C. Major, 52, says his community is neglected, and he seems to hint that a legislator from the district in the majority party could accomplish more.
A housing assistant for the New York City Housing Authority, he wants to bring more jobs and cheaper housing by attracting a manufacturer of pre-fab homes. He supports stronger gun control. Major has lived in Roosevelt his entire life and is a leader of the local Republican club. He knows politics, but Abrahams is accomplished, knowledgeable and has a track record of fighting for the good of the county.
Newsday endorses Abrahams.

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Newsday endorses Kevan Abrahams in Nassau's 1st District

Newsday endorses Abrahams in Nassau's 1st District

1st legislative district: Kevan Abrahams, Democrat

Opinion Yearbook Abrahams DO NOT EDIT

For Siela Bynoe, it's been an interesting 20 months representing the 2nd District. The Democrat, 48, of Westbury, won the seat in a special election, and has since worked with police unions to build better relationships between the police and the policed, and toiled with other legislators to bring mental health services to district schools and create a land bank program to deal with zombie homes.
Challenger Cornelius Todd Smith, 46, of Lakeview, says he would be a better fit for the district because as a Republican he would join the GOP majority that controls the legislature. But on Nassau's most pressing issue -- county spending -- he has few specific ideas on how to cull the budget. He says he wouldn't support a tax increase and would like to have a second look at county contracts. Smith is a banker who should be more vocal about the issues in his district.
In 20 months, Bynoe has delivered on some issues for her district. 
Newsday endorses Bynoe.

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Newsday endorses Siela Bynoe in Nassau's 2nd District

Newsday endorses Byone in Nassau's 2nd District

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Republican Felix O. Quayson, 25, is a joy to be around. So is his opponent, incumbent Democrat Carrié Solages, 36. Both are emblematic of a district bustling with newcomers and new cultures.
Solages, of Elmont, has held the seat for four years and covers the district like a rug. If he is frustrated by his lack of success in straightening out the county budget and his belief that quality-of-life issues like crime are having a growing impact in the district, that doesn't deter him.
Quayson, of Valley Stream, teaches at Washington Adventist University and wants to fight for lower taxes, scholarships for students and a more aggressive approach to the heroin epidemic. And he wants to be a conduit for the ideas of district residents, not just his own.
Quayson has a future in public service, but Solages has proven his dedication and skill as a representative for residents, securing things as small as street signs and as large as more policing.
Newsday endorses Solages.

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Newsday endorses Carrié Solages in Nassau's 3rd District

Newsday endorses Solages in Nassau's 3rd District

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Democratic challenger Keith S. Lebowitz, 62, a lifelong Long Beacher, studied winemaking in France for two years. He has an unusual perspective and an easygoing, unguarded manner.
Like many candidates, Lebowitz has complaints about how the county and its finances are run. Unlike most of them, though, Lebowitz isn't terrified to support fixes, like a temporary tax increase to balance the books. A sales representative, Lebowitz wants to use dumps and other unused land for wind turbines and solar power. He seeks more transparency in county contracting and fewer tax breaks for big companies that harm small businesses.
Denise Ford, 64, is a registered Democrat who caucuses with the Republican majority. The Long Beach resident has been a good representative for 12 years and her connection to the district is palpable. But she has done little to stop the fiscal disaster that has developed, never stepping up to lead.
Newsday endorses Lebowitz.

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Newsday endorses Keith S. Lebowitz in Nassau's 4th District

Newsday endorses Lebowitz in Nassau's 4th District

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Laura Curran is always advocating for her district, from redeveloping Grand Avenue in Baldwin to improving the Milburn Creek Boat Basin. And she helped to create a land bank to acquire, renovate and sell zombie homes.
Curran, a Democrat, is finishing her first term. She's candid, calling video lottery terminals a "non-starter" and saying school cameras were a wasted opportunity. The Baldwin resident pays attention to illegal housing concerns and supports mixed-use development.
Challenger Michael Vista of Merrick is a lawyer and former Brooklyn prosecutor who was originally a Democrat but switched parties for ideological reasons. Being in the GOP majority, he said, can help him improve the county's finances and speak up on ethical lapses. But Vista, 43, focuses on home ownership and "suburban identity," and that seems out of touch.
Curran, 47, likes to "quietly" get things done. She should become more vocal. Newsday endorses Curran.

