by Mike Caputo
Nearly 100 people packed a small room in the Hewlett-Woodmere Library to listen to the discussion of various issues facing South Shore communities. Democratic candidates Jeff Toback (incumbent, 7th Legislative District), Omar Jorge (challenger, 6th District), Kevin Gorman (challenger, town supervisor) and Gary Carlton (challenger, town 3rd Council District) took part, along with Republicans Francis X. Becker (incumbent, 6th Legislative District) and James Darcy (incumbent, town 3rd Council District).
Incumbent Town Supervisor Kate Murray and 7th Legislative District challenger Howard Kopel, both Republicans, did not attend. A League of Women Voters official cited other commitments as reasons for their absences.
Town supervisor and 3rd Council
District race
The town races kicked off the first hour of the two-hour, two-session debate, and featured Darcy, Carlton and Gorman. The first question posed by moderator Patricia Sympson concerned recently proposed development projects that many see as threats to Atlantic Beach's beachfront.
All three candidates expressed a desire to preserve the marine recreational zone, which was established by the town in 1987 to protect the beach from development. Darcy described the beachfront as a "unique parcel of land" and emphasized his desire to maintain the recreational zone.
Although they did not mention names, both Carlton and Gorman hinted at their displeasure with the political connection between former Republican U.S. Senator Al D'Amato, who heads a proposed development in Atlantic Beach, and the town board and its Board of Zoning Appeals. Carlton said that if elected, he would do his best to protect local beaches from such development.
Sympson then asked Darcy what services need to be cut if the town is to keep taxes at bay. "None - we have not raised fees," the Republican councilman responded confidently. "We have held the line on taxes."
Gorman explained that in certain areas of the town, taxes have in fact been raised.
Carlton offered his take on the current town government's position on taxes. "I think the town should be able to do more than hold the line," he said. The Democratic challenger also proposed the idea of looking deeper into the infrastructure and cutting unnecessary jobs to save money.
The town candidates went on to discuss their views on the proposed Hub development project in the area surrounding Nassau Coliseum. Both Gorman and Darcy stressed the issues that must be looked into, including the question of whether or not the water system can handle such a large project. Carlton used the Hub project as an example of affordable housing opportunities, something he believes the town should focus on. Darcy said there are affordable housing requirements that the town has fulfilled and continues to expand.
Carlton said it is important not to duplicate town services and stressed the importance of consolidation under a "central bureaucracy," including park systems.
Darcy said he has not received any complaints about special districts, and suggested that there are other money-saving solutions rather than consolidation. "I don't know about you, but I hate dealing with bureaucracy," he said.
All three candidates agreed that special-district elections should continue, but in a more open fashion. They agreed with the notion of moving special-district elections to more notable days, such as Election Day or the day of a school vote. "There should be more openness in their budget process," Gorman said.
After answering questions from the audience, Carlton, Gorman and Darcy summed up. Gorman suggested that the current Republican-controlled town government tends to ignore certain issues raised by residents and is slow in making improvements. He said he hoped he could provide a new look to a government that has been controlled by one party for nearly a century. "We have a lack of oversight, and we have a lack of concern," Gorman said. "We also have a lack of leadership."
Carlton emphasized his goal to cut taxes by eliminating patronage jobs in the town. "I told [my family], 'You are not going to get a job if I am voted into office,'" he said.
Although he acknowledged that there are always improvements to be made, Darcy reiterated the town's recent track record, with steady tax rates and extensive environmental work. "I'm a firm believer that if it ain't broke, don't fix it," he said.
County 6th and 7th L.D. races
During the second session, with the county legislative candidates, incumbent Toback was the lone representative of the race in the 7th District, which covers the Five Towns, Oceanside, Island Park, Bay Park and portions of East Rockaway and South Valley Stream.
The contest in the 6th District, which covers the villages of East Rockaway, Lynbrook, Malverne and Valley Stream along with portions of North Valley Stream and Rockville Centre, was represented by the incumbent, Becker, and his challenger, Jorge.
Becker highlighted his concerns for future budgets, and vowed that he would prevent county economic problems from arising again. "For the next two years, I will try to resolve the next financial crisis," he said. "I will continue to work hard to reduce spending."
Although Becker acknowledged the difficulty of reformulating the county assessment process and the possibility of freezing assessments, he said he would like to see at least a "breather" for residents.
Jorge scoffed at the idea of freezing assessments, an idea proposed by Becker's Republican colleagues. He stressed the importance of legislation to work to reduce those taxes. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, when you already have high taxes, to freeze them at that high level when you could actively work to reduce the expenses of government without affecting government services, and give that money ... back to the people, where it belongs," Jorge said.
Toback proudly reiterated the county's fifth consecutive no-tax-increase budget. He explained to residents that assessments may have caused their taxes to go up and down, but the government is not taking "one more penny" from them.
All three candidates were open to the idea of the new electronic voting machines that are now unfunded mandates, but have yet to be implemented throughout most of New York State and all of Nassau County. "It seems to me that we have missed deadline after deadline because no elected official wants to be the first to test out these new machines," Toback said.
The candidates also agreed on the importance of environmental issues in their districts. Toback acknowledged that there simply is not enough being done to preserve open space on the South Shore. Becker added said he has been "fighting hard" for environmental issues, while Jorge said he would work even harder. Both Becker and Jorge suggested that party affiliation should never get in the way of focusing on environmental issues.
Toward the end of a rather tame debate, the exchanges among the 6th District candidates began to heat up. While discussing the county's new budget, Becker noted the challenges he faces as a member of the Republican minority. He said that one of the main reasons his colleagues voted against the budget was because of portions of it that are unclear, or, as he described it, the "smoke and mirrors."
The incumbent suggested that being a member of the Republican minority in a Democratic-controlled Legislature and executive branch takes away most of his "jurisdiction" when formulating the county budget. "I don't have the authority or the power in doing that, but I can raise hell, which I try to do in expressing my opinion," Becker said.
Jorge's response was that a legislator cannot say he does not have jurisdiction over the budget. "The fundamental role of a legislator in this country, [whether] you are talking about Congress at the federal level or the most local legislator at the municipal level, is to craft and pass a budget," Jorge said. "For a county legislator to say he has no jurisdiction over a budget is absolutely preposterous - it is a dereliction of duty. That is why we vote for him, to represent us and perform that function in the county Legislature."
Becker then questioned Jorge's knowledge of government, saying that a legislator's main power lies within its ability to cast a vote rather than creating the budgets and policies. "He should get a little Government 101 before he starts to suggest he could create a budget and even determine how that money is spent," Becker said.
On the budget, Toback noted that the county preserves and expands services and still showed an ability to cut unnecessary positions. He added that although the police force has grown by 500 officers, there are 589 fewer people employed by the county since County Executive Tom Suozzi took office in 2002.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or 516-569-4000 ext. 210.
