The race in the Nassau County Legislature's 5th District has grown heated in recent months.
Republican Chris Browne, a Rockville Centre attorney challenging incumbent Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin), has been campaigning aggressively, pledging to reduce taxes and be an advocate for the district.
Scannell maintains that he has already done that, helping to steer the county in the right direction after it hit the financial doldrums when Republican Tom Gulotta was the county executive and fighting hard for his district, sometimes to the chagrin of Gulotta's Democratic successor, Tom Suozzi.
In recent years, however, we feel that Scannell has dropped the ball in the 5th, making Nunley's Carousel his signature issue when there are more important things to worry about in Baldwin and Rockville Centre - not to mention the county - that need to be addressed, mainly taxes and quality-of-life concerns.
Scannell's pledge of $420,000 in community development funds for the carousel's restoration could have been applied more efficiently - say, for more beautification projects on Grand Avenue. Although his efforts have led to the restoration of a beloved landmark - which constituents will be able to enjoy for years to come - he played politics with it, threatening to jump party lines and tip the balance in the Republicans' favor. He also made promises to return Nunley's to Baldwin when there was never a guaranteed location for it, which led to an uproar by some residents when he proposed to put it their backyards.
Unfortunately, empty promises have become the hallmark of Scannell's tenure. Take, for instance, his pledge to support a Democratic-led domestic partnership registry last year, before he abruptly reversed course on the issue at the last moment, leading to its defeat.
So far, Browne has made himself accessible to residents and has attended numerous community meetings, in both Baldwin and Rockville Centre. We agree with Browne when he says that the county's assessment system is flawed and needs to be revamped. We also agree when he says that Scannell's talking points are five years old.
But we believe Browne's proposal to freeze property tax reassessments for five years needs to be examined more closely, and we are concerned that it is merely a line from the Republican machine. And we are very concerned about some despicable campaign literature distributed by the state Republican party, aimed, almost literally, at Scannell, depicting a masked robber looking down the barrel of a gun. We hope it's not a sign of dirty politics to come. We urge Browne, if he is elected, not to toe the Republican Party line, and to keep the district's best interests in mind.
Although Scannell has held numerous tax grievance workshops and has funded beautification projects in both Rockville Centre and Baldwin, he should do more to address and provide relief from an irrational tax system that is wreaking havoc on people's lives.
Scannell's saving grace may be the $4 million in funding he recently secured for a new 1st Police Precinct, which is in dire need of a new, modern building. Scannell has pledged the new precinct will remain in Baldwin, but there's just no way to know for sure if he'll deliver.
