Nassau Democrats celebrate historic victories

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“I think there’s nothing more important than restoring trust in our elected officials,” said Jay Jacobs, the Democratic chairman of Nassau County, as he joined with County Executive-elect Laura Curran and newly elected officials on the steps of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building on Wednesday afternoon.

Jacobs spoke at a news conference in honor of the Democratic victories this election cycle, which include Curran, who will become the county’s first female executive, Laura Gillen, who will be the first Democratic supervisor for the Town of Hempstead in over a century, 23-year old Joshua Lafazan, who will be the youngest elected official in the county’s legislature, Jack Schnirman, who will be the county’s new comptroller and Sylvia Cabana, who will be Hempstead’s new clerk.

Curran spoke about her priorities: restoring the county’s contracting process, fostering a bipartisan legislature and finding common ground when it comes to the creation of an independent inspector general post. “The issues facing our county aren’t Democratic or Republican issues,” she said. “They’re Nassau issues.”

While Hempstead’s board is still predominantly Republican, Gillen said that she is confident that the dynamic will be “far more civil” and “far more inclusive” than it was under outgoing Supervisor Anthony Santino, adding that she intends on making all decisions with input from her board. “This shouldn’t be a one-person show,” she said. “It should be a collaborative effort.”