Re-elect Vincent Muscarella in 8th Legislative District

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Vincent Muscarella, a Republican from West Hempstead, has been a member of the Nassau County Legislature since it was founded in 1996, and has been attentive to the needs of the 8th Legislative District — which encompasses Franklin Square, West Hempstead and portions of Elmont, among other communities — ever since.

Over the years, Muscarella has demonstrated that he can work across party lines to help pass legislation that benefits county residents, including prohibiting those under age 18 from getting tattoos without their parents’ permission, and restricting the sale of tobacco to minors. His attention to detail can be seen in every bill he writes, as he carefully combs through its language — and in the detailed and nuanced answers he had for every question we asked him.

If he is re-elected, we’re confident that Muscarella will continue to advocate for the needs of the communities he represents. He recognizes the district’s need to keep small businesses thriving in its various communities, and suggested reducing their taxes. In addition, he said he would like to create more transit-oriented housing and make sure that the county doesn’t cut any more Nassau Inter-County Express bus routes.

Muscarella knows well the problems the county is facing. He supports the property reassessment plan, but recognizes the needs for more transparency. That’s why he introduced legislation to ensure that the Department of Assessment answers all calls, mails tax-impact notifications to every resident and discloses the algorithm it uses to determine a property’s assessed value.

His opponent, Barbara Hafner, is also very knowledgeable about the issues. We were impressed by her ideas about reducing the rent on apartment buildings and limiting their amenities to ensure that more millennials use local businesses. Hafner also proposed making the county budget available to residents line by line, in the interest of increasing transparency.

But we believe Muscarella’s track record speaks for itself, and we encourage voters to return him to the 8th District seat on Tuesday.