For Nassau executive, it’s 2009 all over again
Last year’s election had all the hype, with the hotly contested race between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, and the battle for control of Congress.
This year, there will be a battle for control of Nassau County. Republicans are looking to keep their majority in the Legislature and hold on to the executive branch. Democrats want to take back the power they lost four years ago.
The marquee election is the rematch between Republican Ed Mangano and Democrat Tom Suozzi for county executive. Four years ago, Mangano, then a county legislator representing the Bethpage area, unseated Suozzi in a close election that took weeks to decide.
Now Suozzi, of Glen Cove, is looking to return to his old office in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive Building. The former two-term county executive, after staying silent for the first three years after his defeat, has come out swinging, criticizing Mangano’s financial policies.
Mangano has counter punched, saying that he has not raised property taxes, and that voters threw Suozzi out of office for a reason. On Election Day, voters will have a choice between two candidates with established records in the office.
Andrew Hardwick, the former mayor of Freeport, could be on the ballot as a third-party candidate on the We Count party line.
Stanley Klein, a political science professor at LIU Post, said he does not see any issues that could be a game-changer in the county executive race like there were in 2001, when Suozzi first ran.
That year, Suozzi was able to attack the previous Republican administration for bringing Nassau to financial ruin.
“That’s not the situation right now,” Klein said.
When the candidates met in 2009, Suozzi had a lot of money in his war chest, but was saving it for a run for higher office, Klein said, and Suozzi didn’t devote the time to the race that he should have. This time around, the former county executive has vowed to be much more involved in the election.
“It was very close and I guess that’s why the Democrats thought it would be a good idea to try it again,” Klein said of the last election, which was decided by fewer than 400 votes. “I think [Suozzi] was absolutely shocked. I think the Republicans were also very surprised that [Mangano] won.”
In 2009, most observers picked Suozzi to easily win a third term. This year’s outcome, Klein says, is very difficult to predict. “It’s likely to be a very close election,” he said, “or it could be a runaway either way.”
Other county races
County executive is not the only race that will feature familiar foes. Four years ago, Howard Weitzman lost his job as county comptroller to George Maragos. Like Suozzi, Weitzman is looking to get his old job back.
In another race separated by only a few hundred votes, Maragos, a Republican from Russell Gardens, defeated Weitzman, a Democrat from Great Neck. Weitzman was the comptroller for eight years.
District Attorney Kathleen Rice is seeking her third term as Nassau’s top prosecutor. She is the only Democrat currently holding a county-wide office and is being challenged by Republican Howard Sturim.
County Clerk Maureen O’Connell is also up for re-election. The Republican is being challenged by Democrat Laura Gillen.
Republicans, who hold a 10-9 lead in the county Legislature, are looking to retain power there, as well. This year, the Legislative district maps have been redrawn, meaning many voters will see a different incumbent on the ballot.
The new districts, which were created by the Legislature’s majority and approved in a 10-9 vote along party lines, will take effect on Jan. 1. The map was criticized by Democrats and independent voter rights organizations for carving up communities, including splitting up the Five Towns into four districts. Republicans have countered that the plan meets all constitutional requirements of one person, one vote, and created a third minority district.
A version of this story appeared in last week’s Nassau Herald.