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Newsday endorses Laura Curran in Nassau's 5th District

Newsday endorses Curran in Nassau's 5th District

Republican C. William Gaylor spent much of his life in the military and it shows. Now a lawyer -- and until this campaign, a village and county justice -- the 52-year-old Lynbrook resident looks at local issues with an optimistic vision that is refreshing. He favors smart transit-oriented development. And he's courageous to support unpopular yet fair ideas, like a smaller attempt to reinstate school-zone cameras for safety, not revenue.
Democrat Jim Paymar, 64, has a face and voice familiar to many residents. The Rockville Centre Democrat was a newscaster for decades. He wants to take the pay-to-play virus out of our political system by introducing public financing of campaigns. He wants the full legislature to vote on contracts of less than $25,000, and to work with the LIRR to provide more service for reverse commuters. 
Both have much to offer, but Gaylor's belief that Nassau can get better and stronger, and his deep knowledge of the community, are a winning formula.
Newsday endorses Gaylor.

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Newsday endorses C. William Gaylor in Nassau's 6th District

Newsday endorses Gaylor in Nassau's 6th District

In a county that's desperate for serious change, where there's an awful lot to shout and fight about, Lawrence Republican Howard Kopel, 64, is a staid representative of the status quo. Seeking his fourth term, Kopel says he's a behind-the-scenes brain who figured out how to fix the county's assessment system. He certainly helped, but he's also supported, without notable dissent, every measure and budget over the past six years that left the county foundering financially. 
His opponent, Tova Plaut, 45, is a mother of five, the director of an early childhood center, a community activist and a trustee of the Lawrence school board. She lives in Cedarhurst and wants to fight to help communities like hers still reeling from Sandy. Plaut would make the heroin crisis a priority and thinks pollution on Long Island is a crucial issue that gets too little attention, as evidenced by the poor shape of the county's Bay Park sewage plant.
Plaut will bring a fighter's spark to a county government that needs it.
Newsday endorses Plaut.

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Newsday endorses Tova Plaut in Nassau 7th District

Newsday endorses Plaut in Nassau's 7th District

Republican Vincent T. Muscarella, 61, of West Hempstead, is one of the longest-serving Nassau legislators, having been with the legislature since it formed in 1996. 
His positions are thoughtful and nuanced, as befits his experience. He eschews the lockstep party line. His understanding of the fiscal challenges led him to say he would vote for a property tax increase, as proposed in the county executive's budget, "as a last resort." His pragmatism carries over to video lottery terminals; he knows it's entertainment for some, and Nassau needs the revenue.
Carl R. Gerrato, 48, a Democrat from Franklin Square, has worked as a county correction officer for 30 years. He's an engaging first-time candidate who brings crucial knowledge of jail operations. Unfortunately, his exuberance doesn't justify unseating a legislator with Muscarella's knowledge.
Muscarella needs to leverage his experience and step forward to lead a legislature totally hobbled by partisanship.
Newsday endorses Muscarella.

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Newsday endorses Vincent T. Muscarella in Nassau's 8th District

Newsday endorses Muscarella in Nassau's 8th District

8th legislative district: Vincent Muscarella, Republican

Opinion Yearbook Muscarella DO NOT EDIT

Richard J. Nicolello has held the 9th District seat since the legislature's inception in 1996. His commitment to the beliefs of the county's GOP hasn't wavered. He criticizes the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, saying it has become too political, and casts the county's fiscal health in a positive light. The New Hyde Park resident highlights accomplishments of the GOP majority rather than what he has done on his own. Nicolello says he favors transit-oriented development in specific neighborhoods, such as Mineola.
Nicolello's opponent, Mal Nathan, is the chief bay constable in North Hempstead, handling the harbor patrol and dolphin and turtle rescues. Nathan recognizes the county's challenges and his kindness and folksy take are refreshing. But Nathan, 52, is a novice, and the Williston Park resident lacks the necessary understanding and knowledge of government and finance.
Nicolello, 55, is smart and respected. But he rarely challenges the majority or raises a new strategy. He should start to think and work beyond the party line. 
Newsday endorses Nicolello.

