Since winning office in 1999, Denenberg has given his absolute best to improve the lives of his constituents. He's constantly working to get more funds and services for the 19th Legislative District. County Executive Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) likes to joke that if every legislator fought like Denenberg, he'd probably have to quit. Suozzi has called him the county's hardest-working legislator.
We have to wonder where Denenberg finds the time and energy to take on so many projects while attending so many local events, from Kiwanis Club pancake breakfasts to Chamber of Commerce dinners to Eagle scout courts of honor.
And he isn't the type of official to sit back, watch others work and then have his photograph taken for the newspapers while handing out citations. During a series of volunteer cleanups of local woodlands in 2002, for example, he got down and dirty with everyone else, picking up trash and helping to haul it off.
Denenberg has also taken on big fights, like the three-year battle to close Freeport Power's diesel Plant No. 2, which local residents decried because they feared its exhaust caused cancer. Freeport has agreed to permanently close the power plant and is now building a clean-burning, gas-fired model to replace it.
On the fiscal side, Denenberg is a conservative, despite the Republican Party's attempts to paint him otherwise. He and his fellow Democrats in the Legislature have made massive cuts to Nassau's budget, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. County spending has gone up, but only because federal and state mandates like Social Security and retirement have shot up in recent years.
Denenberg is easy to approach. He has convened some 82 town-hall meetings in the district to hear residents' concerns. He even opened a district office using his own legislative salary so constituents wouldn't have to trek to Mineola to meet with him.
Denenberg is a forthright candidate, a family man who volunteers as a coach for his kids' athletic teams, a leader in his synagogue and an overall decent human being.
His opponent, Republican Michael Mirotznik of Bellmore, is running a smoke-and-mirrors campaign that inaccurately portrays Denenberg as a liberal spender. At the same time, Mirotznik offers no substantive suggestions for downsizing county government, nor does he provide a legislative agenda. In short, we have no clue what he might do if elected.
We do know that Dave Denenberg will continue to fight for us. Vote Denenberg on Nov. 4.
