Goetz wants to bring the law to legislature

Samantha Goetz isn’t ashamed to say her run for the Nassau County Legislature is her very first campaign. The Levittown-raised lawyer has never held elected office before, but says that her extensive legal and political experience means she’s well prepared to hit the ground running on day one if elected.

While this may be Goetz’s first campaign, this is far from her first experience in government. The Locust Valley resident currently serves as a deputy county attorney, and not so long ago, was Oyster Bay’s assistant town attorney.

In fact, Goetz’s first job was counsel to former state Sen. Carl Marcellino. She attributed her belief in personal and professional integrity to Marcellino’s influence, and added that her years of legal and political experience would make her best suited to serving Nassau’s needs.

Marcellino “was a great person to start working with because he was so strict,” Goetz told reporters as part of a recent Herald Roundtable session. “I think that between just being in government this long and knowing some of the general rules, that I will do and make sure that my campaign contributions are all transparent.”

One of the main issues concerning Goetz is affordability and cost of living on Long Island. As a mother of two, she says she knows how hard it is for young families to afford living here. She even has friends relocate to other states as taxes and prices have surged.

To counter this issue, Goetz believes the best path is simply not raising taxes. This way, even older residents could afford to continue living on Long Island, and she would work with her constituents to ensure they are able to receive all of the tax benefits they are eligible to receive.

“I think it’s important that we hold the line on taxes because we know how serious it is to afford anything on Long Island right now,” Goetz said. “I would reach out to the community and let them know what is available and whatever we can try to figure out.”

The daughter of a police detective, Goetz says crime also is a top priority. She has learned from speaking with neighbors how worried they are about the rise in crime.

And, of course, she completely opposes “defunding” the police, instead supporting the idea of providing better mental health resources to law enforcement. Goetz also plans to fill all vacant detective positions in the county, and make sure the police department has the most cutting-edge technology.

“I would support making sure that police officers have what they need in every capacity,” Goetz said.

Another area of concern is the migrant crisis. Goetz firmly believes Nassau County cannot bear the cost of paying for and housing so many people — even the asylum seekers that have been shipped from border states. The daughter of a Cuban immigrant, Goetz said that while the situation is tragic, she believes it would be unfair to ask county taxpayers to foot the bill.

“I don’t believe Nassau County is the place to send these people at this time,” she said. “We have such limited resources, and as far as I understand, there is no federal funding coming over here. So, it’s only going to come from the pockets of Nassau County residents.”

Goetz also highlighted her issues with cashless bail, and how she believes reform has put dangerous criminals back on the streets, allowing criminals to slip through legal system cracks.

If elected, Goetz would lobby the state legislature to ensure cashless bail was overturned. She also wants to look into ways to reduce drug use in teenagers.

“I look at a lot of things from a mom’s perspective,” Goetz said. “Just getting parents to be informed about some of the concerns and having the kids and students hear about it on a firsthand basis — not just as some abstract scenario. Those are things that I’d like to see more of.”