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This is one of a number of outrageous stories that are going on all over the south shore of Nassau County. I attended rallys against the "earth movement exclusion" and am cautiously optimistic about the program announced by Governor Cuomo last week. I know the Weiss family, and the Bauer family, whose story was told in the Herald papers weeks ago. The toll taken on these families is unimaginable and it is shocking that the federal government can send billions of dollars overseas to prop up governments in Egypt, Libya and other nations run by people who would destroy America if they had the chance, yet that same government will actively deny American families the relief they need to recover from a catastrophic natural event like Superstorm Sandy.

This should be a wake-up call to elected officials at every level of government that our priorities are terribly out of whack and that reforms are needed to compel thorough oversight of claims handling by banks, insurance companies and FEMA and to hold individuals within these companies/agencies responsible for unnecessary delays and unfair practices in denying homeowners the relief that they paid for.

Your elected officials should be held accountable as well. We don't need phony solutions to problems that look appealing on the surface, yet accomplish nothing in real life. One such example is Legislator Denenberg's "Sandy Bill" which purported to require banks and insurance companies to process Sandy-related claims faster. Unfortunately for homeowners, the bill accomplished nothing other than getting the Legislator some good press. He was and is well aware that Nassau County does not have the jurisdiction to regulate banks and insurance companies, and rather than working with state and federal officials who would have the power to make such changes and actually help affected homeowners, Denenberg introduced a bill that, from the start, had no chance of helping anything other than his own chances at re-election.

I would urge voters and the Herald to look past the image and public persona of elected officials and objectively analyze those candidates whose ideas are actually protecting middle-class families and improving our communities, and those whose record of high taxes, high spending and empty promises are making it harder for the average person to live, work and raise a family here in Nassau County. The issues facing Nassau County are too important to continue to support officials whose primary function is re-election, rather than coming up with real solutions.

Steve Rhoads

From: A year after Superstorm Sandy, still homeless in Bellmore

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