Ford runs unopposed once again

Some Nassau County legislators govern districts that are considered “safe,” meaning they consist mostly of voters registered with that legislator’s party, almost ensuring his or her re-election. And then there is District 4, represented by Denise Ford.

For the second consecutive election, Ford, a Republican candidate in a largely Democratic district who is seeking her third term, is the only one of 19 legislators who faces no opposition. “To me, it’s a great compliment that, once again, I’m running unopposed, and it says a lot about the people who do support me,” Ford said of her constituents on the Long Beach barrier island and in parts of Oceanside and Island Park. “They’ve been very vocal in their support and let it be known, so here I am running unopposed again.”

First elected in 2003, Ford is part of a Republican team seeking to wrest from Democrats their slim 10-9 majority in the Legislature. She has once again been endorsed by both parties, and her name will appear on the Republican, Democratic, Working Families, Independence and Conservative lines.

Ford is actually a lifelong Democrat who, in 2003, ran on the Republican line, joining hands with a coalition ticket in Long Beach that swept away the Democrats’ decades-long control of City Hall and captured the seat in the Legislature held by Democrat Michael Zapson, a former Long Beach City Council president.

Asked whether she might switch parties if the Republicans capture the majority on Nov. 3, Ford was noncommittal. “I’m actually waiting to see how Election Day turns out,” she said. “This is just a crazy year; I don’t even know what’s going to happen. Ask me the day after the election.”

On the subject of her goals for the next two years, Ford jumped first to low-income housing, saying she is working to bring more of it to both seniors and young people in her district.

Taxes are the issue county politicians cite as the most pressing among voters, and Ford vowed to try her hardest to find ways to reduce them by shrinking government’s size and costs. She zeroed in on consolidation, especially of special districts, as one means to this end.