McDonough, Brooks vie in 19th Assembly District

John Brooks, a Democrat from Seaford, and former volunteer fire chief and Board of Education vice president in his hometown, is battling Republican Assemblyman David McDonough of Merrick, a former civic activist and business leader, for the 19th Assembly District seat.

McDonough said the top issue that his constituents are facing is the area’s high property taxes, and he favors a property-tax cap. He said a proposal by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo to cap property taxes at 2 percent goes too far and is likely “unrealistic.” He said he favors a 4 percent cap, noting that, when called on to do so by the public, most Long Island school districts have been able to limit their spending increases to under 4 percent in recent years.

McDonough said that legislators such as he had hoped to vote on a cap before the election, but the leadership in the state Legislature decided to hold off until after the election. Right now, he said, a cap “isn’t going any place.”

Brooks, formerly a Republican who became a Democrat in recent years, said that he, too, favors a cap. He noted, however, that Albany should set the example and cap its spending, which he said has been out of control in recent years. “Until we get the state financial house in order, we have to cap state spending. Albany cannot go on as it has for more than a decade and spending far in excess of the revenues coming in.”

McDonough said ethics reform is desperately needed in Albany. He said all legislators should be required to disclose their outside income. He said he was unaware that former Senate majority leader Joe Bruno had received payments as a consultant for companies that did business with the state until he was investigated by the FBI.

“There’s such an abuse of power,” McDonough said. “You need to have full disclosure. The people are just fed up.”

McDonough also said he would support an independent commission to redraw the election district lines, which have traditionally been drawn by the Legislature.