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Newsday endorses Richard Nicolello in Nassau's 9th District

Newsday endorses Nicolello in Nassau's 9th District

Last year, Democrat Ellen Birnbaum, 60, in her first term as a Nassau County legislator, was overheard making racially derogatory remarks about New Cassel's Yes We Can Community Center. People she was speaking to and others who overheard said she said, "Why would anyone want to go there? It's a bad neighborhood . . . It's a ghetto and it's full of those black people." And there was more.
Newsday's editorial board called for her to resign after she confirmed the gist of the comments, although she said she is not a racist and did not intend to hurt anyone.
Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams wanted Birnbaum to step down, as did the Nassau Democratic chairman. She didn't, and has returned to the Democratic caucus after being shunned for a time. Birnbaum, of Great Neck, says she's changed and become more conscious of the diversity in her district. But when asked what she learned from the debacle, she talked about her own tenacity rather than any insights about the challenges in some communities she represents. 
Republican Lisa Benjamin, 44, of Great Neck, did not meet with the editorial board.
Newsday has no endorsement in this race.

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Newsday declines to endorse in Nassau's 10th District

Newsday declines to endorse in Nassau 10th District

It's exciting to watch the growth of an elected leader such as Delia M. DeRiggi-Whitton. In two terms in the legislature, she has emerged as a thoughtful voice of conscience who knows the issues and the facts and can get things done, despite being a member of the Democratic minority.
DeRiggi-Whitton, 47, of Glen Cove, passed bills that ban Nassau's sewage treatment plants from handling fracking waste and bar using such waste as ice melt. She also secured $12 million to sewer homes in Glen Cove whose septic systems are degrading water there. She has vocally pushed reforms of the county contracting process and says she's ready to work with disaffected Republicans on solving Nassau's budget woes.
Republican Matthew Connolly, 35, of Glen Cove, an attorney and former county prosecutor, is passionate about curbing the heroin epidemic but does not offer a compelling reason to turn out an effective legislator who gets better every year.
Newsday endorses DeRiggi-Whitton.

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Newsday endorses Delia M. DeRiggi-Whitton in Nassau's 11th District

Newsday endorses DeRiggi-Whitton in Nassau 11th District

Republican James Kennedy was first elected to the 12th District seat in February, after Michael Venditto was elected to the State Senate. Kennedy was the son-in-law of Peter Schmitt, the presiding officer who died in 2012. He previously worked for the county election board and was a schoolteacher.
Democrat Michael Canzoneri, 63, of Massapequa, declined an invitation to speak with the editorial board, and officials said he is not actively campaigning.
Kennedy, 43, lives in Massapequa and is most passionate about his commitment to educating students and parents about the heroin epidemic. He's also concerned about environmental issues, including protecting the water supply and the Massapequa Preserve (now named for Schmitt). His commitment to fighting heroin and protecting the environment are laudable and should continue. If he can broaden that passion to bring new ideas to address the county's broader fiscal, economic and management issues, everyone might benefit.
Newsday endorses Kennedy.

