Missy Miller is GOP’s Assembly pick

Atlantic Beach woman has advocacy skills

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Atlantic Beach Mayor George Pappas has known fellow village resident Missy Miller for more than 25 years. He knows the grief Missy and her husband, Brandon, suffered when they lost a daughter, Melanie, and the ongoing challenge of caring for their son, Oliver, who suffered a stroke at birth, is blind and endures severe daily seizures.

Miller was chosen last week by Nassau County Republicans to be their candidate in the 20th Assembly District election. Pappas said he believes that Miller, a lifelong Atlantic Beach resident, could be a successful legislator. “She has the desire to get things done the right way,” said Pappas, a fellow Republican. “She is a very bright woman who will be a really good advocate for all the people throughout the district. We’re lucky to have her. I’m all in with support for her.”

Miller, 52, has spent the better part of the past three years advocating for the legalization of medicinal marijuana, which has been used to successfully treat people who suffer from several maladies, including seizures like her son’s. Oliver, 16, attends Lawrence High School.

“I was approached [by the party] about a month ago, and I said, ‘How would I do that with taking care of Oliver?’ and they asked me to consider it,” Miller said. “I talked it over with my family, and it’s a better opportunity to make a difference. Between my oldest daughter and Oliver, I’ve been advocating in many ways.”

Miller and her husband grew up together, and have been married for 27 years. Their daughter Katy, 21, just earned her associate’s degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Melanie died of a rare neurodegenerative disease in 1997, at age 7.

Miller has volunteered in a pediatric residency-training program through Northwell Health (formerly the North Shore/LIJ Health System) for more than 20 years, and helped create music and adaptive phys. ed. programs for students enrolled in Lawrence High School’s Life Skills program, who include Oliver. She was named a New York state Woman of Distinction last year.

“These days we could all use a hero in a position of leadership,” said Lawrence Superintendent Gary Schall, who worked with Miller on the Life Skills program and on bringing Oliver to the high school. He had attended a BOCES program outside the school district. “Missy Miller is such a hero,” Schall added. “She is someone we could all look up to for her inner fortitude, positive spirit and her ability to overcome life’s challenges.”

Miller said that having done what she has for her children gives her a different perspective. “One of the things I have learned as the parent of a special-needs child is you can do whatever you put your mind to and make it work,” she said.

Pappas, who is also the superintendent of Sanitary District 1, which collects trash and recyclables in the Five Towns, said that Miller’s advocacy experience would help her be an effective representative. “She has been involved in the legislative process on numerous trips to Albany, knows the process and the culture, and understands what it takes to get things done,” he said. “She was on one side, and now she can help people from the other side. I see her commitment to everybody.”

Meanwhile, Nassau County Democrats nominated Anthony Eramo, the vice president of the Long Beach City Council, at the party’s convention at the Cradle of Aviation in Garden City on May 25. And former County Legislator Jeff Toback, a Democrat, also from Long Beach, has announced his intention to run as well.

“We welcome Missy to this race,” said Matthew Rey, an Eramo campaign spokesman, “and look forward to talking to voters about Anthony’s history of standing up for the South Shore and his plan to stand up for the middle class and deliver the funding our schools need.”

Toback, who challenged now retired Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg in a Democratic primary two years ago, said, “While I welcome Missy Miller’s entry into the race, I’m focused right now on connecting with voters with the goal of winning the Democratic primary Sept. 13.”

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