Civic leader challenges incumbent in 19th District

Claudia Borecky, a Nassau County Board of Elections worker and president of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association, will challenge Nassau County Legislator Steve Rhoads for his seat this November.

Borecky, who is also chairwoman of the Bellmore-Merrick Democratic Club, is her party’s nominee in the county’s 19th District. Rhoads, a personal injury attorney and volunteer firefighter who has long been active in local Republican circles, won a special election in March.

The 19th District, which encompasses Freeport, Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh and Seaford, had been without a legislator since January, when Dave Denenberg, a 14-year incumbent, pleaded guilty to cheating a client of his law firm out of $2.3 million and resigned. Borecky was Denenberg’s legislative aide from 2006-08. Rhoads lost election bids to Denenberg in 2005 and 2013.

For the last six years, Borecky has led the civic association, which holds regular community meetings at the North Merrick Public Library, carries out beautification projects in downtown Merrick, runs a Neighborhood Watch Program and organizes an annual Spring Eggstravaganza and Halloween Spooktacular for children.

She has also been a local advocate on a range of issues — including crime, the environment, transportation, energy, rental houses, public health and elections — by publishing a newsletter, attending rallies and protests, writing letters to elected officials and speaking at government hearings. In 2011, Borecky ran for Hempstead Town Board, losing to then-Councilwoman Angie Cullin. In 2013, she co-founded the Coalition of Nassau Civic Associations, extending her advocacy’s scope.

Rhoads, who grew up in Wantagh, got his start in local politics as a teenager volunteering for then-Assemblyman Fred Parola’s election campaign. As a college student, Rhoads interned for Parola in Albany. After law school, Rhoads went to work in then-County Executive Tom Gulotta’s Bureau of Tort and Civil Rights Litigation. Rhoads later moved into private practice.