By:
While we believe both Democrat Joseph Scannell and his Republican challenger, Kevin Kamen, would serve the district well, we can only choose one, and our endorsement goes to the incumbent, Scannell.
Rockville Centre is mostly in the Fifth District with the exception of a few election districts south of Merrick Road.
The job of any challenger in a political contest is to prove that the incumbent is not doing his job, and that is what Kamen has continually said about Scannell that he is not accessible to constituents, he doesn't return phone calls and he hasn't been a passionate advocate for the community. We have seen quite a bit of evidence to the contrary.
Scannell has delivered for the district unlike any legislator before him, with beautification and capital projects, the first time in years that any major funds have been directed from the county to Baldwin. Kamen has charged that these projects are not ambitious enough, but we would remind him that change starts small and takes time; you can't realistically expect a legislator to singlehandedly rehabilitate a community and solve all its problems overnight.
Besides holding dozens of town-hall-style meetings throughout the district, Scannell has also worked for constituents behind the scenes, meeting with people about landlord problems, bars that are conducting illegal business and creating a nuisance for neighbors, and parking woes.
We also believe that there is another important reason to keep Scannell in office, and that is to ensure that the Democratic county executive, Tom Suozzi, can continue to move the county toward fiscal stability without being stymied by a Republican majority in the Legislature. This is not to suggest that Kamen would stand in the way of county reform, but with the Democrats holding the majority by only one vote and amid such animosity between the two parties, we don't see a Democratic executive and a Republican Legislature furthering the county's fiscal growth.
Having said that, we must also give kudos to Kamen. He has several good ideas an economic council to bring community leaders in the Fifth District together to share ideas is a proactive response to solving problems. We also have no doubt that he would be a passionate, Ò24/7Ó legislator, as he has promised. Kamen has been a boon to the Baldwin community on a number of fronts, from his leadership at the library to his creation of the charity softball game. We know he will continue to work tirelessly for Baldwin, but we also don't think he has proved that Joe Scannell has not and will not continue to do so as well.
The Herald endorses Joseph Scannell in the Fifth District.
