Skelos, who is seeking his 10th term as representative of the Senate-s 9th District, does not just talk about making the quality of life better on Long Island, he acts. Every year, he fights to make sure the income taxes paid by residents of his district benefit the district in the form of school aid, quality parks, parking fields, train station renovations and much more.
He has forged relationships with local government officials, making sure that anything that can be done to help the communities in his district is done. He has received the endorsement of the majority of 9th District mayors.
While his opponent, Josh Ketover, claims that Skelos unevenly distributes state money throughout the district, we have found evidence of the senator-s handiwork in all communities. The dollars may not always be equal every year, but the impact on the communities often is. He responded when Long Beach commuters needed parking, and when Yeshiva students in the Hewlett-Woodmere School District needed after-school busing. When young athletes from around the district needed a place to play, Skelos allocated funding for a large complex on Peninsula Boulevard in Rockville Centre. The complex now bears his name.
Some call this spending pork, and describe it as a sign not of how well Skelos represents this area but of how politically connected he is. And if spending money was all he ever did, they would be right. But that criticism fails to acknowledge all the good Skelos has done during his two decades of lawmaking. In 1995, he authored the New York State Sex Offender Registration Act, better known as Megan-s Law. This powerful law authorizes police to notify school districts and through them, residents when a convicted sex offender moves in next door, potentially saving lives.
Skelos was also responsible for writing the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program in 1987, and expanding it in 2000, to make it easier for seniors to cover the cost of their prescription drugs. And it was Skelos who championed the repeal of the New York City commuter tax in 1999.
In a society with a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality, these measures might seem old, but it should be remembered that Skelos is no ordinary senator. He is the deputy majority leader, and does not sit as a specialist on any one committee anymore. Instead, he is an ex-officio member of all committees and chairs the Rules Committee, where final decisions on all bills are made before they are brought to a vote, whenever Majority Leader Joseph Bruno cannot attend.
But even this powerful position doesn-t keep Skelos from focusing on what-s best for his district. In the past few years, he has played a major role in attracting new high-tech companies to Long Island. These companies are making great new discoveries, and will provide high-paying jobs to help keep young people here.
Candidates facing incumbents must prove that they are better choices, and can bring at least as much to a district as their opponents. We believe Ketover is a bright, eager attorney with a future in politics. But this is not the right race for him. The focus of Ketover-s campaign against Skelos has been to promote Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi-s Fix Albany campaign. There-s no arguing that Albany is broken. And while it might seem that the easiest thing to do to fix it is to vote out all the incumbents and replace them with new blood, that is as simplistic as it is imprudent.
Skelos is a dedicated lawmaker and a caring representative. He shouldn-t be removed because he works within the existing system. It-s true that the state-s legislative process often doesn-t work, and we think one of Skelos-s priorities should be to take a major role in its reformation. But the senator has done good and continues to do good for the 9th District and the state of New York. He deserves another term, and we endorse his re-election.
