Letters to the Rockville Centre Herald - Oct. 20, 2011

Scannell is proud of delivering for the 5th

To the Editor:

I’d like to respond to “Why Nassau County needs Chris Browne” (Oct. 13-19) and the statement that “elections matter.” Well, I couldn’t agree more. In 2009, the Republicans won control of the Nassau County executive’s office and the County Legislature, and so far the results have been disastrous for county taxpayers.

Since 2009, my colleagues and I in the minority have defeated an attempt by the majority to raise legislators’ pay by 47 percent. I opposed the effort to increase county fees by $60 million, which is the equivalent of a 7 percent property tax hike. We called attention to the Republicans’ own employment agency for their connected friends in the middle of a hiring freeze. And finally, we worked to defeat the Republican-led Coliseum tax, which would have raised our taxes to bail out a billionaire. This misguided venture was soundly rejected by the voters across the county.

Yes, I’m proud of the work I’ve done on Nunley’s Carousel, in addition to the many other worthwhile community projects I’ve delivered for the district. Over the past two years in Rockville Centre, I have provided $410,000 in funding for the refurbishment of Centennial Park, including a new playground surface, public bathrooms and auxiliary police office. I secured $100,000 in funding to create Firefighters Memorial Park, which will accommodate the addition of three steel beams from the World Trade Center, and recently I delivered $31,000 for a new traffic enforcement vehicle for the Police Department that will inspect and enforce motor carrier regulations on large trucks and assist in protecting motorists traveling along Sunrise Highway.