Weisenberg wins 20th A.D. primary

Following months of campaigning and heated debates against challenger Jeff Toback in the Democratic primary race, State Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg defeated Toback, a former county legislator, 3,569 votes to 2,354.

In the 3rd Congressional District primary, longtime Republican incumbent Peter King also won easily, soaring to a 16,064-to-1,567 victory over challenger Robert Previdi with half of the precincts tallied. The district includes parts of Bellmore, Merrick, Long Beach, Seaford, Massapequa and other areas of eastern Nassau and western Suffolk counties.

Weisenberg, 76, of Long Beach, was first elected in the 20th Assembly District — which encompasses parts of Long Beach, the Five Towns and Oceanside — 21 years ago. "I've always stated that if an elected official does a good job, he'll get re-elected," he said a day after he and his supporters watched the election results at Monterey's in Long Beach. "The rewards of my job have always been the thanks that I've gotten from the people we help."

Weisenberg said that he was proud of the work he has done in Albany, including passing bills that help people with special needs and that have created tougher DWI laws.

The campaign grew heated at times, as Toback accused Weisenberg of toeing the line in Albany and not doing enough to get a "fair share" of state education aid for Long Beach schools. He also accused Weisenberg of double-dipping — collecting a pension after he retired while continuing to work as a lawmaker.

At local candidates forums and on the campaign trail, Weisenberg disputed Toback's claims, saying that he worked to restore $600 million of Governor Paterson's planned $1.4 billion in school aid cuts this year. Weisenberg also claimed that since he took office in 1989, overall state education aid to local schools has increased by 86 percent, and that he steered roughly $1 million in discretionary funds to public schools.

Weisenberg also took issue with Toback's accusations that he was bilking the state pension system, saying that he had earned his pension, was doing nothing wrong and could have retired 10 years earlier but did not.