Suozzi hires Kaiman as chief of staff

Daily Point

Putting the old Democratic team back together

After decades of campaigning side by side, working in tandem with one another and competing against one another, Tom Suozzi and Jon Kaiman have developed a close friendship.

But soon, Suozzi will be Kaiman's boss.

In a spirited joint conversation with The Point, Suozzi, who is seeking reelection to the House, and Kaiman, the former North Hempstead Town supervisor, discussed Kaiman's new role as Suozzi's new chief of staff.

The two Nassau County Democrats, who, at 63, are just two months apart in age, noted that their friendship dates back to around 1990, when they were young Democrats working on a variety of campaigns, each trying to improve the party's standing in the GOP-heavy county, each trying to, as Suozzi put it, "change the world." Early on, Kaiman volunteered for Suozzi's first campaign to become mayor of Glen Cove — a campaign Suozzi lost — while Suozzi would assist Kaiman on the campaigns he was working on. They became friends beyond the campaign world, even attending each other's weddings. And when Suozzi was county executive and Kaiman was North Hempstead's supervisor, they worked closely, as the county gave the town parkland and the town took over some roads to get paving done more quickly.

But they haven't always been on the same page. Kaiman ran for the CD3 seat in 2016, losing to Suozzi in the primary. Kaiman later tried again in 2022, losing to Robert Zimmerman, who ultimately lost to disgraced former Rep. George Santos. In that race, Suozzi endorsed former Nassau Legis. Josh Lafazan.

Kaiman called the pair "a team of rivals."

"Tom and I have worked together, we've been rivals, we've been competitors, but we've always had great respect for each other," Kaiman said during the duo's conversation with The Point. "There are a lot of similarities to our approach, in our intensity, in our vision, and in our purpose. We find that common ground and we have always had that respect for each other."

Suozzi, for his part, said Kaiman as a chief of staff will be "totally a partnership."

"The great thing about Jon is that he knows the district and he's a real policy wonk," Suozzi said. "I have a very talented staff, but a lot of people down in D.C. don't understand the district as well as I want them to and a lot of people in the district office don't understand the Washington part. Jon is a great person to bridge both of those worlds."

Kaiman, who will be leaving his job as commissioner of the state tax appeals tribunal, will work out of Suozzi's district office in Glen Cove but also will spend time in Washington. He said he hopes to initially spend more time with Suozzi to understand Suozzi's vision before adding his own take to the mix. And he noted that he's particularly interested in playing a role at "really an important moment in time in American history."

"I look at what's going on in the world, and Tom has been able to put himself in the room where it happens in the United States Congress," Kaiman said. "I'm excited about being in that room with him ... We really have an opportunity to do something important."

Suozzi, meanwhile, said his friend and former rival can improve the work he's doing.

"I want to have somebody that I consider to be a peer who can expand everything we're working on already and do it even better," Suozzi said. "I'm excited. We're about the same age, we have the same background, we both know the district really well, we both love our country and we both believe in public service."

Added Suozzi: "One and one together is going to be a lot more than two."

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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Final Point

John Brooks wants to go back to Albany

As the local candidate puzzle pieces moved around with Tuesday's candidate filing deadline, a familiar name suddenly joined the list of Democrats running for office.

John E. Brooks.

For those with a short memory, Brooks was a state senator, representing SD8 from 2017 until 2022, when redistricting forced him to run in the ruby red 5th State Senate district — a race he lost to State Sen. Steve Rhoads.

Now, however, Brooks says he's back in the game. According to the Nassau County Board of Elections' substitutions filed Tuesday, Brooks will be the Democrats' Assembly candidate for the 14th Assembly District, the seat now held by David McDonough, 89, who has decided not to run again. The spot became available when initial Assembly candidate Andrew Piddoubny switched races to run for the Senate seat against Rhoads. Brooks does have a losing record in his quest for the Assembly; McDonough defeated Brooks twice, in 2010 and 2012.

This time, Brooks, 76, will face Republican Shannon Fredericks, 29, for the Assembly seat.

After leaving Albany three years ago, Brooks told The Point, he retired. But even while spending some time playing golf, Brooks couldn't quite let go of his interest in the issues that impact Long Island.

"I watched and was continuously disappointed in everything that was going on," Brooks said. "Long Island has been forgotten."

Brooks told The Point that while he has contemplated another run for office for a while, this particular move came together only recently.

"This started as nosing around and it kept growing and growing," he said.

And while the Assembly district has a distinct GOP advantage, Democrats said they expected Brooks to mount a serious campaign. The Assembly district includes some areas that were part of Brooks' old Senate district, including communities along the South Shore and key neighborhoods like Seaford, Bellmore and Merrick, where he'd likely have name recognition and, unlike the 5th Senate District, it does not include key Republican strongholds like Hicksville.

"This is the real deal," one Nassau Democratic strategist told The Point. "This is not a throwaway."

And Brooks continues to focus on topics that mattered to him when he was in Albany previously, including meeting the needs of veterans and firefighters and addressing the future of the public versus private water for the district. Then there's perhaps his signature issue: property taxes.

"We're not seeing any issues discussed, we're not seeing any ideas thrown out and, in particular, we're not seeing a recognition that some communities are getting killed by taxes because they don't have a commercial tax base," Brooks said. "We need to get some balance in how we fund education and we have to start understanding that just because a district is in a situation where they're hosting a lot of public amenities like parks and pools doesn't mean they should be punished for doing that ... We've got to start funding government more fairly."

Brooks' Senate career began with a bang, when he won by just 314 votes over the incumbent Michael Venditto in 2016. But in May 2022, the redistricted maps that established a reconfigured 5th Senate District led Brooks to decide not to run again. A week later, despite the lines that created a far redder district, Brooks changed his mind and ran again.

This time, Brooks said, he expects to "suggest solutions," but he said he hopes to avoid a dirty campaign fight.

"I'm going to present ideas and let the people decide," he said. "What I'm not going to do is throw rocks all day."

But if Brooks is elected and gets to go to Albany again, there's one thing he said he'd do differently.

"I'm taking the train," Brooks said.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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