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Newsday endorses James Kennedy in Nassau's 12th District

Newsday endorses Kennedy in Nassau's 12th District

It's time for a change at the top.
Norma Gonsalves isn't to blame for all that's wrong with the Nassau County Legislature, but she can be held responsible for its ineptness.
Gonsalves, 81, has been in the legislature since 1998, and she's held the gavel as majority leader since 2012. A Republican from East Meadow, she claims she is bipartisan, but she has increasingly ruled over a chamber and a caucus that care more about politics than about governance. Unlike in the Suffolk legislature, where members of both parties can get a bill to the floor or call a public hearing, Gonsalves won't afford the opposition that privilege. 
The county is all but bankrupt, the budget is out of balance, and it's getting worse. But Gonsalves is happy to stand up for the county's contracting process regardless of how it enriches the well-connected. She's happy to stand behind the mailers her caucus sends to voters at county expense, even if they are baldly political or dishonest. That's just how things are done. A pro in the game, she professed ignorance when it was revealed that she has failed over nine years to file the mandated disclosure of her political donors. 
Eileen Napolitano, the East Meadow Democrat running against Gonsalves, is refreshingly unpolitical. The 53-year-old optician sees a district struggling with heroin addiction and some street crime. She wants to partner with the state board overseeing the county's finances, not deride it. And she wants to ride herd on an administration that wastes plenty of money on part-time jobs for pals, then pleads poverty. The Girl Scout leader and softball coach wants to make a difference, and that's what really matters. 
Napolitano will learn to work the levers of government, but she already knows the issues and the urgency.
Newsday endorses Napolitano.

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Newsday endorses Eileen Napolitano in Nassau's 13th District

Editorial: Don't vote Gonsalves, Nassau needs to change

Laura Schaefer and Sylvia Cabana have more similarities than differences. Both are lawyers, neither wants a casino at the former Fortunoff site in Westbury, and both say they care about traffic, safety and quality of life. Both support the revitalization of Hicksville, some of which sits in their district.
Schaefer, a Westbury Republican, was first elected in 2013. When residents have concerns, she responds in a strong voice for the district.
Cabana, 48, practices immigration and family law with the insight of a first-generation American. The Garden City resident says she would consult more with the community before she acts as a legislator.
While Cabana seems well-meaning and good-hearted, she lacks new ideas and an understanding of county government. Schaefer, 47, can build on her first term, and focus on issues like economic development and education about the heroin epidemic. Schaefer should use her voice to lead more and keep her constituents in the loop before problems develop. 
Newsday endorses Schaefer.

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Newsday endorses Laura Schaefer in Nassau's 14th District

Newsday endorses Schaefer in Nassau 14th District

Republican Dennis Dunne Sr. is finishing his 10th term on the Nassau County Legislature. An experienced lawmaker with a good sense of his district, he's right that reversing the scourge of heroin requires education and treatment as much as policing. As chairman of the legislature's public safety committee, Dunne, 65, of Levittown, can drive a countywide agenda on an epidemic that has claimed so many lives.
But he should reject his party's too-optimistic position on the budget and take a more active role in helping Nassau dig out of its financial hole. His idea of a state tax on Internet sales to increase revenue should be explored, but that would hardly be enough.
Dunne also should be more open to the concerns of his challenger, Democrat Matthew W. Malin, 23, of Seaford. Malin, a Democratic Party worker, says a lack of housing options could force him and others of his generation to leave Long Island. And he deplores corruption in government. 
Dunne has the experience to address those issues, too.
Newsday endorses Dunne.

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Newsday endorses Dennis Dunne Sr. in Nassau's 15th District

Newsday endorses Dunne in Nassau's 15th District

Angel Cepeda, 54, of Plainview, is something of a newcomer to county politics. He served on the Plainview-Old Bethpage school board for six years, and used his background in international banking and accounting to help the district cut costs. He was an early advocate for the state property tax cap and now owns a firm advising American Indian communities about financial controls and technology, in particular around casino operations. Cepeda, a Republican, says Nassau County needs people with fiscal acumen.
Democrat Judith A. Jacobs, 76, of Woodbury, has served on the county legislature since it was formed in 1996. She helped rescue Nassau from its previous financial distress in 1999 by lobbying Albany to form the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. She brings a wealth of experience and common sense to the legislature and has the right instincts to drive short-term and long-term economic growth for Nassau. 
Cepeda is a welcome addition to the political process and should consider seeking office at the town level first.
Newsday endorses Jacobs.

