Kevan Abrahams vs. James Major

Kevan Abrahams: Democrat, incumbent

Age: 40

Lives in: Freeport

Career: Project Manager for North Shore LIJ Health Care System, Minority Leader Nassau County Legislature, six-term county legislator; former Nassau County Finance Director; former Legislative Assistant and former Deputy District Director for Congressman Floyd H Flake; former financial analyst for Astoria Federal Savings Bank

Family: Married, two children

Education: Bachelor’s Degree, Queens College

On the issues: Abrahams is the Minority Leader of the Nassau County Legislature since 2012 and a 13-year member of the County Legislature. He is running for re-election “because I believe that I have a full grasp of the issues facing our residents and can provide solutions,” he said.

Abrahams said the biggest issue facing residents is high taxes. The key to making Nassau County more affordable is to encourage economic development in our downtowns as well as creating high-end jobs.

He does not support any county tax increase this coming year. He said the Democratic budget proposal does not raise taxes and manages to provide a $6 million bus subsidy to insure that none of the bus routes in Nassau County are cut.

He said the county could save money by reforming the current procurement process which now allows the County Executive to sign personal service contracts for anything under $25,000 without legislative oversight. “There has been $10 million worth of personal service contracts coming out of the County Executive’s office, more than any other County Executive,” he said. “If there were some oversight there could be some savings to taxpayers.”

Abrahams supports hiring more police officers and securing more funding for after school and gang prevention programs and fully funding social service programs.

He believes the county needs more affordable housing “for young and old in communities throughout Long Island,” he said. Abrahams said the Nassau County IDA should do more to provide more assistance to developers to develop affordable housing.

James Major: Republican, challenger

Lives in: Roosevelt

Career: New York City Housing Authority – manages a 1,200-unit housing project in Queens.