Solages defeats Hardial in 3rd L.D. primary

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Four-time Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages emerged victorious in Tuesday’s Democratic primary race for the 3rd Legislative District, defeating his opponent Monique Hardial by a wide margin.

All told, nearly 2,400 or eight percent of the total registered Democrats in Valley Stream, Elmont and Inwood cast their votes, with Solages, from Valley Stream, garnering nearly 77 percent of the vote to Hardial’s 23.

“I would like to thank God, and the entire community of the 3rd L.D.,” Solages said in a statement. “ … We will continue to work hard for the betterment of our community of which I have a deep and profound love.”

Solages highlighted his policy priorities in his fifth term should he be re-elected. They include continuing to provide taxpayer relief, repaving roads, improving the relationship between police and community, creating a community center at Dutch Broadway Park, providing more constituent services and continuing beautification efforts in the communities and downtowns within the 3rd Legislative District.

Nassau Republicans have yet to name a candidate to run against him in November.

The primary race had been marked by acrimony, as Hardial, a longtime Elmont resident, accused Solages of bowing to party interests and lacking credentials to support women’s rights, often citing his guilty plea to a noncriminal disorderly conduct charge after his 2017 arrest for an alleged instance of domestic violence.

“We ran a positive and clean campaign,” Solages said. “Unlike my opponent whose campaign was based on attacking me personally.”

He added that Hardial had relied on a “Jim Crow” style strategy of exploiting stereotypes depicting black men as criminals. She responded, saying that her bid was aimed at holding public officials accountable to issues she contends have been left unaddressed.

“This race was about standing up for the people in our community whose complaints have fallen on deaf ears, whose taxes are too high, who are suffering from 2 times the national rate of cancer and who are sick and tired of flip-flopping career politicians who would do or say anything for a vote,” she said in a statement, adding that it was unfortunate that roughly 92 percent of registered Democratic voters in the district had stayed home.

Hardial, an attorney who has served as a prominent community activist, vowed to keep fighting for the people in her neighborhood.

“Our advocacy doesn’t end here,” she said. “This is just the beginning and we look forward to continuing to hold our elected officials accountable to the promises that they make and to the communities that they serve.”