By Jeff Lipton
Toback, seeking his third term for the Seventh Legislative District, faces a challenge from civic activist Jacobowitz in a race for the county seat in the Nov. 4 election. The district encompasses a large portion of the Five Towns and sections of Oceanside, Island Park and East Rockaway. The forum, held at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, featured candidates for Town of Hempstead and county races. But some of the candidates failed to show up.
Jacobowitz came out swinging, pointing out that Democrats in the Nassau County Legislature have increased spending by $500 million since they took control of the Legislature four years ago. But Toback objected to those numbers, saying that spending increased by only $101 million from 2000 to 2003. In addition, mandated costs, such as medical and health insurance and pensions, have increased by $132 million, and if that is taken out of the equation, he said, the county has actually cut spending by $30 million.
"She says it's $500 million," Toback said of Jacobowitz. "I would like to know where she got those numbers."
Toback said Moody's Investment Service has recently raised the county's bond rating and was poised to increase it again, which shows that Nassau is being recognized as a county on the road to fiscal stability. He said that prior to those raises, the county's bond rating had not been raised in 15 years.
Toback said this demonstrates that Nassau is moving in the right direction and shows "tangible and dramatic proof" of the county's financial turnaround over the past four years.
Building bridges
Jacobowitz said she has the interpersonal relationships to help build bridges between the town and county and the county and state, something she said her opponent lacks.
"My opponent doesn't like to build bridges," she said. "I've been a civic activist for 20 years, and I have not taken a dime for it.
"I want to stress how important it is to work together and roll up the sleeves and fix the problems, to have a wonderful cooperative relationship with the town," Jacobowitz continued. "My opponent unfortunately falls short of that."
Next to Nassau's finances, Toback listed the environment as the main issue facing the county. He said that as the county was spiraling downward under former County Executive Thomas Gulotta, the environment was also being neglected. Over the past four years, the Legislature has undertaken a bipartisan effort to upgrade the environment, including increasing open space. In addition, efforts are being made to clean up the county's polluted brownfields.
Besides the budget, Jacobowitz listed affordable day care as a priority for the county. She added that the "preponderance" of cancer on Long Island is also a concern.
Jacobowitz and Toback also differed on who has been more instrumental in getting traffic safety devices for the community. Toback said that most complaints he receives concern parking and traffic. He said he helped obtain safety improvements for Broadway and West Broadway in Hewlett, as well as Broadway and Spruce Street in Cedarhurst. In addition, he said he was working on creative solutions to problems at Broadway and Franklin Avenue in Hewlett.
Jacobowitz said she was instrumental in winning traffic improvements near the Burger King at Broadway and West Broadway in Hewlett, after local students' safety was being threatened.
"In my next life, I want to come back as a traffic engineer," she said. She campaigned and won the fight for her first traffic light on West Broadway in 1986, and ever since then has been fighting for traffic safety improvements in District 14.
The forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Greater Five Towns.
