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Light Rain Dean Skelos: the makings of a legend?
Long Island’s history books have recorded the fact that our bicounty area has been blessed by many great political names, each of whom exercised great political clout in Washington, Albany and Mineola. Many of them are forgotten legends, but their names ring a bell for most Long Islanders like me.
Washington was home to President Theodore Roosevelt, CIA Chairman William Casey and Congressman Otis Pike. Former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato and Congressman Lester Wolff left deep footprints on the landscape.
The state Capitol in Albany has boasted the likes of Speaker Joseph Carlino, Speaker Perry B. Duryea, Sen. Ed Speno, Sen. John Caemerrer, Ralph Marino and Assembly members Margiotta, Harwood, Thorp, Wager and Jonas. The county’s roster of greats has to include A. Holly Patterson, J. Russel Sprague, Eugene Nickerson, Sol Wachtler, Fran Purcell, Ralph Caso and many others.
The newest candidate for entry into the history book is Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Long Island hasn’t had a Senate majority leader since the days of Ralph Marino back in the 1980s.Whether it’s good times or bad, majority leaders are blessed with enormous clout, and the economic stability of the Island depends very much on the stature of the Senate’s boss.
Skelos comes to the job at a very key time in the life of our community. When budgets are stretched and there are few dollars to spare, the suburbs tend to take the greatest hits. Upstaters think our schools are too lavish and that we’re the rich cousins to the south. The so-called millionaire’s tax, approved by the Legislature two years ago, hurts people who earn $200,000 or more. By our local standards, $200,000 between two people isn’t a lot of money.
As the Republican Party leader, Skelos is facing demands that will hurt Nassau and Suffolk counties very badly. The MTA payroll tax was a bad hit on the Island last year, and there has to be a need to find ways to replace it with a tax that isn’t as regressive. It won’t be easy, but Skelos is very much up to the job.
