In the race for Nassau County Legislature District 11 between the incumbent, Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, and her opponent, John Stalzer, the difference comes down to experience and knowledge of the community.
DeRiggi-Whitton, who is running on the Democratic line, and Stalzer, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, offer similar views on the need to keep development in the hands of local officials.
Both cited fiscal responsibility as goals.
And both DeRiggi-Whitton and Stalzer, who is an environmental scientist for PSEG Long Island, list the environment as a top priority in representing a district comprised of all of Port Washington, Flower Hill, Roslyn, Roslyn Harbor, Sea Cliff, Glenwood Landing, and Glen Cove.
DeRiggi-Whitton was even the lone county legislator to vote against the Sands Las Vegas agreement with Nassau that allows it to build a casino on the site of the Nassau Coliseum, citing traffic and addiction concerns.
DeRiggi-Whitton has a granular knowledge of her community and the Legislature.
She has served the district for 12 years and is now seeking her seventh term in the county Legislature. She served on the Glen Cove City Council before that and is the daughter of former Glen Cove Mayor Donald DeRiggi.
Stalzer said his government experience has centered around village governments, including more than 10 years as Sea Cliff’s chair of the environmental commission. None were elective positions.
Another important difference between the two is party affiliation.
Both the executive branch and the Legislature are controlled by Republicans. The last time this occurred bad things happened.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, his wife, his deputy and then the state Senate majority leader, whose son had business dealings with Nassau County, all went to jail for political corruption.
DeRiggi-Whitton has also been an effective advocate for aggressively responding to the opioid crisis and for greater transparency and a more collaborative approach from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in determining Nassau’s use of hundreds of millions of dollars the county received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
DeRiggi-Whitton has the experience needed to help provide some checks and balances in Nassau’s government and to represent the local needs of her constituents.
We endorse Delia DeRiggi-Whitton for Nassau County Legislature District 11.
