Assembly candidates battle for 20th District seat

In his bid to win the open 20th Assembly District seat on Tuesday, Long Beach City Council Vice President Anthony Eramo addressed residents in his hometown at the Oct. 26 candidates’ forum at the Long Beach Public Library, pledging to fight corruption in Albany, reduce taxes and secure more school funding.

Eramo, a Democrat who is running on the Independence, Working Families and Women’s Equality lines, is a field technician for Verizon, and is serving his second term on the council. He said that as a member of the Democratic majority in the Assembly, he would be in a better position to address the needs of the district, which encompasses Atlantic Beach, Cedarhurst, East Rockaway, Hewlett, Inwood, Island Park, Lawrence, Lido Beach, Long Beach, Oceanside, Woodmere and parts of Valley Stream.

He touted his work on the council as part of the Democratic administration that turned the city’s finances around after it was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2012 and led recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy, as well as his environmental advocacy.

“I think the number one issue right now, especially in light of our county executive, is ethics reform,” Eramo said, referring to Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, a Republican who was recently arrested on bribery charges. “I look forward to working with [State Sen.] Todd Kaminsky and continuing to push ethics reform to bring faith back into our government.”

Eramo said he supports stripping politicians convicted of crimes of their pensions, and wants to limit legislators’ outside income to eliminate conflicts of interest. He has pledged to leave his job to work as a full-time legislator.

“As an Assemblyman, my focus will be on lowering our taxes … getting as much money for our schools … and, obviously, protecting our environment here on our barrier island is a big issue for us and the whole region,” he said.

Eramo’s Republican opponent, Melissa Miller, a community advocate from Atlantic Beach, did not attend the forum. Miller, 52, has spent the better part of the past three years advocating for the legalization of medicinal marijuana, which has been used to successfully treat people who suffer from maladies including seizures like her son’s. She has also pledged to fight corruption by instituting term limits, among other measures.

Green Party candidate Joseph Naham, of Long Beach, criticized what he described as a two-party system. He also pledged to battle corruption in Albany, to serve as an advocate for the environment and to fight for sustainable development in the district.

“I will work to take money out of politics by championing real campaign finance reform,” Naham said. “I do not take any contributions from LLCs or corporate interests.”

Responding to a question about South Nassau Communities Hospital’s plans to build a $40 million emergency department in Long Beach, which would not operate as the full-service hospital many residents have called for, Naham said that $154 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds was originally earmarked for Long Beach Medical Center,.

“What we see South Nassau doing is unacceptable,” Naham said, adding that he wants to see Long Beach residents serve on South Nassau’s board of directors. “If we have people on that board, they can start empathizing with us.”

Eramo said that the City Council called for all of the federal funding to be directed to reopening a full-service hospital in Long Beach. He promised to work with South Nassau and the state Department of Health to add more services than what is now being proposed.

“We need to make sure it’s the best possible emergency room that it can be,” he said. “We need to make sure we can advance that medical campus. I think that’s the focus now.”