9th Senate District endorsement — Skelos

All endorsements boil down to one question: who do we think will represent the people best? In the race for the 9th State Senate District, there’s no contest.

Dean Skelos, a Republican and the current majority leader of the Senate, is running for his 15th term against Democratic challenger Thomas Feffer. But calling Feffer a “challenger” is a bit of an overstatement. The 24-year-old intern for the Nassau County Democratic Committee has not campaigned at all and has not been available to answer any questions. He seems more like a sacrificial lamb than a true candidate.

Skelos is obviously the right choice for the 9th District. During his tenure as majority leader, the state government has actually functioned, something that seemed an unobtainable dream just a few years ago. Not only were the last two state budgets passed on time (something that hadn’t happened in decades before), but they were passed early. Skelos helped to eliminate a $13 billion deficit without raising state taxes.

Having the majority leader be from our district also has many perks, the least of which is more money to the district. Skelos was able to award many school districts bullet aid this year, adding a little more money to their coffers.

We still hope that Albany will one day change and no longer be run by the “three men in a room.” But until that happens, it’s important that Long Island has a voice in that room to speak up for our unique needs. It’s even better that the voice is the representative of our own district.

It is for these reasons and more that the Herald endorses Dean Skelos.