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Kopel takes on Toback in 7th L.D.
Businessman seeks to derail incumbent's bid for fifth term
By JOSEPH KELLARD and MIKE CAPUTO
In Nassau County, taxes are a hot-button issue that is "talked to death."
So say both Jeff Toback, a Democrat who for the past eight years has held Nassau County's 7th Legislative District seat, and Howard Kopel, his Republican challenger. But while both candidates agree that taxes are the top concern among most constituents, they differ on what should be done about them.
Toback supports Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi's efforts to present a budget with no tax increase for a fifth consecutive year, but Kopel says this plan will produce large deficits. "They're saying no more deficits, no taxes," said Kopel, a businessman and 20-year Lawrence resident. "Well, is that magic? I don't think it's magic, I think it's dishonesty."
Toback said he would rather have had small tax increases "on a relatively regular basis," and that over the past four years there were occasions he would have voted to raise taxes.
"Unfortunately, there's not enough elected officials around here who are willing to look the taxpayer in the eye and say we need another 2 percent, we need to hire more cops, or that our addiction rate is getting worse and we need to fund more drug and alcohol programs," Toback said.
The incumbent also favors spending more for youth and mental health programs, and he sees no areas for substantial budgetary reductions.
Kopel calls Toback's fiscal practices "shocking" and "unacceptable." "It's your job to go back and look at it more carefully," Kopel said. "There's always something you can do."
What spending cuts would Kopel propose if he were elected? He points to patronage spending. "Do we need to go from two parks commissioners to seven?" he asked. "I don't think so. It's wasteful."
An attorney and chief executive officer of the Valley Stream-based Sutton Alliance, a provider of real estate transaction services, Kopel has no political experience, but he highlights his business background as grounds to govern effectively. He favors "zero-based budgeting," calling it a business concept that he said takes a broader view of budgets than is typical of annual government budgeting. Kopel does favor spending more in areas such as policing and roads.
"But after that, I think things become optional," he said, "and you have to spend according to what you have and not necessarily toward what you would like."
Meanwhile, Toback favors Sen. Dean Skelos's proposal to have all new public school teachers paid through the state budget. "Skelos's proposal is a way to bring real tax relief," Toback said.
Toback would like to see the towns take over tax assessments. While the number of homeowners challenging their assessments continues to grow, Toback maintains that the system is nevertheless better now than before assessments began. He believes the main problem is that Nassau is the only county in New York that assesses at the county level, and that the assessing jurisdiction here is too large for that. "The county should get out of the assessment business and let the towns do it, and it will be a much more equitable situation," he said.
His challenger joins other Republicans who see merit in freezing the assessments for five years rather than doing them annually. "It doesn't mean that somewhere during that five-year freeze you can't step up and say, 'Look here's our budget, here's our taxes,'" Kopel said.
But Toback calls the proposed five-year freeze a political gimmick. "It sounds great, but you don't even have to look far into the details to know that it's just garbage," he said.
If Kopel were to defeat Toback on Election Day, Nov. 6, the balance of power could shift in the county Legislature, where the Democrats hold a narrow 10-9 advantage. In 2005, Toback defeated Lawrence resident Jeff Katz in a close, hotly contested race to win a fourth term in the 7th District, which includes the Five Towns and portions of Valley Stream, Oceanside, Island Park and East Rockaway.
In that race, policing was a hot topic, and the issue of home invasions drew much attention. In recent months, however, bias-related incidents in Oceanside and the Five Towns have become more prominent.
Toback said that he was meeting with police in Woodmere about security just before the Jewish holidays, when swastikas were spray-painted on two temples in Oceanside. An arrest has been made in that case. In addition, a 17-year-old girl calling herself an "agnostic Nazi" was arrested and charged with attacking three Orthodox Jewish girls in Cedarhurst, and two teenagers were charged with covering the golf course at Inwood Country Club with swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs.
"I think that points to the police being very in tune to it," Toback said of the arrests.
He noted that the county is budgeting for 2,750 police officers by next summer, an increase of 250 over four years ago, but said that due to contractual obligations, most will be hired to augment units such as robbery and detective squads, not necessarily for more cars patrolling the streets. Toback said that if more officers are assigned to the 4th Precinct, they will be wearing plainclothes and not patrolling in cars. "You won't know they're there unless they're arresting you," he said.
