Troiano ready to take seat he never expected

Nassau County’s 2nd Legislative District will soon welcome a new lawmaker. On Jan. 1, Democrat Robert Troiano of Westbury will begin his first term as the district’s legislator, marking new leadership for the 2nd L.D. since the Legislature’s inception in 1995.

For Troiano, however, the journey to a county legislator’s seat was an unexpected one.

The election

Incumbent Roger Corbin (D-Westbury) made headlines in June when he announced that he was running for re-election despite facing charges of tax fraud and lying to federal agents. Corbin, who served as the 2nd L.D’s legislator for seven consecutive terms, contended that voters would support his bid even though his trial was scheduled to begin just weeks before Election Day.

At that point, Troiano, 56, a Town of North Hempstead councilman, said he had no intention of running for the Legislature because he was preparing for a re-election campaign of his own. But in July, popular opinion in the 2nd L.D. began to change. While Corbin’s legal team pushed to have his trial delayed until after the election, some residents said that his legal woes had the potential to put the district at risk of not having an elected representative in the Legislature. As a result, they decided to support other candidates.

Two Westbury residents and political newcomers, Greg Lewis and Pablo Sinclair, filed petitions to challenge Corbin in the Democratic primary. For many residents, however, Troiano was the only elected official in the district who had the governmental and financial experience to challenge Corbin for the 2nd L.D. seat. Troiano has been a North Hempstead councilman since 2004, and had previously worked on Wall Street for 25 years.