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Newsday endorses Judith Jacobs in Nassau's 16th District

Newsday endorses Jacobs in Nassau's 16th District

Rose Marie Walker is completing her third term in the county legislature.
A Hicksville Republican, Walker, 64, is involved in her district. While she recites the party line on taxes (she doesn't want to raise them) and the county's fiscal health (it's better now than it was), she also puts a spotlight on the environment and economic development. She wants to work on improving water quality, pressing for upgrades to the Bay Park sewage treatment plant, and redeveloping Hicksville's downtown.
Democrat Daniel Devine is running on one key issue: the importance of trees. Horrified at Nassau County's decision to cut down 200 trees along South Oyster Bay Road for sidewalk and road improvements, Devine, 48, is calling for the county to employ a certified arborist and tree board. The Hicksville resident said he also wants the county to put all key records online. His ideas are important ones, but they're limited in scope.
Walker must use her clout and experience to act on the issues she's talking about and introduce new ideas.
Newsday endorses Walker.

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Newsday endorses Rose Marie Walker in Nassau's 17th District

Newsday endorses Walker in Nassau's 17th District

Republican Donald N. MacKenzie, 45, of Oyster Bay, is running for a second term. He defends the administration's claims on lowering crime, reducing unemployment and cutting more than 2,000 public jobs. The focus of his first term has been district-specific: revitalizing downtown Syosset and looking at storm-water runoff that too often closes beaches in Laurel Hollow.
Democrat Dean E. Hart, 57, of Glen Head, is an optometrist making his first run for public office. He teaches ophthalmology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and has owned insurance and import businesses. He wants to bring that expertise to government.
Hart's desire for greater transparency, especially around the troubled Nassau contracting process, is compelling. However, MacKenzie seems more likely to solve practical problems. We'd like him to acknowledge and work on county budget challenges, and find his own voice to resist getting caught up in GOP talking points.
Newsday endorses MacKenzie.

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Newsday endorses Donald M. MacKenzie in Nassau's 18th District

Newsday endorses MacKenzie in Nassau's 18th District

Democrat Claudia Borecky, 58, isn't a packaged or programmed candidate. She doesn't have a lot of money or a big campaign machine behind her. This former legislative aide from Merrick must have public service in her DNA; she's a tireless advocate who keenly knows what her district wants. 
After 10 years as a constituent liaison for former legislator David Denenberg, Borecky knows the job. She heads the North and Central Merrick Civic Association and co-founded the Coalition of Nassau Civic Associations. She's also a wastewater wonk who opposes privatization of the county's sewage system. And she promises to review those fat personal services contracts the legislature rubber-stamps.
Borecky can't wait to eliminate campaign literature disguised as public information mailers sent by legislators on the taxpayers' dime.
Because, she says, children have been killed and injured near schools in her district, she believes there is a way school-zone cameras could be operated fairly to increase safety, not skin residents out of revenue.
Republican Steven Rhoads, 46, of Bellmore, won a special election in March to fill the seat of Denenberg, who resigned after pleading guilty to embezzling his law firm. 
Rhoads, an attorney with only seven months in office, has been an active participant in spending the public's money to send political mailers claiming achievements he had no part in, some of them because he wasn't yet in office, and others because they never happened.
He wants to balance the county budget through efficiencies and says he will fight to make government less expensive and more efficient. He doesn't have many specifics in mind.
Borecky is tenacious and relentless about getting government to work better. She'll be a fighter for the little guy, for the environment, for the taxpayer, and for fairness and transparency.
Newsday endorses Borecky.

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Newsday endorses Claudia Borecky in Nassau's 19th District

Newsday endorses Borecky in Nassau's 19th District

Newsday's 2015 endorsements in the Nassau County legislature

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