By Dana Williams
Corbin, Lopez go head to head
Lakeview resident hopes to oust incumbent
By Dana Williams
The race for legislator in Nassau County's 2nd District pits Democratic incumbent Roger Corbin, a Westbury resident who is in his sixth term in the Legislature, against Republican challenger Darrol Lopez. This is Lopez's first campaign for elected office.
The two candidates are vying for the seat that represents Lakeview, Rockville Centre, West Hempstead, Uniondale, Hempstead, Hicksville, Old Westbury, New Cassel, Westbury, East Meadow and parts of East Garden City.
Corbin, 61, said he plans to continue his efforts to lower taxes if he is re-elected to another two-year term. He said he played an instrumental role in the passage of a bill that provided a partial tax exemption for qualified first-time home buyers in the county. "We need to make Long Island affordable," he said.
One way Corbin plans to reduce taxes is by supporting the consolidation of special districts. "It costs so much to live on Long Island because of these different governments," he said. "We have all of these independent districts, and it's just wasteful spending." Corbin is also supports consolidating school districts. "One school district in Nassau County is one way that we can lower the taxes," he said. "We need to work harder to spend less money."
Among Corbin's priorities, he said, is devoting more attention to economic development. He said he believes that bringing more businesses to Hempstead and West Hempstead will help the county grow. Right now, he contends, the county is stagnant.
Improving residents' health care is also on Corbin's list of top priorities. He wants to improve and expand hospitals throughout the county in order to help people avoid waiting hours before they receive medical attention. "We need to bring our hospitals up to speed so we can make sure that every resident in this county has the opportunity to get quality health care," he said.
Corbin has devoted many years to public service. He served as deputy town leader of North Hempstead in 1991, he has been a zone leader in Westbury and he was a member of the original Charter Revision Committee in 1994. The committee was instrumental in establishing the foundation for the Nassau County Legislature.
For his part, Lopez said that if he is elected, he wants to pass legislation that makes senior citizens' lives more affordable. "We need to come up with a better formula that makes sure that based on what senior citizens make, they pay less tax than the general public," Lopez explained. "We need to come up with a better formula for our seniors than what is happening on the state level with the STAR and Enhanced STAR programs."
Lopez, 42, a lifelong Lakeview resident, said he is hoping to bring changes that he believes are overdue in the 2nd District. "This district needs a leader that is not afraid to come into the communities and walk around, so that the county knows exactly what's going on [here]," he said. "You have to have perspective."
For the past 10 years, Lopez has been the deputy commissioner of the Town of Hempstead's Highway Department. His experience with town projects will help him better serve residents in the district, he said. In areas such as Hempstead, he explained, more attention needs to be given to rebuilding roads and infrastructure.
Lopez is also in favor of bringing national retailers, which he calls anchor businesses, to areas that need more productive business districts.
Both candidates boast long records of community activism. Corbin, a Westbury High School graduate, is a member of the county's Minority Affairs, Town and Villages and Finance Committees. As a member of the NAACP, he said he has been a voice for minority concerns in the county government since his first term. In 1995, Corbin became the first black Democrat to be elected to the Legislature.
Lopez's list of community activities includes being a member of the NAACP's Lakeview Branch as well as a basketball and tennis coach at Malverne High School. Whether it's sports or educational programs, Lopez, a graduate of Malverne High School, said he wants to create more community-based programs for kids. He contends that this initiative is a necessity in combating problems such as gang violence.
"Kids need to have something positive to do," Lopez said. "A lot of problems that you see with the kids begin because these kids have nothing to do after school." Having programs for kids in all four seasons rather than just summer basketball tournaments, for example, is something Lopez said he would work to implement as the district's legislator.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
