Herald Endorsement

Vote for William Gaylor in the 6th Legislative District

Posted

There are many similarities between incumbent 6th District Legislator William Gaylor, a Republican, and his challenger, Democrat Dino Amoroso. They are both from Lynbrook. Both are attorneys, and relatively new to politics.

They differ, however, in their outlook on many issues facing the district. Gaylor and Amoroso both have ideas on how to improve District 6, but Gaylor presented himself as a more focused candidate, with a better grasp of the issues at hand. He said he intends to help hold the line on taxes and try to make Nassau County a more affordable place to live. He said he would continue to vote against any tax increases, and would advocate reducing the fees residents pay.

Downtown revitalization is also important to Gaylor. He said he would like to entice more businesses to open in the district’s downtowns and create more affordable rental housing, especially for young people and the elderly. To do so, he suggested having the county Industrial Development Agency create an incentive program to entice businesses to open in the district.

One stance we take issue with is Gaylor’s refusal to consider creating an inspector general to oversee the awarding of county contracts, and to curtail corruption and cronyism. He said that an inspector general would have no one else to answer to, which Gaylor called “unconstitutional.” Meanwhile, Amoroso was a staunch supporter of the idea, pointing to the rampant corruption in the county. Clearly, we believe that, despite our endorsement, Gaylor is not a perfect candidate. We felt he was the stronger of the two, however.

In the end, though change could be good on many levels in the county, we see no reason to unseat Gaylor in the 6th District, and we urge voters to re-elect him on Tuesday.