Nassau Republicans Win Big In 2009 Election

It’s a tough order when you ask for three terms. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg barely eked out a win, and as of 1 A.M. Wednesday morning, the biggest race in Nassau County was still up for grabs by about 250 votes. As of press time, Suozzi holds a 118,111 - 117,874 vote lead over Mangano. It could be said that the 2009 Election in Nassau could be viewed as more a referendum on incumbent Tom Suozzi (D - Glen Cove) than a vote for Ed Mangano (R - Bethpage) simply because of Suozzi’s eight-years as County Executive and Mangano being little known outside of the 17th Legislative District.

“This is a tough time to be an incumbent,” said Suozzi around 11 P.M. Tuesday night, just after Nassau Democratic chair Wayne Wink announced that his party would lose control of Legislature. It is the first time in almost a decade that Republicans control the County Legislature with a 10-9 majority. “I like the way they do things,” said one conservative-voting senior. “We need a change, things have been getting very bad in Nassau County,” said one woman who voted for Mangano. Republicans have promised to be more fiscally responsible and repeal a 2.5 percent home energy tax.

When asked if there was any one specific topic that brought them out to the polls, voters did not zero in on a specific issue such as taxes, instead simply voting the party line. “You’re working against yourself,” commented a registered Democratic woman on if she considered splitting her vote in some races. “We’re trying to rebuild (Nassau County), it’s so expensive, nobody can stay anymore.”

In local races, incumbent County Legislator Judi Bosworth (D) was reelected to the Tenth District seat with 7,158 votes over challenger Garry Stark’s (R) 4,308. Ninth District Legislator Richard Nicolello (R) defeated challenger Dolores Sedacca (D)9,095 - 4,148 votes. “I know him better,” was an elderly woman’s statement when asked why she voted for Nicolello in his hometown of New Hyde Park. Outside the polling station at the New Hyde Park Village Hall, turnout was expectedly light during the afternoon, with many more Republicans showing than Democratic voters. “He’s just a neighborhood person, he comes around a lot, he seems like he does a great job,” added another woman of Nicolello, who pulled the lever for all GOP members save for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice (D). Rice won her contest with 54% of the vote against 46-percent for challenger Joy Watson (R). In the Supreme Court contest, it appeared that former Herricks

Trustee David Goodsell has lost his seat on the 10th District bench, finishing out of the top six candidates with 174,853 votes. Goodsell finished out of the top-six by about 47,000 votes.

Supervisor Jon Kaiman (D) won a fourth term in the Town of North Hempstead, , handily beating Republican challenger Lee Tu by almost 3,000 votes, 20-333 - 17,600. Republicans did not make any inroads into the Town Board as all the incumbents were reelected as Lee Seeman defeated Louis Chisari 3,758 votes to 2,626. Councilman Angelo Ferrara remains the only Republican on the Board, defeating Matthew Palakunnathu 4,503 votes to 2,009. Robert Troiano left his post as Town Councilman for the First District, and was elected to the Nassau Legislature with 74-percent of the vote. Taking his place will be Viviana Russell, who beat out Republican Karin Campbell with a 918-vote margin, 2,989-2,071. Also, North Hempstead Town Clerk Leslie Gross fended off Jon Wicks 56-percent to 44-percent.

Meanwhile over at the County Democratic headquarters in Uniondale, Suozzi was calling for a recount in his own race. Throughout the course of the night, Suozzi and Mangano had been jockeying for first, with leads changing several times. With dozens of absentee ballots left to be counted, and the potential for a protracted recount with a number of voting machines reportedly impounded, it could potentially be weeks or even months until the contest is certified. One Democrat was overheard summing up the situation as “it’s hanging chads all over again.”