Assembly district candidates speak in Hewlett

It’s our responsibility to find out as much as we can.”

Jane Thomas, LWV Port Washington

The two Democratic Party candidates vying for the Assembly District 20 seat, Anthony Eramo and Jeffrey Toback, exchanged views on several issues during a forum sponsored by the Southwest Nassau League of Women Voters (LWV) held at the Hewlett Woodmere Public Library on Aug. 30. Voters can go to the polls on Sept. 13.

Toback and Eramo answered 18 questions at the forum. They each had a three-minute opening, two-minute closing and one-minute and a half to answer each question. Both candidates were provided with up to three opportunities to respond to the other’s response. Topics of discussion included fracking, Hurricane Sandy, the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, corruption in Albany, the Working Families Party, gun control, ethics reform, the Nassau County jail and the diverse needs of their potential constituents. 

“This is to educate and inform,” Nancy Rosenthal, president of both the LWV of Southwest Nassau and Nassau County, said about holding the forum. Jane Thomas of LWV Port Washington served as the moderator for the evening. “It’s our responsibility to find out as much as we can,” she said, about the candidates and their positions on different issues.

In answering one question, Toback, emphasized, “more listening, less talking,” to understand what district residents need most. “Jeff and I share a lot of the same views, but where I will take this as a full-time job I believe is a key distinction,” Eramo said. Toback disagreed and said “term limits is the way to go” as one method to help reduce corruption in the state legislature.

“I think it’s terrific that the League of Women Voters sponsors this forum,” said Dan Plaut, of Cedarhurst. “I’ve become, through his actions, a fan of Jeff Toback.” Plaut believes Toback went “way beyond the call of duty” as a Nassau County legislator from 1999 to 2009. 

“I know Jeff Toback, I didn’t know the other person so I got a feel for him,” said Atlantic Beach resident Sybil Licht.

The assembly seat became open after Todd Kaminsky defeated Chris McGrath in a special election for the state senate seat vacated by Dean Skelos after his corruption conviction. The winner of Toback vs. Eramo will face Republican candidate Missy Miller. Joseph R. Naham is running on the Green Party line. The term is two years.

The district consists of Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Inwood, Lawrence, Woodmere, Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, Lido Beach, Oceanside, Island Park, Point Lookout and parts of East Rockaway. 

For more information on where to vote, how to register, what candidates are on the ballot in your district and what some of their positions are, visit vote411.org. For more about the  LWV of Southwest Nassau, visit Eager Leaguers — League of Women Voters of Southwest Nassau on Facebook.