Primary will determine Kemp Hannon's Democratic challenger

In Tuesday’s primary, two Democratic candidates are seeking the chance to challenge longtime Republican Sen. Kemp Hannon on Election Day in November.

The Nassau County Democratic Party gave the nod to Dave Mejias, a former county legislator from Farmingdale. He faces Francesca Carlow, a Plainview business leader who is running for political office for the first time.

Mejias served three terms in the county Legislature, until he lost to Republican Joseph Belisi last November.

Carlow, of Plainview, was the president of the Plainview Chamber of Commerce for seven years and is currently vice president of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce.

Though Mejias was arrested on Sept. 1 and charged with stalking an ex-girlfriend, he insisted he would be exonerated. At press time, he remained in the primary.

Dave Mejias

To Mejias’s way of thinking, the state’s fiscal and governing failures are a result of many poor decisions and flawed processes. He noted that, unlike other states, New York does not formulate long-term budget and capital plans. He also blames the thousands of authorities across the state, as well as Medicaid fraud and abuse, and tax evaders.

“The government is so broken and there are so many things wrong with state government that it’s not about what one thing you can do,” Mejias said.

He said that New York’s campaign financing laws need to be reformed, and that politicians take campaign funds for personal use. He compared the system to the Wild West.

As for redistricting state government, which is set to occur in the next Legislative term, Mejias said it needs to become an independent, non-partisan process. “These guys draw lines to win re-election every year,” he said. “This is really a threat to our democracy.”

He called property taxes one of the top problems raised by residents. Mejias blames longtime politicians, specifically Hannon, for being in the majority for several years while taxes increased. He stressed the importance of local representatives’ fighting for a fair share of taxes and putting an end to unfunded mandates that hurt school districts.

His past reveals that he is not afraid to go against the intentions of his own party, Mejias said. In 2008 he opposed a proposed pay raise for members of his majority party in the county Legislature. “We need somebody to stand up and say, ‘Let’s do what’s right and not just follow the party line,’” he said.

He added that he would have voted against the much-maligned Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax, which charges businesses in Nassau County a percentage of their payroll and was passed by the state last year as part of a financial bailout for the struggling MTA.

Mejias also stressed the importance of encouraging job growth on Long Island. He said that economic conditions need to be more favorable for businesses for them to move here and create jobs for Long Islanders. He said he supports smart-growth projects, and wants to see the Lighthouse built at the Hub.

“We pay the highest school taxes in America to educate the smartest young people in the country, and they leave,” he said. “We are subsidizing the work force for the rest of the nation, and we haven’t done anything about it.”

Francesca Carlow

Carlow explained that the state’s situation will improve when corrupt politicians with special interests are weeded out of the system. “Nobody has the strength to stand up to them and say enough is enough,” she said. Asked if she would have voted against the MTA tax, she said, “I don’t feel it, I know it!”

Carlow, who owns Trio Hardware in Plainview with her husband, Bruce, said her decision to run was based on her frustration with candidates she considers “career politicians.” She considers Mejias and Hannon two examples of that.

“When I heard that they were going with a career politician, someone who doesn’t speak for the people of the 6th District,” she said, “I felt I could not sit back and watch the dysfunction and corruption that has absolutely infiltrated every position.”

Carlow said she supports the imposition of term limits for state lawmakers, a maximum of five two-year terms. She also called for the creation of an independent commission for the redistricting process. As for delayed state budgets, Carlow said that every day the budget is late, legislators should be required to forfeit their salaries and donate them to the programs being impacted.

“We need to have new blood, not someone who’s padding contracts constantly,” she said. “This is the most corrupt system.”

Regarding her own intentions, she said, “The thing I feel the best about is that I’m not beholden to anyone. I’m beholden only to the people of Nassau County. I don’t have any agenda except to serve them and help Nassau County establish itself as a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. I want the young people to come back here, not to move down to South Carolina and beyond.”

Carlow emphasized the importance of generating higher-paying jobs on Long Island and fighting for Long Island’s fair share of taxes from Albany. “We have gotten so far away from any manufacturing, any biotechnology-related, good-paying jobs back here on Long Island,” she said. “We have the brain power, we have the universities, we have the core here. We are on the threshold of being unsustainable in the way we’re going.”

For more from Mejias and Carlow, and for coverage of local elections, visit LIHerald.com.