County Democrats, Republicans kick off campaigns

Republicans
Nassau County Republicans kicked off their fight against the Democrats on May 24 at Wisdom Lane Middle School in Levittown.

With the exception of one, all Democrat-filled seats on the county Legislature will face challenges from Republican candidates come election time in the fall.

Rodney McRae, of Roosevelt, will challenge Kevan Abrahams for the 1st Legislative District seat, which represents part of Baldwin. Rockville Centre resident Christian Browne will challenge Joseph Scannell in LD 5, which includes parts of Rockville Centre, Baldwin and Lakeview. Fred Jones, of Merrick, will challenge David Denenberg, also of Merrick, for the LD 19 seat, which represents parts of Bellmore and Merrick. A challenger for Robert Toiano in LD 2, which includes parts of West Hempstead and Lakeview, has yet to be determined.

Each of the Republicans currently in office will run again for their Legislative seats.

Democrats
Late last month, the Nassau County Democratic Committee nominated its candidates to run for the Nassau County Legislature, offering up a slate of incumbents and challengers eager to wrestle control away from the Republican majority.

Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman led the nominations, criticizing the Republican majority for many things, including the proposed redistricting maps, which the Democrats saw as a ploy to get rid of a Democratic seat on the Legislature.

“Ten years ago, we had an opportunity to reshape the maps,” Kaiman told the crowd at the Cradle of Aviation Museum. “And we didn’t even consider doing that to the Republicans.”

On the Democrats’ slate that represent the South Shore are incumbents Kevan Abrahams (District 1), Joseph Scannell, (District 5) and David Denenberg (District 19).

The slate also includes a slew of Democratic challengers. Robert Troiano (District 2), Carrie Solages (District 3), Darlene Tangney (District 4), Anthony Gonzalez (District 6), Scott Milano (District 8) and Joseph Spinola (District 13) will all be challenging Republican incumbents. The party has yet to select a candidate to challenge Republican Howard Kopel in District 7.

“[I] know a little bit about public safety,” said Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a Democrat, who spoke at the nominating convention. “And that isn’t just putting bad people in jail. It’s about making communities safe for children, for economic development, for families. And I can tell you that the Democratic Party, those are our ideals. And in order to keep the public safe, we need a Democratic majority in our legislature. And this is the year we’re going to take it back with these great candidates.”