DeRiggi-Whitton says record speaks for itself

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton says she has remained determined to do what is best for the North Shore residents she represents on the Nassau County Legislature. At least how she tells it, both her Democratic and Republican constituents agree she’s made important changes since taking office more than a decade ago.
And she wants to continue that for yet another term.
DeRiggi-Whitton is one of the few legislators whose lines didn’t drastically shift during redistricting earlier this year — which she says is a huge benefit to her constituents since she’s spearheading many environmental projects on the North Shore. That success, DeRiggi-Whitton says, stems from her moderate standpoints, coming from a family of both card-carrying Democrats and Republicans.
And because of that, the legislator says she believes the political system should function more like a business venture.
“I went into this field with an attitude of just really wanting to work together,” DeRiggi-Whitton told reporters during a recent Herald Roundtable session. “We do have our differences in some ways, but there’s so much fighting within government, and I think everyone is sick of it.”

DeRiggi-Whitton helped secure funding for Scudder’s Pond — one of the most contaminated bodies of water around Hempstead Harbor due to storm runoff — which will help reduce nitrogen levels around the harbor.
She also helped residents and businesses link up to a new sewage line in Sea Cliff with reimbursements as high as $7,500 for their efforts. Sea Cliff has been attempting to fix sewage issues in the village for two decades, with fits and starts across five village administrations.
DeRiggi-Whitton also boasts a record she says helped spearhead efforts in both Sea Cliff and Glen Cove to improve the quality of life for residents on Shore Road in the form of traffic calming and even a countywide streetscape project. That includes installing radar speed-check devices, reducing the number of travel lanes to discourage speeding, and the reconfiguration of on-street parking.
Those efforts, the legislator says, not only fosters a stronger neighborhood aesthetic, that further makes motorists think twice about speeding. They might cut through the arterial highway, but they also must remember they’re driving through a neighborhood.
Many of DeRiggi-Whitton’s efforts focus on quality of life. While she wants to see Glen Cove flourish economically, she believes a current request for proposals for a city-owned property at 111 Lattingtown Road would ultimately do more harm to the city. She believes any facility designed to accommodate hundreds of guests will inevitably cause parking issues, noise pollution, and could potentially compete with other local catering halls.
Since its release last summer, the proposal request has gained a lot of attention from surrounding North Shore communities, and DeRiggi-Whitton believes the RFP was drafted with the intent of attracting a large-scale corporation to the area.
“I believe in procurement, but I also believe that we owe small businesses that have survived the pandemic a little extra courtesy,” DeRiggi-Whitton said.
When reflecting on her many accomplishments as legislator, DeRiggi-Whitton said she’s proud to have helped ban hydraulic fracturing, or “hydro-fracking,” waste at county sewage-treatment plants and spearheading legislation offering around-the-clock text to 911 capabilities for the first time in the county.
“I really love my job, and I think we have made some real impacts,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “It really gives you an opportunity to help a lot of people.”