Don't be fooled by Newsday's hidden agenda

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In Sunday’s Newsday, the editorial board endorsed Tom Suozzi, the Democratic candidate for county executive. That wasn’t surprising, given that Newsday’s parent company, Cablevision, employed Suozzi after he was defeated by Ed Mangano, paying him hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past four years.

In addition, through various limited liability companies and subsidiaries, Cablevision has contributed more than $200,000 to the Suozzi campaign. So it was no wonder that Newsday editorialized about the good old days of Tom Suozzi in a full-page endorsement.

Let me tell you about the supposed good old days. Mangano inherited the largest deficit in Nassau County history. During Suozzi’s two terms, property taxes soared. Newsday even pointed out in its editorial that the first thing he did after being sworn in was raise property taxes. That was only the beginning.

Suozzi left office with a proposed 16.5 percent tax hike and a home energy tax looming over taxpayers. Upon taking office, Mangano repealed both.

Under Suozzi, our infrastructure began to suffer, and was ignored as it rapidly deteriorated. The Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant was antiquated and in much need of repairs before Hurricane Sandy. Now it’s in an even more fragile state. It has created a public health crisis, and the dumping of poorly treated and sometimes raw sewage into our bays is ruining the quality of life not just for the people who live in the surrounding areas — East Rockaway, Oceanside, Hewlett, Atlantic Beach, Merrick, Freeport, Bellmore, Seaford, Wantagh, Massapequa, Island Park, Long Beach, Lido Beach and Point Lookout — but for all of us.

Mangano has been desperately trying to work with the County Legislature to bond the $700 million needed to make the necessary fixes, almost all of which would be paid back by federal reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But the Democrats in the Legislature refuse to approve the full amount needed for the repairs.

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