Election 2013

Solid victory for Mangano

Maragos, O'Connell and Rice all re-elected

Posted

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Election Night, County Executive Ed Mangano took the podium at Republican Party headquarters in Westbury and declared victory.

Mangano, a Republican from Bethpage, held an 18-point lead over Tom Suozzi, the former county executive who was defeated by Mangano four years ago. Mangano received 159,828 votes (59 percent) to Suozzi's 111,682 votes (41 percent).

“I want to thank our residents out there for their overwhelming support, for the work that we've been doing on their behalf to make Nassau County more affordable, to bring more jobs and opportunities to our residents," Mangano said. "We're on the right path and I thank our residents for keeping us on that path."

Four years ago, it took several weeks for Mangano to emerge as the winner. This year, it took less than two hours after the polls closed.

“This is a vote of confidence for Mangano,” said U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).

Suozzi conceded about 20 minutes after Mangano declared victory. “This is a tough loss,” he said. “This is a tough loss for the Democrats. This is a tough loss for me personally. This is a tough loss for our family and all of our friends. But it doesn't mean we weren't right. Losing a race doesn't mean you weren't right."

In other countywide races, Republican County Comptroller George Maragos was up 53 percent to 47 percent over Democrat Howard Weitzman.

"It was a challenging campaign, and unfortunately, it got contentious at times ... that I did not like,” Maragos said. “But at the end, this is a great victory for the residents of Nassau County. It means that we will continue to hold the line on property taxes and continue to make Nassau County more affordable for our seniors and young people to be able to stay in Nassau County."

Four years ago, Weitzman lost to Maragos after holding the job for eight years. Like Suozzi, he was unsuccessful in his bid to win back his old post.

“We gave it our best,” Weitzman said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We did everything we could in this election, but we couldn’t overcome the message of ‘we didn’t raise your taxes.’ And at the end of the day, that’s what carried it.”

County Clerk Maureen O'Connell, a Republican, easily won her third term with 56 percent over the vote. She was challenged by Democrat Laura Gillen.

The lone win for the Democrats in countywide races was District Attorney Kathleen Rice who picked up 59 percent of the vote in her race against Republican Howard Sturim. Rice won her third term.

Rice thanked her supporters at Democratic headquarters in Carle Place, and said her goal will be “preserving the fabric of our county so that all of our children and grandchildren can live the lives we’ve been lucky enough to have here.”

— Brian Racow contributed reporting.