Lisa Daniels is the choice in L.D. 7

In 2013, Democrat Lisa Daniels challenged Republican County Legislator Howard Kopel when he was running for a second term. Fast-forward to 2021 and Kopel, now the Legislature’s deputy presiding officer, is running for a seventh two-year term.

We think it’s time for a change, especially with redistricting right around the corner.

Daniels, a lawyer and a career advocate, promises to listen and represent the entire district. We like her idea of having residents involved in planning as part of a community-oriented advisory board to help ensure that the people who live in the immediate area of a project could enhance their quality of life.

Daniels supports the balanced budgets put forth by County Executive Laura Curran and $375 direct payments to help families. She believes the reassessment grievance system is tilted in favor of people with the wherewithal to hire others to represent them. She likes the online system Curran put in place for everyone to compare homes and submit appraisals to try to lower their assessments.

What has changed in the district? Residents from Hewlett to Cedarhurst are still waiting for the West Broadway project, first discussed in 2015. Kopel, a Lawrence resident, appears to concentrate his representation in the Five Towns, while other areas of the district, such as Oceanside, are ignored.

In 2014, Kopel began a campaign in partnership with then State Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder to persuade the state to complete the Nassau Expressway and build a bypass to reduce the traffic volume along the Rockaway Turnpike-Rockaway Boulevard corridor. It’s a great idea, but it’s not in a county legislator’s purview.

In 2013, when the Legislature was conducting redistricting, Kopel cast the deciding vote to split the Five Towns into four districts. He said that if changes had to be made, the fewer the better. Dividing one district into four isn’t fewer.

Daniels does not have any elected government experience, but neither did Kopel when he first was elected in 2009. District 7 needs a new face, and we urge residents to vote for Daniels.