Editorial: Norma Gonsalves in Nassau legislature's 13th District
Norma L. Gonsalves, candidate for Nassau County legislator, 13th District. (June 13, 2013) Credit: Howard Schnapp
The experience gap between candidates in this mid-island race couldn't be sharper nor their deep roots in their communities more similar.
Republican Norma Gonsalves, 79, a member of the legislature since 1998 and a fixture in East Meadow politics, is seeking her ninth term.
Her Democratic challenger is Edward Kraus, 31, a North Bellmore fire commissioner and resident whose career and those of four generations of his family are impressively rooted in public service as first responders. Kraus is a deputy chief inspector at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy and chairman of the county's 6th Battalion Fire Chiefs Association.
In his first foray into politics, Kraus understandably has limited insight into the county's tangled finances. His broad criticisms are that the county borrows too much, GOP cronies benefit from lucrative contracts, and the Mangano administration is to blame for letting the Islanders hockey team slip away. He favors more apartments near transit hubs and tighter controls on spending, but is adamant that the state fiscal control board violated the U.S. Constitution by imposing a wage freeze on the county's union workers. He would return all lost wages.
Gonsalves, who became presiding officer of the legislature after the death of Peter Schmitt of Massapequa last year, is the ultimate insider. Gonsalves says she has quietly pushed back on the amount the Mangano administration wanted to bond for tax refunds, but says freezing the assessment rolls did save money even if those who didn't file grievances saw an increase in their school tax bills.
Gonsalves rejects apartment-type housing in her district, which she says is "not conducive to being urbanized." However, she supports the conversion of four vacant office buildings to housing in other areas.
When Gonsalves' institutional knowledge comes up against the need for Kraus to learn on the job, the race tilts in her favor. As presiding officer, she has set an inclusive tone and her instincts are toward compromise. With the legislature closely split, Gonsalves can be a temperate hand. Recognizing the need for those skills, Newsday endorses Gonsalves.
