Endorsement

Re-elect Steve Rhoads in the 19th District

Posted

The Herald endorses Steve Rhoads, a Republican from Bellmore, for Nassau County legislator in the 19th District. Rhoads was elected seven months ago in a special election against Rita Kestenbaum, a Democrat from Bellmore who is now running for Town of Hempstead supervisor. The election was called after Rhoads’s predecessor, David Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick, pleaded guilty to scamming a private law client out of $2.3 million and resigned from office.

We like Rhoads. He is affable and approachable. He is, as one Herald editorial board member described him, the kind of guy you’d like to take to lunch. That, we believe, is perhaps the most important quality a county legislator can possess. One of his or her key responsibilities, after all, is constituent services. Legislators must be open to hearing residents’ concerns. By all accounts, Rhoads is.

Moreover, we believe he truly wants to be a lawmaker. He first got involved in politics at age 12, when he volunteered for then-State Assemblyman Fred Parola to earn extra points for a school assignment. That led to a lifetime interest and involvement in government.

Prior to becoming a legislator, Rhoads was a Nassau County attorney for five years before entering private practice. He has served on the county’s Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee, helping to map out the best use of Nassau’s parks, preserves and dwindling open spaces. And he is a longtime Wantagh Fire Department volunteer, and a former department captain.

We like his opponent, Democrat Claudia Borecky, of North Merrick. She has government experience, having been a legislative aide to Denenberg. And she is involved in her community, serving as president of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association. She is particularly concerned about local water rates and operation of the county’s two sewage treatment plants, Bay Park and Cedar Creek. But she did not give us reason enough to favor her over an increasingly popular legislator who is doing his job and is visible in the community.

Voters should show Steve Rhoads their support on Tuesday.