The party of ‘no’ must start to lead

Congratulations are in order to the Republicans who defeated incumbent Democrats in the county Legislature. The majority has now shifted to the GOP after the Democrats held it for 10 years.

It was inevitable that at some point, Democrats had to lose control of the Legislature. Last Tuesday, they finally did.

Throughout their 10-year majority reign, Democrats held on to the Legislature by a slim, 10-9 margin. Over the years, the Republican Party put up a good fight in targeted legislative districts at times, concentrating resources in areas where Republican voters outnumbered Democrats — and where Democratic incumbents were perceived to be vulnerable.

Case in point: Democratic Legislator Dave Mejias, whom Republicans pounded in the 2007 election. Mejias, a resilient politician, hung on in the 14th Legislative District two years ago. This time, however, Republicans returned, determined to win. And this time they succeeded.

In the 4th L.D., Republican Howard Kopel unseated five-term Democratic incumbent Jeffrey Toback. Kopel, who sought Toback’s seat two years ago, ran a spirited campaign this time around that energized local community groups on his behalf.

In the county executive’s race, incumbent Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat from Glen Cove, leads Republican challenger Ed Mangano by a mere 237 votes. That could all change, however. Some 12,000 paper ballots have yet to be counted. So who knows where this race will end up?

No matter what, Nassau County will enter a new era of governance. For 10 years, the GOP was the party of “no.” Like most any members of a minority party, Republican legislators more often sought to scuttle the opposition’s initiatives than to work in bipartisan fashion to enact meaningful legislation. And like most majorities, the Democrats seldom had any reason to seek Republican support for their actions. Democratic legislators, with a Democrat in the county executive’s chair, didn’t need to confer or compromise with their GOP colleagues, and so left them with little chance to participate, other than just saying no.

We don’t see this election as having given the GOP a mandate. We didn’t hear a range of new ideas emanating from the Republican camp. What people responded to, in part, were GOP calls to rescind an unpopular 2.5 percent energy tax. Republican legislators are vowing to do away with it when they take office in January. The big question, of course, is how the county will make up the inevitable, multi-million-dollar shortfall if they succeed in eliminating the tax. Will services be reduced? If so, what services?

We don’t believe that the GOP’s clear victory in the Legislature will spell doom for Nassau County. However, it will bring gloom unless Republicans are able to do more than play the role of unhappy naysayers. They will have to present Nassau taxpayers with a clear vision for the county that keeps taxes in check while preserving the quality-of-life services that residents have come to expect, and depend on — in particular, youth services.

So we offer congratulations to the new legislators who take office in January. They now have the burdens and the opportunity for leadership and governance. They would be smart to avoid the arrogance that often poisons a majority. They have no “good times” budget to please everyone with spending. But neither do many county residents have “good times” incomes; many depend on county services for their health and well being.

One thing’s for sure: It’s hard to envy the legislators for the task at hand.