Election 2012

15th Assembly District endorsement — Montesano

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Mike Montesano, of Glen Head, is running for re-election in the 15th Assembly District against first-time challenger Mario Ferone, of Plainview.

The two men offer very different perspectives. Montesano, 58, has a decade of experience in the New York Police Department and has also practiced law for more than 20 years. He has served the 15th District for the past three years.

Ferone, who’s all of 19, is studying political science and economics in his third year at Stony Brook University.

The bottom line is experience. As an Assemblyman, Montesano has supported legislation to spark job growth in New York state. His priorities are to reduce taxes on small businesses and to put an end to state-issued unfunded mandates to ease the tax burden on municipalities. His plan to enact a three-year moratorium on unfunded mandates may be easier said than done, but is still a very admirable goal.

Montesano seems determined to limit rising property taxes, and has pinpointed ways to do so. Ferone, on the other hand, approaches issues with an idealistic approach and on a more general scope.

Ferone is a member of Stony Brook’s undergraduate student government, and he may indeed have a better grasp on what younger people are thinking. But we think Montesano’s experience and track record have earned him another term in the Assembly, and that is why the Herald is enthusiastically endorsing him.