Special election set for Feb. 28; Wantagh, Seaford, Bellmore, Merrick and Freeport legislator to be determined

The race is on for the Nassau County Legislature seat, vacated late last year after Steve Rhoads’ election to the state Senate.

In a special election set for Tuesday, Feb. 28, Democrat Robert Miles squares off against Republicans Michael Giangregorio to determine who will take their seat in Mineola.

The legislative district includes parts of Seaford and Wantagh, all of South Bellmore, sections of central and South Merrick, and a small strip of Freeport with a cutoff at Woodcleft Avenue. And it’s no stranger to special elections. Rhoads won the seat in 2015 following the resignation of Dave Denenberg, the Democratic leader who was convicted of mail fraud.

Even if Democrats picked up this seat, the party would remain in the minority. Still, that hasn’t stopped Miles from giving it a try. The 30-year-old was born in Elmont, but grew up primarily in Merrick. He graduated from Hofstra University’s law school, running with a political background he says is “heavy in policy.”

Miles previously worked in both the county attorney’s office under County Executive Ed Mangano and Nassau’s property assessment office during the Laura Curran administration. Since early last year, Miles has served as an attorney with Nassau’s minority caucus.

Giangregorio, 57, grew up in Queens and settled in Merrick with his wife in 1997. He’s long worked in the financial industry in various roles.

One of his sons, Nicholas, 21, is severely affected by autism. Having worked with representatives at the state and federal level to pass legislation in favor of people like Nicholas, Giangregorio brings with him a fierce passion for making Nassau County accessible and safe for everyone.

As first-time candidates selected by their respective parties to represent them in the special election, there’s no denying both Miles and Giangregorio would have big shoes to fill. Rhoads was well-liked and well-known, according to those who have worked with him — especially around the hamlets he served.

To that point, however, Miles offered a simple response.

“As popular of a legislator as Steve was, what happened?” the Democrat asked. “What was fixed? The administration and the majority had the power in place for a year to fix something — and I didn’t see anything.”

Giangregorio, however, emphasized he’d like to mimic the relationship Rhoads had with his constituents. Just recently, he walked around Wantagh with Rhoads, going door-to-door, meeting voters.

“That’s the type of representative I want to be,” Giangregorio said. “I’m sure my name won’t be known by everyone in my district, but I’m going to work hard that it is. I enjoy talking with people — and that’s a big thing that will help me fill those shoes.”

Heading into the 2021 election season, much of the majority caucus was critical of property value reassessment under Curran’s leadership. Property owners were unhappy with the burden of higher property taxes — something that, for many of them, still remains true.

Miles said his background could assisting these homeowners in understanding their tax bills, exemptions, and what happens when grievances are filed. He added the county has $250 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan, yet to be used.

“The question is, are we going to sit and hold that money and hoard it?” he asked. “I think the intelligent thing to have done during a time of market instability and inflation would have been to give that money back to the taxpayers.”

Giangregorio believes there were flaws with the county’s approach to property reassessment — which is used to help determine how much taxes property owners have to pay.

“A true assessment is comparing one against the other,” Giangregorio said. “It’s not just an algorithm of numbers on a paper. That’s not a real comparison — one home against the other. I don’t profess to have the answers, but I’m not afraid to try and to look for them, and make it the right system.”

The candidates are running in what is a turbulent time for the Nassau GOP, amid all the news surrounding U.S. Rep. George Santos, under national scrutiny for misrepresenting key aspects of his background, education and work experience.

Miles said that could bode well for Democrats like him.

“I think this election and the elections in November are going to be a bellwether for that,” Miles said. “I think people are angry — when you talk to them on the streets, when you talk to them in households, they say what a mockery this guy has made of Nassau County.”

Giangregorio doesn’t believe the news surrounding Santos will negatively affect him, because he’s an open book — and an honest one.

“I’m running as myself,” Giangregorio said. “I think the Republican Party on Long Island has come out strongly against him, and rightfully so. He needs to go. I’m not shy about that. He does not represent Nassau County. He does not represent what the Republican Party is in Nassau County.

“I stand on my integrity — I stand on my name.”