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Mostly Cloudy Candidates want to see a new, cleaner Albany
Government reform, taxes are among issues discussed in race for 15th Assembly District
Two candidates coming off losses in November have begun new campaigns for a recently vacated position in the state Assembly.
Though the winner would have to run again for a full two-year term in November, the candidates hope to make an impact in the much-maligned state Legislature.
The contenders — Democrat Matthew Meng and Republican Michael Montesano — are vying for the 15th Assembly District seat previously held by Rob Walker, who left at the beginning of the year to become new Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano’s chief deputy.
The district includes Salisbury, a portion of East Meadow, Hicksville and several communities on the North Shore in the towns of Oyster Bay and North Hempstead.
Meng, 58, of East Norwich, was defeated in the at-large race for Oyster Bay Town Council, a legislative body traditionally run by Republicans. Campaigns are not new to Meng, who also ran unsuccessfully against longtime Republican state Sen. Carl Marcellino in 2008, and for Oyster Bay town clerk in 2007.
Montesano, 55, of Glen Head, begins a fresh campaign following a strong challenge of the county Legislature’s former presiding officer, Diane Yatauro, who is now the Democratic minority leader. After a recount, Montesano lost by about 800 votes in a district that has significantly more registered Democrats.
The numbers are on Montesano’s side this time, while Meng once again faces the challenge of running in a district with a high concentration of Republicans: According to the state Board of Elections, the 15th has 36,239 registered Republicans, 28,031 registered Democrats and 20,049 who chose no party affiliation.
Montesano, an attorney with a practice in Glen Cove, is a former school board president in the North Shore School District and a former acting village justice in Roslyn Harbor. He is active in various organizations, including as leader of the Nassau County Magistrates Association. He served for several years in the New York City Police Department and as an adjunct professor at the New York Institute of Technology.