These officers are already in areas such as Island Park, where, Toback said, he is using some of his discretionary funds to help the village purchase surveillance cameras for its downtown.
Despite the legislator's claim that crime is down in the 4th Precinct, Kopel said he believes Toback has not focused enough on policing. As an example, he points to Toback's Tobacco 19 legislation, which raised the age at which teens can purchase tobacco products from 18 to 19 - a bill Toback cites as among his best accomplishments since he was last elected.
"You've accomplished nothing substantive here, and you've also criminalized people who are going to be doing what they're doing regardless," Kopel said. "Yes, get more police and bust the people who are doing things they ought not to be doing based on the laws already on the books, but stop passing laws that accomplish nothing."
On another hot topic, consolidation, Suozzi last month announced a deal to consolidate four sewage districts - including Lawrence and Cedarhurst - within the county's system. Both Toback and Kopel support efforts to eliminate special taxing districts and consolidate services at the county level. Toback estimated that the sewage consolidation would save Lawrence and Cedarhurst about $20 million in operating costs.
"I'm proud that the first real consolidation is taking place in my district," Toback said. "It is hard to believe people would want to pay more for their services."
Although Kopel enjoys the services provided by special districts, namely his sanitary district, he agrees that something needs to be done. "As much as I like local control, it is wasteful," he said. "My sanitary services are generally satisfactory, but that doesn't mean that every block has to have its own sanitation department."
One issue that Toback admits he could have done better on is the future of the Five Towns Community Center, a longtime provider of social services in the Inwood/North Lawrence community. The center's existence was in question after the county began entertaining bids for the Inwood property from private entities. Once Toback informed the center of the news, however, officials and supporters quickly campaigned to stop its potential sale.
Saying his plan was to bring in a "partner" to share a more modernized facility, Toback admitted the decision was "miscalculated" based on the level of distrust from the center's supporters. Now the county is negotiating with community center officials to give them the building with a funding source, Toback said.
Kopel noted the importance of the center's programs to the community, and suggested that the county intended to quietly sell the facility. "I think things need to not be done in the middle of the night," he said.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
Businessman seeks to derail incumbent's bid for fifth term
By JOSEPH KELLARD and MIKE CAPUTO
In Nassau County, taxes are a hot-button issue that is "talked to death."
So say both Jeff Toback, a Democrat who for the past eight years has held Nassau County's 7th Legislative District seat, and Howard Kopel, his Republican challenger. But while both candidates agree that taxes are the top concern among most constituents, they differ on what should be done about them.
Toback supports Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi's efforts to present a budget with no tax increase for a fifth consecutive year, but Kopel says this plan will produce large deficits. "They're saying no more deficits, no taxes," said Kopel, a businessman and 20-year Lawrence resident. "Well, is that magic? I don't think it's magic, I think it's dishonesty."
Toback said he would rather have had small tax increases "on a relatively regular basis," and that over the past four years there were occasions he would have voted to raise taxes.
"Unfortunately, there's not enough elected officials around here who are willing to look the taxpayer in the eye and say we need another 2 percent, we need to hire more cops, or that our addiction rate is getting worse and we need to fund more drug and alcohol programs," Toback said.
The incumbent also favors spending more for youth and mental health programs, and he sees no areas for substantial budgetary reductions.
Kopel calls Toback's fiscal practices "shocking" and "unacceptable." "It's your job to go back and look at it more carefully," Kopel said. "There's always something you can do."
What spending cuts would Kopel propose if he were elected? He points to patronage spending. "Do we need to go from two parks commissioners to seven?" he asked. "I don't think so. It's wasteful."
An attorney and chief executive officer of the Valley Stream-based Sutton Alliance, a provider of real estate transaction services, Kopel has no political experience, but he highlights his business background as grounds to govern effectively. He favors "zero-based budgeting," calling it a business concept that he said takes a broader view of budgets than is typical of annual government budgeting. Kopel does favor spending more in areas such as policing and roads.
"But after that, I think things become optional," he said, "and you have to spend according to what you have and not necessarily toward what you would like."
Meanwhile, Toback favors Sen. Dean Skelos's proposal to have all new public school teachers paid through the state budget. "Skelos's proposal is a way to bring real tax relief," Toback said.
