Toback targets Weisenberg's seat

Whether or not Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg retires, Jeff Toback says he is running for the incumbent’s seat this year.

“I think, certainly at this moment, my focus is on running, and whoever is the opponent is the opponent and if there is a primary or not,” Toback told the Herald on Monday. “But my plans are to run in November for the 20th Assembly seat.”

Toback, an Oceanside resident, was a county legislator from 1999 until last November, when he was unseated by second-time challenger Howard Kopel, a Republican. Weisenberg, a 21-year incumbent, was re-elected in 2008 and will seek another two-year term in November.

Toback reportedly said that he believes Weisenberg will retire. When asked about it, he said, “Newsday reported twice over the last year and a half that [Weisenberg] told them that he was not running.”

Speaking from the Assembly in Albany on Monday, Weisenberg said that he has no intention to step down this year. “I love my job ...,” he said, “and I tell people if you do your job you get re-elected, and I’ve been re-elected by large margins for 21 years.”

Asked about Newsday’s reports on his supposed retirement, Weisenberg said that people and reporters sometimes incorrectly read into his standard answer about his future plans. “As long as I’m healthy and well, I’m going to continue to do what I do best, and that’s serving my people in my district,” he said, noting that in the coming weeks in Long Beach he will formally announce that he will run again in November.

Weisenberg, a retired teacher, Long Beach police officer and lifeguard, said that he is not concerned that he may face Toback in a primary down the road. “It’s America, and everyone has the right to participate,” he said. “But if you want to look at a record of success ...” He brook off, indicating that he did not want to highlight the many bills he has spearheaded as his measure of success.

Toback said he had never before stated publicly that he wanted to run for the Assembly, but in his years in the county Legislature, he learned that Nassau County’s problems can only be solved at the state level. “I think that experience and that knowledge will serve me well in Albany,” he said.

Asked for a comment on Weisenberg, Toback said only, “Harvey has been a dedicated public servant for a long time.”

The 20th Assembly District includes the Long Beach barrier island, the Five Towns, Oceanside, Island Park, East Rockaway and Lynbrook.

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