Toback would like to see the towns take over tax assessments. While the number of homeowners challenging their assessments continues to grow, Toback maintains that the system is nevertheless better now than before assessments began. He believes the main problem is that Nassau is the only county in New York that assesses at the county level, and that the assessing jurisdiction here is too large for that. "The county should get out of the assessment business and let the towns do it, and it will be a much more equitable situation," he said.
His challenger joins other Republicans who see merit in freezing the assessments for five years rather than doing them annually. "It doesn't mean that somewhere during that five-year freeze you can't step up and say, 'Look here's our budget, here's our taxes,'" Kopel said.
But Toback calls the proposed five-year freeze a political gimmick. "It sounds great, but you don't even have to look far into the details to know that it's just garbage," he said.
If Kopel were to defeat Toback on Election Day, Nov. 6, the balance of power could shift in the county Legislature, where the Democrats hold a narrow 10-9 advantage. In 2005, Toback defeated Lawrence resident Jeff Katz in a close, hotly contested race to win a fourth term in the 7th District, which includes the Five Towns and portions of Valley Stream, Oceanside, Island Park and East Rockaway.
In that race, policing was a hot topic, and the issue of home invasions drew much attention. In recent months, however, bias-related incidents in Oceanside and the Five Towns have become more prominent.
Toback said that he was meeting with police in Woodmere about security just before the Jewish holidays, when swastikas were spray-painted on two temples in Oceanside. An arrest has been made in that case. In addition, a 17-year-old girl calling herself an "agnostic Nazi" was arrested and charged with attacking three Orthodox Jewish girls in Cedarhurst, and two teenagers were charged with covering the golf course at Inwood Country Club with swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs.
"I think that points to the police being very in tune to it," Toback said of the arrests.
He noted that the county is budgeting for 2,750 police officers by next summer, an increase of 250 over four years ago, but said that due to contractual obligations, most will be hired to augment units such as robbery and detective squads, not necessarily for more cars patrolling the streets. Toback said that if more officers are assigned to the 4th Precinct, they will be wearing plainclothes and not patrolling in cars. "You won't know they're there unless they're arresting you," he said.
These officers are already in areas such as Island Park, where, Toback said, he is using some of his discretionary funds to help the village purchase surveillance cameras for its downtown.
Despite the legislator's claim that crime is down in the 4th Precinct, Kopel said he believes Toback has not focused enough on policing. As an example, he points to Toback's Tobacco 19 legislation, which raised the age at which teens can purchase tobacco products from 18 to 19 - a bill Toback cites as among his best accomplishments since he was last elected.
"You've accomplished nothing substantive here, and you've also criminalized people who are going to be doing what they're doing regardless," Kopel said. "Yes, get more police and bust the people who are doing things they ought not to be doing based on the laws already on the books, but stop passing laws that accomplish nothing."
On another hot topic, consolidation, Suozzi last month announced a deal to consolidate four sewage districts - including Lawrence and Cedarhurst - within the county's system. Both Toback and Kopel support efforts to eliminate special taxing districts and consolidate services at the county level. Toback estimated that the sewage consolidation would save Lawrence and Cedarhurst about $20 million in operating costs.
"I'm proud that the first real consolidation is taking place in my district," Toback said. "It is hard to believe people would want to pay more for their services."
Although Kopel enjoys the services provided by special districts, namely his sanitary district, he agrees that something needs to be done. "As much as I like local control, it is wasteful," he said. "My sanitary services are generally satisfactory, but that doesn't mean that every block has to have its own sanitation department."
One issue that Toback admits he could have done better on is the future of the Five Towns Community Center, a longtime provider of social services in the Inwood/North Lawrence community. The center's existence was in question after the county began entertaining bids for the Inwood property from private entities. Once Toback informed the center of the news, however, officials and supporters quickly campaigned to stop its potential sale.
Saying his plan was to bring in a "partner" to share a more modernized facility, Toback admitted the decision was "miscalculated" based on the level of distrust from the center's supporters. Now the county is negotiating with community center officials to give them the building with a funding source, Toback said.
Kopel noted the importance of the center's programs to the community, and suggested that the county intended to quietly sell the facility. "I think things need to not be done in the middle of the night," he said.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
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